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Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2014 07:20:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: "'John E Clifford' via lojban" <lojban@googlegroups.com>
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Subject: Re: [lojban] What are the official goals of lojban?
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VERY unofficially, the goal of Lojban is to have a usable language which is=
 syntactically unambiguous, that is, is such that every grammatical utteran=
ce has a unique and correct parse (monoparsing, for short). =C2=A0If it is =
not meeting this goal, Lojban is unduly complex for meeting whatever other =
goals it may have (all of which are met more efficiently by other construct=
ed languages, most by even, say, toki pona). =C2=A0Lojban has some reason t=
o claim that it meets this goal, at least that it has a grammar that gives =
a unique parse to each grammatical sentence. What is less clearly demonstra=
ted is that this parse is always correct in the sense that it maps directly=
 onto a unique formula of symbolic logic, though this appears likely, given=
 the care which has been devoted to details that such a mapping would invol=
ve=C2=A0


On Monday, June 9, 2014 8:54 AM, Andrew Browne <dersaidin@gmail.com> wrote:
=20


What are the official goals of lojban?


It is important to have an understanding of the goals for ongoing work (fin=
ishing BPFK sections, etc.), otherwise we will end up with stuff that is in=
consistent.
I think many people involved have an implicit understanding of the goals, d=
ue to having been around much longer, and/or closely involved in BPFK.

I am after an official clear statement of goals for lojban (or reference to=
 one), for the benefit of those of us who have not been around for so long =
(and clarification for everyone else).


The best source I can find is the CLL:
https://dag.github.io/cll/1/1/

The goals for the language were first described in the open literature in t=
he article =E2=80=9CLoglan=E2=80=9D, published in Scientific American, June=
, 1960.
=C2=A0
The following are the main features of Lojban:
>Lojban is designed to be used by people in communication with each other, =
and possibly in the future with computers.
>Lojban is designed to be neutral between cultures.
>Lojban grammar is based on the principles of predicate logic.
>Lojban has an unambiguous yet flexible grammar.
>Lojban has phonetic spelling, and unambiguously resolves its sounds into w=
ords.
>Lojban is simple compared to natural languages; it is easy to learn.
>Lojban=E2=80=99s 1300 root words can be easily combined to form a vocabula=
ry of millions of words.
>Lojban is regular; the rules of the language are without exceptions.
>Lojban attempts to remove restrictions on creative and clear thought and c=
ommunication.
>Lojban has a variety of uses, ranging from the creative to the scientific,=
 from the theoretical to the practical.
>Lojban has been demonstrated in translation and in original works of prose=
 and poetry.


I also found some other materials with similar lists of features, and a sim=
ilar reference to the goals of TLI Loglan:
http://mw.lojban.org/index.php?title=3DLojban_Introductory_Brochure
http://mw.lojban.org/index.php?title=3Dralju_papri
http://mw.lojban.org/index.php?title=3DFrom_Wikibooks:_Lojban/Introduction_=
to_Lojban#Lojban


There has also been some discussion of goals on this list:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/lojban/goals/lojban/jDRfYun5Rs4/=
o8LqJicWwyUJ


Several of these sources have referenced the goals of TLI Loglan.
So what are the goals of TLI Loglan?

Note; I'm quoting the bits I think are possibly relevant to my question of =
goals, trying to provide a helpful summary.
Please read more of these documents to get more context or to add anything =
else I missed.


First, lets look in that 1960 Scientific American Article mentioned earlier=
:
http://www.lojban.org/tiki/Scientific+American+article
http://members.home.nl/w.dijkhuis/loglan_jcb/Brown_JC_loglan.html
http://www.dersaidin.net/lojban/reference/LoglanScientificAmerican1960/ =C2=
=A0(mirror)

