Why learn Simple Universal Language?
Welcome to Lesson 1 of our course on learning to speak SUL!
This lesson introduces the basics: how SUL is written, how it sounds, and its signature trick - snapping small words together to build bigger meanings.
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| I go to the city | usmenogakgookitcity | usnogakuussnnooggaakkokitookkiitt | |
| I'm eating the meat | usmenagufeatnagutnowigutmeat | usnagufnagutuussnnaagguuffnnaagguuttigutiigguutt | |
| I will eat meat tomorrow | usmenagufeatnitfutureigutmeatitogdaynisek1nitfuture | usnagufnituussnnaagguuffnniittigutiigguuttitogniseknitiittooggnniisseekknniitt | |
| I can eat | usmenagufeatnugescan | usnagufnugesuussnnaagguuffnnuuggeess | |
| Eat! (an order) | agufeatnotufcommand | agufnotufaagguuffnnoottuuff | |
| Are you eating? | okyounagufeatnagutnownetquestion | oknagufnagutnetookknnaagguuffnnaagguuttnneett | |
| I'm tired, but I'll work | usmenasustiredasotbutusmenegukworknitfuture | usnasusuussnnaassuussasotaassoottusneguknituussnneegguukknniitt | |
| Is it true? | utitnotaktruenetquestion | utnotaknetuuttnnoottaakknneett |
First, let's meet the whole alphabet: five vowels and seven consonants, each with exactly one sound. Two of the consonants, n and w, are special: they are the glue letters that hold the parts of a word together - you will never find them inside a basic word:
| SUL letter | Vowel | Example | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | as in "tah" | |
| e | e | as in "eh" | |
| i | i | "ee" | |
| o | o | as in "doh" | |
| u | u | as in "beaut" |
| SUL letter | Consonant | Example | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| t | t | as in "tea" | |
| f | f | as in "fee" | |
| s | s | as in "sea" | |
| k | k | as in "key" | |
| g | g | as in "gap" | |
| n | n (glue letter) | as in "nay" | |
| w | w (glue letter) | as in "way" |
SUL words are often several parts glued into one long word, like me-eat-now. In lessons the glue is drawn as - or + - out loud it is the glue letter n or w.
Eight speech rules, all with one purpose: a listener can hear where parts, words, and sentences end by ear alone.
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| Hit the start of each part | Say the first syllable of every word part a little louder, like the TA in "TAble" - each beat marks a new part. |
| Say glue letters quick and quiet | n and w are always short and soft, never emphasized - the quiet joint between louder beats. |
| Stretch the very end of a word | Hold a word's last vowel slightly longer: this word is finished. |
| Questions can rise, but don't have to | Optional - the question word already marks it, so a flat voice is just as correct. |
| Drop your voice at the end of a sentence | The last syllable falls to low pitch and stretches a touch longer - the spoken period. A pause after it is optional. |
| Pausing is always safe | A pause alone never means anything - hesitating mid-word or mid-sentence is always fine. |
| Numbers get a steady beat | Say digits evenly, tiny pause every 3 digits - like reading out a phone number. |
| Your pitch never changes meaning | No tones: whisper it, sing it, shout it - same meaning. (The sentence-end drop marks where a sentence stops, never what a word means.) |
SUL sentences use the same order as English: first who is doing it, then what they do, then what they do it to. "I eat meat" is me-eat meat - never "meat me-eat". If you speak English, you already know this part.
Now that you know the basic principles of SUL, we're ready to move on to learning some basic vocabulary and grammar.