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Esperanto

Esperanto () is the world's most widely spoken constructed auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 as "the International Language" (), it is intended to be a universal second language for international communication. He described the language in ''Dr. Esperanto's International Language'' (known as , the "first book"), which he published under the pseudonym . Early adopters of the language liked the name and soon used it to describe his language. The word translates into English as "one who hopes".

AI overview

Esperanto is an artificial language created in 1887 by L. L. Zamenhof to serve as a universal second language that would help people from different countries communicate with each other. Though it never achieved widespread adoption globally, it remains the most widely spoken constructed auxiliary language in the world and has maintained a community of speakers and enthusiasts since its creation.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Language.name: Esperanto
Language.states: 120 countries; nowhere an official language
Language.speakers: Native:
Language.date: 2022
Language.speakers2: L2: estimated 30,000 to 2 million Sidney Culbert: Around 2 million Amri Wandel: Above 2 million Svend Vendelbo: 30,000–180,000
Language.familycolor: Constructed language
Language.fam1: Constructed language
Language.fam2: International auxiliary language
Language.fam3: A posteriori language
Language.ancestor: Proto-Esperanto
Language.creator: L. L. Zamenhof
Language.created: 1887

Article

57 sections

Contents

History
Background
Creation
20th century
Official repression
Modern history
Official use
International organizations
Media
Proposed microstates and micronations
Linguistic properties
Classification
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
Orthography
Alphabet
Phonology
Diacritics and Substitutions
Vocabulary
Grammar
Gender-neutrality
Simple phrases
Sample texts
Education
Formal education
Internet resources
The Zagreb method
Third-language acquisition
Community
Geography and demography
Number of speakers
Native speakers
Culture
Esperanto heritage
Notable authors in Esperanto
Popular culture
Science
Commerce and trade
Goals of the movement
Symbols and flags
Politics
Religion
Oomoto
Baháʼí Faith
Spiritism
Theosophy
Bible translations
Christianity
Islam
Modifications
Eponymous entities
See also
References
Literature
Further reading
External links

Esperanto () is the world's most widely spoken constructed auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 as "the International Language" (), it is intended to be a universal second language for international communication. He described the language in ''Dr. Esperanto's International Language (known as , the "first book"), which he published under the pseudonym . Early adopters of the language liked the name and soon used it to describe his language. The word translates into English as "one who hopes".

Within the range of constructed languages, Esperanto occupies a middle ground between "naturalistic" (imitating existing natural languages) and a priori'' (where features are not based on existing languages). Esperanto's vocabulary, syntax and semantics derive predominantly from languages of the Indo-European group. A substantial majority of its vocabulary (approximately 80%) derives from Romance languages, but it also contains elements derived from Germanic, Greek, and Slavic languages. One of the language's most notable features is its extensive system of derivation, where prefixes and suffixes may be freely combined with roots to generate words, making it possible to communicate effectively with a smaller set of words.