Volapük

[Sean of the Dead]

They are hard sounds.

Not at all, German was my first foreign language, and only by listening to Rosetta Stone it took me but a few days to learn how to pronounce it.

[ILuvEire]

They are hard sounds.

Not at all, German was my first foreign language, and only by listening to Rosetta Stone it took me but a few days to learn how to pronounce it.

I very seldom find a sound I can't pronounce, but [ø] is one of them. I don't know why it's so hard for me.

[Narbleh]

If you can say /o/ and /ɛ/, you can say /ø/. Put your lips in position to say a nice round and closed /o/ but have your tongue in the same place you say /ɛ/. That should get you pretty close.

[arpee]

Is this correct:

Ö - Say "moon" and keep your mouth in the "oo" position. Now make an "e" sound as in the word "wet".


Ü - Say "moon" and keep your mouth in the "oo" position. Now make an "i" sound as in "machine".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEJLYfaQ8Zs

as for the letter Ä

Ä - It has the same sound as the letter "a"

[''']

noooo. the ue is in fact the "oo" sound produced at the place u produce the 'i' sound. You may know it as the stereotypical posh french u. while the oe is similar to the french "eu"
the ae is pronounced as the a in apple, while the a is pronounces like ah.

Ok, thank god you speak spanish, if you want points of reference, a e i o and u are as the spanish ones, while oe is a rounded form of e, ae is half way between e and a, ue is a rounded form of i.
the symbols in IPA are:
ue - y
ae - ɛ
oe - ø

if you go to the wiki pages they should have pronounciation clips.

note: youtube clip is gone

[ILuvEire]

If you can say /o/ and /ɛ/, you can say /ø/. Put your lips in position to say a nice round and closed /o/ but have your tongue in the same place you say /ɛ/. That should get you pretty close.

I don't have a problem making the sound by itself, but when I'm speaking German or French, I can't make the sound quick enough so that I don't sound retarded.

Also, I thought that /ø/ was a rounded form of /e/ and /œ/ was a rounded form of /ɛ/.

[Narbleh]

Got it backwards, I'm pretty sure. The difference between the two is the openness of the vowel. They're both /ɛ/ inside, but œ has /ɔ/ lips whereas ø has /o/ lips.

[Metaforic]

Glidis, o Volapükans!

Ejafob spikotacemi su bötod Unilang te pro Volapük! Valikans kel nitedälon dö lärnön, spikön tefü ä gebön Volapüki päbenokömon! Primans i, pato! Mekobsös Volapüki püku lifik!


Greetings, Volapukans!

I created a chatroom on the unilang IRC server dedicated to volapük! Everybody who's interested in learning, talking about and using Volapük is welcome! Begginers too, especially! Let's make Volapük a living language!

P.S: I forgot to add the name of the channel, hehe. It's #volapuk of course

[Thild]

I've been idling on the IRC-channel for a week or so, and there's never been anyone else online. Where have all the volapükans gone? Surely someone must be interested in actually using the language for communication too. I've been losing my motivation for studying Volapük since there's little sense in learning a language no one else you know speaks, so a chat or any other means of socializing would be really welcome and would help with the learning process too.

[Metaforic]

Hey there, there has actually been some action about three weeks ago on the channel. Since then, I had some personal problems and I didn't log on so often. One thing that contributed to my absence was that, aside from one guy from Russia, there wasn't anybody else to join.

So please, if you wanna have fun speaking and learning volapuk with me (and hopefully others), i'll try to be online more often, especially in the evenings (we are in the same time xone).

[arpee]

What happened to the IRC for the Volapuk I want to have people to talk with and that can help me learn. Doesn't any Volapuk learner have AIM?

Also, I think I understand the sounds now

A: as in father
Ä: as in cat
E: as in egg
I: as in "machIne"
O: as in "bold"
Ö: as in girl
U: as in food
Ü: as in puke but instead of the "ee-oo" sound, change it to "eh-oo"

[''']

the ü is a bit more front and I think you confused e and ä. ä is more closed than e.

