Esperanto

Lore & Background

Esperanto was created in the late 1870s and early 1880s by L. L. Zamenhof, a Jewish ophthalmologist from Białystok, then part of the Russian Empire. 'one who hopes'). Early speakers grew fond of the name Esperanto and began to use it as the name for the language. Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language that would serve as a universal second language, to foster world peace and international understanding, and to build a 'community of speakers'. Zamenhof wrote that he wanted humankind to 'learn and use ... en masse ... the proposed language as a living one'. Because people were reluctant to learn a new language which hardly anyone spoke, Zamenhof asked people to sign a promise to start learning Esperanto once ten million people made the same promise; he 'was disappointed to receive only a thousand responses'. Nevertheless, the number of speakers grew rapidly over the next few decades, at first primarily in the Russian Empire and Central Europe, then in other parts of Europe, the Americas, China, and Japan.

Reader's Guide

Esperanto is the most successful constructed international auxiliary language and the only such language with a sizeable population of native speakers (denaskuloj), of which there are an estimated 2,000. Concentration of speakers is highest in Europe, East Asia, and South America. Although no country has adopted Esperanto officially, Esperantujo ('Esperanto land') is used as a name for the collection of places where it is spoken. The language has gained a presence on the Internet and is accessible on platforms such as Wikipedia, Amikumu, Google Translate, and Duolingo. Esperanto largely replaced Volapük in the 19th and 20th centuries as the most major international auxiliary language, as many previous Volapükists switched to Esperanto due to its much simpler language structure.

Did You Know?

• Esperanto's vocabulary, syntax, and semantics derive predominantly from languages of the Indo-European group, with approximately 80% from Romance languages.
• Esperanto is the only constructed auxiliary language with a sizeable population of native speakers, estimated at 2,000.
• The language was originally called 'the International Language' (la Lingvo Internacia) by its creator.
• Esperanto largely replaced Volapük as the most major international auxiliary language due to its much simpler language structure.