It was to supply an instrument for experimental investigation of the Leibni=
z-Whorf hypothesis that we undertook our work on Loglan in 1955.
>Loglan was to be an artificial language, but one especially designed to te=
st the thesis that the structure of language determines the forms of though=
t.
>It was to have a small, easily learned vocabulary derived from the word st=
ock of as many of the major natural languages as proved feasible (though it=
 was not intended to be an auxiliary international language).
>Its rules of grammar and syntax were to be as few and regular as possible.
>It was to utilize a short list of speech sounds (phonemes) common to the n=
atural languages [see table on opposite page], and it was to be phoneticall=
y spelled.
>
=C2=A0
But most important, Loglan was to incorporate as many of the notational dev=
ices of modern logic and mathematics as could be adapted to its use.=C2=A0


The other good source I found on TLI Loglan is this book, Loglan1 (which ap=
pears to me to be the TLI Loglan equivalent of CLL):
https://ia700400.us.archive.org/11/items/Loglan1/Loglan1.pdf
http://www.dersaidin.net/lojban/reference/Loglan1.pdf =C2=A0 =C2=A0(mirror)

In chapter 1, there are sections 1 through 9 that cover a different goal (o=
r maybe feature/viewpoint).

1.1 The Scientific Strategy
Loglan is a language which was originally devised to test the Sapir-Whorf h=
ypothesis
>that the structure of language determines the boundaries of human thought.

The most promising way to create such a difference, it seemed to me, was to=
 exaggerate some=C2=A0
>natural function of human language, that is, to increase the functional ad=
equacy of some complex=C2=A0
>of linguistic structures in a way that would have a strong independent lik=
elihood of enhancing=C2=A0
>the measurable performance of its learners on some specified set of tasks.=
 Besides, in its original=C2=A0
>formulation the Whorf hypothesis is a negative one: language limits though=
t. One way of=C2=A0
>disclosing such phenomena is to take the suspected limits off, more precis=
ely, to push them=C2=A0
>outward in some direction in which removing limits would have predictable =
effects. So it was=C2=A0
>settled. The diminutive language should also be a functionally extreme one=
 in some known or=C2=A0
>presumable way: an extremely poetic one, say, or an extremely efficient on=
e, or extremely=C2=A0
>logical.

1.2 Loglan as a Logical Language
But the claim invested in this metaphor is in fact narrower than the wide=
=C2=A0
>word 'logical' suggests. Loglan is logical only in the sense of purporting=
 to facilitate certain=C2=A0
>limited kinds of thought: namely those kinds which proceed by the transfor=
mation of sentences=C2=A0
>into other sentences in such a way that if the first are true so also are =
the second. We might
>also expect it to minimize, or help prevent, the errors that are usually m=
ade in performing such=C2=A0
>deductive operations. But these are fairly modest senses of the word 'logi=
cal'. We might have=C2=A0
>meant to convey by it the much stronger claim that Loglan is a deductive s=
ystem, in the sense=C2=A0
>that geometry and formal logic are. To support such a claim we would have =
had to show that=C2=A0
>Loglan had a set of elementary notions and elementary operations from whic=
h all its complex=C2=A0
>notions and complex operations had been rigorously derived. But we do not =
make this claim.

1.3 Loglan as a Laboratory Instrument
Apart from the thought-facilitating functions of Loglan, the language is al=
so meant to be a=C2=A0
>manageable laboratory instrument: teachable, measurable, controllable; its=
 structure transparently=C2=A0
>observable both at the moment of introduction into any experiment and in c=
ontinuous change

But Loglan does seem to be easily learned,11 and on every formal parameter =
it is agreeably small.
>The number of its grammar rules is an order of magnitude less than has com=
e to be expected of natural grammars from recent work.

While the size of a language is not the only factor that determines the spe=
ed with which it is learned, it is=C2=A0
>undoubtedly an important one; and all my early teaching trials have sugges=
ted that Loglan is indeed very rapidly learned.

Another feature of the language that reflects its intended use as a laborat=
ory instrument is its cultural neutrality.

1.4 Loglan in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Loglan grammar is not only known but already written in a machine-parsable =
code. So it is itself the beginning of an AI program.

