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MATERIAL: information on Lojban
Author: Jyrki Kuoppala
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 01:04
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 01:04
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Copyright, 1988-1991, by the Logical Language Group, Inc. 2904 Beau Lane,
Fairfax VA 22031-1303 USA Phone (703) 385-0273
lojbab@grebyn.com
All rights reserved. Permission to copy granted subject to your
verification that this is the latest version of this document, that your
distribution be for the promotion of Lojban, that there is no charge for
the product, and that this copyright notice is included intact in the
copy.
What is Lojban? la lojban mo
Lojban (/LOZH-bahn/) is a constructed language. Originally called
"Loglan" by project founder Dr. James Cooke Brown, who started the lan-
guage development in 1955, the goals for the language were first described
in the article "Loglan" in Scientific American, June, 1960. Made well-
known by that article and by occasional references in science fiction and
computer publications, Loglan/Lojban has been built over three decades by
dozens of workers and hundreds of supporters, led since 1987 by The Logi-
cal Language Group, now incorporated as a non-profit scientific/educa-
tional charity approved by the U.S. Government for tax-deductible dona-
tions.
There are many artificial languages, but Loglan/Lojban has been engi-
neered to make it unique in several ways. The following are the main fea-
tures of Lojban:
o Lojban is designed to be used by people in communication with each
other, and possibly in the future with computers.
o Lojban is designed to be culturally neutral.
o Lojban grammar is based on the principles of logic.
o Lojban has an unambiguous grammar.
o Lojban has phonetic spelling, and unambiguous resolution of sounds
into words.
o Lojban is simple compared to natural languages; it is easy to learn.
o Lojban's 1300 root words can be easily combined to form a vocabulary
of millions of words.
o Lojban is regular; the rules of the language are without exception.
o Lojban attempts to remove restrictions on creative and clear thought
and communication.
o Lojban has a variety of uses, ranging from the creative to the scien-
tific, from the theoretical to the practical.
The following sections examine each of these points, while answering
the questions most often asked about Lojban.
Why was Lojban developed?
Lojban was originally designed for the purpose of supporting research
on a concept known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Simply expressed, this
hypothesis states that the structure of a language constrains the thinking
of people using that language. Lojban allows the full expressive capabil-
ity of a natural language, but differs in structure from other languages
in major ways. This allows its use as a test vehicle for scientists
studying the relationships between language, thought, and culture.
Are there other uses for Lojban?
Yes, several. Due to its unambiguous grammar and simple structure,
it also can be easily parsed (broken down for analysis) by computers, mak-
ing it possible for Lojban to be used in the future for computer-human
interaction, and perhaps conversation. Lojban's structure is similar to
existing artificial intelligence (AI) programming languages, and will
likely be a most powerful tool in AI processing, especially in the storing
and processing of data about the world and people's conceptions of it.
There are also linguists interested in Lojban's potential as an intermedi-
ate language in computer-aided translation of natural languages. Because
Lojban was designed to be culturally neutral, and has a powerful vocabu-
lary easily learned by people of different language origins, some are in-
terested in Lojban's potential as an international language. These are
only the beginnings of the Lojban applications that will be developed in
the future.
2
Is Lojban a computer language?
Lojban was designed as a human language, and not as a computer lan-
guage. It is therefore intended for use in conversation, reading, writ-
ing, and thinking. However, since Lojban can be processed by a computer
much more easily than can a natural language, it is only a matter of time
before Lojban-based computer applications are developed. Learning and us-
ing Lojban doesn't require you to know anything about computers or to talk
like one.
How is Lojban written? How does it sound?
Lojban uses letters of the Roman alphabet to represent its 6 vowels
and 17 consonants; the Lojban character set uses only standard typewriter
or computer keyboard keys; capitalization is rare - used to indicate un-
usual stress in the pronunciation of names. Punctuation is spoken as
words. The written language corresponds exactly to the sounds of the spo-
ken language; spelling is phonetic and unambiguous, and the flowing sounds
of the language break down uniquely into words. These features make com-
puter speech recognition and transcription more practical. Learning to
write and spell Lojban is trivial.
Lojban has a smooth, rhythmic sound, somewhat like Italian. However,
its consonants create a fullness and power found in Slavic languages like
Russian, and the large number of vowel pairs impart a hint of Chinese,
Polynesian, and other Oriental tongues, though without the tones that make
those languages difficult for others to learn.
Because there are no idioms to shorten expressions, Lojban often ap-
pears longer than its corresponding colloquial English text. The unam-
biguous structure that results is a major benefit that makes this worth-
while.
As an example of Lojban, Occam's Razor ("The simplest explanation is
usually the best.") may be translated:
roda poi velciksi ku'o so'eroi ke ganai sampyrai gi xagrai
/roh-dah-poi-vehl-SHEEK-see-KOO-hoh, soh-heh-ROI-keh, GAH-nai-SAHM-puh-
rai, gee, KHAH-grai/
All somethings-which-are-explanations mostly-are (if superlatively-simple
then superlatively-good).
The apostrophe is pronounced like a short, breathy 'h', and is used
to clearly separate the two adjacent vowels for a listener, without re-
quiring a pause between them.
What kind of grammar does Lojban have?
Lojban's grammar was not copied from any known language; rather, its
predicate grammar was derived from that of formal logic. Philosophers and
logicians have for many years realized that as language developed, nouns,
verbs and adjectives were chosen rather arbitrarily to represent concepts.
The logicians developed a notation and a science (predicate calculus) to
represent those concepts more directly and simply. For example, "John
hits Sam", "John is the uncle of Sam" and "John is taller than Sam" are
all simple relationships between John and Sam. However, while English
represents the major concepts with a noun, a verb and an adjective respec-
tively, in formal logic notation they are all represented by 2-place pred-
icates (the two places being occupied by John and Sam). Lojban similarly
represents these concepts by grammatically identical words. What this
means is that Lojban sentences are stated as sets of ideas (called
"arguments") tied together by relations (called "predicates"). This is
different from languages with which you may be familiar, but various logic
systems and methods based on predicate structures have been the basis of
intellectual thought since logic was invented by the ancient Greeks.
