1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi, I'm Eves and Welcome to This Day 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: in History Class, a show that uncovers history one day 4 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: at a time. Today is July nineteen. The day was 5 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: July seven. Unoa Libro, the first book to describe the 6 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: international language of Esperanto, was published in Warsaw. Esperanto is 7 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: now the most popular international auxiliary language in the world. 8 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: International auxiliary languages, or i a l s, are relatively 9 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: simple and easy to learn languages created to facilitate communication 10 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: between people who do not have any other languages in common. 11 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: I a l s have been criticized as being useless 12 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: because of the use of English as the international language 13 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: of business, but i a l s are designed to 14 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: be additional, culturally neutral languages that people used to make 15 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: international communication easier. So Rosso, an auxiliary language based on 16 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: musical notes created in the nineteenth century, was one of 17 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: the first to gain widespread attention. In the late nineteenth century, 18 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: the auxiliary language Volapook also gained a large following around 19 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: the world. Polish physician and oculist L. L. Zamenhoff grew 20 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: up in what was then the Russian Empire. He saw 21 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: how much ethnic and religious conflict was happening when he 22 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: was growing up, including anti Semitic violence. In a letter 23 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: to Nikolai Barovko, Zamenhoff wrote about the division between Russians, Poles, Germans, 24 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: and Jewish people in the town where he was born 25 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: and grew up, and how each group spoke its own 26 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: language and viewed other groups as enemies. He said, the 27 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: diversity of languages is the first, or at least the 28 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: most influential basis for the separation of the human family 29 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: into groups of enemies. Zamenhoff spoke several languages, and as 30 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: he began to believe that a common language could help 31 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: promote peace and unity, he decided to construct a language 32 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: that would bring people together. While he was studying medicine 33 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: in Moscow, he worked on Esperanto, and he attempted to 34 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: standardize Yiddish. Though he later gave up his efforts on Yiddish, 35 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: Esperanto was the language that Zamenhoff would continue to develop. 36 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: The word esperanto means one who hopes. Zamenhoff translated literature 37 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: into Esperanto and wrote original works in the language. When 38 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: Zamenhoff was ready to publish the first book on Esperanto, 39 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: after he'd worked on it for years. The Russian Empire 40 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: was censoring all books. First, a book had to be 41 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: permitted to publish based on a manuscript. Then once the 42 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: book is printed, the authorities had to grant a permit 43 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: to release it. Authorities allowed the book titled International Language 44 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: to be published on June second seven, and it was 45 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: allowed to be released on July. The next version published 46 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: was the Polish one, released on September six. Zamenhoff published 47 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: the book under the name Dr Esperanto. He used his 48 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: wife's dowry to publish and promote his book and language. 49 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: Though the language was initially called the International Language, early 50 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: adopters were fond of the name Esperanto. The title Unua 51 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: libro was retroactively applied to the first book. At this point. 52 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: Esperanto was made up of about nine hundred roots and 53 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: affixes that could form ten thousand to twelve thousand words. 54 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: The vocabulary of the language was taken mainly from the 55 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: Romance languages. Some words also came from Germanic and Slavic languages. 56 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: The grammar of the language resembles Chinese and turkey Ish. 57 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: Do a libro or Second Book, was published in eighteen 58 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: eighty eight, and Fundamento de Esperanto or Foundation of Esperanto, 59 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: was published in nineteen oh five. Nineteen o five was 60 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: also the year that the first World Congress of Esperanto 61 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: was held in France. After World War One. It was 62 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: proposed to the League of Nations that Esperanto should be 63 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: the body's working language, but the French delegate was the 64 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: only one to reject the proposal. Stalin's Soviet Union viewed 65 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: Esperanto as an international spy organization. Hitler said it was 66 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: a Bolshevis plot in mind comp Esperantis were executed in 67 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: the Holocaust. Italy, on the other hand, embraced Esperanto to 68 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: a degree because of the similarities it had with Italian 69 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: conscientious objectors in Britain during wartime, anarchist and socialists in 70 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:58,919 Speaker 1: China and Imperial Japan studied Esperanto. Esperanto supporters have included 71 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: names such as Helen Kell, larn Leo Tolstoi, and J. R. R. Tolkien. 72 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: Though it had a mixed reception, with some embracing it 73 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: and others mocking and even persecuting people for it, Esperanto 74 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: grew in popularity. In the twentieth century. Other languages were 75 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: developed from and branched off of Esperanto. Esperanto publications and 76 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: groups formed around the world, and it is still used 77 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 1: as a first and second language around the globe. The 78 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: World Esperanto Congress still takes place annually. I'm Eve Jeff 79 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,360 Speaker 1: Code and hopefully you know a little more about history 80 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. 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