Besides, if the partial grammars now in hand are any indication,=C2=A0
>when a complete grammar of a natural human language is finally written, it=
 will be far too large=C2=A0
>for programmatic manipulation in the AI lab. Natural languages are very la=
rge affairs.

Thus, more than anything else it is the small size, formal completeness and=
 machine parsability=C2=A0
>of Loglan grammar that seem to suit it for manipulation in the artificial =
intelligence laboratory.=C2=A0

1.5 Loglan at the Machine-Man interface
...to make the machine-man interface truly comfortable for humans and yet c=
ontinue to be instructive
>for machines, we need a language in which the requirements of both humans =
and machines are met.

Loglan may be such a language. We have seen that it is utterly unequivocal =
grammatically. One=C2=A0
>consequence is that we humans become aware of what we are actually saying =
when we talk=C2=A0
>Loglan. So a Loglan-speaking human is much less likely to say one thing wh=
ile meaning another,=C2=A0
>thus misinforming his or her machine. Also, as we shall see in the next ch=
apter, Loglan words=C2=A0
>resolve uniquely from the speech-stream; no 'I scream'/'Ice cream' phenome=
na exist in it. So even=C2=A0
>spoken instructions are unequivocal in Loglan. This is true of no other la=
nguage. Being able to=C2=A0
>speak freely composed instructions spontaneously would add immeasurably to=
 the speed and=C2=A0
>comfort of the interaction for humans, and yet, because it's Loglan, its b=
eing spoken would not=C2=A0
>diminish its precision for machines.=C2=A0

What do we human partners in this high-powered interaction require? That we=
 be permitted to=C2=A0
>express our thoughts fully, freely and spontaneously without the risk of s=
eriously misinforming=C2=A0
>our machines. That we be able to understand most of the machine's word-cho=
ices and all its=C2=A0
>utterance-forms immediately, and be able to clarify by interrogation whate=
ver part of the=C2=A0
>computer's responses to us we do not immediately understand.

1.6 Loglan as a Translation Medium
Consider the problem. An original document, say a French article on galacti=
c evolution, is to be=C2=A0
>translated into a dozen other languages, from Chinese to Swahili. As this =
project would be=C2=A0
>implemented now, it would turn into a dozen separate translation tasks, ea=
ch performed by its=C2=A0
>own bilingual expert, or team of experts, if as many as a dozen could be f=
ound. But with Loglan=C2=A0
>as the translation medium, the project would be transformed into essential=
ly one task: translation=C2=A0
>of the French document into Loglan. Admittedly this would require human ef=
fort aided by=C2=A0
>whatever computer algorithms the agency had developed for this purpose. Bu=
t the resulting=C2=A0
>Loglan document could then be more or less instantly retranslated into alm=
ost any number of=C2=A0
>other natural tongues, and this second step could in principle be performe=
d, and so eventually in=C2=A0
>practice, by machines.=C2=A0

1.7 Loglan in Information Storage and Retrieval
Another not quite so incidental by-product of using Loglan as a translation=
 medium would be=C2=A0
>that the Loglan texts so created would be well-adapted for the machine sto=
rage and retrieval of=C2=A0
>the information they contained. For one of the same reasons that Loglan Is=
 suitable at the=C2=A0
>interface, namely that knowledge stored in the predicate notation is appar=
ently usable by both=C2=A0
>machines and humans, texts translated into Loglan and stored on some elect=
ronic medium could=C2=A0
>later be searched and even studied by machines. The studying Machines woul=
d be computers=C2=A0
>"trained", i.e., programmed in the AI style, in the human art of scholarly=
 reading. Although key=C2=A0
>words and Phrases can be searched for now, and in texts written in any lan=
guage, natural=C2=A0
>language texts cannot yet be understood by computers in this way.=C2=A0
>Once again Loglan yields a special benefit because its grammar is transpar=
ent and its meanings=C2=A0
>clear.

1.8 Loglan as a Planetary Second Language
Although Loglan was not designed for this bright future, it may nevertheles=
s have attributes that fit it for the job.

