page_title: L. L. Zamenhof
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: L. L. Zamenhof / Biography / Early years
caption_attribution_description: English: Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, at 19 years old (i.d. ca. 1879). Esperanto: Ludwik Zamenhof, 19-jaraĝa (ĉ. 1879). Polski: Ludwik Zamenhof w wieku ok. 19 lat (1879).
context_page_description: Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof was a Polish ophthalmologist, linguist and the inventor of the international language Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language in the world.
  Zamenhof first developed the language in 1873 while still in school. He grew up fascinated by the idea of a world without war. He believed that this could happen with the help of a new international auxiliary language. The language would be a tool to gather people together through neutral, fair, equitable communication. He successfully formed a community that continues today despite the World Wars of the 20th century. Also, it has developed like other languages, through the interaction and creativity of its users.
  In light of his achievements, and his support of intercultural dialogue, UNESCO selected Zamenhof as one of its eminent personalities of 2017, on the 100th anniversary of his death.
context_section_description: Zamenhof was born on 15 December [O.S. 3 December] 1859, the son of Markus Zamenhof (27 January [O.S. 15 January] 1837 – 29 November [O.S. 16 November] 1907) and Rozalia (Sofer) Zamenhof (1839 – 1 September [O.S. 20 August] 1892), in the multi-ethnic city of Belostok in the Russian Empire (now Białystok in Poland). At that time the city was in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire as a result of the 1807 Treaties of Tilsit. His parents were of Litvak Jewish descent. This group inhabited the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He appears to have been natively bilingual in Yiddish and Russian. His father was a teacher of German and French. From him, Zamenhof learned German, French and Hebrew. He also spoke some major languages of Białystok: Polish,   Yiddish, Belarusian, and German.  Polish became the native language of his children in Warsaw. In school he studied the classical languages Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. He later learned some English, though in his own words not very well. He had an interest in Lithuanian and Italian and learned Volapük when it came out in 1880. By that point his international language project was already well developed.
  In addition to the Yiddish-speaking Jewish majority, the population of Białystok included Roman Catholic Poles and Eastern Orthodox Russians (mainly government officials), with smaller groups of Belarusians, Germans and other ethnic groups. Zamenhof was saddened and frustrated by the many quarrels among these groups. He supposed that the main reason for the hate and prejudice lay in the mutual misunderstanding caused by the lack of a common language. If such a language existed, Zamenhof postulated, it could play the role of a neutral communication tool between people of different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.
  As a student at secondary school in Warsaw, Zamenhof attempted to create an international language with a grammar that was rich, but complex. When he later studied English, he decided that the international language must have a simpler grammar. Apart from his parents' native languages Russian and Yiddish and his adopted language Polish, his projects were also aided by his mastery of German, a good passive understanding of Latin, Hebrew and French, and a basic knowledge of Greek, English and Italian.
  By 1878, his project Lingwe uniwersala was finished. However, Zamenhof was too young then to publish his work. Soon after graduation he began to study medicine, first in Moscow, and later in Warsaw. In 1885, Zamenhof graduated from a university and began his practice as a doctor in Veisiejai. After 1886 he worked as an ophthalmologist in Płock and Vienna. While healing people there, he continued to work on his project of an international language.
  For two years he tried to raise funds to publish a booklet describing the language, until he received the financial help from his future wife's father. In 1887, the book titled Международный язык. Предисловие и полный учебникъ (International language: Introduction and complete textbook) was published in Russian under the pseudonym "Doktoro Esperanto" (Doctor Hoper, or literally "Doctor One Who Hopes".). Zamenhof initially called his language "Lingvo internacia" (international language), but those who learned it began to call it Esperanto after his pseudonym, and this soon became the official name for the language. For Zamenhof, this language, far from being merely a communication tool, was a way to promote peaceful coexistence between people of different cultures.
caption: Zamenhof, around 1879
exif: {}