ESPERANTO: THE RISE, FALL, AND RISE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE (IN-PERSON)

The constructed language Esperanto was invented in 1887 to facilitate international communication and understanding. Esperanto was designed to be easy to learn with phonetic pronunciation and a simple, consistent grammar. The Esperanto movement grew rapidly but suffered a severe setback in the run up to the Second World War. The language was specifically condemned by Hitler. Stalin labeled it “the language of spies.” In recent decades, Esperanto has regained ground with the rise of the internet. Today the Esperanto movement is a growing transnational community of speakers who regularly communicate either virtually or in person.