Esperanto culture
Despite being a constructed language, Esperanto has a history dating back to the late 19th century, and shared socio-cultural norms have developed among its speakers.
Most people have created or translated some sort of written work whether fiction or nonfiction, published or available to read online for free.
Penpals have been popular since Esperanto's earliest days, as Esperanto was originally advertised as a language where you could "send a letter with a message, short list of grammar rules and a dictionary to a complete stranger, and they'll be able to look up the words and write a coherent reply back".
At the time, in the early 1900s, there was no major world language that could be used "anywhere" and it was difficult to get accurate information about foreign countries.
Monato ("month") is a general news magazine "like a genuinely international Time or Newsweek", written by local correspondents.
[Note 1] Esperanto literature and organisations such as the Universal Esperanto Association (Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda or SAT) often advocated against nationalism, leading to several fascist governments attempting to ban and eradicate its usage: Germany, Francoist Spain,[7] Portugal,[7] as well as in the Soviet Union.
In comparison, the entire literature of Iceland (a country created in the 900s, and with a population of around 320,000 people) totals fewer than 50,000 books.
[11] It is known for excellent camera quality and filming sense, as well as being a good "absolute introduction" to what Esperanto is, but is criticized as too short at 30 minutes.
The films must be less than five minutes long and entirely in Esperanto with at least ten unique spoken words and a visible required prop which is announced by the host at the beginning of each contest.
The festival has produced over 175 short films in Esperanto which can be viewed for free on Esperanto-USA's YouTube channel.
Each convention draws in an average of 1500–3000 attendees, and the best-attended conferences are those held in Central or Eastern Europe (generally meaning Poland, Hungary etc.
An organisation called Pasporta Servo offers a free couchsurfing and homestay service, enabling cheaper and easier travel through a shared language.
One cookbook is Internacie kuiri “Cooking Internationally” by Maria Becker-Meisberger, published by FEL (Flemish Esperanto League), Antwerp 1989, ISBN 90-71205-34-7.
Another is Manĝoj el sanigaj plantoj “Meals from Healthy Vegetable Dishes” by Zlata Nanić, published by BIO-ZRNO, Zagreb 2002, ISBN 953-97664-5-1.
[13] The very short poem Ho, mia kor' (Zamenhof, 1887) and the longer La vojo [eo][14] (Zamenhof, 1896) are also very famous and often quoted in whole or in part; some distychs of La vojo, in particular, have become proverbial (e.g. Eĉ guto malgranda, konstante frapante, traboros la monton granitan “Even a small drop, by constantly hitting, will pierce the mountain of granite” as a metaphor for unyielding perseverance).
