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<div style="font-size: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif">Lojban <small>(pronounced [ˈloʒban])</small> is an experiment in human language – a constructed language based on formal logic.</div>

<div style="border:3px solid orange;width:calc(100%-20px);padding:5px;margin:8px;text-align:center;font-size:120%;">
<p style="width: 64%; margin: 2px auto">Want a StackExchange website for asking questions and getting answers on Lojban? Help us make it real:</p><p class=plainlinks style="font-size: 128%">[https://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/83133/jbobau-joi-jboceu-lojban-language-and-culture <b>Register</b> and press "<b>Commit</b>"!]</p></div>

==What is Lojban?==
[[Image:yt-lightning talk.png|240x160px|a «lightning talk» introduction to Lojban by Timo Paulssen|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdlGxgKt7nc|thumb]]
[[Image:yt-lesson in lojban i.png|240x160px|«Lessons in Lojban» by Dustin Lacewell|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZjSTUK3hFI|thumb]]

Lojban is a carefully constructed spoken language. It has been built for over 50 years by dozens of workers and hundreds of supporters.

*Lojban's grammar is simpler than of most natural languages, but complex in its own unique way. Lojban is an experiment in thought, as well: its users aim to see how its unique language structures affect thought and understanding.
*Lojban allows the expression of tiny nuances in emotion, using words called [[attitudinals]], which are essentially spoken emoticons.
*Lojban allows you to communicate concisely without unnecessary or undesired details. For example, you don't have to always think of what tense (past, present or future) to use in a verb when it's already clear from context.
*Lojban is machine parsable, which allows potential new explorations in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine translation.
<!--*Lojban is unambiguous in syntax. Natural languages often have ambiguous sentences — does "He's left" mean that he's still here or that he's gone? Lojban systematically eliminates this.-->
*Lojban has a live community of speakers expanding its vocabulary day by day.
*Lojban is designed aiming at being neutral between cultures.
===Lojban means different things to different people===
* a linguistic curiosity - a test-bed for language experimentation
* a challenging way to expand their minds or discipline their thoughts
* a new perspective on languages
* an entertaining medium to communicate with friends or create art
* a domain for exploring the intersection of human language and software

What will Lojban mean for you?
===[[Presenting Lojban|More basic information ...]]===
{{clear}}
== Learning Lojban ==
=== Unofficial and supplemental resources ===
[[Image:yt-the perfect-lang.png|240x160px|«The Perfect Language», an introduction to Lojban by [https://twitter.com/WesleyWilson00 Wesley Wilson]|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIpn0OEpT40|thumb]]
[[Image:yt-ro lo maha datka.png|240x160px|«ro lo ma'a datka» and other Lojban songs by [[la guskant]]|link=https://vimeo.com/album/3152276|thumb]]
Different non-authoritative learning resources have been created. They are said to be more beginner-friendly.
* A set of [[pronunciation|pronunciation guides]]
* [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Yrxt9gAtqA_oSDD76Toq8VLSZjjOxJ5rkKsxFs3Cw8E/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=5000 Lojban in simple phrases], an introduction (also available in [http://mw.lojban.org/images/d/d1/Lojban._How_to_quickly_create_sentences.pdf PDF])
* [[Lojban Wave Lessons|Wave Lessons]], a popular textbook
* [[The Crash Course (a draft)|"The Crash Course"]], a draft of a textbook
* [[la karda|la karda]], a rapid-fire overview of the grammar in small pieces

=== Official resources ===
* [http://mw.lojban.org/extensions/cll/ "The Complete Lojban Language", a reference grammar of Lojban]. This book will help those who already understand some Lojban. It's the most complete reference of Lojban language by far. It does not, however, teach vocabulary, style, or colloquial language. Please note that since the initial publication of the reference grammar, some language reforms such as [[How to use xorlo|xorlo]] have become widely adopted.
<!-- TODO: Add **OFFICIAL** word lists here! -->
=== Dictionaries ===
* [http://jbovlaste.lojban.org/ la jbovlaste] is a prescriptive, editable, multilingual dictionary. It is considered by many to be the current de-facto standard dictionary of Lojban. Many other dictionaries and tools are based on it.
* [http://vlasisku.lojban.org/ la vlasisku] is an online English—Lojban dictionary, based on data of la jbovlaste; intended to be more user-friendly (note: it is only irregularily updated, la jbovlaste is more up-to-date).
* [https://lensisku.lojban.org/en la sutysisku] is an online multilingual Lojban dictionary (including English) that also works offline. Updated at least once a month.
* [https://sites.google.com/site/slovlacukt/file-cabinet la slovlacukt], an alternative offline dictionary.
* [http://guskant.github.io/lojbo/stardict.html Stardict dictionaries in some languages] (usable with [http://goldendict.org/ GoldenDict], [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dictionary-universal/id312088272?mt=8 Dictionary Universal], etc.)
* [http://guskant.github.io/lojbo/gismu-cmavo.html Multilingual gismu (root word) and cmavo (particle) lists in tsv and html formats]
* [[Word frequency lists|Word lists ordered by frequency of use]]