3
These predicate structures can be used to express 'non-logical'
thought. Logicians are able to analyze all manner of verbal expressions
by converting them into predicate notation. But while Lojban will already
be expressed in a predicate-based system, allowing easy logical analysis,
it also contains the wide variety of elements found in natural language
for expression of attitudes, emotions, and rich metaphor.
Thus, Lojban has none of the standard parts of speech with which you
may be familiar. Lojban's 'predicate words' ("brivla") are all of the
same part of speech. Each can serve as the equivalent of a noun, verb,
adjective, or adverb. ("Cradle" is an example of an English word that
acts somewhat in this way.) Thus, "blanu" ("blue") conveys an active verb
sense (emitting blue light or absorbing other colors), as well as denoting
"a blue thing". "blanu" can also modify other words to indicate blueness.
"kurji" indicates the verb "take care of", but also can mean "caretaker",
or "caring". Action and existence are equally accessible to a speaker;
the distinction can be ignored, or can be explicitly expressed by associ-
ating concepts in "tanru" metaphors with "gasnu" ("do"), "zasti"
("exist"), "zukte" ("act with purpose"), with a variety of 'operators'
dealing with abstractions such as events, states, properties, amounts,
ideas, experience, and truth, or with four pre-defined varieties of
causality (others can be developed through metaphor).
A major benefit of using a predicate grammar is that Lojban doesn't
have mandatory inflections and declensions on nouns, verbs, and adjec-
tives. Most natural languages have evolved such variations to reduce am-
biguity as to how words are related in a sentence. Evolutionary develop-
ment has made these inflections and declensions highly irregular and thus
difficult to learn. Lojban uses the simple but flexible predicate rela-
tionship to erase both the irregularity and the declensions.
Tense and location markers (inflections), adverbs, and prepositions
are combined into one part of speech. New preposition-like forms can be
built at will from predicates; these allow the user to expand upon a sen-
tence by attaching and relating clauses not normally implied in the mean-
ing of a word.
Numbers and quantifiers are conceptually expanded from natural lan-
guages. "Many", "enough", "too much", "a few", and "at least" are among
concepts that are expressed as numbers in Lojban. Thus "it costs $3.95"
and "it costs too much" are grammatically identical, and one can talk of
being "enoughth in line" for tickets to a sellout movie. Core concepts of
logic, mathematics, and science are built into the root vocabulary. They
enhance discussion of those topics, and are surprisingly useful in ordi-
nary speech, too.
Predicate logic can express a wide variety of human thought; Lojban
adds in non-logical constructs that do not affect or obscure the logical
structure, allowing communications that are not amenable to logical analy-
sis. For example, Lojban has a full set of emotional indicators which al-
low expression of intensity and denial. These are similar to such ejacu-
lations in English as "Oh!", "Aha!", and "Wheee!", but each has a specific
meaning. Similarly, Lojban has indicators of the speaker's relationship
to what is said (Is it hearsay, direct observation, logical deduction,
etc.?) similar to those found in some American Indian languages.
Lojban supports metalinguistic discussion about the sentences being
spoken while remaining unambiguous. ("This sentence is not true" need not
be a paradox in Lojban.) Lojban also supports a variety of 'tense' logic
that allows extreme specificity of time and space (and space-time) rela-
tionships, even those implied by the concept of time travel. A sub-
stantial portion of Lojban's grammar is designed to support unambiguous
statement of mathematical expressions and relations in a manner compatible
both with international usage and Lojban's non-mathematical grammar.
Lojban 'parts of speech' are convertible from one to another by using
short structure words (called "cmavo"). One can make numbers serve as
nouns or verbs, or can invent new numbers and prepositions. Lojban re-
moves many of the constraints on human thought while preserving tight con-
trol on structural syntax.
4
Lojban seems complex. How hard is it to learn?
Lojban is actually much simpler than natural languages. Its grammar
is comparable in complexity with the current generation of computer lan-
guages (such as ADA). Lojban seems complex only because the varieties of
human thought are complex, and Lojban is designed to minimize constraints
on those thoughts. Lojban text appears longer and more complex due to its
lack of idiom, its complete revelation of logical structure, and most im-
portantly, its unfamiliarity. On the other hand, conversational speech
uses less than half of the possible grammatical structures, leaving the
rest for writing and for other circumstances when one is likely to take
time to carefully formulate exact logical phrasings.
Lojban's pronunciation, spelling, word formation, and grammar rules
are fixed, and the language is free of exceptions to these rules. Rule
exceptions are the bane of learning and correctly speaking natural lan-
guages. Without the burden of ambiguity, Lojban users can be precise and
specific more easily than in other languages.
Because Lojban's grammar is simple, it is easier to learn than other
languages. A working vocabulary including the complete set of 1300 root
words takes about 8-12 weeks of study at 1 hour per day. In Lojban
classes taught since 1989, the equivalent of a one semester of study (60
class-hours) allows conversational usage depending only on memorizing vo-
cabulary, regular practice and communicative interaction with others.
Natural languages, especially English, have been determined to take sev-
eral years to learn to a comparable level of skill.
The Lojban teaching materials are being designed so that you can
learn the language without classroom instruction, and possibly without a
close community of speakers. Communication practice with others is needed
to achieve fluency, but you can start using the language as you achieve
proficiency.
If Lojban was invented in 1960, why aren't there more speakers now?
The language, then called "Loglan", was first described in the
1950's, by Dr. James Cooke Brown. The 1960 Scientific American article
"Loglan" was his call for assistance in developing the language. A revo-
lution in linguistics was simultaneously taking place, resulting in a
rapidly increasing knowledge of the nature of human language, thus chang-
ing the requirements for the developing language. The first widely dis-
tributed Loglan dictionary and language description did not appear until
1975; the incompleteness of this description and continued development
work discouraged people from learning the language. Furthermore, comput-
ers caught up with Loglan just then, making it possible to refine the
grammar, eliminate ambiguity and mathematically prove its absence. For
over 35 years, this work has been performed by volunteers, and without fi-
nancial support. Now, after several versions of the language, people are
learning and using the current version, which is the first called "Lojban"
(from the roots "logical-language" in Lojban).