1.9 Loglan as a Linguistic Toy
This is the perspective from which Loglan is seen by many individuals, not =
as a=C2=A0
>research tool, not as contribution to the machine-man interface, not as a =
candidate for the=C2=A0
>international auxiliary, but as a delightful and very human toy.


So out of all this, what are officially the goals of lojban?

Thanks
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--564456775-972815433-1402323602=:64243
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<html><body><div style=3D"color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:He=
lveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;fo=
nt-size:12pt"><div><span>VERY unofficially, the goal of Lojban is to have a=
 usable language which is syntactically unambiguous, that is, is such that =
every grammatical utterance has a unique and correct parse (monoparsing, fo=
r short). &nbsp;If it is not meeting this goal, Lojban is unduly complex fo=
r meeting whatever other goals it may have (all of which are met more effic=
iently by other constructed languages, most by even, say, toki pona). &nbsp=
;Lojban has some reason to claim that it meets this goal, at least that it =
has a grammar that gives a unique parse to each grammatical sentence. What =
is less clearly demonstrated is that this parse is always correct in the se=
nse that it maps directly onto a unique formula of symbolic logic, though t=
his appears likely, given the care which has been devoted to details
 that such a mapping would involve&nbsp;</span></div> <div class=3D"qtdSepa=
rateBR"><br><br></div><div class=3D"yahoo_quoted" style=3D"display: block;"=
> <div style=3D"font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Ar=
ial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div style=3D"font-fam=
ily: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sa=
ns-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir=3D"ltr"> <font size=3D"2" face=3D"Ari=
al"> On Monday, June 9, 2014 8:54 AM, Andrew Browne &lt;dersaidin@gmail.com=
&gt; wrote:<br> </font> </div>  <br><br> <div class=3D"y_msg_container"><di=
v id=3D"yiv6581632235"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><br></div><div>What are the of=
ficial goals of lojban?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>It is impor=
tant to have an understanding of the goals for ongoing work (finishing BPFK=
 sections, etc.), otherwise we will end up with stuff that is inconsistent.=
</div><div>I think many people involved have an implicit understanding of t=
he goals, due
 to having been around much longer, and/or closely involved in BPFK.</div><=
div><br></div><div>I am after an official clear statement of goals for lojb=
an (or reference to one), for the benefit of those of us who have not been =
around for so long (and clarification for everyone else).</div><div><br></d=
iv><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The best source I can find is the CLL=
:</div><div>https://dag.github.io/cll/1/1/</div><div><br></div><blockquote =
class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border=
-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:soli=
d;padding-left:1ex;">The goals for the language were first described in the=
 open literature in the article =E2=80=9CLoglan=E2=80=9D, published in Scie=
ntific American, June, 1960.</blockquote><div>&nbsp;</div><blockquote class=
=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left=
-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204,
 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">The following are the main=
 features of Lojban:<br>Lojban is designed to be used by people in communic=
ation with each other, and possibly in the future with computers.<br>Lojban=
 is designed to be neutral between cultures.<br>Lojban grammar is based on =
the principles of predicate logic.<br>Lojban has an unambiguous yet flexibl=
e grammar.<br>Lojban has phonetic spelling, and unambiguously resolves its =
sounds into words.<br>Lojban is simple compared to natural languages; it is=
 easy to learn.<br>Lojban=E2=80=99s 1300 root words can be easily combined =
to form a vocabulary of millions of words.<br>Lojban is regular; the rules =
of the language are without exceptions.<br>Lojban attempts to remove restri=
ctions on creative and clear thought and communication.<br>Lojban has a var=
iety of uses, ranging from the creative to the scientific, from the theoret=
ical to the practical.<br>Lojban has been demonstrated in translation and
 in original works of prose and poetry.</blockquote><div><br></div><div><br=
></div><div><br></div><div>I also found some other materials with similar l=
ists of features, and a similar reference to the goals of TLI Loglan:</div>=
<div>http://mw.lojban.org/index.php?title=3DLojban_Introductory_Brochure</d=
iv><div>http://mw.lojban.org/index.php?title=3Dralju_papri</div><div>http:/=
/mw.lojban.org/index.php?title=3DFrom_Wikibooks:_Lojban/Introduction_to_Loj=
