Esperanto: Difference between revisions

* Sidney Culbert: Around 2 million

* Amri Wandel: Above 2 million

| familycolor = Constructed language

| fam1 = [[Constructed language]]

After the [[October Revolution]] of 1917, Esperanto was given a measure of government support by the new communist states in the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|former Russian Empire]] and later by the [[Soviet Union]] government, with the [[Soviet Esperantist Union]] being established as an organization that, temporarily, was officially recognized.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://literaturo.org/HARLOW-Don/Esperanto/EBook/chap07.html|title=Donald J. Harlow, The Esperanto Book, chapter 7|publisher=Literaturo.org|access-date=September 29, 2016|archive-date=October 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002141103/http://literaturo.org/HARLOW-Don/Esperanto/EBook/chap07.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In his biography on [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Leon Trotsky]] mentions that Stalin had studied Esperanto.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1940/xx/stalin/ch04.htm|title=Chapter IV: The period of reaction: Leon Trotsky: Stalin – An appraisal of the man and his influence (1940)|author=Leon Trotsky|publisher=Marxists.org|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114015403/https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1940/xx/stalin/ch04.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in 1937, at the height of the [[Great Purge]], Stalin completely reversed the Soviet government's policies on Esperanto; many Esperanto speakers were executed, exiled or held in captivity in the [[Gulag]] labour camps. Quite often the accusation was: "You are an active member of an international spy organization which hides itself under the name of 'Association of Soviet Esperantists' on the territory of the Soviet Union." Until the end of the Stalin era, it was dangerous to use Esperanto in the Soviet Union, even though it was never officially forbidden to speak Esperanto.<ref>Ulrich Lins: ''Die gefährliche Sprache. Die Verfolgung der Esperantisten unter Hitler und Stalin.'' Bleicher: Gerlingen, 1988, p. 220 and elsewhere {{ISBN|978-3883500232}}; (English version: ''Dangerous Language — Esperanto under Hitler and Stalin.'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2017 {{ISBN|978-1137549167}}.)</ref>

 

 

During and after the [[Spanish Civil War]], Francoist Spain suppressed [[Anarchism in Spain|anarchists]], socialists and [[Catalan nationalist]]s for many years, among whom the use of Esperanto was extensive,<ref name="Del Barrio">{{cite web|url=http://www.nodo50.org/esperanto/artik68es.htm|title=La utilización del esperanto durante la Guerra Civil Española|publisher=Nodo50.org|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=January 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116083834/http://www.nodo50.org/esperanto/artik68es.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> but in the 1950s the Esperanto movement was again tolerated.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LgcbDgAAQBAJ&q=esperanto+used+by+spanish+anarchists&pg=PA140|title=Dangerous Language – Esperanto under Hitler and Stalin|last=Lins|first=Ulrich|date=February 10, 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781137549174|language=en|access-date=October 25, 2020|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414023424/https://books.google.com/books?id=LgcbDgAAQBAJ&q=esperanto+used+by+spanish+anarchists&pg=PA140|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Modern history ===

{{See also|Modern evolution of Esperanto}}

 

The development of Esperanto has continued unabated into the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferrari |first1=Pisana |title=Esperanto Day, July 26, celebrates the birth of a language aimed at fostering harmony among peoples. How is it faring today? |url=https://www.capstan.be/esperanto-day-july-26-celebrates-the-birth-of-a-language-aimed-at-fostering-harmony-among-peoples-is-it-still-relevant-today/#:~:text=Instead%2C%20the%20development%20of%20Esperanto,renewed%20interest%20in%20the%20language. |website=cApStAn |date=July 26, 2022 |access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> The advent of the [[Internet]] has had a significant impact on the language, as learning it has become increasingly accessible on platforms such as [[Duolingo]], and as speakers have increasingly networked on platforms such as [[Amikumu]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|author=Salisbury, Josh|title='Saluton!': the surprise return of Esperanto|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/dec/06/saluton-the-surprise-return-of-esperanto|access-date=May 16, 2018|website=The Guardian|date=December 6, 2017|archive-date=December 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228193216/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/dec/06/saluton-the-surprise-return-of-esperanto|url-status=live}}</ref> With up to two million speakers, it is the most widely spoken constructed language in the world.<ref>{{citation|last=Zasky|first=Jason|title=Discouraging Words|date=July 20, 2009|url=http://failuremag.com/index.php/feature/article/discouraging_words/|magazine=[[Failure Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119133127/http://failuremag.com/index.php/feature/article/discouraging_words/|quote=But in terms of invented languages, it's the most outlandishly successful invented language ever. It has thousands of speakers – even native speakers – and that's a major accomplishment as compared to the 900 or so other languages that have no speakers. – Arika Okrent|archive-date=November 19, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Although no country has adopted Esperanto officially, ''[[Esperantujo]]'' ("Esperanto-land") is the name given to the collection of places where it is spoken.<ref>Esperantujo. (2022, March 17). ''Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary''. Retrieved 19:57, May 14, 2022 from [https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Esperantujo&oldid=66166890. https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Esperantujo&oldid=66166890.]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-04-30 |title=Esperantujo |url=https://blogs.transparent.com/esperanto/esperantujo/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=Esperanto Language Blog {{!}} Language and Culture of the Esperanto-Speaking World}}</ref>