This version is the first version with a stable vocabulary, and the first
to have a stable and completely defined grammar (the grammar of mathemati-
cal expressions, for example, was not developed until 1990). The basic
Lojban vocabulary was baselined (stabilized against change) in the last
half of 1988, and the grammar similarly stabilized in late-1990, after
completion of the first Lojban courses, actual usage of the language, and
several iterations of careful analysis. Thus, in an important sense, Loj-
ban is a very new language.
To ensure Lojban remains stable while people learn it, the language
definition is being closely controlled. When the number of speakers has
grown significantly, and a Lojban literature has developed, Lojban will be
treated like a natural language and allowed to grow and flourish without
constraint, as do other natural languages.
5
Those first speakers of Lojban have a unique opportunity. They are
the history-makers who will shape the flavor of the first totally new lan-
guage to achieve broad speakability. Their ideas will be most influential
in setting the patterns of usage that others will learn from. Their
experiences will teach things about language that have never before been
learned - or learnable.
What do you mean by unambiguous?
Lojban has an unambiguous grammar (proven by computer analysis of a
formal grammar), pronunciation, and morphology (word forms). In practice
this means that the person who reads or hears a Lojban sentence is never
in doubt as to what words it contains or what roles they play in the sen-
tence. This is true even if the words are unfamiliar, so long as the
spelling and grammar rules are known. Lojban has no words that sound
alike but have different meanings (like "herd" and "heard"), that have
multiple unrelated meanings ("set"), or that differ only in punctuation
but not in sound (like the abominable "its" and "it's"). There is never
any doubt about where words begin and end (if you hear "cargo shipment",
do you hear 2, 3, or 4 words?). Most important, the function of each word
is inescapably clear; there is nothing like the English sentence "Time
flies like an arrow.", in which any of the first three words could be the
verb.
This precision in no way confines the meaning of a Lojban sentence.
It is possible to be fanciful or ridiculous, to tell a lie, or to be
misunderstood. You can be very specific, or you can be intentionally
vague. Your hearer may not understand what you meant, but will always un-
derstand what you said.
Can poetry be written in a 'logical' language or an 'unambiguous' one?
Original poetry has already been written in Lojban, and some has been
translated into the language. Lojban's powerful metaphor structure allows
you to build concepts into words easily, as you need them. A Lojban
speaker doesn't need a dictionary to use and understand millions of words
that can potentially exist in the language. The absence of cultural con-
straints makes consideration of new ideas and relationships easier than in
natural languages, spurring creativity. Lojban aids in communicating ab-
stractions by identifying their nature explicitly. Lojban is a thus a
very powerful language, not only for poetry, but for discussing such ab-
stract fields as philosophy, physics, metaphysics, and religion.
Lojban has an unambiguous grammar and its sounds and spelling are
unambiguous. Lojban is NOT entirely unambiguous; human beings occasion-
ally desire to be ambiguous in their expressions. In Lojban, this ambigu-
ity is limited to semantics, metaphor, and intentional omission of infor-
mation (ellipsis).
Semantic ambiguity results because words in natural languages repre-
sent families of concepts rather than individual meanings. These meanings
often have only weak semantic relationships to each other (the English
word "run" is an outstanding example). In addition, each individual's
personal experiences provide emotional connotations to words. By provid-
ing a fresh, culturally-neutral start, Lojban attempts to minimize the
transference of these associations as people learn the language. (Most
Lojban words do not much resemble corresponding words in other languages;
the differences aid in making this fresh start possible.
Lojban's powerful metaphor and word-building features make it easy to
make fine distinctions between concepts. This discourages the tendency
for individual words to acquire families of meanings. Lojban metaphors
(called "tanru") are themselves ambiguous; they specify a relationship be-
tween concepts, but not what the relationship is. That relationship can
be made explicit using unambiguous logical constructs if necessary, or can
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be left vague as the speaker (usually) desires. Similarly, portions of
the logical structure of a Lojban expression can be omitted, greatly sim-
plifying the expression while causing some ambiguity. Unlike in the natu-
ral languages, though, this ambiguity is readily identified by a reader or
listener. Thus all ambiguity in Lojban is constrained and recognizable,
and can be clarified as necessary by further interaction.
Lojban poets are already experimenting with new (and old) forms of
poetry that seem especially well suited to the rhythm, sound, and flow of
the language. Not since the Middle Ages have poets had such an opportu-
nity to affect the development of a new language, as they now can with
Lojban. Lojban's rich and powerful tanru have been used to create color-
ful images and to convey moving emotions. Unhindered by grammatical ambi-
guity that can obscure desired meanings, Lojban unleashes the full poten-
tial of poetic expression to communicate both concrete and abstract ideas.
Can you make jokes in an unambiguous language?
Most humor arises from situation and character and is as funny in
Lojban as in any language. Humor based on word play, of course, is lan-
guage-dependent. Lojban has no homonyms, and hence no simple puns; puns
derived from similar sounds are still possible. Since Lojban will almost
always be a second language, bilingual puns and word play abound, often
based on the relative ambiguity of the other languages involved. Humor
based on internal grammatical ambiguity is of course impossible in Lojban,
but humor based on nonsensical statements or on logical structures that
would be difficult to clearly express in another language, become easier.
As speakers become fluent, and conventional phrases come into use,
Lojban will develop its own forms of spoonerisms and subtle puns. Unique
forms of Lojban word-play have already turned up; they exploit the way
small variations in Lojban grammar create unexpected variations in mean-
ing, and the capability to simply express rather mind-boggling relation-
ships. Like all word-play, these lose zest when translated into other
languages.
Related to humor is the aphorism: the pithy saying that gains pun-
gency or poignancy from terse, elegant phrasing. Lojban seems as capable
of aphorisms as any language, perhaps more than most; however, because the
language is so young, such aphorisms are still rare.
