Esperanto


Esperanto (/ˌɛspəˈrɑːnt/ or /ˌɛspəˈrænt/)[6][7] is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by Polish ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communication. Zamenhof first described the language in Dr. Esperanto's International Language, which he published in five languages under the pseudonym "Doktoro Esperanto." He claimed that the grammar of the language could be learned in one hour, though this estimate assumed a learner with a background in European languages. The word esperanto translates into English as "one who hopes."[8]

As a constructed language, Esperanto occupies a middle ground between "naturalistic" constructed languages, which try to imitate existing natural languages, and a priori languages, in which the words have no connection to other languages. Although Esperanto's vocabulary, syntax, and semantics derive predominantly from Standard Average European languages, its grammar is highly regular when compared to these languages, and as such it is considered an easy language to learn. The vocabulary derives primarily from Romance languages with substantial contributions from Germanic languages. One of the language's most notable features is its extensive system of derivation, where prefixes and suffixes may be freely combined with roots to generate words, making it possible to communicate effectively with a smaller set of words.

Esperanto is the most successful international auxiliary language and the only such language with a population of native speakers, of which there are perhaps several thousand.[2] Usage estimates are difficult, but two recent estimates put the number of active speakers at around 100,000.[3] 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 also gained a noticeable presence on the internet in recent years, as it became increasingly accessible on platforms such as Duolingo, Wikipedia, Firefox and Google Translate.[9][10] Esperanto speakers are often called "Esperantists" (Esperantistoj).

Esperanto was created in the late 1870s and early 1880s by L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish-Jewish ophthalmologist from Białystok, then part of the Russian Empire but now part of Poland. In the 1870s, just a few years before Zamenhof created Esperanto, Polish was banned in public places in Białystok.[11][12]

According to Zamenhof, he created the language to reduce the "time and labor we spend in learning foreign tongues" and to foster harmony between people from different countries: "Were there but an international language, all translations would be made into it alone […] and all nations would be united in a common brotherhood."[13] His feelings and the situation in Białystok may be gleaned from an extract from his letter to Nikolai Borovko:[14]


The first Esperanto book, by L. L. Zamenhof, published in 1887 in the Russian language
Map of Esperanto groups in Europe in 1905
7th Esperanto congress, Antwerp, August 1911
Location of Moresnet
Location map of hosts of Pasporta Servo, the Esperanto homestay community, by 2015
Esperanto books at the World Esperanto Congress, Rotterdam 2008
Hungarian astronaut Bertalan Farkas, the first Esperantist in space
Esperanto symbols
The verda stelo
The jubilea simbolo
Mass in Esperanto during the 95th World Congress of Esperanto in Havana, 2010
The Plan of salvation of the Latter Day Saint movement in Esperanto