What Is Esperanto?
The Story of Esperanto
Course 1 · Chapter 1 · What Is Esperanto? Scope & Sources
Esperanto is the most successful planned language in history, and also one of the most misunderstood. It has been called a failure, a dream, a joke, a political threat and a quiet success, often by people who have never read a page of it. This course tells its story from the first booklet in 1887 to the present, as a way into the history of Europe, language, politics and community. It does not teach the language itself; Esperanto Grammar 1 does that. This first chapter explains what kind of language Esperanto is, gives you the words you will need, lists where the evidence comes from, and sets out six common claims that the last chapter will test. Names, dates and figures are from general knowledge and flagged "check".
What Kind of Language Is It?
A planned language
Most languages grew over centuries with no designer. Esperanto was designed, by one person, and published in 1887. Linguists call such a language constructed or planned. Esperanto is one of hundreds, but it is the one that has been used the longest and by the most people (check).
An auxiliary language
Its stated aim was to be a second language for everyone, so that people with different mother tongues could meet on neutral ground. That aim is called an international auxiliary language. It is different from a language made for a story or a film, such as Klingon or Elvish (Chapter 9).
A language that lives
A planned language might be expected to stay on paper. Esperanto has speakers, congresses, books, songs and even a small number of people who grew up speaking it from birth (check). Whether that makes it "a real language" is a question for Chapter 9.
Words You Will Meet
| Word | Meaning (check each) |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Originally the pseudonym of the author, "Doktoro Esperanto", from a word meaning "one who hopes" (Chapter 2). It became the name of the language. |
| Esperantisto | A speaker of Esperanto, or a supporter of the movement. The two are not always the same. |
| Esperantujo | "Esperanto-land": the community of speakers, which has no territory (Chapter 8). |
| Denaskulo | A native speaker, someone who learned Esperanto from birth in the family (Chapter 8). |
| Fundamento | The "Foundation of Esperanto" of 1905, the set of texts that fixed the basic language (Chapter 3). |
| La interna ideo | "The inner idea": the hope for understanding and brotherhood between peoples that many early supporters saw as the purpose of the language (Chapter 4). |
| Universala Kongreso | The annual world congress of Esperanto speakers, first held in 1905 (Chapter 3). Often abbreviated UK, which is not the United Kingdom. |
| UEA | Universala Esperanto-Asocio, the Universal Esperanto Association, founded in 1908 (check) and now based in Rotterdam (check). |
You can say them aloud with the rules in Esperanto Grammar 1, Chapter 1: each letter has one sound, and the stress is on the next-to-last syllable, so Esperanto is es-pe-RAN-to.
Where the Evidence Comes From
- Zamenhof's own writings. The Unua Libro (1887), the later textbooks and the Fundamenta Krestomatio of 1903, together with his speeches and letters (check). These are first-hand, and were written to persuade.
- The movement's records. Congress programmes and reports, the yearbooks of the Universal Esperanto Association, and periodicals going back to the 1889 La Esperantisto (check). Rich and detailed, but written by supporters.
- Memoirs and biographies. By family, friends and followers. Vivid, and often repeating each other.
- Historians and linguists. Independent studies of the movement, including work on the persecution of Esperantists and on the language as language (check specific titles before citing, for example the history by Ulrich Lins of the "dangerous language").
- Collections. The Esperanto collections in Vienna, which are among the largest anywhere (check), and national libraries.
- The language itself. Texts in Esperanto, from poems to online encyclopedia articles, which show how it is actually used.
- Critics. Rival language designers, linguists, and governments that opposed the movement. They are needed for balance, and they too had interests.
Six Claims to Test
These are things people often say about Esperanto. The course returns to each of them. Do not accept or reject them yet; note the question a careful reader asks.
| Common claim | The question a careful reader asks (check each) |
|---|---|
| Esperanto failed. | Failed at what? Compare its aims with what actually happened. (Chapters 5, 7, 9, 10) |
| Nobody speaks it. | How would you count speakers, and who has tried? (Chapter 8) |
| It was meant to replace all other languages. | What did the founder actually write? (Chapters 2 and 4) |
| It has no culture. | What books, songs, films and gatherings exist? (Chapter 8) |
| It is European only. | Where have speakers and congresses been, and what does the vocabulary come from? (Chapters 7, 8, 9) |
| The Nazis banned it because it was a Jewish plot. | What do the records show about the regime's actions and its reasons? (Chapter 6) |
Map of the Course
| Part | Chapters | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Beginnings | 2, 3 | Białystok and the dream; the first movement and the first congress |
| Division and growth | 4, 5 | The Ido schism and Zamenhof's ideals; the years between the wars |
| Dark years and revival | 6, 7 | Persecution and survival; the Cold War and after |
| Today | 8, 9 | The community; does a planned language work? |
| Method | 10 | Testing the legend |
Exercises
Pick two claims from the "Six Claims to Test" table and say what evidence you would look for and where you would find it.
Define "constructed language" and "natural language", then compare Esperanto with Scots or Scottish Gaelic on five points.
Choose three kinds of source from the chapter and, for each, say who made it, why, and how far it can be trusted for the history of Esperanto.
Quick Reference
- Esperanto: a planned international auxiliary language, published in 1887 (check)
- Words: Esperantujo, esperantisto, denaskulo, Fundamento, interna ideo, Universala Kongreso, UEA
- Sources: the founder, the movement's records, memoirs, historians, collections, critics
- Method: describe the story, check the figures, test the claims
- Language lessons: Esperanto Grammar 1