==== Related things ====
* An unofficial [[Simple gismu|list of simple definitions of gismu]]
* Example sentences at [http://tatoeba.org Tatoeba.org]

=== Software tools ===
* [http://www.memrise.com/courses/english/lojban/ Memrise.com] offers on-line Lojban vocabulary flashcards. [http://ankisrs.net/ Anki] is a downloadable alternative.
* [http://lojban.github.io/ilmentufa/camxes.html la camxes] is an automatic grammar of Lojban. It can help you to understand the structure and correctness of sentences.
* [http://lojban.lilyx.net/zmifanva/ A Lojban-to-English translator]. It is not precise, it can sometimes fail to correctly translate from English to Lojban or vice versa. It can be used to get at least some understanding of how Lojban works.

=== [[Learning materials. Secondary links|Other learning materials ...]] ===

== Connect with the community ==
[[Image:yt-bripre jikca 9.png|240x160px|«bripre jikca», a community literary vlog|link=https://vimeo.com/112783041|thumb]]
[[Image:yt-baho.png|240x160px|«ba'o», a song by [https://djemynai.bandcamp.com La Djemynai]|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG4jyHG-hv8|thumb]]

Lojban is spoken by a vibrant community, producing literature, music, and art, and discussing questions about language and thought. The web comic [https://www.xkcd.com/191/ xkcd] said that, if you spoke Lojban, you'd have to speak with Lojbanists. That may not be such a bad thing!

=== Instant messaging (text chat) ===
<!--At any time of day, there are likely to be Lojbanists available on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) to answer questions or engage in real-time Lojban conversation. Join the chat in your browser with
* <span class="plainlinks">the [http://vrici.lojban.org:3001 Slack version of the chat],</span>
* <span class="plainlinks">[{{Webchat url kiwi}}  the KiwiIRC version],</span>
* <span class="plainlinks">[{{Webchat url qwebirc}} QWebIRC] browser-based clients, or</span>
* [[Lojban_IRC#Trickier_ways_of_connecting|connect with the IRC client of your choice]].
There are three main channels (chat rooms):
# #lojban for discussion about Lojban in any language
# #ckule for the teaching of Lojban and questions from beginners in any Language
# #jbosnu for discussions exclusively in Lojban

The channels sometimes move slowly, so don't lose hope if you don't get a response immediately -- wait around a bit and someone is likely to see your message. Here is an [[IRC cheat sheet|cheat sheet]] for those unfamiliar with IRC.-->

====Connecting quickly====
To get connected to Lojban chat use any of the following methods (your and others' messages will be available in all of them no matter which method you use).

People involved in Lojban community usually read each day's backlog and will answer your questions within several hours and often even within minutes.

====Telegram====
Using this method you will be able to read the history of the chat since the beginning of 2016.

# Install the free [https://telegram.org Telegram messenger] on your Apple, Android or your desktop device
# join main Lojban chat group by following the link: <span class="plainlinks">[https://telegram.me/lojban Lojban].
# Ask questions on Lojban in '''ckule''' group, talk in or about Lojban in '''Lojban''' group and talk only in Lojban in '''jbosnu''' group.

<!--
====Slack====
Using this method you will be able to read the history of the chat for the last ~7 days or so.
# Open <span class="plainlinks">https://slaka.herokuapp.com</span> Submit your email and get an invite to <span class="plainlinks">http://lojban.slack.com</span> to your e-mail inbox.
# Open <span class="plainlinks">http://lojban.slack.com</span>
# Ask questions on Lojban in #ckule channel, talk in or about Lojban in #lojban channel and talk only in Lojban in #jbosnu channel.
-->
====Direct web access====
Using this method you will be able to see messages that are sent only while you are connected.
#Navigate to <span class="plainlinks">[{{Webchat url kiwi}} the web-based IRC client (Kiwi)]</span>, choose a nickname you want yourself to be known as, and click "Start". Easy! 
#Click on the channel you want (tabs on the top of the page), and type your text in the text bar at the bottom - the last line at the bottom of the chat page.
#Ask questions on Lojban in #ckule tab, talk in or about Lojban in #lojban tab and talk only in Lojban in #jbosnu tab.

