Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I learn Lojban?

The following tutorials are all adequate:

Why not just add new words?

Often times, folks ask why I can't just add words for the correct mathematical objects to Lojban, and then work solely in those words. This doesn't help clarify the rules surrounding already-established logic!

I've added new words where there's really no other option, and I've clearly indicated that I don't want to recommend my words when there are community-supported alternatives already.

Why are you doing this?

The main reason is that any logical language ought to have its logic clearly documented and explained. I'll help do this for Toaq and Xorban and others, but only once folks start to grok what I'm explaining about Lojban, which is the best-understood loglang.

What was so lacking about CLL? Aren't the BPFK reforms sufficient?

CLL doesn't directly explain the underlying axioms. BPFK gave some axioms, but they are sometimes incomplete and sometimes inconsistent. Both CLL and the BPFK sections are cited as sources in the bibliography.

Why don't you work with LFK?

No LFK members have indicated an interest in pursuing this work. They did provide many fruitful conversations about logic and Lojban lore.

Can't I just learn logic by learning Lojban?

That has not worked in the past, and it probably won't start working now. I recommend studying a basic introduction to first-order predicate logic in your native language, and then hopefully an introduction to relational algebra. For English-speakers, I recommend Peter Smith's An Introduction to Gödel's Theorems, the "Gödel book," which covers every relevant feature of first-order logic and also several tangents which are relevant to formalization.

Isn't this futile, since words can change in meaning?

Many Lojbanists have encountered the following collection of themes in philosophical discussion:

  • "Lojban is not a relex": Aside from Lojban itself being forked from Loglan, Lojban is not merely a borrowing of semantics precisely established and defined in some natural language.
  • Limited words can still blanket semantic space by being vague. We can use tanru to carefully describe observed objects in only certain ways, without committing to imprecision or incorrectness.
  • The grue/bleen problem prevents us from fixing any absolute meaning to any word over time.

However, rather than give each word a meaning on its own, we use categorical logic and reasoning to build up structural meanings for Lojban. We don't merely attach meanings to individual words, but relate those words to each other, creating non-trivial theorems.