Editing Esperanto (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Esperanto}}

=== Creation ===
[[File:Zamenhof portreto.jpg|thumb|right|Zamenhof, {{c.|1895}}]]
[[File:Unua Libro ru 1st ed.pdf|thumb|upright|The first Esperanto book by L. L. Zamenhof, know known as {{lang|eo|Unua Libro|italics=yes}}, published in 1887 in [[Russian language|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 Jewish [[Ophthalmology|ophthalmologist]] from [[Białystok]], then part of the [[Russian Empire]], but now part of [[Poland]]. After several iterations ([[Proto-Esperanto]]), he self-published the first book of Esperanto grammar ({{lang|eo|Unua Libro|italics=yes}}) on July 26, 1887. He did so under the pseudonym {{Lang|eo|[[Doctor (title)|Doktoro]] Esperanto}} ({{lit|one who hopes}}) and simply called the language "the international language" ({{Lang|eo|la lingvo internacia}}). Early speakers grew fond of the name ''Esperanto'' and began to use it as the name for the language.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schor |first1=Esther |title=[[Bridge of Words]]: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language |date=4 October 2016 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |isbn=978-1-4299-4341-3|language=en |page=70|author-link=Esther Schor}}</ref>

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".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yaffe |first=Deborah |date=January 11, 2017 |title=A Language for Idealists |url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/language-idealists |access-date=March 30, 2022 |website=Princeton Alumni Weekly}}</ref> Zamenhof wrote that he wanted mankind to "learn and use ... en masse ... the proposed language as a living one".<ref name="UnuaLibro">L.L.Zamenhof. [http://www.genekeyes.com/Dr_Esperanto.html International Language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222105540/http://www.genekeyes.com/Dr_Esperanto.html |date=December 22, 2012 }}. Warsaw. 1887</ref> The goal for Esperanto to become an [[international 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".<ref name="UnuaLibro" />  His feelings and the situation in Białystok may be gleaned from an extract from his letter to Nikolai Borovko:{{sfn|Matthias|2002}}

{{blockquote|In Białystok the inhabitants were divided into four distinct elements: Russians, Poles, Germans, and Jews; each of these spoke their own language and looked on all the others as enemies. In such a town a sensitive nature feels more acutely than elsewhere the misery caused by language division and sees at every step that the diversity of languages is the first, or at least the most influential, basis for the separation of the human family into groups of enemies. I was brought up as an idealist; I was taught that all people were brothers, while outside in the street at every step I felt that there were no people, only Russians, Poles, Germans, Jews, and so on.|L. L. Zamenhof, in a letter to Nikolai Borovko, c. 1895}}

Because people were reluctant to learn a new language which hardly anyone spoke, Zamenhof asked people to sign a promise to start learning Esperanto once ten million people made the same promise. He "was disappointed to receive only a thousand responses".<ref>{{cite journal | journal= New Yorker | author= Joan Acocella | date= October 24, 2016 | title= A Language to Unite Humankind | url= https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/31/a-language-to-unite-humankind | access-date= May 24, 2020 | archive-date= May 29, 2020 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200529082013/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/31/a-language-to-unite-humankind | url-status= live }}</ref> Nevertheless, 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 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|Académie française]]), which was established soon thereafter.

===20th century===
[[File:1905-03-ge-frankf-mapo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of Esperanto groups in Europe in 1905]]
After the [[First World 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esperanto.ie/en/zaft/zaft_2.html|title=New EAI pages|website=esperanto.ie|access-date=February 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924002210/http://www.esperanto.ie/en/zaft/zaft_2.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://impofthediverse.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-dark-day-for-esperanto.html|title=Imp of the Diverse: A Dark Day for Esperanto|first=John|last=Dumas|date=December 19, 2014|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=May 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529090329/http://impofthediverse.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-dark-day-for-esperanto.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://impofthediverse.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-french-say-non-to-esperanto.html|title=Imp of the Diverse: The French Say "Non" to Esperanto|first=John|last=Dumas|date=July 16, 2014|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=May 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529094456/http://impofthediverse.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-french-say-non-to-esperanto.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="impofthediverse.blogspot.com">{{Cite web|url=http://impofthediverse.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-danger-of-esperanto.html|title=Imp of the Diverse: The Danger of Esperanto|first=John|last=Dumas|date=September 10, 2014|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=May 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529074440/http://impofthediverse.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-danger-of-esperanto.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The French Ministry of Public Instruction said that "French and English would perish and the literary standard of the world would be debased".<ref name="impofthediverse.blogspot.com" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Esperanto kaj anarkiismo|url=https://www.nodo50.org/esperanto/anarkiismo.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423014718/https://www.nodo50.org/esperanto/anarkiismo.htm|archive-date=April 23, 2020|access-date=|website=www.nodo50.org|quote={{lang|eo|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.}}}}</ref>

