WHAT IS ESPERANTO?

Esperanto, the international language, is a language developed to make it easier for people of different cultures to communicate. Its author, Dr. L.

L. Zamenhof (1859?1917), published his “Lingvo Internacia” in 1887 under the pseudonym “Dr. Esperanto”. It is now spoken by at least two million

people, in over 100 countries. There are thousands of books and over 100 periodicals published currently. But what makes it any more international

than French, English or Russian? Incorrectly termed ’artificial’ (the right word is ’planned’), Esperanto is specifically intended for international/intercultural use, so those who use it meet each other on an equal footing, since neither is using his or her native language. With national languages, the average person isn’t able to express himself as well as a native speaker or the gifted linguist. Thanks to its simple, logical, regular design, anyone can learn Esperanto fairly rapidly.

A LIVING LANGUAGE

Esperanto is a living language, used for everything people use any other language for. But it’s much easier to learn than a national language. Even

people who can’t remember a word of a language they studied for years in high school or college need only months of intensive study to become fluent

in Esperanto. It is also more useful than national languages if your goal in learning a language is to get to know people from different places,

since virtually everyone who speaks Esperanto has learned it for this reason.

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