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This article is part of the Esperanto series
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Esperanto | Grammar | Letters | Phonology | Orthography | Vocabulary
History
History | Zamenhof | Proto-Esperanto | "Unua Libro" | Declaration of Boulogne | "Fundamento" | Prague Manifesto
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Culture | Esperantists | Esperantujo | Film | Internacia Televido | La Espero | Libraries | Literature | Music | Native speakers | Pop culture references | Publications | Symbols | Zamenhof Day
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Amikeca Reto | Esperanto Academy | Kurso de Esperanto | Encyclopedia | Pasporta Servo | Pen pal service | Plouézec Meetings | TEJO | UEA | SAT | World Congress | Youth Congress
National Associations
Britain | Britain Youth | USA | Labour
Criticism
Esperantido | Propedeutic value | Reformed | Riism | Vs. Ido | Vs. Interlingua
Related topics
Auxiliary language | Constructed language | Ido | Interlingua | Novial | Volapük | Signuno | Anationalism
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Unua Libro por Rusoj (first edition, 1887, in Russian)

Unua Libro por Angloj (first edition in English, 1888)

The Unua Libro (First Book) was the first publication to describe the international language, Esperanto (then called Lingvo Internacia, "inter-national language"). It was first published in Russian on July 26, 1887 in Warsaw, and over the next couple years later editions were published in Russian, Hebrew, Polish, French, German, and English. This booklet included the Lord's Prayer, some Bible verses, a letter, poetry, the sixteen rules of grammar and 900 roots of vocabulary. Zamenhof declared, "an international language, like a national one, is common property." Zamenhof signed the work as "Doktoro Esperanto" and the title Esperanto stuck as the name of the language which, in Esperanto, means "one who hopes". Image File history File links Flag_of_Esperanto. ... Look up Esperanto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Esperanto is a constructed auxiliary language based on the languages of Europe. ... The creator of Esperanto, L. L. Zamenhof, did not specify phonemic-phonetic correspondences for his language. ... Esperanto is written in a Latin alphabet of twenty-eight letters, upper and lower case. ... The word base of Esperanto was originally defined by Lingvo internacia, published by Zamenhof in 1887. ... The constructed international auxiliary language Esperanto was developed in the 1870s and 80s by L. L. Zamenhof, and first published in 1887. ... L. L. Zamenhof Dr. Ludovic Lazarus (Ludwik Lejzer, Ludwik Łazarz) Zamenhof (December 15, 1859–April 14, 1917) was an ophthalmologist, philologist, and the initiator of Esperanto, the most widely spoken constructed language. ... Proto-Esperanto (or pra-Esperanto in the language itself) is the modern term for any of the stages in the evolution of L. L. Zamenhofs language project, prior to the publication of his Unua Libro in 1887. ... The Declaration of Boulogne (Bulonja Deklaracio) was a document written by L. L. Zamenhof and endorsed by the attendees of the first world congress of Esperanto in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France in 1905. ... The Fundamento de Esperanto (Foundation of Esperanto) is a book by L. L. Zamenhof, published in the spring of 1905. ... The Prague Manifesto (or Manifesto de Prago) is a set of seven widely-shared principles of the Esperanto movement. ... The language Esperanto is often used to access an international culture. ... Esperantujo, also Esperantio, is a term used by speakers of the planned international language Esperanto to refer to the sphere of activity taking place in that language. ... // Feature films There are two feature films known to have been shot exclusively in the constructed language Esperanto. ... Internacia Televido is an Internet-based Esperanto-language television station, launched on the 5th of November, 2005. ... La Espero (the hope) is a poem written by L. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917), the initiator of the Esperanto language. ... The following Esperanto libraries and collections of works in the Esperanto language are worthy of note: The Montagu Butler Library of Esperanto materials, maintained by the British Esperanto Association, whose collection of 30,000 items is often quoted. ... Since Esperanto is the largest planned language, there are over 25,000 books in Esperanto and the largest Esperanto book service at the World Esperanto Association sells over 4,000 books. ... Music in a variety of styles is written, recorded, and performed in Esperanto, a planned language used for international communication. ... Native Esperanto speakers (in Esperanto denaskuloj) come to be in families in which Esperanto (and usually other languages) is spoken. ... The constructed language Esperanto has been used in a number of films and novels. ... December 15 (Zamenhof Day, Zamenhofa Festo) is the birthday of L. L. Zamenhof, the initiator of Esperanto. ... Amikeca Reto (Friendship Network) is a directory of people around the world who do not necessarily want to host other Esperanto speakers, but want to work together and exchange ideas with others around the world. ... The Akademio de Esperanto is, according to its website, an independent language institute whose task is to conserve and protect the fundamental principles of the language Esperanto and control its evolution. ... Kurso de Esperanto is a free language course software with 12 units for the constructed language Esperanto. ... The Encyclopedia of Esperanto is an encyclopedia about the Esperanto Movement. ... The Pasporta Servo (Passport Service) is a publication in Esperanto. ... The Esperanto Pen Pal Service is an online service to help speakers of the Esperanto language find Esperanto speaking pen pals around the world. ... The Breton village of Plouézec has hosted an International Meeting annually since 1997. ... TEJO is the Tutmonda Esperantista Junulara Organizo, or World Esperanto Youth Organization. ... The World Esperanto Association (in Esperanto UEA: Universala Esperanto-Asocio) is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with members in 119 countries (as of 2000) and in official relations with the United Nations and UNESCO. In addition to individual members, 95 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated to UEA. Its... Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda (SAT; in English, World Anational Association) was founded in 1921 by Eugène LANTI. SAT is a world-wide worker movement active in socialist, peace, trade union, feminist and environmental issues. ... The World Congress of Esperanto (in Esperanto: Universala Kongreso de Esperanto) has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run of nearly a hundred years. ... The International Youth Congress of Esperanto or Internacia Junulara Kongreso is the biggest annual meeting of young esperantists in the world and participants usually number around 300 but have been know to have more than 1000 esperanto-speakers from all over the world coming for the entire week. ... The Youth Esperanto Association of Britain Junulara Esperanto-asocio de Britio (JEB) is new organisation for young esperantists in Great Britain which recently has been created due to that lack of an active youth Esperanto-movement for some time. ... SATEB (Workers’ Esperanto Movement) is the British affiliate of the non-nationalist world organisation SAT (Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda) which is a world-wide worker movement active in socialist, peace, trade union, feminist and environmental issues. ... Esperanto was conceived as a language of international communication, more precisely as a universal second language. ... Esperantido is the term used within the Esperanto and constructed language communities to describe a language project based on or inspired by Esperanto. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Reformed Esperanto was a reformed version of Esperanto created in 1894. ... Riism (Riismo in Esperanto) is a modification of Esperanto to simplify it, to make it symmetric, and to incorporate non-sexist language and gender-neutral pronouns into it. ... This article attempts to highlight the main differences between Esperanto and Ido, two constructed languages that have a related past but have since parted ways. ... This article attempts to highlight the main differences between Esperanto and Interlingua, two planned languages which have taken radically different approaches to the problem of providing an International auxiliary language. ... An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) is a language used (or to be used in the future) for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language. ... An artificial or constructed language (known colloquially as a conlang among aficionados), is a language whose phonology, grammar and vocabulary are specifically devised by an individual or small group, rather than having naturally evolved as part of a culture the way natural languages do. ... Ido (pronounced //), a constructed language, was created to become a universal second language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds, easier to learn than any ethnic language. ... The constructed language Interlingua is an international auxiliary language (IAL) published in 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA). ... Novial [nov-, new + IAL, International Auxiliary Language] is a constructed language devised by Otto Jespersen, a Danish linguist who had previously been involved in the Ido movement. ... Volapük is a constructed language, created in 1879-1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Catholic priest in Baden, Germany. ... Signuno alphabet & numerals Signuno is signed Esperanto, derived from Gestuno roots and Esperanto morphology by an anonymous author. ... Anationalism is a term originating from the community of Esperanto speakers. ... Image File history File links Unua_Libro. ... Image File history File links Unua_Libro. ... Image File history File links Unua_libro_(2). ... Image File history File links Unua_libro_(2). ... Look up Esperanto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... Warsaw (Polish: , (?), in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto StoÅ‚eczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel, the West Bank, the United States, and by Jewish communities around the world. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Lords Prayer (sometimes known by its first two Latin words as the Pater Noster, in Greek as the , or the English equivalent Our Father) is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity. ... The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hÄ“ biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture, Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their (differing but overlapping) canons of sacred texts. ... Poetry (from Ancient Greek: (poiéo/poió) = I create) is traditionally a written art form (although there is also an ancient and modern poetry which relies mainly upon oral or pictorial representations) in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional... L. L. Zamenhof Dr. Ludovic Lazarus (Ludwik Lejzer, Ludwik Łazarz) Zamenhof (December 15, 1859–April 14, 1917) was an ophthalmologist, philologist, and the initiator of Esperanto, the most widely spoken constructed language. ...