What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that the structure of a language
constrains thought in that language, and constrains and influences the
culture that uses it. In other words, if concepts or structural patterns
are difficult to express in a language, the society and culture using the
language will tend to avoid them. Individuals might overcome this bar-
rier, but the society as a whole will not. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is
important, and controversial; it can be used as a sociological argument to
justify or to oppose racism and sexism (and a variety of other 'isms').
For example, the assertion that since genderless expressions in English
use 'masculine' forms, English is 'sexist', presumes the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis is true. Understanding the potential for Sapir-Whorf effects
could lead to better inter-cultural understanding, promoting communication
and peace.
It is known that people's ideas and thought change somewhat when they
learn a foreign language. It is not known whether this change is due to
exposure to a different culture or even just getting outside of ones own
culture. It is also not known how much (if any) of the change is due to
the nature of the language, as opposed to the cultural associations.
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis was important in linguistics in the
1950's, but interest fell off partially because properly testing it was so
difficult. Lojban is a new approach to such testing. Obviously, if a
7
culture-independent language could be taught to groups of people, the ef-
fects of language could more easily be separated from those of culture.
Unique features of Lojban remove constraints on language in the areas
of logic, ambiguity, and expressive power, opening up areas of thought
that have not been easily accessible by human language before. Meanwhile,
the formal rigidity of the language definition allows speakers to care-
fully control their expressions (and perhaps therefore their thought pro-
cesses). This gives some measure of predictive power that can be used in
designing and preparing for actual Sapir-Whorf experiments.
One of the prerequisites of a Sapir-Whorf experiment is an interna-
tional body of Lojban speakers. We need to be able to teach Lojban to
subjects who know only their native (non-English) tongue, and we need to
know in advance the difficulties that people from each language and cul-
ture will have in learning Lojban. Thus, the Lojban community is actively
reaching out to speakers of languages other than English.
Lojban does not need to prove or disprove the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
in order to be successful. However, if evidence is produced supporting
the Sapir-Whorf effect, Lojban will likely be perceived as an outstanding
tool of analytical and creative thought.
How else might Lojban be used by scientists studying language?
An artificial language (AL) is a simple model of a natural language.
It is used for communication like natural languages, simpler, more regu-
lar, and relatively uncontaminated by culture effects. Unlike most natu-
ral languages, an AL has not evolved through naturally processes of inter-
nal change or contact with other languages. In addition, to the extent to
which details of an AL is pre-defined, the internal structure of the lan-
guage is far better known than that of any natural language.
Such a pre-definition, a language 'prescription', makes an AL a
unique tool for studying the nature of language. As people learn the lan-
guage, the way they 'acquire' understanding of that prescription can tell
scientists how 'natural' the prescribed forms are. Actual usage of the
language can be compared to the prescription providing quantitative data
on specific patterns of usage. As the language evolves from its rela-
tively pristine initial state, it may start to deviate from its prescrip-
tion. Any such deviations will better inform researchers as to the prop-
erties of a 'natural' language. The process of language change itself
will of course be open to investigation in a way never before possible.
Finally, the existence of a relatively complete language prescription at
the birth of the language means that a 'description' of actual usage after
that initial state can be more simply created, maintained, and studied.
Lojban is undoubtedly the most carefully designed and defined AL ever
created. All aspects of its design have been carefully engineered by sev-
eral people encompassing expertise in a variety of disciplines, including
linguistics. The language prescription is similarly the most complete of
any language. As such, it serves as a unique basis for the study of lan-
guage usage and language change.
A new language like Lojban, with no native speakers, is termed a
'pidgin'. As the language evolves, native speakers of other languages
will learn it, and will bring into their Lojban usage the perspective and
patterns of their native language. This interaction process, called
'creolization', affects all languages, and may be the principle cause of
language change. As Lojban is learned by speakers of a variety of natural
languages, this process can be studied directly in a way never before pos-
sible, with the language prescription serving as a standard by which devi-
ations associated with speaker origin, and evolution of usage, can be mea-
sured and described in detail.
An AL like Lojban has neither an associated 'native accent' nor a
culture base. Being much simpler and more regular than a natural lan-
guage, an adult speaker should acquire a fluency seldom achieved when
studying a natural language, and in a relatively short time. Lojban thus
8
makes possible relatively short-term studies of language learning and lan-
guage change. Processes that take generations in natural languages may be
observed in a few years in Lojban speakers.
With the learning of other languages acquiring critical importance in
today's international economy, Lojban provides a tool for researching in
language acquisition. Again, Lojban's simplicity allows the results of
such research to be obtained more quickly than in similar studies of natu-
ral language acquisition.
No claim is made that studying Lojban will tell 'all' about language.
Lojban, at least for several decades, will only be a 'model' of a lan-
guage, whose 'naturalness' will be suspect. However, to the extent that
Lojban serves the communicative and expressive functions of human lan-
guage, any theory about the nature of human language must apply to Lojban.
Language features and processes identified in studying Lojban can then be
confirmed in natural languages. Similarly, theories of the nature of lan-
guage can be tested and refined against this simpler model of a language
before facing the more difficult and time-consuming testing and analysis
involved in natural language research.
Because Lojban is relatively culture-free, and because of its pre-
scribed structure that is consistent with predicate logic, Lojban is an
ideal medium for the analysis and description of other languages. Cur-
rently, features in language must be compared against other natural lan-
guages, and are usually described in scientific literature by glossed
translation into English. Lojban is simple and regular enough to be ac-
quired as a metalanguage for describing other languages; its structures
allow clearer reflection of the patterns of the language being described,
without interference from the competing patterns of English.
Finally, Lojban's predicate grammar, makes it eminently suited for
ongoing computer research into natural languages. Lojban can be used for
parsing and analysis, as an internal medium of data storage, or as an in-
termediate language for machine translation. Having a combination of log-
ical and natural language structures, Lojban combines the best of both ma-
jor structural approaches to language processing in computers.
The exercise of trying to invent a language can teach us things about
language that probably can't be learned in any other way. Even if Lojban
should fail as a language, we will learn. However, to the extent Lojban
succeeds, its potential as a basis for testing ideas about language, its
structure, and usage, is unlimited. The invention of Lojban is the inven-
tion of the science of experimental linguistics.
Isn't Esperanto the 'international language'?
