[lojban-beginners] "no exception"

[HeliodoR <exitconsole@gmail.com>]

Hmm... (Wasn't that an original start for a mail, tell me.)

I've been examining this little - or IMO not so little-meaning - statement from the Offical Page of Lojban:

"Lojban is regular; the rules of the language are without exception."

Shortly after reading this sentence (again) I came to the the idea that it is far too rough and much to claim.

In fact, I feel (since I don't have any evidence to support it) that exceptions are not an ignorable part of any language (or any similar structure); they are 'a' and maybe 'the' utility to build up a language, to enable people communicate each other, more like. As "clothes make a man" - exceptions make a language.

Well, I have told that I had no facts to support my idea, and that's quite true; although I'm going to make a try. Here it is:

Let's take a computer language, let's take C for example (you may also think of Pascal instead, which is like an equivalent to C on a low level), which is an ideal AL according to many.

Now look at it like a newborn child who hasn't seen much of any complex structures yet - You'll see words sounding somewhat familiar, however exotic, followed by these curves '()'; even more interesting curves '{}' further from each other; simple signs here and there, looking like '+ - * / %' and so on. Now the child asks the grown-up: what are those words and the lines that follow them? And he answers: those are functions, magic spells to get things to happen, You just write them and Your wishes come true.

"And what are those funny shaped things there?" "Ah, those are operators to turn spells into a bunch, they..."

"But why isn't there a spell to do that?" "Um... I don't know that exactly, it is just this way and that's all..."

"Don't let me forget about that cross in the middle of the whole stuff." "Yeah, that marks a mathematical function, it commands the reader to sum up the two numbers..."

"I would like a separate spell for that, like 'sumup()' or something." "Well, You can do that, the only... Hey, the little guys right! Why so much exceptions?? They can rather be confusing..."

You see? The small boy pointed something out which might be considered a very characteristic need of human thinking: making exceptions.

We could have this silly C language (note the sarcasm and avoid flaming, pls :) ) cleaned out, made perfect.

Imagine a comp. lang. which I will call - no exceptions, no arbitrary! - 'A', probably the simplest _expression_ one may find. A program coded in A would be completely regular, looking like this:

aa(ab(ac(ad,ae),af),ag(ah,ai)) etc.

No exceptions. Totally. Crystal-clear, huh? Not at all to me. (Not to mention that this example does not lack arbitrary, either.)

According to this little experiment human logic is based on exceptions what make the text understandable.

 

Now returning to the exclamation about "le logji bangu", we may say that...

"...the rules of the language which are not about other rules but words (the lowest level rules) are without exception.", or

"...the rules which determine the usage of the smallest bits of the language are without exception.", or whatever You can come up with.

Do You consider these more correct than the original one? Please do come up with a literally true statement if You might!
 

I know this letter was really long, and I have to say thanks to all who took the time to read it through. Thank You.

mi'e .xili,odor.