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Esperanto has been used in the Czech Republic since the 19th century. It was suppressed by the Nazi and Communist governments of the 20th century before being revived in 1969. The Czech Republic is home to the Esperanto Museum in Svitavy.
The Czech language is not a major influence in Esperanto, but some concepts that originate from the Czech Republic lend their names to Esperanto words. These include haĉeko from the Czech háček to refer to the Czech caron mark and polko from the Czech polka to refer to Czech polka dancing. The Esperanto name for the Czech Republic is Ĉeĥio.[ citation needed ]
Esperanto reached the Czech lands before the end of the 19th century. [1] While most social democratic movements opposed the Esperanto movement, the Czech social democrats passed a resolution in favor of Esperanto in 1911. [2] Czechoslovakia was the only country in Eastern Europe where the Esperanto movement was not condemned by the government during the interwar period. [3] The 1921 World Esperanto Congress was held in Prague. [4] By 1928, there were 8,967 recorded Esperantists in Czechoslovakia. [5] Radio in Czechoslovakia began airing Esperanto broadcasts in the 1930s. [1] The German Esperanto League in Czechoslovakia was dissolved in 1938 in response to the occupation of Czechoslovakia. [6] The Czech Esperanto Association was restricted to activity within the Czech community in 1939 before being disbanded in 1940. [7]
Czech high school teacher Miloš Lukáš was an early Esperantist writer and translator, learning the language in 1907 and contributing to Esperantist periodicals in the 1920s and 1930s. [8] Tomáš Pumpr was also active at this time, and both continued to contribute to the Esperanto movement for decades. [9] Other notable Czech Esperantists during this period include Antonín Eltschkner, Jan Filip
The Communist Party took power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, and the Czech Esperanto movement began to be suppressed. [10] The Esperanto Association in the Czechoslovakian Republic (EAĈSR) was the primary Esperanto group in the country, and its 1950 congress attracted nearly a thousand participants. Between 1950 and 1951, Esperanto media outlets were shut down, and EAĈSR was disbanded in 1952. [11] Esperanto groups operated and published semi-legally through other organizations, such as education and labor groups. La Pacdefendanto by Czech Esperantist Rudolf Burda was highly influential at this time. [12] The Czechoslovak government ended publication of La Pacdefendanto in 1956. The Esperanto movement in Czechoslovakia was not permitted to resume activities until 1969 when a new Czech Esperanto Association was founded. [13]
Czech chemistry professor Vlastimil Novobilský began contributing to the Esperantist movement in the 1950s and continued to be active through the rest of the 20th century. [14] Czech author Karel Píč became a controversial figure in the Esperanto community in the 1980s for his use of neologisms. [15] Another notable Czech author at this time was Eli Urbanova. [1]
In 1996, the Esperanto Congress met in Prague and developed the Manifesto of Prague to outline the principles of the Esperanto movement. As of 2007, there are about 900 members in the Czech Esperanto Association. [1] The Esperanto Museum was established in Svitavy in 2008. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1998, the Conference on the Application of Esperanto in Science and Technology was held in the Czech Republic until 2010 when it was relocated to Slovakia. Miloslav Vlk was another notable post-Communist Czech Esperantist.
Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it is intended to be a universal second language for international communication, or "the international language". Zamenhof first described the language in Dr. Esperanto's International Language, which he published under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto. Early adopters of the language liked the name Esperanto and soon used it to describe his language. The word esperanto translates into English as "one who hopes".
Esperantujo or Esperantio is the community of speakers of the Esperanto language and their culture, as well as the places and institutions where the language is used. The term is used "as if it were a country."
L. L. Zamenhof developed Esperanto in the 1870s and '80s. Unua Libro, the first print discussion of the language, appeared in 1887. The number of Esperanto speakers have increased gradually since then, without much support from governments and international organizations. Its use has, in some instances, been outlawed or otherwise suppressed.
The Universal Esperanto Association, also known as the World Esperanto Association, is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with 5501 individual members in 121 countries and 9215 through national associations and in official relations with the United Nations. In addition to individual members, 70 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated with UEA. Its current president is the professor Duncan Charters. The magazine Esperanto is the main organ used by UEA to inform its members about everything happening in the Esperanto community.
Svitavy is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is the birthplace of Oskar Schindler and the centre of the Czech Esperanto movement. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
The Esperanto Wikipedia is the Esperanto version of Wikipedia, which was started on 11 May 2001, alongside the Basque Wikipedia. With over 352,000 articles as of April 2024, it is the 37th-largest Wikipedia as measured by the number of articles, and the largest Wikipedia in a constructed language.
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the Czechoslovak state from 1948 until 1989, when the country was under communist rule, and was regarded as a satellite state in the Soviet sphere of interest.
The World Esperantist Vegetarian Association is a voluntary association of Esperanto-speaking vegetarians. Founded in 1908, the group's working language is Esperanto, and it is the oldest international organization of vegetarians that is currently active. TEVA published a journal, Vegetarano ("Vegetarian") from 1914 to 1932, revived in 2009 as Esperantista Vegetarano, and has also operated a spirited Internet mailing list through Yahoo! Groups since 2005.
The Esperanto workers movement has the goal of taking practical advantage of the international language Esperanto for advancing the goals of the labour movement, especially the fight against unrestrained capitalism. It is not only a political movement in the strict sense but also a cultural and educational one. Currently the principal Esperanto associations active in the Esperanto workers movement at the global level are the Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda and the Internacia Komunista Esperantista Kolektivo, and in a wider sense, the Monda Asembleo Socia.
Esperanto was variously endorsed and oppressed in the Soviet Union throughout its history. The language was permitted by the government in the 1920s, but its internationalist nature brought it under scrutiny in the 1930s and Joseph Stalin enforced measures against the Esperanto community, having Esperanto speakers imprisoned and killed as part of the Great Purge. The Esperanto community was restored in the Soviet Union following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, but it did not achieve its earlier prominence.
Esperanto has been used in Hungary since its construction in the late-19th century. It saw notable use through the 20th century, though it was suppressed by Nazi and Communist governments in the 1940s and 1950s.
Esperanto was constructed in Poland by L. L. Zamenhof. It maintained a notable presence in Poland until the Occupation of Poland during World War II and the subsequent Communist rule resulted in the persecution of Esperantists.
Austria has been the home of Esperanto speakers for most of the language's history. Esperantists were persecuted by the Nazis during the annexation of Austria in the 1930s. The President of Austria from 1965 to 1974, Franz Jonas, was an Esperantist. The Esperanto Museum and Collection of Planned Languages is located in Vienna.
Ernest Karlovich Drezen was a Soviet Esperantist and engineer. He was the leader of the Soviet Esperantist Union (SEU). Drezen was arrested and killed during the Great Purge in the 1930s.
Esperanto has been used in Slovakia since the 19th century. The Slovak Esperanto movement was suppressed by Nazi and Communist regimes in the 20th century before being restored in 1969. Slovakia is home to the Summer Esperanto Study and the Conference on the Application of Esperanto in Science and Technology.
Eli Urbanová was a Czech poet, novelist, and Esperantist. She is best known for her autobiographical novel Hetajro dancas.
Esperanto is a minor language in Romania.
Albert Škarvan was a Slovak physician, writer, translator, and Esperantist.
Esperanto is a minor language in Bulgaria. It first arrived in Bulgaria in the late 19th-century. It was suppressed by the Nazi government in the 1940s and the Communist government in the 1950s.
