[lojban] Re: potentially stupid question

[sunrise2000@comcast.net]

Luke Bergen <lukeabergen@gmail.com> writes:

> now I would think that a child learning a language as they grow would tend
> to see the generalities of a language and apply those generalities to
> unknown words and concepts.  So wouldn't the child expect that the following
> response (un-doubtedly screamed while running for cover):
> 
> verba: .i go'i fi lonu do tolxendo
> 
> would continue to be clever and grammatically correct since "fi"
> *seems*like it usually means "under conditions"?
> 
> Could the constantly shifting places for concepts like "under conditions"
> cause natural learners of lojban to get confused?

Luke, I don't know what your native language is...  I'm assuming it's
English.

Children learning English have to contend with all sorts of confusing
features of language... the irregularity of verbs like "to be"
(am/are/is/etc.), homonyms like where/wear/we're and their/there, etc.
Yet, somehow, kids (with, perhaps, a little schooling) manage to sort
them all out.  Lojban has no homonyms or irregulars like nat langs do.
However, there is a whole mess of cmavo, rafsi, and (as you point out)
structural elements to be learned.

Which language, over all, is easier to learn?  I don't know.  But if I
had to bet, I'd put my money on Lojban.


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