 

== Official use ==

 

=== International organizations ===

All personal documents sold by the [[World Service Authority]], including the [[World Passport]], are written in Esperanto, together with the official languages of the [[United Nations]]: [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Arabic]], and [[Chinese language|Chinese]].<ref>{{cite web |title=World Government Documents (Personal) |url=http://worldservice.org/doc.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820073208/http://worldservice.org/doc.html |archive-date=August 20, 2017 |access-date=January 14, 2015 |publisher=Worldservice.org}}</ref>

 

The [[Vatican Radio]] has an Esperanto version of its podcasts and its website.<ref>{{cite web |title=Radio Vatikana |url=http://eo.radiovaticana.va/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211101325/http://eo.radiovaticana.va/ |archive-date=February 11, 2016}}</ref>

 

 

The [[United States Army]] has published military phrase books in Esperanto,<ref>{{cite web |date=June 2, 2004 |title=''The Maneuver Enemy'' website |url=http://www.kafejo.com/lingvoj/auxlangs/eo/maneuver/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207010509/http://www.kafejo.com/lingvoj/auxlangs/eo/maneuver/ |archive-date=December 7, 2010 |access-date=December 5, 2010 |publisher=Kafejo.com}}</ref> to be used from the 1950s until the 1970s in war games by mock [[Opposing force|enemy forces]]. A field reference manual, FM 30-101-1 Feb. 1962,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FM_30-101-1_(1962)_Esperanto_The_Aggressor_Language.pdf |title=FM 30-101 Aggressor: the Maneuver Enemy |publisher=United States. Department of the Army |year=1962 |location=United States of America |language=en}}</ref> contained the grammar, English-Esperanto-English dictionary, and common phrases. In the 1970s Esperanto was used as the basis for Defense Language Aptitude Tests.

 

=== Proposed microstates and micronations ===

[[File:Isola delle Rose 1968.jpg|thumb|The [[Republic of Rose Island]] used Esperanto as its official language in 1968]]

 

The self-proclaimed [[micronation]] of [[Republic of Rose Island|Rose Island]], on an artificial island near [[Italy]] in the [[Adriatic Sea]], used Esperanto as its official language in 1968. Another micronation, the extant [[Republic of Molossia]], near [[Dayton, Nevada]], uses Esperanto as an official language alongside English.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is Esperanto? |url=http://www.molossia.org/esperanto.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706103815/http://www.molossia.org/esperanto.html |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |access-date=August 4, 2017 |website=Republic of Molossia |quote=Esperanto is the second language of the Republic of Molossia. |location=Dayton, Nevada}}</ref>

