2.2 Becoming the Universal Language
The fundamentals of Esperanto were established in 1887 by Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (alternatively transliterated as Ludwig Lazar Zamenhof), a medical doctor born in Bialystok—at the time a part of the Russian Empire, now in Poland. Like a number of creators of international auxiliary languages, he was mainly driven by the goals of building brotherhood and promoting justice among peoples (Forster 1982: 5; Tonkin 1997: 74). Of Jewish origin, Zamenhof grew up amidst different national groups. Russians, Poles, Germans, Belarusians and Jews coexisted in Bialystok in a state of continuous hostility and suspicion, where divergences in ethnicity, national origin, language and religion prevailed in people's relations with each other (Guerard 1921: 107—108; Korzhenkov 2010: 1; Lins 2016: 3—10). Confronted with these constant clashes, Zamenhof believed that the first obstacle to more harmo- nious relations was the lack of communication between these groups. Hence, the creation of a secular and non-national—therefore, neutral— language aimed at bypassing nationalist rivalries through promoting mutual understanding at the linguistic level. Far from attempting to replace people's mother tongues, such a language proposed to mediate between people by creating an in-between neutral space where intergroup communication could take place.
Zamenhof published the basis of the language under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto (Doctor Hopeful) in a booklet in Russian titled Lingvo Internacia, and Esperanto later became the name of the language itself. In this brochure, he included a slip of paper, to be signed and returned to him, in which readers would declare their promptness to learn the language once ten million people had signed up to the same commit- ment. Nevertheless, rather than waiting, numerous readers began to learn it straight away. Collecting the contact details he had received, Zamenhof shortly published an address list with information about a thousand Esperanto learners up to that point, the majority of them based in the Russian Empire (Lins 2016: 11). The disclosure of this address list enabled the pioneering users of the language to establish the first contacts with each other using Esperanto.
Esperanto proliferated quickly in its early days, with the initial booklet being republished and translated from Russian into English, French, German and Polish (Zamenhof 1905). Additionally, the creation of Esperanto clubs and associations in several countries—as well as the regular issue of periodicals and both original and translated literary works—helped the language gain ground also in Western Europe.
Nevertheless, Zamenhof's project soon started to encounter obsta- cles. When Leo Tolstoy declared his support for Esperanto and several
Tolstoyans began to promote their ideas in the language, Russian censor- ship restricted the circulation of the increasingly popular periodical La Esperantisto. Esperanto was no longer seen as a 'hobby of impractical idealists' and became, in the eyes of the Russian Empire, an ally for the advocates for social reform through religion (Lins 2016: 16—17). However, while facing difficulties in Eastern Europe, Esperanto flour- ished in Western Europe, mainly in France: in 1902—1903, 19 Esperanto courses were being taught simultaneously in Paris alone (Couturat and Leau 1903: 329), attracting primarily intellectuals and members of the bourgeoisie. This dislocation of Esperanto from Eastern to Western Europe also propelled changes in the agendas behind the language. Russian Esperantists were highly influenced by the idea of a language that could mediate national conflicts, given the situation of the Russian Empire at the time. By contrast, this argument was not equally sound to the French, who regarded the language as an outcome of the progress of civilisation and as a tool to promote commerce and the supremacy of reason at the global level (De Beaufront 1898; Couturat et al. 1910).
On these grounds, language creation gained prominence in the previ- ously mentioned Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900, when the Delega- tion for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language was created with the purpose of choosing and advancing one of the several existing constructed languages. Despite Esperanto being considered the most promising contender, the Delegations final report—issued in 1907— favoured Ido, one of Esperantos offsprings. Nonetheless, Ido did not achieve the growth of Esperanto, soon risking disappear in the oblivion of countless constructed languages.
Whether a peace-promoting project or a bastion of science and business, Esperanto was quickly added to the plethora of late-nineteenth- century inventions with universalist ambitions, struggling for legitima- tion alongside other international auxiliary languages (such as Volapuk, Ido, Novial and Interlingua). Although the Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language wound up its activities in 1907, other institutions took up the role of debating international communi- cation. These included a special commission (created in 1922) within the League of Nations to discuss the introduction of an international language in school curricula (Nitobe 1998) and the USA-based Interna- tional Auxiliary Language Association, established in 1924 (Gama 2015: 144-152).
In the context of major technological advancements and cross-cultural curiosity, the progress showcased at the Universal Exhibitions was meant to symbolise the future of the West. Such an internationalist, imperialist and technological image of civilisation would take charge of universal- ising Western views of progress, which included expanding the use of languages like Esperanto worldwide, as a lingua franca for the world. With this, the perception of Esperanto as a would-be universal language was born, and its image as a project with universalist ambitions was coined. This image persists to date, as the Oxford English Dictionary (2020) illustrates by defining Esperanto as 'an artificial language invented for universal use'.
2.3 To the Right and to the Left, Between Ups and Downs
In 1904, the first international gathering of Esperantists was held in Dover and Calais, culminating in moments of great emotionalism and excitement as French and British Esperantists crossed the English Channel to meet and use the language. In the following year, the success of this pioneer gathering was surpassed, with such meetings becoming institutionalised as the first Universal Congress of Esperanto took place in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Attended by 688 participants coming from different countries, it started with several Esperantists travelling together by train from Paris to Boulogne-sur-Mer and already using the language during the trip (Forster 1982). In an unprecedented manner, settings were established where Esperantists experienced the language full-time, on a large scale, to speak about anything during the duration of the congress. Ultimately, this occasion resulted in enthusiastic reviews taking over the pages of Esperanto periodicals from across the world, spreading the word about the success and efficacy of the language in news articles that were later translated into other languages, also gaining the non-Esperantist media.
One of the core outcomes of the 1905 Universal Congress of Esperanto was the approval of the Declaration on the Essence of Esper- antism, also known as Declaration of Boulogne—the first document to define the aims and priorities of the developing Esperanto movement. Endorsed by Zamenhof, this declaration outlined Esperantism as the promotion of a language founded upon principles that were 'neŭtrale homa' (neutrally human) (Zamenhof 1929 [1906]: 324). In practice, this meant that those who wanted to use Esperanto to discuss religion or political matters were allowed to organise themselves around their shared interests as long as they did not associate the language with particular religions or political stances. This approach to neutrality was a way to welcome everyone to Esperanto, irrespective of the viewpoints held by each of its speakers and supporters.