Wikipedia

User:Frzzl/Esperanto

< User:Frzzl

This is where I'm going to try remodelling the history section of Esperanto - good luck, me.


First to do:

Read.

  • [1] - available on De Gruyter
  • [2] - available on the Internet Archive
  • [3]
  • [4] - available on De Gruyter

Reread.

History edit

Main article: History of Esperanto

give a maybe 400-500 word summary of history

Early history edit

 
The first Esperanto book by L. L. Zamenhof, published in 1887 in Russian. The title translates to: International Language: Preface and Complete Tutorial.

Esperanto was created in the late 1870s and early 1880s by L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish-Jewish ophthalmologist from Białystok, then part of the Russian Empire, but now part of Poland. In the 1870s, just a few years before Zamenhof created Esperanto, Polish was banned in public places in Białystok.[6][7]

According to Zamenhof, he created the language to reduce the "time and labor we spend in learning foreign tongues", and to foster harmony between people from different countries: "Were there but an international language, all translations would be made into it alone ... and all nations would be united in a common brotherhood."[8] His feelings and the situation in Białystok may be gleaned from an extract from his letter to Nikolai Borovko:[9]

Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language that would serve as a universal second language, to foster world peace and international understanding, and to build a "community of speakers".[10]

His original title for the language was simply "the international language" (la lingvo internacia), but early speakers grew fond of the name Esperanto, and began to use it as the name for the language just two years after its creation. The name quickly gained prominence, and has been used as an official name ever since.[11]

In 1905, Zamenhof published the Fundamento de Esperanto as a definitive guide to the language. Later that year, French Esperantists organized with his participation the first World Esperanto Congress, an ongoing annual conference, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Zamenhof also proposed to the first congress that an independent body of linguistic scholars should steward the future evolution of Esperanto, foreshadowing the founding of the Akademio de Esperanto (in part modeled after the Académie Française), which was established soon thereafter. Since then, world congresses have been held in different countries every year, except during the two World Wars, and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic (when it was moved to an online-only event). Since the Second World War, they have been attended by an average of more than 2,000 people, and up to 6,000 people at the most.

Zamenhof wrote that he wanted mankind to "learn and use ... en masse ... the proposed language as a living one".[8] The goal for Esperanto to become a global auxiliary language was not Zamenhof's only goal; he also wanted to "enable the learner to make direct use of his knowledge with persons of any nationality, whether the language be universally accepted or not; in other words, the language is to be directly a means of international communication."[8]

After some ten years of development, which Zamenhof spent translating literature into Esperanto, as well as writing original prose and verse, the first book of Esperanto grammar was published in Warsaw on July 26, 1887. The number of speakers grew rapidly over the next few decades; at first, primarily in the Russian Empire and Central Europe, then in other parts of Europe, the Americas, China, and Japan. In the early years before the world congresses, speakers of Esperanto kept in contact primarily through correspondence and periodicals.

Zamenhof's name for the language was simply Internacia Lingvo ("International Language").[12] December 15, Zamenhof's birthday, is now regarded as Zamenhof Day or Esperanto Book Day.[13]

20th century edit

 
Map of Esperanto groups in Europe in 1905

The autonomous territory of Neutral Moresnet, between what is today Belgium and Germany, had a sizable proportion of Esperanto-speaking citizens among its small, diverse population. There was a proposal to make Esperanto its official language.

However, neither Belgium nor Germany had surrendered their claims to the region, with the latter having adopted a more aggressive stance towards pursuing its claim around the turn of the century, even being accused of sabotage and administrative obstruction to force the issue. The outbreak of World War I would bring about the end of neutrality, with Moresnet initially left as "an oasis in a desert of destruction" following the German invasion of Belgium.[14] The territory was formally annexed by Prussia in 1915, though without international recognition.

After the war, a great opportunity for Esperanto seemingly presented itself, when the Iranian delegation to the League of Nations proposed that the language be adopted for use in international relations following a report by a Japanese delegate to the League named Nitobe Inazō, in the context of the 13th World Congress of Esperanto, held in Prague.[15] Ten delegates accepted the proposal with only one voice against, the French delegate, Gabriel Hanotaux. Hanotaux opposed all recognition of Esperanto at the League, from the first resolution on December 18, 1920, and subsequently through all efforts during the next three years.[16] Hanotaux did not approve of how the French language was losing its position as the international language and saw Esperanto as a threat, effectively wielding his veto power to block the decision. However, two years later, the League recommended that its member states include Esperanto in their educational curricula. The French government retaliated by banning all instruction in Esperanto in France's schools and universities.[17][18] The French Ministry of Public Instruction said that "French and English would perish and the literary standard of the world would be debased".[18] Nonetheless, many people see the 1920s as the heyday of the Esperanto movement. During this time, Anarchism as a political movement was very supportive of both anationalism and the Esperanto language.[19]