Esperanto has been described as "a language [[Lexicon|lexically]] predominantly [[Romance languages|Romanic]], [[morphology (linguistics)|morphologically]] intensively [[agglutination|agglutinative]], and to a certain degree [[isolating languages|isolating]] in character".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Blanke |first=Detlev |title=Internationale Plansprachen. Eine Einführung |trans-title=International Planned Languages. An Introduction |journal=Sammlung Akademie-Verlag |publisher=Akademie-Verlag |year=1985 |issn=0138-550X}}</ref> Approximately 80% of Esperanto's vocabulary is derived from Romance languages.<ref name="Koutny 2015 p. 106"/> [[Linguistic typology|Typologically]], Esperanto has [[Preposition and postposition|prepositions]] and a [[information flow|pragmatic word order]] that by default is ''[[Subject–verb–object word order|subject–verb–object]]'' (SVO). Adjectives can be freely placed before or after the nouns they modify, though placing them before the noun is more common. New words are formed through extensive use of affixes and [[Compound (linguistics)|compounds]].<ref name="Koutny 2015 ch. Typology">{{cite book | chapter=A typological description of Esperanto as a natural language| author=Ilona Koutny|editor=Ilona Koutny | title=Interlingwistyka i Esperantologia | date=2015 | isbn=978-83-63664-96-1 | pages=43–62| publisher=Wydawnictwo Rys}}</ref><ref name="Tonkin 2010"/>

 

 

=== Phonology ===

{{Main|Esperanto phonology}}

 

 

==== Consonants ====

* Common, if debated, [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] includes the pronunciation of {{lang|eo|nk}} as {{IPA|[ŋk]}} and {{lang|eo|kz}} as {{IPA|[ɡz]}}.

 

 

==== Vowels ====

|}

 

 

=== Orthography ===

|-

! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] [[phoneme]]

|}

 

=== Vocabulary ===

{{Main|Esperanto vocabulary}}

 

The core vocabulary of Esperanto was defined by {{lang|eo|Lingvo internacia}}, published by Zamenhof in 1887. This book listed 917 roots; these could be expanded into tens of thousands of words using prefixes, suffixes, and compounding. In 1894, Zamenhof published the first Esperanto [[dictionary]], {{lang|eo|Universala Vortaro}}, which had a larger set of roots. The rules of the language allowed speakers to borrow new roots as needed; it was recommended, however, that speakers use most international forms and then derive related meanings from these.

Esperanto instruction is rarely available at schools, including four primary schools in a pilot project under the supervision of the [[University of Manchester]], and by one count at a few universities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uea.org/agadoj/instruado/pirlot.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529120733/http://uea.org/agadoj/instruado/pirlot.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-05-29 |title=Esperanto en universitatoj |publisher=Uea.Org |date=April 17, 2003 |access-date=December 5, 2010}}</ref> However, outside China and [[Hungary]], these mostly involve informal arrangements, rather than dedicated departments or state sponsorship. [[Eötvös Loránd University]] in [[Budapest]] had a department of [[Interlinguistics]] and Esperanto from 1966 to 2004, after which time instruction moved to [[Vocational university|vocational colleges]]; there are state examinations for Esperanto instructors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geocities.com/bujdosoivan/tarte.htm |title=enhavo |date=October 27, 2009 |access-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091027105835/http://geocities.com/bujdosoivan/tarte.htm |archive-date = October 27, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/bujdosoivan/okt.htm#3 |title=Elte Btk |publisher=Webcitation.org |access-date=December 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021083127/http://geocities.com/bujdosoivan/okt.htm#3 |archive-date=October 21, 2009 }}</ref> Additionally, [[Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań|Adam Mickiewicz University]] in Poland offers a [[diplom]]a in Interlinguistics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://amu.edu.pl/en/home/about-us/education/degree-list/full-degree-students/diploma-in-interlinguistics-esperanto|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418022807/http://amu.edu.pl/en/home/about-us/education/degree-list/full-degree-students/diploma-in-interlinguistics-esperanto |archive-date=April 18, 2012|title=Diploma in Interlinguistics (ESPERANTO)}}</ref> The [[Federal Senate (Brazil)|Senate of Brazil]] passed a bill in 2009 that would make Esperanto an optional part of the curriculum in [[Public school (government funded)|public schools]], although mandatory if there is demand for it. {{As of|2015}}, the bill is still under consideration by the [[Chamber of Deputies of Brazil|Chamber of Deputies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senado.gov.br/sf/atividade/materia/detalhes.asp?p_cod_mate=83989|title=Atividade Legislativa – Projetos e Matrias|publisher=Senado.gov.br|language=pt|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=May 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525231804/http://www.senado.gov.br/sf/atividade/materia/detalhes.asp?p_cod_mate=83989|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.camara.gov.br/sileg/Prop_Detalhe.asp?id=454210|title=PL 6162/2009 – Projetos de Lei e Outras Proposições – Câmara dos Deputados|publisher=Camara.gov.br|language=pt|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=February 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207055656/https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/fichadetramitacao?idProposicao=454210|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.senado.gov.br/noticias/materias/2009/06/18/entidades-manifestam-apoio-a-proposta-de-incluir-ensino-de-esperanto-na-grade-de-disciplinas-da-rede-publica|title=Entidades manifestam apoio à proposta de incluir ensino de Esperanto na grade de disciplinas da rede pública|work=Senado Federal – Portal de Notícias|language=pt|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=January 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114174130/http://www12.senado.gov.br/noticias/materias/2009/06/18/entidades-manifestam-apoio-a-proposta-de-incluir-ensino-de-esperanto-na-grade-de-disciplinas-da-rede-publica|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