ban#Lojban</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>There has also been some=
 discussion of goals on this list:</div><div>https://groups.google.com/foru=
m/#!searchin/lojban/goals/lojban/jDRfYun5Rs4/o8LqJicWwyUJ</div><div><br></d=
iv><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></d=
iv><div>Several of these sources have referenced the goals of TLI Loglan.</=
div><div>So what are the goals of TLI Loglan?</div><div><br></div><div>Note=
; I'm quoting the bits I think are possibly relevant to my question of
 goals, trying to provide a helpful summary.</div><div>Please read more of =
these documents to get more context or to add anything else I missed.</div>=
<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>First, lets look in that =
1960 Scientific American Article mentioned earlier:</div><div>http://www.lo=
jban.org/tiki/Scientific+American+article</div><div>http://members.home.nl/=
w.dijkhuis/loglan_jcb/Brown_JC_loglan.html</div><div>http://www.dersaidin.n=
et/lojban/reference/LoglanScientificAmerican1960/ &nbsp;(mirror)</div><div>=
<br></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0p=
x 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);=
border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">It was to supply an instrument f=
or experimental investigation of the Leibniz-Whorf hypothesis that we under=
took our work on Loglan in 1955.<br>Loglan was to be an artificial language=
, but one especially designed to test the thesis that the structure of
 language determines the forms of thought.<br>It was to have a small, easil=
y learned vocabulary derived from the word stock of as many of the major na=
tural languages as proved feasible (though it was not intended to be an aux=
iliary international language).<br>Its rules of grammar and syntax were to =
be as few and regular as possible.<br>It was to utilize a short list of spe=
ech sounds (phonemes) common to the natural languages [see table on opposit=
e page], and it was to be phonetically spelled.<br></blockquote><div>&nbsp;=
</div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0p=
x 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);bord=
er-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">But most important, Loglan was to in=
corporate as many of the notational devices of modern logic and mathematics=
 as could be adapted to its use.&nbsp;</blockquote><div><br></div><div><br>=
</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The other good source I found
 on TLI Loglan is this book, Loglan1 (which appears to me to be the TLI Log=
lan equivalent of CLL):</div><div>https://ia700400.us.archive.org/11/items/=
Loglan1/Loglan1.pdf</div><div>http://www.dersaidin.net/lojban/reference/Log=
lan1.pdf &nbsp; &nbsp;(mirror)</div><div><br></div><div>In chapter 1, there=
 are sections 1 through 9 that cover a different goal (or maybe feature/vie=
wpoint).</div><div><br></div><div><b>1.1 The Scientific Strategy</b></div><=
blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0=
.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left=
-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Loglan is a language which was originally d=
evised to test the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis<br>that the structure of language=
 determines the boundaries of human thought.</blockquote><div><br></div><bl=
ockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8=
ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204,
 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">The most promising way to =
create such a difference, it seemed to me, was to exaggerate some&nbsp;<br>=
natural function of human language, that is, to increase the functional ade=
quacy of some complex&nbsp;<br>of linguistic structures in a way that would=
 have a strong independent likelihood of enhancing&nbsp;<br>the measurable =
performance of its learners on some specified set of tasks. Besides, in its=
 original&nbsp;<br>formulation the Whorf hypothesis is a negative one: lang=
uage limits thought. One way of&nbsp;<br>disclosing such phenomena is to ta=
ke the suspected limits off, more precisely, to push them&nbsp;<br>outward =
in some direction in which removing limits would have predictable effects. =
So it was&nbsp;<br>settled. The diminutive language should also be a functi=
onally extreme one in some known or&nbsp;<br>presumable way: an extremely p=
oetic one, say, or an extremely efficient one, or
 extremely&nbsp;<br>logical.</blockquote><div><br></div><div><b>1.2 Loglan =
as a Logical Language</b></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quot=
e" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-colo=
r:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">But the cla=
im invested in this metaphor is in fact narrower than the wide&nbsp;<br>wor=
d 'logical' suggests. Loglan is logical only in the sense of purporting to =
