The Esperanto Experiment: When the World Tried a Universal Language (and Politics Ruined It)

Creating peace through grammar might sound like something out of a satirical novel, but once upon a time, the world got very close to doing just that. Esperanto, a made-up language with very real dreams, set out to connect humanity through one tongue. Spoiler alert: it didn’t quite go as planned.

This is the story of how Esperanto almost became everyone’s second language, why it made perfect sense (on paper), and how politics—surprise, surprise—swept in with its usual flair for sabotage.

What is Esperanto and Why Was It Created?

Who invented Esperanto?

Esperanto came to life in the mind of Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, a Polish-Jewish ophthalmologist with a side hustle in utopian idealism. In 1887, he published a book under the pseudonym “Doktoro Esperanto”, meaning “Doctor Hopeful”. The name stuck, probably because “Zamenhofian” would never trend.

Zamenhof lived in Białystok, a town where Poles, Russians, Germans and Jews squabbled endlessly, often because no one understood what anyone else was saying. His plan? Remove the confusion. Eliminate the linguistic friction. Create one simple, logical language that anyone could pick up after a couple of weeks and use to chat, trade or write passive-aggressive letters.

Why is Esperanto easy to learn?

Let’s be real: natural languages are messy. Irregular verbs, gendered nouns, baffling pronunciations. Esperanto threw all that in the bin.

• No exceptions. Really. None.
• Phonetic spelling: say what you see.
• 16 basic grammar rules—end of syllabus.
• A Latin-based vocabulary with sprinkles of Slavic and Germanic flavour.

So if you’ve ever asked “What language is easiest to learn for English speakers?” Esperanto might top the list.

The Rise of Esperanto: A Quiet Revolution

How many people spoke Esperanto in the early days?

By the early 1900s, Esperanto had spread across Europe, South America and even parts of Asia. It boasted magazines, books, and local clubs. The first Universala Kongreso (Universal Congress) happened in 1905 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where delegates cheerfully argued over breakfast in a language no one’s grandmother had ever heard of.

People sent postcards, published newspapers and translated Tolstoy, all in Esperanto. The vibe was “global unity with a grammar guide”.

Could Esperanto have become a global language?

It very nearly did. There was serious talk in the League of Nations about adopting Esperanto for international communication. France, the home of linguistic pride, said “non”, mostly because it feared French would lose its status as the language of diplomacy. Some habits die très hard.

Even so, by the 1920s, schools in China and Japan started teaching Esperanto. It began showing up on street signs in Brazil. The dream of a global auxiliary language seemed… almost within reach.

Why Did Esperanto Fail to Go Mainstream?

What killed the Esperanto dream?

Short answer: politics. Long answer: Stalin, Hitler, and French nationalism, in no particular order.

Stalin, paranoid as always, decided Esperanto was a tool for international espionage. Many Esperantists were arrested or killed during the Great Purge. Meanwhile, the Nazis hated the language too, partly because Zamenhof was Jewish and partly because internationalism didn’t quite match the whole Ein Volk vibe.

Even in democratic nations, governments quietly pulled away. Universal languages are great, unless they make your country’s language seem a bit less important.

Did Esperanto threaten national identity?

That was the fear. Imagine suggesting today that every country teach the same second language in schools. Cue nationalists losing their minds on talk shows. Esperanto sounded too… utopian. Too idealistic. And above all, it wasn’t “ours”.

So while the idea of a shared tongue charmed intellectuals and pacifists, it scared leaders who liked their flags big and their borders bigger.

The Curious Afterlife of Esperanto

Is Esperanto still spoken today?

Absolutely. Estimates suggest anywhere from 100,000 to 2 million people speak it worldwide. Yes, that’s a wide range—Esperantists don’t exactly fill stadiums.

You’ll find active Esperanto communities in places like Germany, Brazil, Japan, and even Iran. There’s a dedicated radio station. People host international meet-ups where the entire point is not having to switch languages. You can even learn Esperanto on Duolingo (where it inexplicably has more learners than Gaelic or Navajo).

Can people really communicate in Esperanto?

Yes. And some go further: a few families raise their kids speaking it at home. These are known as “denaskuloj”, or native Esperanto speakers. Imagine being bilingual before breakfast, just because your parents fancied a linguistic experiment.

Esperanto might not rule the airwaves, but it’s very much alive in quiet corners of the internet and scattered guesthouses across Europe.

Why Esperanto Still Matters

Was Esperanto a failure?

Technically, yes. It didn’t unite the world. But as a cultural phenomenon, it’s a marvel. It predicted globalisation long before airports looked like duty-free shopping malls. It offered a framework for mutual respect, built on shared understanding rather than dominance.

For language lovers, Esperanto remains a gateway drug—often the first constructed language that leads to obsessions with Klingon, Elvish or full-blown conlanging (yes, that’s a thing).

What are the benefits of learning Esperanto?

• It boosts confidence for learning other languages.
• It offers access to a global niche community.
• It’s a quirky way to stand out on a CV.
• It makes you the most interesting person at brunch. Probably.

And if you’re asking, “Can Esperanto help you learn languages faster?” the answer is yes. Studies have shown that students who learn Esperanto first tend to grasp other foreign languages more easily, thanks to the logical grammar and quick vocabulary retention.

The Esperanto Places: Where to See It in the Wild

Are there Esperanto-speaking travel destinations?

Kind of. There’s no Esperanto nation (yet), but you’ll find hot spots where the language bubbles to the surface.

• Białystok, Poland: Zamenhof’s birthplace has a museum and annual celebrations.
• Herzberg am Harz, Germany: Officially calls itself the “Esperanto city”, with bilingual street signs and local courses.
• San Marino: Played host to international Esperanto congresses more than once.
• La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland: A town that supported Esperanto back when that wasn’t entirely fashionable.

And of course, there are the Esperantujo events—global meet-ups, camps, and festivals where people skip small talk in English and go full grammar nerd in Esperanto.

Esperanto and the Internet: A Match Made in Binary

How has the internet changed Esperanto?

It breathed new life into it. Before the web, finding a fellow Esperanto speaker meant writing letters, waiting weeks, and hoping no one moved house. Now? Forums, podcasts, YouTube tutorials, virtual conferences. A truly borderless Esperanto world.

Reddit has an active community. TikTok has Esperantists teaching casual phrases. Twitter (or whatever it’s called now) has hashtagged micro-lessons.

The question “Is Esperanto dead?” pops up often. The answer is always: not remotely.

So, Could a Universal Language Ever Work?

Maybe. But if it ever does, it probably won’t be Esperanto. It’ll be whatever the global market chooses—or invents.

Still, Esperanto gave the world a linguistic test run. It proved that humans could agree on shared rules, that communication could transcend borders, and that international unity didn’t have to sound like a politician’s slogan.

The fact that it didn’t win doesn’t mean it didn’t matter.

And let’s be honest: in a world of trending gibberish and autocorrect typos, a language designed to make sense still feels like a pretty radical idea.