There have been hundreds of international languages developed, of
which Esperanto is the most successful and widely known. Esperanto, like
most other such languages, was based on European languages in both grammar
and vocabulary. The inherent cultural bias makes Esperanto unsuited for
most of the purposes that Lojban was designed for.
Lojban is culturally neutral. Its vocabulary was built algorithmi-
cally using today's six most widely spoken languages: Chinese, English,
Hindi, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic. Lojban's words thus show roots in
three major families of languages spoken by most of the world's people.
Lojban's grammar accommodates structures found in non-European languages,
and uses sounds found in most of the world's languages. Coupled with the
potential computer applications that will make Lojban a useful language to
know, it is believed that Lojban's potential as an international language
is more far-reaching than Esperanto's.
Lojban was not designed primarily to be an international language,
but rather as a linguistic tool for studying and understanding language.
Linguistic and computer applications make Lojban unique among proposed
international languages, in that Lojban can be successful without immedi-
ately being accepted and adopted everywhere, and Lojban can be useful and
9
interesting even to those skeptical of or hostile towards the interna-
tional language movement.
Lojban also is not in direct competition with Esperanto, in that Loj-
ban's potential success is not dependent on its immediate practical use as
an international language. Lojban has proven attractive to Esperantists
interested in acquiring a new perspective on their own international lan-
guage', who feel less threatened because Lojban has different goals. Loj-
ban's supporters recognize that it will take decades for Lojban to acquire
both the number and variety of speakers and the extensive history of usage
that marks Esperanto culture. Meanwhile, each language community has much
to learn from each other; this process has started and is most active.
How about English as an international language?
English is commonly used as an 'international language' in the fields
of science and technology, and is probably the most-widely spoken language
in the world. American dominance of technology this century has caused
massive borrowing from English into other languages that do not have words
for all these new concepts. This dominance, and a heritage of colonialism
and imperialism that built resentment towards American and European impo-
sitions on native culture, has caused recent movements in other countries
away from English. The rising influence of Japan and other countries on
world economics, science, and technology makes further declines in En-
glish's universality likely.
In addition, most who know English as a second language speak it only
minimally, though they may be able to read or understand many words. In
fact, English is one of the most difficult languages to learn fluently.
In countries where English is spoken along with other languages, it has
been adapted into dialects which match the local culture and borrow words
from the other local languages. Some of these dialects are as much as 70%
unintelligible to American or British speakers, or to each other. As
such, there is no single English language to call an 'international' one.
Lojban is a single language, with design features to discourage
dialectization. While it was developed primarily by Americans and sup-
ports the full range of expression of English, Lojban's cultural neutral-
ity gives equal priority to the structures and concepts of other languages
and cultures. This cultural neutrality enhances Lojban's acceptability as
an international language. Since it is as capable of generating or bor-
rowing any words needed to support the concepts of science and technology
as English, and has advantages for computer applications, Lojban is likely
to spread worldwide through the technological community. Far more so than
English, Lojban is simple and easy to learn for people of all cultures.
Why should I learn Lojban?
There are several reasons for learning the language now. Those who
are working with the language now are actively consulted for their opin-
ions on how to teach and spread the language. Within a few weeks of work
learning the material already written and some of the vocabulary, you will
be able to work with those who have already started. You will be a sig-
nificant part of this small but rapidly growing community. You will re-
ceive personalized attention to any problems you have with the language
from those leading the effort. If you are truly ambitious and committed
to the language, you are welcome to join in that leadership.
Those with a computer background who learn the language now will be
the leaders in developing the first meaningful computer applications for
the language. Expertise in the language will no doubt be valuable as Loj-
ban becomes recognized as a useful tool for computer applications by the
computer industry. Meanwhile, computer-oriented Lojbanists can also aid
in developing computer-aided instruction tools or converting existing
software to run on new computers.
10
Those without a computer orientation will also find Lojban a valuable
language. You may be interested in the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and in the
scientific tests to be planned and conducted, or in other language-related
research. You may be interested in Lojban's potential as international
language, and in the attempts to use the language to reach across cultural
bounds.
Regardless of your background, you will find learning Lojban to be a
mind-expanding experience. Learning any language other than your native
tongue broadens your perspectives and allows you to transcend the limited
viewpoints of your native language culture. Lojban, being much simpler to
learn than natural languages, provides this benefit much more quickly than
does the study of other languages.
Having learned Lojban, you will find it easier to learn other lan-
guages and to communicate with people from other backgrounds, regardless
of the language studied; the linguistic principles you learn while learn-
ing Lojban are applicable to these languages and communication problems.
It is believed that, for anyone planning to later learn other languages,
the short time spent learning Lojban will be made up by the reduced time
needed later to learn those others.
Studies in the 1930's, for example, demonstrated that students could
acquire greater skill in French through one semester of Esperanto followed
by one semester of French, than they could by a full year course in
French. Lojban offers similar benefits, less likely to be limited to Eu-
ropean languages. For example, structures in Japanese that are difficult
to explain in English because they are so unlike English usage are much
easier to explain using Lojban patterns.
The logical organization embedded in Lojban will aid you in organiz-
ing and clarifying your thoughts. Having done so, your new perspective on
language, ambiguity, and communication will allow you to express those
thoughts more clearly, even when you use an ambiguous natural language.
A short introductory course in Lojban for high school (or younger)
students has been proposed. A relatively short study of Lojban would pro-
vide the linguistic understanding that was once associated with studying
Latin and other languages for much longer periods of time. Such study can
be tied in with concepts of logic, and possibly with computer-related
activities, helping to show the essential interrelated nature of language
and other human endeavor.
You needn't learn Lojban for any practical purpose, however. Many,
if not most, of those who are learning Lojban are doing so because it is
fun. Learning Lojban is intellectually stimulating, providing human in-
teraction (a way to meet other people and get to know them) and mental
challenge. Lojban has all the benefits of games designed for entertain-
ment, with the added prospect of that entertainment possibly developing
into a useful skill as a side benefit.