Fran Novljan was one of the chief promoters of Esperanto in the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was among the founders of the Croatian Prosvjetni savez (Educational Alliance), of which he was the first secretary, and organized Esperanto institutions in Zagreb. Novljan collaborated with Esperanto newspapers and magazines, and was the author of the Esperanto textbook Internacia lingvo esperanto i Esperanto en tridek lecionoj.[20][21]

In 1920s Korea, socialist thinkers pushed for the use of Esperanto through a series of columns in The Dong-a Ilbo as resistance to both Japanese occupation as well as a counter to the growing nationalist movement for Korean language standardization. This lasted until the Mukden Incident in 1931, when changing colonial policy led to an outright ban on Esperanto education in Korea.[22]

Repression edit

this should look at persecution of Esperantists in USSR, Germany etc.

 
7th Esperanto congress, Antwerp, August 1911

Esperanto attracted the suspicion of many states. Repression was especially pronounced in Nazi Germany, Francoist Spain up until the 1950s, and the Soviet Union under Stalin, from 1937 to 1956.

In Nazi Germany, there was a motivation to ban Esperanto because Zamenhof was Jewish, and due to the internationalist nature of Esperanto, which was perceived as "Bolshevist". In his work, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler specifically mentioned Esperanto as an example of a language that could be used by an international Jewish conspiracy once they achieved world domination.[23] Esperantists were killed during the Holocaust, with Zamenhof's family in particular singled out to be killed.[24] The efforts of a minority of German Esperantists to expel their Jewish colleagues and overtly align themselves with the Reich were futile, and Esperanto was legally forbidden in 1935. Esperantists in German concentration camps did, however, teach Esperanto to fellow prisoners, telling guards they were teaching Italian, the language of one of Germany's Axis allies.[25]

In Imperial Japan, the left wing of the Japanese Esperanto movement was forbidden, but its leaders were careful enough not to give the impression to the government that the Esperantists were socialist revolutionaries, which proved a successful strategy.[26]

After the October Revolution of 1917, Esperanto was given a measure of government support by the new communist states in the 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.[27] In his biography on Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky mentions that Stalin had studied Esperanto.[28] 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.[29]

Fascist Italy allowed the use of Esperanto, finding its phonology similar to that of Italian and publishing some tourist material in the language.[citation needed]

During and after the Spanish Civil War, Francoist Spain suppressed anarchists, socialists and Catalan nationalists for many years, among whom the use of Esperanto was extensive,[30] but in the 1950s the Esperanto movement was again tolerated.[31]

Modern history edit

In 1954, the United Nations — through UNESCO — granted official support to Esperanto as an international auxiliary language in the Montevideo Resolution.[32] However, Esperanto is still not one of the official languages of the UN.[33]

The development of Esperanto has continued unabated into the 21st century.[34] 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.[35] With up to two million speakers, it is the most widely spoken constructed language in the world.[36] Although no country has adopted Esperanto officially, Esperantujo ("Esperanto-land") is the name given to the collection of places where it is spoken.[37][38]

While many of its advocates continue to hope for the day that Esperanto becomes officially recognized as the international auxiliary language, some (including raŭmistoj) have stopped focusing on this goal and instead view the Esperanto community as a stateless diasporic linguistic group based on freedom of association.[citation needed]


On May 28, 2015, the language learning platform Duolingo launched a free Esperanto course for English speakers [39] On March 25, 2016, when the first Duolingo Esperanto course completed its beta-testing phase, that course had 350,000 people registered to learn Esperanto through the medium of English. By July 2018, the number of learners had risen to 1.36 million. On July 20, 2018, Duolingo changed from recording users cumulatively to reporting only the number of "active learners" (i.e., those who are studying at the time and have not yet completed the course),[citation needed] which as of October 2022 stands at 299,000 learners.[40][non-primary source needed]

 
Variant logo for the Esperanto Wikipedia's 200,000-article milestone

On October 26, 2016, a second Duolingo Esperanto course, for which the language of instruction is Spanish, appeared on the same platform[41][non-primary source needed] and which as of April 2021 has a further 176,000 students.[42][non-primary source needed] A third Esperanto course, taught in Brazilian Portuguese, began its beta-testing phase on May 14, 2018, and as of April 2021, 220,000 people are using this course[43][non-primary source needed] and 155,000 people in May 2022.[44][non-primary source needed] A fourth Esperanto course, taught in French, began its beta-testing phase in July 2020,[45][non-primary source needed] and as of March 2021 has 72,500 students[46][non-primary source needed] and 101,000 students in May 2022.[47][non-primary source needed]

As of October 2018, Lernu!, another online learning platform for Esperanto, has 320,000 registered users, and nearly 75,000 monthly visits.[48] 50,000 users possess at least a basic understanding of Esperanto.[citation needed]