You may alternately try [[Lojban_Live_Chat#Direct_web_access|other methods of connecting]].

=== Mailing lists ===
{{Quote box
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The [http://groups.google.com/group/lojban-beginners/topics lojban-beginners mailing list] is for questions about learning and understanding Lojban. You can subscribe to the list by sending a question to [mailto:lojban-beginners@googlegroups.com lojban-beginners@googlegroups.com].

The general-purpose [http://groups.google.com/group/lojban/topics lojban mailing list], which covers anything else related to Lojban, was founded in 1989, and has about 500 subscribers. You can subscribe to it by sending an email to [mailto:lojban@googlegroups.com lojban@googlegroups.com].

=== Social media ===
Lojban has a presence on many of the most popular web sites: [[Image:Facebook_Logo_Mini.svg|12px|link=http://facebook.com/groups/Lojban/]] [http://facebook.com/groups/Lojban/ Facebook], [[Image:reddit-12.png|12px|link=http://www.reddit.com/r/lojban/]] [http://www.reddit.com/r/lojban/ Reddit], [[Image:quora.png|12px|link=http://www.quora.com/Lojban]] [http://www.quora.com/Lojban Quora].

[http://jbotcan.org/ la jbotcan] is an informal bulletin board which hosts images and discussions in Lojban and English.

=== International Contacts ===

[[Image:yt higher logic.png|240x160px|an exposition by [[User:Guskant|la guskant]] in Japanese|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzqhNYCWKLo|thumb]]

{| class="wikitable"
! &nbsp; !! Languages spoken
|-
| [[User:Selpahi|la selpa'i]]<br/> [mailto:seladwa@gmx.de seladwa@gmx.de] || English, German
|-
| [[User:Gleki|la gleki]]<br/> [mailto:bangu@lojban.org bangu@lojban.org] || English, Russian
|-
| [[User:Ilmen|la ilmen]]<br/> [mailto:ilmen.pokebip@gmail.com ilmen.pokebip@gmail.com] || English, French
|-
| [[User:Tsani|la tsani]]<br/> [mailto:nictytan@gmail.com nictytan@gmail.com] || English, French
|-
| [[User:xorxes|la xorxes]]<br/> [mailto:jjllambias@gmail.com jjllambias@gmail.com] || English, Spanish
|-
| [[User:Guskant|la guskant]]<br/> [mailto:gusni.kantu@gmail.com gusni.kantu@gmail.com] || English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Esperanto
|-
| [[User:Remod|la remod]]<br/> [mailto:rdentato@gmail.com rdentato@gmail.com] || English, Italian
|}

=== [[Lojban around the world]] - other ways of communication ... ===

== What's next? ==
* Try reading Lojban [[te gerna la lojban|texts]]. Start with something shorter and easier such as "[[la .teris. po'u lo tirxu cu vitke zi'o le barda tcadu|Terry the Tiger]]" (audio is available) or "[[The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin]]" ([http://guskant.github.io/gerna_cipra/maltufa-1.1.html a parser suitable to those two texts]). When you're ready, move on to "[[le cmalu noltru|The Little Prince]]" (suitable parser: [http://lojban.github.io/ilmentufa/camxes.html camxes]) and "[http://selpahi.de/oz.html The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]" (suitable parser: [[maftufa]]).

* Try your hand at translating into Lojban, or write your own original texts: Poetry, prose, blogs, tweets, etc.
* Continue learning vocabulary using [[Lojbanic Software|memorization software]].
* Help expand the [http://jbovlaste.lojban.org/ dictionary] by translating Lojban words into other languages, or coin new compound words and add them. 

===[[What's next?|More info ...]]===

----
<div style="font-size:90%;">This web site is dedicated to documenting Lojban and the activities of the Lojban-using community, and also serves as the official web site of the [[Logical Language Group]] (LLG), a non-profit organization founded in 1987 to promote the scientific study of the relationships between language, thought and human culture.</div>

<noinclude>[[Category:tadni]][[Category:nu jikca]][[Category:jbopre]]</noinclude>__NOTOC__