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The so-called universal language was created around 1887 by Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof (1859-1917), Polish oculist and philosopher. His intention was to generate greater understanding among peoples. For him – and the approximately 100,000 people who now speak Esperanto on the planet – the adoption of a single language by humanity would be a solution to disharmony between nations.
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The term Esperanto means “one who has hope” and the cornerstone of this artificially created language is the book Foundation of Esperanto, which Zamenhof published in 1905, presenting the 15 thousand basic words – which can be combined to form new terms – and its grammar, more than economical, with only sixteen rules. “The idea was to create a facilitated form of communication, a simple language that crossed borders and could be absorbed in a short time. “Unfortunately, artificial languages, formed without the knowledge and feeling of a people, have a restricted vocabulary and end up having no effect. Hence the difficulty in making Esperanto popular,” says linguist Luiz Augusto Tatit, from the University of São Paulo (USP).