Editing L. L. Zamenhof (section)

{{Short description|Creator of Esperanto (1859–1917)}}
{{Redirect|Zamenhof|the surname|Zamenhof (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = L. L.<!-- see "Name" section below --> Zamenhof
| image              = Zamenhof portreto.jpg
| caption            = Zamenhof, {{c.|1895}}
| birth_name         = Leyzer Zamengov{{efn|name=fn2}}
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1859|12|15|df=y}}{{efn|name=fn1}}
| birth_place        = [[Belostok]], [[Grodno Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date         = {{death date|1917|04|14|df=y}}{{efn|name=fn1}} (aged {{age|1859|12|15|1917|04|14}})
| death_place        = [[Warsaw]], [[Kingdom of Poland (1917–1918)|Kingdom of Poland]]
| burial_place       = [[Jewish Cemetery, Warsaw]]
| burial_coordinates = {{coord|52|14|43|N|20|58|34|E|type:landmark_region:PL|display=inline}}
| nationality        = <!-- left blank per RFC closed April 2021 -->
| occupation         = [[Ophthalmologist]]
| known_for          = [[Esperanto]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Klara Zamenhof]]|1887}}
| children           = {{hlist|[[Adam Zamenhof|Adam]]|[[Zofia Zamenhof|Zofia]]|[[Lidia Zamenhof|Lidia]]}}
| awards             = [[Legion of Honour]] (Officer, 1905)
| signature          = Originala Verkaro-L L Zamenhof signature.svg
| module             = {{Infobox writer
| embed              = yes
| pseudonym          = Dr. Esperanto
| notableworks       = {{ubl|''[[Unua Libro]]'' (1887)|''[[Dua Libro]]'' (1888)|''[[Fundamento de Esperanto]]'' (1905)}}
 }}
}}
'''L. L.<!-- see "Name" section below --> Zamenhof'''{{efn|name=fn2}} (15 December 1859{{snd}}14 April 1917){{efn|name=fn1}} was <!-- no nationality/ethnicity here per RFC closed April 2021 -->the creator of [[Esperanto]], the most widely used [[constructed language|constructed]] [[international auxiliary language]].<ref name=Korzhenkov>{{cite book |last=Korzhenkov |first=Aleksandr |year=2009 |title=Zamenhof: The Life, Works, and Ideas of the Author of Esperanto |url=http://www.esperantic.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/LLZ-Bio-En.pdf |translator=Ian M. Richmond |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[Esperantic Studies Foundation]] |access-date=19 February 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411003347/http://www.esperantic.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/LLZ-Bio-En.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jason Zasky" />

Zamenhof published Esperanto in 1887, although his initial ideas date back as far as 1873. He grew up fascinated by the idea of a [[World peace|world without war]] and believed that this could happen with the help of a new [[international auxiliary language]] (IAL).<ref name="YIVO">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Zamenhof_Ludwik |title=Zamenhof, Ludwik (1859–1917) |publisher=[[YIVO]] Institute for Jewish Research |encyclopedia=The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe |year=2010 |access-date=19 December 2013 |author=Gabriela Zalewska |others=Trans. by Anna Grojec |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220183749/http://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Zamenhof_Ludwik |url-status=live }}</ref> The language was intended as a tool to gather people together through neutral, fair, equitable communication.<ref>Guilherme Moreira Fians, [http://aihr.uva.nl/content/events/lectures/2018/03/2-aclc-seminar-moreira-fians.html Hoping for the language of Hope] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214214113/https://aihr.uva.nl/content/events/lectures/2018/03/2-aclc-seminar-moreira-fians.html |date=14 December 2019 }}, University of Amsterdam, ACLC Seminar, Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR),</ref> He successfully formed a community which has survived to this day, despite the [[World war|World Wars of the 20th century]]<ref>{{cite web |first=Federico |last=Gobbo |url=http://www.spui25.nl/spui25-en/events/events/2015/10/special-lecture-by-federico-gobbo.html |title=An alternative globalisation: why learn Esperanto today? |publisher=University of Amsterdam |date=8 October 2015 |access-date=17 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121235/http://www.spui25.nl/spui25-en/events/events/2015/10/special-lecture-by-federico-gobbo.html |archive-date=19 January 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and various  attempts to [[Esperantido|reform the language]] or create more modern IALs (Esperanto itself had displaced another similarly-motivated language, [[Volapük]]). Additionally, Esperanto has developed like other languages: through the interaction and creativity of its users.<ref>[[Humphrey Tonkin]], Fourth Interlinguistic Symposium, p. 213, JKI-12-2017[1] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210109232438/http://jki.amu.edu.pl/files/JKI-12-2017%5B1%5D.pdf pdf]).</ref>

In light of his achievements, and his support of [[Intercultural communication|intercultural]] dialogue, [[UNESCO]] selected Zamenhof as one of its eminent personalities of 2017, on the 100th anniversary of his death.<ref>Fourth [[Interlinguistics|Interlinguistic]] Symposium, p. 209, [http://jki.amu.edu.pl/files/JKI-12-2017%5B1&{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}#x5D;.pdf <nowiki>JKI-12-2017[1]</nowiki>].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Anniversaries 2017 |url=https://en.unesco.org/celebrations/anniversaries/2017/all |access-date=17 March 2021 |website=UNESCO |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225201811/https://en.unesco.org/celebrations/anniversaries/2017/all |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Esperanto communities, as of 2019 there are approximately 2 million people speaking Esperanto, including approximately 1,000 native speakers,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Esperanto |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/epo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419230447/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/epo/ |archive-date=19 April 2023 |access-date=20 May 2022 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Babbel.com |last2=GmbH |first2=Lesson Nine |title=What Is Esperanto, And Who Speaks It? |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-esperanto-and-where-is-it-spoken |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509050240/https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-esperanto-and-where-is-it-spoken |archive-date=9 May 2022 |access-date=20 May 2022 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en}}</ref> although evidence to that has been heavily disputed,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Folio |first=Libera |date=2017-02-13 |title=Nova takso: 60.000 parolas Esperanton |url=https://www.liberafolio.org/2017/02/13/nova-takso-60-000-parolas-esperanton/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=Libera Folio |language=eo}}</ref> and the last major effort to improve the estimate occurred in 2004.<ref name=":0" />