On February 22, 2012, Google Translate added Esperanto as its 64th language.[49] On July 25, 2016, Yandex Translate added Esperanto as a language.[50]

With about 354,000 articles, Esperanto Wikipedia (Vikipedio) is the 36th-largest Wikipedia, as measured by the number of articles,[51] and is the largest Wikipedia in a constructed language.[52][53] About 150,000 users consult the Vikipedio regularly, as attested by Wikipedia's automatically aggregated log-in data, which showed that in October 2019 the website has 117,366 unique individual visitors per month, plus 33,572 who view the site on a mobile device instead.[54]

References edit

  1. ^ Soto, Roberto Garvía; Garvía, Roberto (2015-06-04). Esperanto and Its Rivals: The Struggle for an International Language. University of Pennsylvania Press. doi:10.9783/9780812291278. ISBN 978-0-8122-4710-7.
  2. ^ Janton, Pierre (2016-03-22). Esperanto: Language, Literature, and Community. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-0780-7.
  3. ^ Schubert, Klaus (2011-06-01). Interlinguistics: Aspects of the Science of Planned Languages. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-088611-5.
  4. ^ Forster, Peter G. (2013-02-06). The Esperanto Movement. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-082456-8.
  5. ^ Lins, Ulrich (2017-02-10). Dangerous Language — Esperanto under Hitler and Stalin. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-54917-4.
  6. ^ Antonetti, Gian Pablo (2020-09-20). "Esperanto: The Living, Changing, Conlang Community. Background and excerpts from an Esperantist perspective". Medium. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  7. ^ "Historia Białegostoku" [History of Białystok]. Miejski Portal Informacyjny Bstok.pl Białystok (in Polish). Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-10. (transl.) Martial law was kept here [in Białystok] from 1870, and then the use of the Polish language in public places was forbidden. More persecution began.
  8. ^ a b c L.L.Zamenhof. International Language Archived December 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Warsaw. 1887
  9. ^ The letter is quoted in Esperanto: The New Latin for the Church and Ecumenism Archived September 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, by Ulrich Matthias. Translation from Esperanto by Mike Leon and Maire Mullarney
  10. ^ Yaffe, Deborah (January 11, 2017). "A Language for Idealists". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Schor, Esther (4 October 2016). Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language. Henry Holt and Company. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-4299-4341-3.
  12. ^ "Dr. Esperanto' International Language". L. Samenhof. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2016. Facsimile of the title page of the First Book in English, 1889. "Esperanto". Ling.ohio-state.edu. January 25, 2003. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  13. ^ Keller, Stefano. "Zamenhof-Day / Esperanto Book Day, 15 December". Translated by Moon, Brian. Universal Esperanto Association. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  14. ^ Musgrave, George Clarke. Under Four Flags for France, 1918, p. 8
  15. ^ "New EAI pages". esperanto.ie. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  16. ^ Dumas, John (December 19, 2014). "Imp of the Diverse: A Dark Day for Esperanto". Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  17. ^ Dumas, John (July 16, 2014). "Imp of the Diverse: The French Say "Non" to Esperanto". Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Dumas, John (September 10, 2014). "Imp of the Diverse: The Danger of Esperanto". Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  19. ^ "Esperanto kaj anarkiismo". www.nodo50.org. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Anarkiistoj estis inter la pioniroj de la disvastigo de Esperanto. En 1905 fondiĝis en Stokholmo la unua anarkiisma Esperanto-grupo. Sekvis multaj aliaj: en Bulgario, Ĉinio kaj aliaj landoj. Anarkiistoj kaj anarki-sindikatistoj, kiuj antaŭ la Unua Mondmilito apartenis al la nombre plej granda grupo inter la proletaj esperantistoj, fondis en 1906 la internacian ligon Paco-Libereco, kiu eldonis la Internacian Socian Revuon. Paco-libereco unuiĝis en 1910 kun alia progresema asocio, Esperantista Laboristaro. La komuna organizaĵo nomiĝis Liberiga Stelo. Ĝis 1914 tiu organizaĵo eldonis multe da revolucia literaturo en Esperanto, interalie ankaŭ anarkiisma. Tial povis evolui en la jaroj antaŭ la Unua Mondmilito ekzemple vigla korespondado inter eŭropaj kaj japanaj anarkiistoj. En 1907 la Internacia Anarkiisma Kongreso en Amsterdamo faris rezolucion pri la afero de internacia lingvo, kaj venis dum la postaj jaroj similaj kongresaj rezolucioj. Esperantistoj, kiuj partoprenis tiujn kongresojn, okupiĝis precipe pri la internaciaj rilatoj de la anarkiistoj.
  20. ^ Istarska enciklopedija Archived February 10, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Josip Šiklić: Novljan, Fran (pristupljeno 23. ožujka 2020.)
  21. ^ Pleadin, Josip. Biografia leksikono de kroatiaj esperantistoj. Đurđevac: Grafokom 2002, p. 108-109, ISBN 953-96975-0-6