[Metaforic]

Glidis!

The IRC channel is active, but you might not find enough people at any time of the day.
Usually there are 3-4 people who log in every day and who are there to help you. But be aware that some might just idle at a point or another.

The address is, again: server - irc.unilang.org channel - #volapuk
You can use http://volapuk.info (no www in front!) and log in with the web-client if you don't have a dedicated IRC client.
Also the website is very valuable to find other volapük related links.

I have yahoo messenger and the others have msn i think, but we can arrange a way to meet and discuss (meebo?). But first, try logging to the irc channel.

We'd be more than happy to help you!

Donüglidö, flen!

[GDJ]

There's a Volapuk magazine called 'Vog Volapuka'. It was quarterly I think, though I'm not sure whether it's still published. Fellow SF author Frank Roger had several of his short stories translated and published and I was hoping to do the same but I've also had no reply.

Gareth

[Thild]

Glidis o flens!

We've arranged some meetings on the Volapük IRC-channel on past Sundays. Next meeting will take place on Sunday 20th December at 18 GMT. This is a great way to meet other people interested in Volapük and to learn together, so if you have even a slight interest in this beautiful language, come join us on IRC! :) The chatroom for Volapük is #volapuk on the Unilang server.

[Metaforic]

Volapük meeting - today 20th december starting in 50 minutes! (18 GMT, 19 CET, 13 EST)! Everyone's invited! Go to www.unilang.org -> chat to log in, then write "/join #volapuk", or use your IRC client to connect to irc.unilang.org, channel volapuk! Stebedobs frenis valik Volapüka!

[Riptide]

Hey, so can someone post the basic greeting phrases?

Hello
How are you?
How are you all?
I'm fine.
Thank you.
And you?
Me too.
Where are you from?
Where are you all from?
I'm from _______.
Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening/Goodnight
Goodbye.
What other languages do you speak?
How long have you been learning Volapük?

[Thild]

Hello
Glidis or Glidö

How are you?
Lio stadol-li?

How are you all?
Lio stadols-li, o valikans?

I'm fine.
Stadob gudiko.

Thank you.
Danö.

And you?
Ed ol?

Me too.
Id ob.

Where are you from?
Kipladao(/Kiöpao) kömol-li?

Where are you all from?
Kipladao(/Kiöpao) kömols-li, o valikans?

I'm from _______.
Kömob di ______.

Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening/Goodnight
Gödi gudik/Poszedeli gudik/Soari gudik/Neiti gudik
or simply Gödö!/Delö!/Soarö!/Neitö!

Goodbye.
Adyö!
or Dönulogö! (from German "Aufwiedersehen")

What other languages do you speak?
Kinis pükis votik spikol-li?

How long have you been learning Volapük?
Sis ven elärnol Volapüki?


...at least that's how I'd say. Sis ven is a loan translation from English, but a little interference never hurt anybody.

[Metaforic]

Vilob glidön frenis nuliks Volapüka: Riptide e Veq! Stebedobs i votikans ad visitön spikotacemi Volapükik! Steifülobsös ad mekön kolkömi de Sudel at benoseku!

I want to greet the new friends of Volapük, Riptide and Veq. We are waiting others too to visit the Volapük chatroom! Let's try to make the meeting of this Sunday a success!

[Metaforic]

Where are you from?
Kipladao(/Kiöpao) kömol-li?

Where are you all from?
Kipladao(/Kiöpao) kömols-li, o valikans?

I'm from _______.
Kömob di ______.

What other languages do you speak?
Kinis pükis votik spikol-li?

How long have you been learning Volapük?
Sis ven elärnol Volapüki?

Good job, Thild! A few notes though:

Where are you from? can also mean where do you live, this is said:

Kiplado lödol-li?
Kipldo lödols-li?
Lödob in ..

and I would say
"Püks kinik votik spikol-li?"

The english prasing looks all right to me. Everybody should adapt Volapük to their own needs.