Learning Lojban as an 'intellectual toy' means that you can get en-
joyment from learning Lojban without nearly the effort needed to benefit
from studying other languages. While becoming fluent in Lojban will prob-
ably take hundreds of hours over several months, you can feel some sense
of accomplishment in the language after just a couple of hours of study.
You can use Lojban immediately for fun, while gaining skill with greater
experience.
How do I learn Lojban?
If you received this brochure by mail, you probably also received an
overview of the language design and structures, and possibly other materi-
als such as an introductory lesson. If you obtained this brochure via
computer transmission, these added materials are probably available via
the same source. If you have not received these materials, you may write
to The Logical Language Group, Inc. at the address found at the end of
this brochure, and we will be happy to provide them. We request a contri-
bution of $5 to cover the costs of these materials (listed on the Regis-
tration form as "Package 0").
11
(We ask that those obtaining our materials by computer register your
interest with us by postal or computer mail, and that you consider con-
tributing to The Logical Language Group to help offset our continuing
costs in general support of the Lojban community. We currently spend an
average of over $20 U.S. per year per known member of the community, sev-
eral of whom cannot pay either due to finances or overseas currency ex-
change difficulties; any amount you contribute will be helpful.)
Once you have read these initial materials, there are several direc-
tions you may proceed, depending on your time, location, and other circum-
stances, and your goals for use of the language.
Most people learning the language will work for some time on their
own before working with others. We recommend where possible, that you
identify at least one other person to study and interact with, either in
person or by mail. The Logical Language Group maintains lists of Lojban
students of various degrees of skill and activity levels. There is also
at least one active computer mail exchange list accessible from Internet,
Usenet, Compuserve, and possibly with some work from FIDOnet. Information
will be found at the end of this brochure.
Almost any use you wish to make of Lojban requires some degree of
mastery of the basic vocabulary. You can learn enough Lojban grammar to
support conversation in just a couple of hours, but you will need vocabu-
lary in order to use that grammar.
You can learn the Lojban vocabulary using flash cards; The Logical
Language Group distributes a set of cards and we have developed flash card
techniques that are extremely efficient in helping you learn the vocabu-
lary. The flash card technique has been automated into computer-aided-
teaching programs sold under the name "LogFlash", with MS-DOS and MacIn-
tosh versions currently available.
(Other computer-aided-instruction programs are available or under
development, and a Lojban grammar-checking parser will be available in
mid-1991 for several computer environments. At least one interactive game
program using Lojban text and commands is under development in 1991.)
You can learn the Lojban grammar in several ways, including study of
examples in the quarterly journal ju'i lobypli or by inspection and analy-
sis of the formal grammar description (written for use with the computer
language tool "YACC" - this option is most practical for people who have
studied computer languages using similar descriptions). A simplified ver-
sion of the latter in 'E-BNF notation' is found in "Package 1" and the
complete formal grammar is found in "Package 2", both available from The
Logical Language Group.
Draft lesson materials are distributed as "Package 3" by The Logical
Language Group, and are the best materials available for self-study. The
materials consist of 6 draft lessons totalling 283 pages, an additional
non-lesson description of 'negation' grammar in Lojban, and an outline
showing topics not addressed in the lessons and a suggested order of study
that can be pursued using 'Package 1 and 2' materials.
Lojban classes have been taught intermittently since early 1989. A
Lojban textbook is being written to reflect what is learned from these
first learning efforts. The textbook is being designed so that it can be
used for self-instruction, classroom teaching, or group study. The Logi-
cal Language Group will let you know of any planned study group activities
in your area, and will announce the textbook when it is completed. A for-
mal 'Lojban dictionary' will eventually replace most of the 'Package 1 and
2' word lists and language description materials, probably about a year
after the textbook is completed, but those materials contain the equiva-
lent of a basic dictionary right now. Approximately 6 months after the
dictionary is published the Lojban language definition will be baselined
(frozen) for 5 years, and Lojban will thereafter be solely controlled by
speakers of the language.
Other materials which may be available include language tapes and
video tapes. At this writing a language tape coordinated with the draft
lessons is available, and an unedited video tape of a teaching session is
being considered for release. Consult an order form for current products.
12
Of course the only way to really learn a language is to USE it. The
Logical Language Group will assist you in finding other Lojban students of
comparable skill level and interests, either in your local area or reach-
able by post or computer mail. The quarterly journal ju'i lobypli regu-
larly contains Lojban text, some with detailed translations and some with-
out translation, as well as discussions of language points by various mem-
bers of the Lojban community. Of course the best way to use the language
is to recruit friends and associates into studying and using the language
with you. Even if they are not interested in the same language goals as
you are, the 'hobbyist' aspect of the language will provide interesting
and stimulating entertainment for all concerned.
What is The Logical Language Group?
The Logical Language Group, Inc. is a non-profit organization, the
embodiment of the Loglan/Lojban community. We were founded to complete
the language development process, to develop and publish teaching materi-
als, to organize and teach the community, to promote applications of Loj-
ban, and to initiate and lead research efforts in linguistics, language
education, and other areas related to Lojban. Simply put, our purpose is
to serve you in all manner of things Lojbanic. The Logical Language Group
is not affiliated with The Loglan Institute, Inc., the organization
founded by James Cooke Brown.
The Logical Language Group is also called "la lojbangirz." (/lah-
lozh-BAHN-geerz./), its Lojban name. It was founded informally in 1987,
and incorporated in 1988. The U. S. Internal Revenue Service approved our
status as a non-profit educational/scientific charity in 1989, making do-
nations and grants to the organization deductible under U. S. tax law.
Loglan/Lojban has been developed almost totally by volunteer labor
and small donations of money. Lojban attracts people who are willing to
devote a lot of time and effort to seeing their dreams become reality.
Thus, our only income has been money derived from sales of our publica-
tions, and donations from interested supporters.
The Logical Language Group publishes and sells materials on a bal-
ance/credit system. We distribute materials to people and ask that they
contribute to cover the costs of those materials. All language definition
information is considered in the public domain, and most Logical Language
Group publications are distributed under a policy which allows not-for-
charge copying and redistribution. Computer versions of many of our pub-
lications are available. We ask that people who receive our materials un-
der any of these alternate means to register your interest in Lojban with
us so we may better serve that community, and donate liberally so that we
may continue to serve you.
