Esperanto
Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...
has been used in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
since the 19th century. It was suppressed by the Nazi and Communist governments of the 20th century before being revived in 1969. The Czech Republic is home to the
Esperanto Museum in Svitavy
Esperanto Museum in Svitavy is a museum in Svitavy in the Czech Republic. It presents the history and current activity of the Esperanto movement. It was inaugurated in September 2008.
Museum building
The museum is located in the Ottendorfer Hou ...
.
Linguistics
The
Czech language
Czech (; Czech ), historically also Bohemian (; ''lingua Bohemica'' in Latin), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 10 million people, it serves as the official language of the Czech Re ...
is not a major influence in Esperanto, but some concepts that originate from the Czech Republic lend their names to Esperanto words. These include from the Czech to refer to the Czech
caron mark and from the Czech to refer to Czech
polka dancing. The Esperanto name for the Czech Republic is .
History
Early history (1887-1948)
Esperanto reached the Czech lands before the end of the 19th century.
While most
social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
movements opposed the Esperanto movement, the Czech social democrats passed a resolution in favor of Esperanto in 1911. Czechoslovakia was the only country in Eastern Europe where the Esperanto movement was not condemned by the government during the interwar period. The 1921
World Esperanto Congress
The World Esperanto Congress ( eo, Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 113 years. The congresses have be ...
was held in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. By 1928, there were 8,967 recorded Esperantists in Czechoslovakia. Radio in Czechoslovakia began airing Esperanto broadcasts in the 1930s.
The
German Esperanto League in Czechoslovakia was dissolved in 1938 in response to the
occupation of Czechoslovakia
Occupation commonly refers to:
*Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, th ...
. The
Czech Esperanto Association was restricted to activity within the Czech community in 1939 before being disbanded in 1940.
Czech high school teacher
Miloš Lukáš was an early Esperantist writer and translator, learning the language in 1907 and contributing to Esperantist periodicals in the 1920s and 1930s.
Tomáš Pumpr was also active at this time, and both continued to contribute to the Esperanto movement for decades. Other notable Czech Esperantists during this period include
Antonín Eltschkner
Antonín Eltschkner (4 June 1880, Polička – 22 February 1961, Brno) was a Czech Roman Catholic priest, most notable for his involvement in the development of Esperanto. He was provost of the Metropolitan Chapter of St Vitus and auxiliary bi ...
,
Jan Filip
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948-1989)
The
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
took power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, and the Czech Esperanto movement began to be suppressed. The
Esperanto Association in the Czechoslovakian Republic
Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communica ...
(EAĈSR) was the primary Esperanto group in the country, and its 1950 congress attracted nearly a thousand participants. Between 1950 and 1951, Esperanto media outlets were shut down, and EAĈSR was disbanded in 1952. Esperanto groups operated and published semi-legally through other organizations, such as education and labor groups. ''La Pacdefendanto'' by Czech Esperantist
Rudolf Burda was highly influential at this time. The Czechoslovak government ended publication of ''La Pacdefendanto'' in 1956. The Esperanto movement in Czechoslovakia was not permitted to resume activities until 1969 when a new Czech Esperanto Association was founded.
Czech chemistry professor
Vlastimil Novobilský
Vlastimil is a common Slavic origin given name originating from the roots: ''vlast'' (homeland) and ''mil'' (favour). A variant of the name is Vlastislav. The Czech name days are 17 March (Vlastimil) and 28 April (Vlastislav). The Slovak name day ...
began contributing to the Esperantist movement in the 1950s and continued to be active through the rest of the 20th century. Czech author
Karel Píč
Karel Píč ( eo, Karolo Piĉ; 6December 192015August 1995) was a leading Czech Esperantist, a member of the Academy of Esperanto, a poet and writer of short stories, essays, and novels in Esperanto.
Role in Esperanto literature
Karel Píč wa ...
became a controversial figure in the Esperanto community in the 1980s for his use of
neologisms
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
. Another notable Czech author at this time was
Eli Urbanova
Eli most commonly refers to:
* Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname
* Eli (biblical figure)
Eli or ELI may also refer to:
Film
* ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film
* ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film
Music
* ''Eli'' (Jan ...
.
Czech Republic (1989-present)
In 1996, the Esperanto Congress met in Prague and developed the
Manifesto of Prague
The Prague Manifesto ( eo, Praga Manifesto) is a historic document that establishes a set of seven widely shared principles of the Esperanto movement. It was drafted at the 1996 World Esperanto Congress in Prague by officials from the United Na ...
to outline the principles of the Esperanto movement. As of 2007, there are about 900 members in the Czech Esperanto Association.
The Esperanto Museum was established in
Svitavy
Svitavy (; german: Zwittau) is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is the birthplace of Oskar Schindler and the centre of the Czech Esperanto movement. The historic town centre is well preser ...
in 2008. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1998, the
was held in the Czech Republic until 2010 when it was relocated to
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
.
Miloslav Vlk
Miloslav Vlk (; 17 May 1932 – 18 March 2017) was a Czech prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Prague from 1991 to 2010. He was made a cardinal in 1994. He was also the President of the Council of European Bishops' Con ...
was another notable post-Communist Czech Esperantist.
See also
*
Demographics of the Czech Republic
This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Czech Republic, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations.
Population
With an estimat ...
*
Languages of the Czech Republic
This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Czech Republic, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations.
Population
With an estim ...
References
Bibliography
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{{Czech Republic topics
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
Esperanto in the Czech Republic
Demographics of the Czech Republic