facilitate certain&nbsp;<br>limited kinds of thought: namely those kinds wh=
ich proceed by the transformation of sentences&nbsp;<br>into other sentence=
s in such a way that if the first are true so also are the second. We might=
<br>also expect it to minimize, or help prevent, the errors that are usuall=
y made in performing such&nbsp;<br>deductive operations. But these are fair=
ly modest senses of the word 'logical'. We might have&nbsp;<br>meant to con=
vey by it the much stronger claim that Loglan is a deductive system, in
 the sense&nbsp;<br>that geometry and formal logic are. To support such a c=
laim we would have had to show that&nbsp;<br>Loglan had a set of elementary=
 notions and elementary operations from which all its complex&nbsp;<br>noti=
ons and complex operations had been rigorously derived. But we do not make =
this claim.</blockquote><div><br></div><div><b>1.3 Loglan as a Laboratory I=
nstrument</b></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"=
margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 2=
04, 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Apart from the thought-=
facilitating functions of Loglan, the language is also meant to be a&nbsp;<=
br>manageable laboratory instrument: teachable, measurable, controllable; i=
ts structure transparently&nbsp;<br>observable both at the moment of introd=
uction into any experiment and in continuous change</blockquote><div><br></=
div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px
 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);borde=
r-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">But Loglan does seem to be easily lea=
rned,11 and on every formal parameter it is agreeably small.<br>The number =
of its grammar rules is an order of magnitude less than has come to be expe=
cted of natural grammars from recent work.</blockquote><div><br></div><bloc=
kquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex=
;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-sty=
le:solid;padding-left:1ex;">While the size of a language is not the only fa=
ctor that determines the speed with which it is learned, it is&nbsp;<br>und=
oubtedly an important one; and all my early teaching trials have suggested =
that Loglan is indeed very rapidly learned.</blockquote><div><br></div><blo=
ckquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8e=
x;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204,
 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Another feature of the lan=
guage that reflects its intended use as a laboratory instrument is its cult=
ural neutrality.</blockquote><div><br></div><div><b>1.4 Loglan in the Artif=
icial Intelligence Laboratory</b></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gm=
ail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-l=
eft-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Log=
lan grammar is not only known but already written in a machine-parsable cod=
e. So it is itself the beginning of an AI program.</blockquote><div><br></d=
iv><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0=
px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-=
left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Besides, if the partial grammars now in=
 hand are any indication,&nbsp;<br>when a complete grammar of a natural hum=
an language is finally written, it will be far too large&nbsp;<br>for
 programmatic manipulation in the AI lab. Natural languages are very large =
affairs.</blockquote><div><br></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail=
_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left=
-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Thus, =
more than anything else it is the small size, formal completeness and machi=
ne parsability&nbsp;<br>of Loglan grammar that seem to suit it for manipula=
tion in the artificial intelligence laboratory.&nbsp;</blockquote><div><br>=
</div><div><b>1.5 Loglan at the Machine-Man interface</b></div><blockquote =
class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border=
-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:soli=
d;padding-left:1ex;">...to make the machine-man interface truly comfortable=
 for humans and yet continue to be instructive<br>for machines, we need a l=
anguage in which the requirements of both humans and machines are
 met.</blockquote><div><br></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_qu=
ote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-co=
lor:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Loglan ma=
y be such a language. We have seen that it is utterly unequivocal grammatic=
ally. One&nbsp;<br>consequence is that we humans become aware of what we ar=
e actually saying when we talk&nbsp;<br>Loglan. So a Loglan-speaking human =
is much less likely to say one thing while meaning another,&nbsp;<br>thus m=
isinforming his or her machine. Also, as we shall see in the next chapter, =