We ask that you keep a positive account balance of up to a year or
more of expected expenditures for orders, as indicated on our registration
and order forms. Such balance money serves as our day-to-day operating
funds. We will refund positive balance contributions within 6 weeks of
your request. If you move without notifying us and we therefore cannot
contact you, we will maintain your positive balance for a year before
treating it as a donation.
Most materials that we sell require either prior payment, an informal
commitment to pay on your part, or your statement that you cannot afford
to pay for materials (in which case our supplying these materials is at
our discretion). We attempt to flexibly support Lojbanists with financial
constraints, and will accept reasonable offers of reduced or delayed pay-
ments subject to our financial condition, coupled with your commitment to
actively maintain contact and involvement with the community through us.
Obviously, the level of your prior and current activity and any commit-
ments you make in learning the language or in volunteer work for la loj-
bangirz. will be factored into our decision.
13
la lojbangirz. has a special commitment to support non-U. S. Lojban-
ists, because so many of the language goals are dependent on building an
international community of speakers, and because we recognize the diffi-
culties caused by the international currency market and the relative
wealth of nations. We can accept bank cheques in most currencies and in-
ternational payment via Master Card and Visa. We also encourage groups to
form and receive a single copy of our materials, copying or passing them
to others so that the per-person costs remain low. We require a lower
standard of contact and contribution from overseas Lojbanists when decid-
ing on whether to continue sending our materials at reduced or no charge.
We ask that all recipients of our materials voluntarily contribute
what you can, and to maintain sufficient funds in your balance to cover
our suggested prices. These will be deducted automatically when we send
you materials. We will notify you requesting more money when your balance
becomes negative. We reserve the right to refuse orders when your balance
is not fully paid, but again will make every effort to support those who
support Lojban through their time, commitment, and money.
You have no legal obligation to pay for materials sent to you without
your request, but such materials will be charged against your balance in
the absence of any agreement otherwise, with adjustments made to that bal-
ance per agreement. If we accept an offer of reduced payment from you, we
will charge that amount to your balance.
We ask all recipients of our materials to help us financially in any
way you can. The Logical Language Group needs your gifts for support of
the Loglan/Lojban project. Artificial languages are historically not
financially lucrative, and have difficulty receiving outside support. The
Logical Language Group, Inc. is prohibited by its bylaws from spending
more than 10% of its expenses for administrative purposes, except by spe-
cial agreement with a donor who agrees to cover such added costs in full.
How does The Logical Language Group serve the community?
We try to keep the community informed. Not everyone has the time
available to participate in all of our activities. A quarterly newslet-
ter, le lojbo karni, is sent to everyone in the community. A longer jour-
nal, ju'i lobypli, is also published quarterly. It contains discussions
of features of the language, debates on research issues and applications,
letters from the community and responses, and a growing quantity of Lojban
writings and translations.
Our publications are free of advertisements (other than our own or-
dering information, and occasional mention of individuals and organiza-
tions who have contributed particular service to our efforts), and we do
not sell our mailing list. Our publications are distributed as cheaply as
possible to encourage new people to participate. In the interest of
attracting the widest audience possible, we are committed to distributing
as much material as possible using the 'Shareware' concept for computer
software and a similar policy for printed publications. This policy re-
tains our copyrights but allows you, with relatively little restriction,
to copy our materials for your friends, as long as you don't charge for
the copies. We also ask that recipients of copies register with us, so
that we know who has our materials. Such registration does not require
contribution.
Certain materials that we publish contain information that we place
in the public domain. All language definition information is considered
to be public.
You can participate in the Lojban community at several levels of ac-
tivity, listed on the detachable registration form that accompanies this
brochure. Contributor's costs can range from as little as $5-$10 per year
to receive only le lojbo karni, to greater amounts for people actively
learning the language. We automatically send you materials based on your
indicated level of activity; this minimizes individual order processing
and simplifies our paperwork, keeping our costs down.
14
If you are attempting to learn the language, we provide as much help
as we can to assist in this process. We will put you in touch with Loj-
banists who might be interested in studying or communicating with you in
the language. You can also send your writings to us for review, or for
indirect exchange with others. Grammatically correct writings may be se-
lected for printing in our publications. We try to foster research and
social interaction among those who are learning, or who have already
learned the language. We aid such people in organizing, leading, and
teaching formal classes and study groups, and will sponsor affiliated
groups in local areas where non-profit sponsorship brings useful benefits.
We also conduct an annual (late June) celebration of the language and com-
munity, called "LogFest", in conjunction with our annual business meeting
in the Washington DC area. We also expect to support other local meetings
and gatherings as the community grows.
We are seeking avenues to engage in larger research efforts and to
actively work on applications for the language. Thus we are seeking
grants and contracts, as well as financial and technical assistance from
individuals, companies, and universities. These are a relatively low pri-
ority now, but their importance is expected to grow as the teaching mate-
rials are completed and the language stabilization is completed. Ideas
and information in these areas are welcome.
Of course, we also try to publicize the language. Our representa-
tives attend meetings and give presentations on the language. We dis-
tribute these brochures. Through our efforts, and with your help, the
community of Lojbanists is rapidly growing.
What can I do now?
You can become involved in the Lojban project in a variety of ways,
depending on your background and interests, and on your available time:
- you can participate in completing the language development;
- you can devise applications for Lojban in computers, education, lin-
guistics, and other fields;
- you can help in organizing Lojbanists in your area, and in recruiting
new Lojbanists;
- you can help in teaching the language to new people (even while
learning yourself);
- you can assist in spreading Lojban to non-English-speaking cultures by
helping translate materials into other languages and by iden-
tifying, recruiting, and communicating with contacts in other
countries (international involvement is vital to ensuring that
Lojban remains culturally neutral);
- you can contribute financially to support our organization, its ac-
tivities, and its publications;
- you can use Lojban in composition, translation, and in conversation
with other Lojbanists.
For many of these activities, you need to learn the language first.
