Esperanto is an artificial language designed to serve internationally as an auxiliary means of communication among speakers of different languages. It was created by Ludwig Lejzer Zamenhof, a Polish-Jewish doctor specialized in eye diseases. Esperanto was first presented in 1887. An international movement was launched to promote its use. Despite arguments and disagreements, the movement has continued to flourish and has members in more than 80 countries. Esperanto is used internationally across language boundaries by at least 1 million people, particularly in specialized fields. It is used in personal contacts, on radio broadcasts, and in a number of publications as well as in translations of both modern works and classics. Its popularity has spread from Europe, both east and west, to such countries as Brazil and Japan.