Though the language doesn’t have a country of its own, what it does have is a supranational community. Who Speaks the Esperanto Language? Where Do They Speak Esperanto? This international language created by a Jewish man was seen as a threat to their nationalist ideals. Later, during World War II, the Nazi Party sought to discredit Esperanto and destroy its speakers. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out so well, as World War I would break out just a few years after Esperanto had started to gain popularity. Zamenhof had high hopes for the language and believed that it could promote world peace by eliminating conflicts that arise from linguistic and cultural differences. Interestingly, the original name for the language was simply “ la l ingvo internacia” but its early speakers can be credited with changing the name to “ Esperanto” which means “ who hopes.” He introduced his universal language for the first time in a book called Lingvo Internacia, or International Language. Zamenhof worked to create a language that he hoped would put an end to global conflict, and also prevent it in the future. 1895) The Esperanto language, a solution for peace?Īnd so Dr. Zamenhof, in a letter to Nikolai Borovko, c. In fact, Zamenhof once wrote: “I was brought up as an idealist I was taught that all people were brothers, while outside in the street at every step I felt that there were no people, only Russians, Poles, Germans, Jews, and so on.” ( L.
Later in his life, he recognized the creation of Esperanto as his solution to the very real conflicts that arise out of misunderstandings, language barriers, and xenophobia. Growing up in the Russian Empire, Zamenhof lived amid political and cultural tensions that pitted his neighbors against one another.
You might already be familiar with some other constructed languages, for instance, Klingon or Dothraki, if you’re a fan of Star Trek or Game of Thrones.Įsperanto was created in 1887 by a Polish-Jewish doctor named Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, also known as Doktoro Esperanto (“doctor Esperanto”). This means that they start with a plan rather than developing and evolving over time depending on how people use them. Constructed languages are the opposite of natural languages. What Is Esperanto? Definition and Historyįirst things first, Esperanto is a constructed language.
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