In the late 19th century, a young
Jewish physician named Ludwik Zamenhof became deeply troubled by fractions
between people in his home city of Bialystok, Poland.
Zamenhof noted that Bialystok was
populated by four distinct ethnic groups at the time: Russians, Poles, Germans
and Jews. He attributed much of the unrest between these groups to their
inability to understand each other. He felt language diversity was the greatest
cause of separation between groups of people.
So what did this peace seeking idealist
do? He constructed a new language. Zamenhof used his own linguistic talent to
create a neutral communication tool that’s easy to learn, with
an underlying goal of fostering peace and international understanding.
Zamenhof’s language, known as Esperanto, now has an estimated 2 million users in around 115
countries.
Find out more about Esperanto at www.uea.org.
