From ragnarok@pobox.com Thu Jul 17 07:51:28 2003 Return-Path: X-Sender: lojban-out@lojban.org X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 47152 invoked from network); 17 Jul 2003 14:51:27 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.216) by m14.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 17 Jul 2003 14:51:27 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO digitalkingdom.org) (64.81.49.134) by mta1.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 17 Jul 2003 14:51:27 -0000 Received: from lojban-out by digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.12) id 19dA6R-0000Fu-00 for lojban@yahoogroups.com; Thu, 17 Jul 2003 07:51:27 -0700 Received: from chain.digitalkingdom.org ([64.81.49.134]) by digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.12) id 19dA67-0000Eg-00; Thu, 17 Jul 2003 07:51:08 -0700 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list lojban-list); Thu, 17 Jul 2003 07:51:06 -0700 (PDT) Received: from smtp.intrex.net ([209.42.192.250]) by digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.12) id 19dA5c-0000Bv-00 for lojban-list@lojban.org; Thu, 17 Jul 2003 07:50:36 -0700 Received: from craig [209.42.200.92] by smtp.intrex.net (SMTPD32-7.13) id A7A4CDC0288; Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:50:12 -0400 To: Subject: [lojban] Re: Lojban Vs. Esperanto Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:50:21 -0400 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Importance: Normal In-Reply-To: X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 X-Declude-Sender: ragnarok@pobox.com [209.42.200.92] X-archive-position: 5893 X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 Sender: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org Errors-to: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org X-original-sender: ragnarok@pobox.com Precedence: bulk X-list: lojban-list From: "Craig" Reply-To: ragnarok@pobox.com X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=48763382 X-Yahoo-Profile: kreig_daniyl X-Yahoo-Message-Num: 20375 >My name is Myriam and have the pleasure to contact you in order to obtain some information for a research about planned languages. I would >like to know which are the advantages of Lojban as an international language over other planned languages, especially Esperanto. Is it >easier to learn? Is it more connected to modern technology? How many Lojban speakers are by the moment? >Thanks in advance for your kind reply, Lojban and Esperanto are not in competition in any way. There are in fact a reasonable number of people who are involved with both. Esperanto seeks to be a second language for the world, so that everyone can communicate with everyone else. While it is unlikely to succeed in this, it is much more successful at it than any other interlanguage. Lojban has no such ambitions. Esperanto also seeks to decrease the barrier to entry by taking words and grammar from a great number of other languages, all of them Indo-European. This makes it somewhat simpler to learn if you are used to Indo-European languages. Lojban, on the other hand, attempts to be culturally neutral. Its grammar is based on predicate logic rather than on the grammar of natural languages. It derives its root words algorithmically from the six most widely-spoken languages on Earth. Goals of Lojban include machine parseability, which will hopefully lead to one day automating the process of translating from Lojban to natural languages, so that it will be possible for a student of Lojban to get a message across to those with whom they do not share a language. Machine parseability may also make Lojban the ideal language for artificial intelligence applications. Lojban also seeks to be useful in testing the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, which states that "Facts are unlike to speakers whose language background provides for unlike formation of them." There are a reasonable number of Lojbanists who believe that learning to speak Lojban fluently will have beneficial effects on their thought processes. It is hoped that the logic-based syntax will be ideal for laboratory testing of the hypothesis. Essentially, what this means for you is that you cannot do research about planned languages by grouping Lojban and Esperanto in the same category. Of course, your research will not require you to learn both, but there is no particular reason to choose one over the other - and in fact, viewing yourself as having to choose between supporting Lojban and supporting Esperanto is unreasonable. "Should I learn Lojban?" and "Should I learn Esperanto?" are two entirely seperate decisions. -- Craig Daniel "Best case scenario: free ice cream for all. Worst case scenario: World War 3-27" -carbon ragnarok@pobox.com teucer@bnomic.org