L. L. Zamenhof developed Esperanto in the 1870s and 80s and published the first publication about it, Unua Libro, in 1887. The number of Esperanto speakers has grown gradually since then, although it has not had much support from governments and international organizations and has sometimes been outlawed or otherwise suppressed.
Esperanto speakers have their own culture, on top of being a "gateway" to the culture of the entire world. As examples, gufujoj exist, and Esperanto speakers will talk about what would normally be considered extremely touchy subjects without restraint, even if they wouldn't do this in their home country or another language they know.
Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, credited as L. L. Zamenhof and sometimes as the pseudonymous Dr. Esperanto, was a Polish-Jewish ophthalmologist and the initiator of the international language Esperanto, the most successful constructed language in the world.
In neuropsychology, linguistics, and the philosophy of language, a natural language or ordinary language is any language that has evolved naturally in humans through use and repetition without conscious planning or premeditation. Natural languages can take different forms, such as speech or signing. They are distinguished from constructed and formal languages such as those used to program computers or to study logic.
A lingua franca, also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language is a language or dialect systematically used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language or dialect, particularly when it is a third language that is distinct from both of the speakers' native languages.
The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union (EU).
John Christopher Wells is a British phonetician and Esperantist. Wells is a professor emeritus at University College London, where until his retirement in 2006 he held the departmental chair in phonetics.
Universal language may refer to a hypothetical or historical language spoken and understood by all or most of the world's population. In some contexts, it refers to a means of communication said to be understood by all living things, beings, and objects alike. It may be the idea of an international auxiliary language for communication between groups speaking different primary languages. In other conceptions, it may be the primary language of all speakers, or the only existing language. Some religious and mythological traditions state that there was once a single universal language among all people, or shared by humans and supernatural beings.
References to Esperanto, a constructed language, have been made in a number of films and novels. Typically, this is done either to add the exotic nature of a foreign language without representing any particular ethnicity, or to avoid going to the trouble of inventing a new language. In science fiction, Esperanto is sometimes used to represent a future in which there is a more universally spoken language than exists today.
The Manifesto of Prague is a historic document that establishes a set of seven widely shared principles of the Esperanto movement. It was drafted at the 1996 World Esperanto Congress in Prague by officials from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and those attending the congress. The document emphasizes democratic communication, language rights, preservation of language diversity, and effective language education.
A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups speaking different languages, or even dialects in some cases.
Finvenkismo is an ideological current within the Esperanto movement dating back to L. L. Zamenhof, the initiator of Esperanto. The name is derived from the concept of a fina venko denoting the moment when Esperanto will be used as the predominant second language throughout the world. A finvenkist is thus someone who hopes for and/or works towards this "final victory" of Esperanto. According to some finvenkists, this "final victory" of Esperanto may help eradicate war, chauvinism and cultural oppression.
The Skolta Esperanto Ligo (SEL) brings together Esperanto-speaking Scouts from all over the world.
The official languages of Botswana are English and Tswana. English, which was inherited from colonial rule, is the official business language of Botswana, and most written communication is in English. A majority of the population speaks Tswana, but there are over 20 much smaller languages. Botswana also has many dying languages and also many expanding languages.
A constructed language is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised. Constructed languages may also be referred to as artificial, planned or invented languages and in some cases fictional languages. There are many possible reasons to create a constructed language, such as to ease human communication ; to give fiction or an associated constructed setting an added layer of realism; for experimentation in the fields of linguistics, cognitive science, and machine learning; for artistic creation; and for language games.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Esperanto:
