Google Logo Honors Esperanto Day, 150th Anniversary of Birth of Esperanto Creator L. L. Zamenhof
On Google’s home page today, the 150th anniversary of the birth of L. L. Zamenhof, creator of the Esperanto language, is honored.
The flag displayed in the Google logo (forming the letter “L”), that of a green and white flag with a green five-point star, is a general symbol of the language used by Esperanto organizations and individual esperantists. December 15 is celebrated as Esperanto Day.
The international language Esperanto, intended not to replace existing languages but as a second language for international use, is gaining renewed attention from policy-makers in a world increasingly aware of the rights of minorities and the future of linguistic and cultural diversity…. Several political groupings and non-governmental organizations are pressing to place the international language question on the agendas of the United Nations and European Union.
From Language-Learning-Advisor.com, What Is Esperanto?:
What is Esperanto? Esperanto is a constructed language, invented in the late 1800’s. It is referred to as an ‘international auxiliary language,’ intended to facilitate communication between people of different native languages. Simply put – it’s a a second language for everyone.
Esperanto’s creator, a Polish oculist named L. L. Zamenhof, knew first hand the problems caused by the lack of communication between people of different native languages. Early in his life he saw conflict, misunderstanding and war in Europe that he felt could be lessened or overcome if communication were easier between the diverse people of Europe and the world as a whole. To this end, he constructed Esperanto, intending it as a means of easy communication, a second language everyone could learn quickly, use easily, and carried no political baggage.
Although Zamenhof was not the first to propose this idea, Esperanto is the only constructed language that has had any success. Well over a hundred years later, it continues to be used today and appears to be growing. Esperanto enjoys a significant presence on the internet, with many pages, sites, organizations and radio programs from around the world.
Snippets from Wikipedia about L. L. Zamenhof:
Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof (born Eliezer Levi Samenhof, December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was an ophthalmologist, philologist, and the inventor of Esperanto, a constructed language designed for international communication.
In 1910, Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, by four British Members of Parliament (including James O’Grady, Philip Snowden) and Professor Stanley Lane Poole. (The Prize was instead awarded to the International Peace Bureau.)
Zamenhof is a main belt asteroid, which was discovered by the Finnish astronomer and physicist Yrjö Väisälä on February 6, 1938. It has a diameter of 25.82 km and geometric albedo of 0.1268. It is named for L. L. Zamenhof, ophthalmologist and inventor of Esperanto.
Good luck to Esperanto
Many people do not realise that Esperanto is now a living language!
You can see this at http://www.lernu.net