L. L. Zamenhof

"Zamenhof" redirects here. For the surname, see Zamenhof (surname).

L. L. Zamenhof
Zamenhof, c. 1895
Born
Leyzer Zamengov[a]

(1859-12-15)15 December 1859[b]
Belostok, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire
Died(1917-04-14)14 April 1917[b] (aged 57)
Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland
Burial placeJewish Cemetery, Warsaw
52°14′43″N 20°58′34″E / 52.24528°N 20.97611°E / 52.24528; 20.97611
OccupationOphthalmologist
Known forEsperanto
Spouse
​
(m. 1887)​
Children
AwardsLegion of Honour (Officer, 1905)
Writing career
Pen nameDr. Esperanto
Notable works
Signature

L. L. Zamenhof[a] (15 December 1859 – 14 April 1917)[b] was the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language.[1][2]

Zamenhof first developed the Esperanto language in 1873 while still in school. He grew up fascinated by the idea of a world without war and believed that this could happen with the help of a new international auxiliary language.[3] The language would be a tool to gather people together through neutral, fair, equitable communication.[4] He successfully formed a community which has survived to this day despite the World Wars of the 20th century,[5] and which continues making attempts to reform the language or create more modern IALs (the only other language like Esperanto at the time was Volapük). Additionally, Esperanto has developed like other languages: through the interaction and creativity of its users.[6]

In light of his achievements, and his support of intercultural dialogue, UNESCO selected Zamenhof as one of its eminent personalities of 2017, on the 100th anniversary of his death.[7][8] As of 2019, there are a minimum of 2 million people speaking Esperanto, including an estimated 1,000 native speakers.[9][10]


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  1. ^ Korzhenkov, Aleksandr (2009). Zamenhof: The Life, Works, and Ideas of the Author of Esperanto (PDF). Translated by Ian M. Richmond. Washington, D.C.: Esperantic Studies Foundation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jason Zasky was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Gabriela Zalewska (2010). "Zamenhof, Ludwik (1859–1917)". The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Trans. by Anna Grojec. YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  4. ^ Guilherme Moreira Fians, Hoping for the language of Hope Archived 14 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine, University of Amsterdam, ACLC Seminar, Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR),
  5. ^ Gobbo, Federico (8 October 2015). "An alternative globalisation: why learn Esperanto today?". University of Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  6. ^ Humphrey Tonkin, Fourth Interlinguistic Symposium, p. 213, JKI-12-2017[1] (pdf).
  7. ^ Fourth Interlinguistic Symposium, p. 209, [permanent dead link‍]#x5D;.pdf JKI-12-2017[1].
  8. ^ "Anniversaries 2017". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Esperanto". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  10. ^ Babbel.com; GmbH, Lesson Nine. "What Is Esperanto, And Who Speaks It?". Babbel Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.