In 1905, Zamenhof re-published the sixteen rules of grammar, in combination with a "universal dictionary" and a collection of exercises, in a work entitled Fundamento de Esperanto ("Foundation of Esperanto"). At the first Esperanto World Congress at Boulogne in the same year, a declaration was issued, including the following: 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Fundamento de Esperanto (Foundation of Esperanto) is a book by L. L. Zamenhof, published in the spring of 1905. ... Boulogne-sur-Mer is a city and commune in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais département of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... The Declaration of Boulogne (Bulonja Deklaracio) was a document written by L. L. Zamenhof and endorsed by the attendees of the first world congress of Esperanto in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France in 1905. ...

The only basis of the Esperanto language binding on all Esperantists, which no one has the right to change, is the little work Foundation of Esperanto. If anyone deviates from the rules and models given in the said work, he can never justify himself with the words "thus desires or advises the author of Esperanto". Each Esperantist has the right to express any idea, which cannot be conveniently expressed by the material found in the Foundation of Esperanto, in such a manner as he finds most correct, as is done in every other language. However, for the unity of the language for all Esperantists it is recommended to imitate as much as possible the style that is found in the works of the creator of Esperanto, who has worked the most for and in Esperanto and knows best its spirit.

On the basis of Zamenhof's declaration that an international language is "common property", comparisons are sometimes drawn between Esperanto and what would today be called an Open source project. However, the context of declaration of the language as being "common property" was that Zamenhof was abrogating his personal rights and privileges as its creator; the language itself remained subject to substantial controls on its modification. Image File history File links Quotation marks File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Quotation marks File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ...

External links

These reprints of the Unua Libro have no ISBN.

• Meždunarodnyj jazyk: Predislovie i polnyj učebnik Moscow: Moskva Gazeto, 1992. Facsimile reprint of the Unua Libro in Russian.
• Ludovikologia dokumentaro I Tokyo: Ludovikito, 1991. Facsimile reprints of the Unua Libro in Russian, Polish, French, German, English and Swedish, with the earliest Esperanto dictionaries for those languages.