[[Esperanto-USA]] suggests that Esperanto can be learned in, at most, one quarter of the amount of time required for other languages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://esperanto-usa.org/?q=node/77 |title=Is Esperanto four times easier to learn? |publisher=Esperanto-USA |access-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310081949/http://esperanto-usa.org/?q=node%2F77 |archive-date=2013-03-10}}</ref>

 

=== The Zagreb method ===

 

=== Third-language acquisition ===

{{Main|Esperanto culture|Esperanto literature|Esperanto film|Esperanto music}}

 

 

Every year, Esperantists meet for the [[World Congress of Esperanto]] ''({{lang|eo|Universala Kongreso de Esperanto}})''.<ref>Ziko van Dijk. {{lang|eo|Sed homoj kun homoj: Universalaj Kongresoj de Esperanto 1905–2005}}. Rotterdam: UEA, 2005.</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Szilvási László |url=http://www.eventoj.hu/ |title=International Esperanto meetings |publisher=Eventoj.hu |access-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-date=February 3, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010203174500/http://www.eventoj.hu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

 

 

 

== Esperanto heritage ==

{{Main|Esperanto authors}}

 

* [[Muztar Abbasi]] (translated the [[Quran]] into Esperanto)

* [[William Auld]]

* [[Jean Forge]]

* [[Antoni Grabowski]]

* [[Anna Löwenstein]]

* [[Kenji Miyazawa]] (translated his pre-existing works into Esperanto)

Zamenhof had three goals, as he wrote already in 1887: to create an easy language, to create a language ready to use "whether the language be universally accepted or not" and to find some means to get many people to learn the language.<ref name="UnuaLibro"/> So Zamenhof's intention was not only to create an easy-to-learn language to foster peace and international understanding as a general language, but also to create a language for immediate use by a (small) language community. Esperanto was to serve as an international auxiliary language, that is, as a universal second language, not to replace ethnic languages. This goal was shared by Zamenhof among Esperanto speakers at the beginning of the movement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/jul26/unua-libro-en-esperanto-first-book-esperanto/ |title=1887: Unua Libro en Esperanto (First Book in Esperanto, see introduction) |website=NationalGeographic.org |access-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-date=October 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020135352/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/jul26/unua-libro-en-esperanto-first-book-esperanto/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later, Esperanto speakers began to see the language and the culture that had grown up around it as ends in themselves, even if Esperanto is never adopted by the United Nations or other international organizations.<ref name="EspMov181" />

 

There are two kinds of ''finvenkismo'': ''desubismo'' aims to spread Esperanto between ordinary people (''desube'', from below) to form a steadily growing community of Esperanto speakers, while ''desuprismo'' aims to act from above (''desupre''), beginning with politicians.

