Start Date
4-25-2022 9:00 AM
End Date
4-25-2022 12:00 PM
Disciplines
European History | History | Social History
Subjects
Esperanto, Language and languages, Sociolinguistics
Abstract
The constructed language of Esperanto, created by Polish linguist Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof in 1887, was founded with the intention of facilitating global peace and unification. Due to the mission and philosophy of the language, known as Esperantism, Zamenhof’s invention gained popularity among political reformers and communities facing religious discrimination. Aiming to resolve conflict through common language, Esperantism inspired hope amidst the increasingly oppressive social and political climate present in Eastern Europe and Russia during the early 1900’s. This paper explores the contributing factors to Esperanto’s decline, and the impact of internal conflict, political affiliation, and religious significance on efforts to achieve universal acceptance.
Rights
© 2022 Anabel E. Cull
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37537
Included in
Schism and Suppression: Early Threats to the Esperanto Language, and Resulting Impacts on International Acceptance
The constructed language of Esperanto, created by Polish linguist Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof in 1887, was founded with the intention of facilitating global peace and unification. Due to the mission and philosophy of the language, known as Esperantism, Zamenhof’s invention gained popularity among political reformers and communities facing religious discrimination. Aiming to resolve conflict through common language, Esperantism inspired hope amidst the increasingly oppressive social and political climate present in Eastern Europe and Russia during the early 1900’s. This paper explores the contributing factors to Esperanto’s decline, and the impact of internal conflict, political affiliation, and religious significance on efforts to achieve universal acceptance.