The language of hope
An introduction to Esperanto
In the second half of the nineteenth century, a young Polish optician was troubled by the lack of understanding between the various communities in and around his hometown of Białystok. At that time, Białystok was part of the Russian Empire, and there was frequent violence between ethnic Poles, Russians and Germans and religiously-motivated violence between Jews and Christians.
Zamenhof believed that the root of this violence was the mistrust borne of misunderstanding between the communities. Each community had its own language which provided a barrier to mutual comprehension. His conclusion was that a common, neutral language was needed to bridge this divide.
Realising that no existing language could fulfill this role, Zamenhof set about creating a new one. The result, published in 1887 under the pseudonymn Doktoro Esperanto,1 was his 'International Language', which very quickly became commonly known as Esperanto. A community of speakers developed quickly (this was the age of Victorian optimism, remember) and from that community a distinct culture has grown which has the aims of peace and universal solidarity at its heart.
The community of Esperantists remains small, though the fact that it remains at all is remarkable. It is spoken on every continent (with the possible exception of Antarctica!) providing a bridge between the diverse cultures of the world and offering a tool for mutual understanding across linguistic divides.
Esperanto means, in Esperanto, "one who hopes"↩