Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 13:50:06 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199711051850.NAA19275@locke.ccil.org> Reply-To: CloversImp@AOL.COM Sender: Lojban list From: Karen Stein Subject: Fwd: Dvorak (& Lojban) X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: John Cowan X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Content-Length: 2183 X-From-Space-Date: Wed Nov 5 13:50:19 1997 X-From-Space-Address: LOJBAN@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU In a discussion of the reasons for lojban/loglan, it was stated: > And (2) "ease of expression" is not the only, or even primary, goal > of creating Loglan. While we don't want it to be unreasonably hard > to say ordinary things, a bit of difficulty in saying other things is > OK in exchange for the ability to say them clearly and unambiguously > in ways that natural languages cannot. Geoff replied: A more reasonable claim, but this goal won't really be of help to you if you already had ways of saying what you wanted to say so that others could understand you in your own language. Natural languages work because native listeners are not in general confused by them, even though the reasons for their lack of confusion are not always well understood. I respond: Lojban speakers won't be any more confused than natural language native speakers when we can speak with the same level of ability, in my opinion. We may be less confused, but I don't know. Give us time! -- karis. --------------------- Forwarded message: Subj: Re: Dvorak (& Lojban) Date: 97-11-05 13:30:59 EST From: CloversImp To: c9709244@alinga.newcastle.edu.au In a discussion of the reasons for lojban/loglan, it was stated: > And (2) "ease of expression" is not the only, or even primary, goal > of creating Loglan. While we don't want it to be unreasonably hard > to say ordinary things, a bit of difficulty in saying other things is > OK in exchange for the ability to say them clearly and unambiguously > in ways that natural languages cannot. Geoff replied: A more reasonable claim, but this goal won't really be of help to you if you already had ways of saying what you wanted to say so that others could understand you in your own language. Natural languages work because native listeners are not in general confused by them, even though the reasons for their lack of confusion are not always well understood. I respond: Lojban speakers won't be any more confused than natural language native speakers when we can speak with the same level of ability, in my opinion. We may be less confused, but I don't know. Give us time! -- karis.