LANGUAGE AND MEDICINE IN THE ZAMENHOF FAMILY

Abstract

The Zamenhof family is famous for Dr Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (1859-1917), who created the artificial language Esperanto and who initiated a social movement for peace and against any sort of discrimination. Ludwik was an ophthalmologist. Adam, Leon, Alexander, and Julian Zamenhof were medical doctors and noted surgeons, while Sophia Zamenhof was a paediatrician. Ludwik Zamenhof often referred to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, in which diversity of languages was the punishment for builders who were arrogant and uncaring. With the help of Esperanto, the Zamenhofs metaphorically wanted to overcome the curse of Babel and restore the sense of human unity.