  22. ^ Yang, Jinsuk (2016-02-10). "A historical analysis of language policy and language ideology in the early twentieth Asia: a case of Joseon, 1910–1945". Language Policy. 16 (1): 59–78. doi:10.1007/s10993-015-9396-5. ISSN 1568-4555. S2CID 146666430. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  23. ^ Sutton, Geoffrey (2008). Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto, 1887–2007. Mondial. pp. 161–162. ISBN 978-1-59569-090-6. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016. Hitler specifically attacked Esperanto as a threat in a speech in Munich (1922) and in Mein Kampf itself (1925). The Nazi Minister for Education banned the teaching of Esperanto on May 17, 1935. […] all Esperantists were essentially enemies of the state – serving, through their language, Jewish-internationalist aims.
  24. ^ "About ESW and the Holocaust Museum". Esperantodc.org. December 5, 1995. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  25. ^ Lins, Ulrich (1988). Die gefährliche Sprache. Gerlingen: Bleicher. p. 112. ISBN 3-88350-023-2.
  26. ^ Lins, Ulrich (2008). "Esperanto as language and idea in China and Japan" (PDF). Language Problems and Language Planning. 32 (1). John Benjamins: 47–60. doi:10.1075/lplp.32.1.05lin. ISSN 0272-2690. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  27. ^ "Donald J. Harlow, The Esperanto Book, chapter 7". Literaturo.org. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  28. ^ Leon Trotsky. "Chapter IV: The period of reaction: Leon Trotsky: Stalin – An appraisal of the man and his influence (1940)". Marxists.org. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  29. ^ 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.)
  30. ^ "La utilización del esperanto durante la Guerra Civil Española". Nodo50.org. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  31. ^ Lins, Ulrich (February 10, 2017). Dangerous Language – Esperanto under Hitler and Stalin. Springer. ISBN 9781137549174. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  32. ^ "Records of the General Conference, Eighth Session, Montevideo 1954; Resolutions" (PDF). UNESDOC Database. UNESCO. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  33. ^ Nations, United. "Official Languages". United Nations. Retrieved 2022-05-14. There are six official languages of the UN. These are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
  34. ^ Ferrari, Pisana (July 26, 2022). "Esperanto Day, July 26, celebrates the birth of a language aimed at fostering harmony among peoples. How is it faring today?". cApStAn. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  35. ^ Salisbury, Josh (December 6, 2017). "'Saluton!': the surprise return of Esperanto". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  36. ^ Zasky, Jason (July 20, 2009), "Discouraging Words", Failure Magazine, archived from the original on November 19, 2011, 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
  37. ^ 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.
  38. ^ "Esperantujo". Esperanto Language Blog | Language and Culture of the Esperanto-Speaking World. 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  39. ^ "duolingo - learn Esperanto in 5 mins per day". Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  40. ^ Language Courses for English Speakers Archived October 23, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, October 23, 2021, Duolingo.com. Accessed October 23, 2021
  41. ^ "Duolingo Language Courses". Duolingo. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  42. ^ Language Courses for Spanish Speakers Archived April 25, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, 22 March 2021, Duolingo.com. Accessed 22 March 2021.
  43. ^ Language Courses for Portuguese Speakers Archived April 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, 22 March 2021, Duolingo.com. Accessed 22 March 2021.
  44. ^ "Language Learners for Porteguese Speakers". Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  45. ^ Esperanto for French Speakers Archived April 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Duolingo.com. Accessed September 15, 2020.
  46. ^ Language Courses for French Speakers Archived April 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, 22 March 2021, Duolingo.com. Accessed March 22, 2021.
  47. ^ "Language Courses For French People". Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  48. ^ "Lernu.net Traffic, Demographics and Competitors - Alexa". www.alexa.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  49. ^ Brants, Thorsten (February 22, 2012). "Tutmonda helplingvo por ĉiuj homoj". Google Translate Blog. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  50. ^ "Яндекс.Переводчик освоил 11 новых языков — Блог Переводчика". yandex.ru. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  51. ^ "List of Wikipedias - Meta". meta.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  52. ^ "List of Wikipedias by language group". Meta.wikimedia.org. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  53. ^ Gentry, Alex (2017-06-07). "The Secret of International Auxiliary Languages". Medium. Circuit Youth Slavo. Retrieved 2022-05-14. Volapük... at one time it surpassed the Esperanto Wikipedia in number of articles, though Esperanto now has the largest Wikipedia of any constructed language.
  54. ^ Bonvenon al Vikipedia ("Welcome to Wikipedia"), main page of the Esperanto-language version of Wikipedia, October 4, 2019. Accessed October 4, 2019.
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