How Do You Say USA and One Two In Esperanto?

Problem
I haven't time to learn Esperanto today. But I have time to learn one word for the USA.

Answers
USA is Usono.

That's easy to remember the spelling - it looks like oh - no! Or oh - so!
But the U is prounced you like we say it in English, according to the sound I tapped on in Wikitionary. Yes Wikipedia is amazing. It has gone quite academic and detailed - must be lots of university professors and students worldwide sitting studiously up until midnight writing this stuff. Then there's the simple Wiki for those of us who want a quick answer without the jargon. Wikitravel if you want to know the distance from the capital and whether it's quicker by bus or train, not the information on the history of the city. And now I have discovered Wiktionary.

A bit like one. Perhaps not.

1 unu
2 du

The Teach Yourself Dictionary, of which I have an old battered copy, has all the grammar rules at the front. If the internet goes down, or I am on a train going through a tunnel, I can still look things up.

The print is rather small.

I gave a speech about Esperanto in February 2018. I showed the book and then a mobile phone.

I was speaking to a Toastmasters International group in London, England. My evaluator said, "I'm glad you showed the phone. I'm a millennial."

Duolingo which has a huge number of users in the USA has found that a large proportion of them are using their mobile phone for learning languages. I suppose that's when they are out and about.

Anyway, even if you haven't started learning Esperanto, or need a reminder, like me, Usono is the USA in Esperanto. Unu is one and Du is two. How do I remember it's U n u and not u n o?

The country, USA, is Usuno, but the spelling for one is the same as two, the o in both in English but the U unu, du, in both.

For pronunciation, I like learning from Duolingo. It's free and you can click on the sound symbol to get the sound, as you can on names. Wikipedia under USA did not have the Esperanto.

An Esperanto Wikipedia is being developed. I searched it and found this page:
EO is short for Esperanto, just as EN is short for English.
So when you go to a page about Esperanto, produced by people who speak the language, you will find a button to click on which says EO or EN or both.

https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorio:Historio

Ĉu vi jam delonge volis kontribui al Vikipedio, sed ne sciis, kiel? Jen manlibro pri Vikipedio celanta helpi vin finfine redakti kun ni!

It's such an easy language. If you just look at the words, even without studying you can see that some words mean 'wish to contribute to Vikipedio (Esperanto for Wikipedia in Esperanto),  but don't know how to do it. Helpi is help. The first word is a question word. This page is telling you where to go to read the help pages (which I have been reading on Wikipedia).

If you have more time, and want to learn more Esperanto to actually speak to people,  go to Duolingo where you can learn short sentences and hear them. Less time? Try Dulingo Tinycards, one word at a time, usually up to half a dozen words per card and a smiling face when you finish!

It is claimed that more people are learning Spanish through Duolingo than through the school system!

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.