Loglan words&nbsp;<br>resolve uniquely from the speech-stream; no 'I scream=
'/'Ice cream' phenomena exist in it. So even&nbsp;<br>spoken instructions a=
re unequivocal in Loglan. This is true of no other language. Being able to&=
nbsp;<br>speak freely composed instructions spontaneously would add immeasu=
rably to the speed and&nbsp;<br>comfort of the interaction for humans,
 and yet, because it's Loglan, its being spoken would not&nbsp;<br>diminish=
 its precision for machines.&nbsp;</blockquote><div><br></div><blockquote c=
lass=3D"yiv6581632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-=
left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:solid=
;padding-left:1ex;">What do we human partners in this high-powered interact=
ion require? That we be permitted to&nbsp;<br>express our thoughts fully, f=
reely and spontaneously without the risk of seriously misinforming&nbsp;<br=
>our machines. That we be able to understand most of the machine's word-cho=
ices and all its&nbsp;<br>utterance-forms immediately, and be able to clari=
fy by interrogation whatever part of the&nbsp;<br>computer's responses to u=
s we do not immediately understand.</blockquote><div><br></div><div><b>1.6 =
Loglan as a Translation Medium</b></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235g=
mail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px
 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-le=
ft-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">Consider the problem. An original documen=
t, say a French article on galactic evolution, is to be&nbsp;<br>translated=
 into a dozen other languages, from Chinese to Swahili. As this project wou=
ld be&nbsp;<br>implemented now, it would turn into a dozen separate transla=
tion tasks, each performed by its&nbsp;<br>own bilingual expert, or team of=
 experts, if as many as a dozen could be found. But with Loglan&nbsp;<br>as=
 the translation medium, the project would be transformed into essentially =
one task: translation&nbsp;<br>of the French document into Loglan. Admitted=
ly this would require human effort aided by&nbsp;<br>whatever computer algo=
rithms the agency had developed for this purpose. But the resulting&nbsp;<b=
r>Loglan document could then be more or less instantly retranslated into al=
most any number of&nbsp;<br>other natural tongues, and this second
 step could in principle be performed, and so eventually in&nbsp;<br>practi=
ce, by machines.&nbsp;</blockquote><div><br></div><div><b>1.7 Loglan in Inf=
ormation Storage and Retrieval</b></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581632235g=
mail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-=
left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">An=
other not quite so incidental by-product of using Loglan as a translation m=
edium would be&nbsp;<br>that the Loglan texts so created would be well-adap=
ted for the machine storage and retrieval of&nbsp;<br>the information they =
contained. For one of the same reasons that Loglan Is suitable at the&nbsp;=
<br>interface, namely that knowledge stored in the predicate notation is ap=
parently usable by both&nbsp;<br>machines and humans, texts translated into=
 Loglan and stored on some electronic medium could&nbsp;<br>later be search=
ed and even studied by machines. The studying Machines would be
 computers&nbsp;<br>"trained", i.e., programmed in the AI style, in the hum=
an art of scholarly reading. Although key&nbsp;<br>words and Phrases can be=
 searched for now, and in texts written in any language, natural&nbsp;<br>l=
anguage texts cannot yet be understood by computers in this way.&nbsp;<br>O=
nce again Loglan yields a special benefit because its grammar is transparen=
t and its meanings&nbsp;<br>clear.</blockquote><div><br></div><div><b>1.8 L=
oglan as a Planetary Second Language</b></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv65816=
32235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;b=
order-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1e=
x;">Although Loglan was not designed for this bright future, it may neverth=
eless have attributes that fit it for the job.</blockquote><div><br></div><=
div><b>1.9 Loglan as a Linguistic Toy</b></div><blockquote class=3D"yiv6581=
632235gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px
 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204, 204, 204);border-le=
ft-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;">This is the perspective from which Loglan=
 is seen by many individuals, not as a&nbsp;<br>research tool, not as contr=
ibution to the machine-man interface, not as a candidate for the&nbsp;<br>i=
nternational auxiliary, but as a delightful and very human toy.</blockquote=
><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>So out of all this, what=
 are officially the goals of lojban?</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks</div><=
/div>


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