Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist 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".
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.
Esperanto symbols, primarily the Esperanto flag, have seen much consistency over the time of the language's existence, though a few variations in exact flag patterning and symbology exist.
The Esperanto Association of Britain (EAB) is a registered educational charity whose objective is to advance education in and about the international language Esperanto and to preserve and promote the culture and heritage of Esperanto for the educational benefit of the general public. The organisation was established in 1904.
Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto is a monolingual dictionary of the language Esperanto. It was first compiled in 1970 by a large team of Esperanto linguists and specialists under the guidance of Gaston Waringhien and is published by the Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda (SAT). It may be consulted online for free.
Vladimír von Szmurlo was a Russian Esperantist and railway engineer.
Montagu Christie Butler was a British academic, librarian, lexicographer, musician, and Esperantist. A winner of several prizes at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he was a harpist and a versatile music teacher skilled in playing various musical instruments, as well as a teacher of voice and of musical composition.
La Ondo de Esperanto was an illustrated Esperanto periodical published monthly in the Russian Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad. Since 2017 it is available only as an online magazine in PDF or EPUB formats.
Amerika Esperantisto was a North American Esperanto-language monthly publication founded in January 1907 as Amerika Esperantista Revuo. It was originally published by the American Esperanto Association, a national association formed by Boston Esperantists in March 1905.
The Esperantist of the Year is an honorary designation bestowed each year by the editors of the Esperanto-language monthly La Ondo de Esperanto. The award recipient is selected by an international jury led by Halina Gorecka, the Russian publisher of the magazine.
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.
Peter Baláž, in Esperanto known as Petro, is an Esperantist, publisher and editor; he was selected as the 2012 Esperantist of the Year. Baláž lives in his hometown of Partizánske and speaks Slovak, Czech, German, Polish, Russian and English, as well as the international planned language Esperanto.
Medicina Internacia Revuo is the official organ of Universala Medicina Esperanto Asocio, an organization that gathers physicians, pharmacists, and other medical professionals who have a working knowledge of Esperanto. The twice-yearly journal publishes articles that have undergone peer review and that are written in various languages, including English and Polish; abstracts are provided in English and Esperanto. The journal publishes broadly within the medical sciences, has an internationally renowned board of editors, and is included in the Index Copernicus database. The journal is available gold open access, but no author fees are charged.
Usona Esperantisto is the bi-monthly publication of Esperanto-USA, the organization for Esperanto speakers in the United States. Most of the content is in Esperanto, with the remainder in English. Topics include discussions of Esperanto culture, book reviews, short stories, and games.
La Esperantisto, stylised as La Esperantisto., was the first Esperanto periodical, published from 1889 to 1895. L. L. Zamenhof started it in order to provide reading material for the then-nascent Esperanto community.
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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Esperanto:
Esperantisto may refer to a number of Esperanto publications including:
