A conlang outlined in "La internacia lingvo" (The International Language), published in 1887 by the language's creator, L.L. Zamenhof. The name Esperanto means 'one who is hoping' in the language, and was applied to the language because Zamenhof used the name Dr. Esperanto as a pseudonym. Designed specifically for ease of learning and use, Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed interlanguage in the world, with an upper estimate of over two million speakers today (however, the lowest estimates place this at a few hundred thousand). In continuous use since its original publication, Esperanto has its own sizeable body of both original and translated literature, newsletters, blogs, and radio broadcasts. Esperanto's use has skyrocketed with the advent of the internet, and user levels will soon be nigh impossible to gauge.
Esperanto has appeared in popular culture on several occasions, usually for ridicule as a 'failed project.' It was most notably used on signs in Charlie Chaplain's "The Great Dictator," for PA announcements in the dystopia |