However, even those who haven't time to learn the language at this point,
or who live apart from other Lojbanists, can assist in recruiting and con-
tributing ideas to the effort.
Helping to publicize the language, of course, does not take a lot of
time, or necessarily even knowing the language. Talk to friends, rela-
tives and colleagues. We will gladly provide copies of this brochure upon
your request. Lojban tends to sell itself; people who become informed
tend to be interested to at least some degree.
If you respond, we will send you materials appropriate to your de-
sired level of activity, including (as a default - see the registration
form) a package of introductory materials (that you may have received with
this brochure), and the latest issue of le lojbo karni, which will bring
you up-to-date on what is happening in the community. If you indicate a
15
higher activity level, you will receive more detailed materials, up to and
including teaching materials. You can also order our computer products,
specialized text materials, back issues of the newsletter and journal, and
various specialty items. See our order form for details.
Keep in touch with us. We want to know your ideas and opinions on
the language, on our various activities, and on our products. We welcome
open debate on the language design, and have even printed and made avail-
able writings that are critical of various aspects of our efforts, when
they are of sufficient general interest. Open debate aids in understand-
ing and improves the overall quality of the language and of our presenta-
tion of it to the world. We would rather hear criticism now within our
friendly community and either correct our problems or prepare an adequate
response, than to do so later when such issues are raised by outsiders.
In short, Lojban is a product of ALL of the community, including YOU
- if you choose.
Of course, once you have started to learn the language,
USE LOJBAN
Lojban will not really achieve the status of 'language' until people
use it. We need creative people to write Lojban prose, poetry, and dia-
log. We need translations made from fiction, technical literature, from
religious and philosophical writings, and from music. Only in this way
will Lojban be proven practical, and gain the credibility it needs to suc-
ceed.
Who do I contact?
Write or call
Bob LeChevalier
The Logical Language Group, Inc.
2904 Beau Lane
Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 385-0273
USENET, UUCP, and INTERNET mail can be sent to us at:
lojbab@snark.thyrsus.com
An active newsgroup/mail exchange is available on this network. To join,
contact:
lojban-list-request@snark.thyrsus.com
and send mailings to all newsgroup members via:
lojban-list@snark.thyrsus.com
Compuserve members can join this group, or can contact us, by preceding
any of the above addresses with "INTERNET:". Fidonet connects with the
Internet via a variety of nodes - contact your SYSOP.
If you have no network access, the AMRAD bulletin board
(300/1200/2400 baud) in the Washington DC area has a conference dedicated
to Lojban. It is accessible via PC Pursuit as well as through normal tele-
phone access. Call (703) 734-1387, and follow the instructions given for
the "Loglan Conference". Please leave a message addressed to "Bob
LeChevalier" or the SYSOP. The conference is presently inactive, but we
check occasionally for messages.
16
If you have received a registration form and an order form with this
brochure, you can provide us with useful information to aid us in serving
you, and can order some of our materials.
e'osai ko sarji la lojban.
/eh-ho-sai, ko-SAHR-zhee, lah-LOZH-bahn./
Please support Lojban!
LOJBAN REGISTRATION
Name: ___________________________________________________________________
Street Address: _________________________________________________________
City, State, (Country), Zip: ____________________________________________
Home Phone: ______________________ Work Phone: __________________________
Computer Net Address (Indicate Network):
____________________________________________________________________
My primary interest(s) in Lojban are (check any that are applicable):
____ linguistics applications/theory _____ computer applications
____ foreign language/linguistics education _____'international' language
____ other:______________________________________________________________
Activity Level: _____ I am not interested in further involvement. Please
remove me from your active lists.
_____ (Level B) Observer - (default) _____ (Level C) Active Supporter
_____ (Level D) Lojban Student _____ (Level E) Lojban Practitioner
We offer the following packages of printed materials. We will keep
records of materials that we know you have received to allow us to
provide updates on request. (Default is Package 0)
(Package 0) The initial package of brochure and introductory materials.
(49 pg - Suggested price $4)
(Package 1) Word lists and language description. (132 pg. - Suggested
price $13.20)
(Package 2) Language design information. (78 pg. - Suggested price $7.80)
(Package 3) Draft teaching materials. (321 pg. Suggested price $32.10)
The above materials are non-overlapping, but the contents of each may
vary with time.
Packages 0, 1, and 2 are available in computer media (MS-DOS, specify
format) and on some networks. We request that you contribute some or all
of the suggested price and tell us what materials you have obtained.
I would like the following packages: _________________ I have received,
or obtained electronically, the following and should not be sent them:
_________________________________________________________________________
_____ Please send me updates to materials automatically. I will maintain
a positive account balance (suggested $10-$20), and reimburse any
shortfalls promptly.
The Logical Language Group publishes two quarterly publications.
Please indicate which, if any, you wish to subscribe to. JL
contains all information in LK. (Default is subscription to LK.)
Sample JL Issue $6.
_____ No subscription please
_____ (LK) le lojbo karni - newsletter for level B/package 0 (10
pg/issue, Suggested $5/yr or 4 issues)
_____ (JL) ju'i lobypli - journal for level C/package 1 or above (60
pg/issue, Suggested $20/yr or 4 issues)
_____ I am interested in communicating with others at my interests and
level ____ in person ____ via post ____ for study, ____ for
discussion of interest areas marked above, ____ via computer mailing
list
_____ I enclose ________ to establish/add to my account balance. (20%
discount on prepaid orders over $20)
_____ I would like to donate a gift of _______ to support Lojban ac-
tivities, independent of my balance.
_____ I can't pay full price for the materials I want, but request them
anyway at your discretion, subject to my commitment to continued,
regular interaction with LLG. I offer ______ towards the costs.
VA residents add 4.5% sales tax, except on subscription prices.
Visa/Master Card accepted with 6% service charge (Provide number, exp.
date, signature). Non US/Canada add 20% surcharge for air mail bulk
shipment (default), 30% for air mail. 20% discount on prepaid orders
over $20.
Send to:
The Logical Language Group, Inc., 2904 Beau Lane, Fairfax VA USA 22031-1303
Phone Information: 703-385-0273
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