[[Fran Novljan]] was one of the chief promoters of Esperanto in the former [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. He was among the founders of the Croatian {{Lang|hr|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''.<ref name="Šiklić">[http://istra.lzmk.hr/clanak.aspx?id=1917 Istarska enciklopedija] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210003219/http://istra.lzmk.hr/clanak.aspx?id=1917 |date=February 10, 2021 }} Josip Šiklić: ''Novljan, Fran'' (pristupljeno 23. ožujka 2020.)</ref><ref>Pleadin, Josip. Biografia leksikono de kroatiaj esperantistoj. Đurđevac: Grafokom 2002, p. 108-109, {{ISBN|953-96975-0-6}}</ref>

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 [[Korea under Japanese rule|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 in Korea|Esperanto education in Korea]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yang|first=Jinsuk|date=2016-02-10|title=A historical analysis of language policy and language ideology in the early twentieth Asia: a case of Joseon, 1910–1945|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10993-015-9396-5|journal=Language Policy|volume=16|issue=1|pages=59–78|doi=10.1007/s10993-015-9396-5|s2cid=146666430|issn=1568-4555|access-date=March 18, 2021|archive-date=February 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207055648/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10993-015-9396-5|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Official repression ===
[[File:1911 Anvers Congrès Esperanto.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|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 mentions Esperanto as an example of a language that could be used by an international Jewish conspiracy once they achieved world domination.<ref name="conciseencyclopedia_nazi2">{{cite book|last=Sutton|first=Geoffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Z_8CG9g2jIC&pg=PA161|title=Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto, 1887–2007|publisher=Mondial|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59569-090-6|pages=161–162|quote=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.|access-date=February 29, 2016|archive-date=July 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722235450/https://books.google.com/books?id=-Z_8CG9g2jIC&pg=PA161|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Esperantist]]s were killed during the [[Holocaust]], with Zamenhof's family in particular singled out to be killed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://esperantodc.org/esw6.html |title=About ESW and the Holocaust Museum |publisher=Esperantodc.org |date=December 5, 1995 |access-date=December 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125045310/http://esperantodc.org/esw6.html |archive-date=November 25, 2010 }}</ref> The efforts of a minority of German Esperantists to [[Aryanization|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]].{{sfn|Lins|2017}}

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.<ref name="Esperanto as language and idea in China and Japan">{{cite journal |last=Lins |first=Ulrich |year=2008 |title=Esperanto as language and idea in China and Japan |journal=Language Problems and Language Planning |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=47–60 |publisher=John Benjamins |issn=0272-2690 |doi=10.1075/lplp.32.1.05lin |access-date=July 2, 2012 |url=http://benjamins.com/series/lplp/32-1/art/05lin.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222105549/http://benjamins.com/series/lplp/32-1/art/05lin.pdf |archive-date=December 22, 2012 }}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Lins|2017}}

[[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]] allowed the use of Esperanto, finding its phonology similar to that of Italian and publishing some tourist material in the language.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-05 |title=The History of Esperanto: A Modern Lingua Franca? |url=https://www.thecollector.com/esperanto-history/ |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=TheCollector |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Divjak |first=Alenka |date=June 2017 |title=Esperanto and tourism |url=https://www.quaestus.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Alenka-DIVJAK.pdf |journal=Quaestus |volume=6 |issue=11 |pages=142–153 |issn=2285-424X |via=ProQuest}}</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.{{sfn|Lins|2017}}

=== Modern history ===
{{See also|Modern evolution of Esperanto}}
In 1954, the [[United Nations]] — through [[UNESCO]] — granted official support to Esperanto as an [[international auxiliary language]] in the [[Montevideo Resolution]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Records of the General Conference, Eighth Session, Montevideo 1954; Resolutions|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001145/114586e.pdf|website=UNESDOC Database|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=May 16, 2018|archive-date=February 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202095202/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001145/114586e.pdf|url-status=live|page=36}}</ref> However, Esperanto is not one of the six [[official languages of the UN]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Official Languages |url=https://www.un.org/en/our-work/official-languages |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=United Nations |language=en |quote=There are six official languages of the UN. These are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.}}</ref>

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, {{lang|eo|[[Esperantujo]]|italics=yes}} ("Esperanto-land") is the name given to the collection of places where it is spoken.<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>