Zamenhof considered the first way more plausible, as "for such affairs as ours, governments come with their approval and help usually only when everything is completely ready".<ref>[http://www.steloj.de/esperanto/paroloj/kongr6a.html Parolado antaŭ la Sesa Kongreso Esperantista en Washington en la 15a de aŭgusto 1910] (Speech before the Sixth Esperantist Congress in Washington, 15 August 1910): "La celo, por kiu ni laboras, povas esti atingita per du vojoj: aŭ per laborado de homoj privataj, t.e. de la popolaj amasoj, aŭ per dekreto de la registaroj. Plej kredeble nia afero estos atingita per la vojo unua, ĉar al tia afero, kiel nia, la registaroj venas kun sia sankcio kaj helpo ordinare nur tiam, kiam ĉio estas jam tute preta." {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226205843/http://www.steloj.de/esperanto/paroloj/kongr6a.html |date=February 26, 2021 }}</ref>

Christian Esperanto organizations and publications include:

 

* In 1911, The [[International League of Christian Esperantists]] (''Kristana Esperantista Ligo Internacia'', '''KELI''') was founded during the Universal Congress of Esperanto in [[Antwerp]]. The founder, Paul Hübner (1881-1970), was an early supporter of the [[Nazism|Nazi]] movement, a fact which disenfranchised liberal and Jewish members, thus severely limiting the growth of the KELI during the first half of the 20th century.<ref name="Garvia" /> KELI's bimonthly interdenominational magazine, ''Dia Regno'', continues to be published and is reportedly made available to readers in 48 countries.<ref>KELI kaj Dia Regno''.'' http://keli.chez.com/keli_en.htm</ref> They have also published several Esperanto hymnals including the 1971 ''Adoru Kantante'' (Worship by Singing) and ''Tero kaj Ĉielo Kantu'' (Earth and Heaven Sing).<ref>{{Cite web |title=League of Christian Esperantists International |url=http://keli.chez.com/keli_en.htm |access-date=May 20, 2022 |website=KELI kaj Dia Regno}}</ref>

* The [[Quaker]] Esperanto Society (''Kvakera Esperanto-Societo'', '''KES''') was established in 1921<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noos.ch/kes/index.php?pg=2&lg=en|title=KES – Quakers|website=noos.ch|access-date=November 1, 2016|archive-date=November 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103215830/http://www.noos.ch/kes/index.php?pg=2&lg=en|url-status=live}}</ref> and described in multiple issues of "[[The Friend (Quaker magazine)|The Friend]]"<ref>{{cite journal

 

== Criticism <!--This section linked from [[Esperantido]]--> ==

There have been numerous objections to Esperanto over the years. For example, there has been criticism that Esperanto is not neutral enough, but also that it should convey a specific culture, which would make it less neutral; that Esperanto does not draw on a wide enough selection of the world's languages, but also that it should be more narrowly European.<ref name="JBR">{{Cite web|url=http://jbr.me.uk/ranto/|title=Ranto (JBR Anti-Zamenhofism)|website=jbr.me.uk|access-date=2020-02-22|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222074330/http://jbr.me.uk/ranto/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MIR">{{Cite web|url=http://miresperanto.com/konkurentoj/not_my_favourite.htm|title=Why Esperanto is not my favourite Artificial Language|website=miresperanto.com|access-date=2020-02-22|archive-date=December 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211053403/http://miresperanto.com/konkurentoj/not_my_favourite.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

===Language-neutrality===

 

===Gender-neutrality===

 

On the other hand, the pronoun ''ĝi'' ("it") may be used generically to mean he/she/they; the pronoun ''li'' ("he") is always masculine and ''ŝi'' ("she") is always female, despite some authors' arguments.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kalocsay |first1= Kálmán|last2= Waringhien|first2= Gaston|title = Plena analiza gramatiko de Esperanto|date=1985|page=73|publisher = Universala Esperanto-Asocio|isbn = 9789290170327}}</ref>

 

===Case and number agreement===

* [[Outline of Esperanto]]

* [[Esperantujo]]

* ''[[lernu!]]''

* [[Interlinguistics]]

** [[Esperantology]]

* [[Encyclopedias in Esperanto]]

** [[Esperanto Wikipedia]]

}}

 

 

== External links ==

{{Wikibooks}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|Esperanto spoken article.ogg|date=2010-08-18}}

* [https://uea.org/ UEA.org] – Website of the [[Universal Esperanto Association]]

* ''[[gutenberg:bookshelf/34|Esperanto Bookshelf]]'' at [[Project Gutenberg]]

* [https://lernu.net/en/vortaro Dictionary – lernu.net], a bilingual Esperanto dictionary by {{lang|eo|[[lernu!]]}}