What is “Esperanto”?
In 1887 “Ludovic Zamenhof”, a multilingual Polish oculist, published a book introducing a new language under the pseudonym “Dr-o Esperanto”, meaning “one who hopes “.
Dr L.L.Zamenhof, the author of the Esperanto language
Zamenhof fervently wished that his invented tongue would become the world’s second language. Although that hope is still unrealized.
Many people assume that Esperanto is one of the youngest dying languages, a verbal experiment that has simply not worked out. In fact, Esperantists can be found all around the world.
At a glance, Esperanto seems simple enough. The language has only 16 easily memorized rules of grammar-no exceptions at all – and a basic vocabulary built from mostly Indo-European roots. Experts claim that virtually anyone can learn Esperanto in 100 hours or less. But for some, numerous suffixes and prefixes may complicate matters.
The use of Esperanto probably reached its peak in the 1920s, when idealists embraced it as one small step toward peace. Some intellectuals viewed it as a solution to the language problem, which they felt contributed to political misunderstandings.
Esperantists have urged the United Nations to adopt their language, but the organization has its hands full with six official ones (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian).
Humphry Tonkin, president of the Rotterdam-based Universal Esperanto Association (1987), says that “the Lingvo Internacia” is popular in lands whose language do not travel well. Examples: Iran, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. A sizable concentration of Esperantists is found in Japan, where the language has sometimes been used for discussions by scientists who speak different languages.
Many masterpieces of literature have been translated from various languages into Esperanto, including the Koran and some of Shakespeare’s plays. When they travel, many Esperantists wear lapel pins shaped like green stars signal them as Esperanto speakers, in hopes of meeting fellow speakers.
Esperanto can be used same as any other languages, for example: my book, “mia libro“, this beautiful moment, “tiu ĉi bela momento”. There are many organizations which among other things, organize meetings. A worldwide meeting is made every year, every time, in a different country. In some of these meetings young people meet similar people from other countries. The only language they can use for communication is Esperanto.
Sources: Time, Wikipedia