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Lojban (pronounced [ˈloʒban])
is an experiment in human language –
a constructed language based on predicate logic.

What is Lojban?

<embedvideo service="youtube" alignment="right" dimensions="240x160" container="frame" description="a «lightning talk» introduction to Lojban by Timo Paulssen">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdlGxgKt7nc</embedvideo> <embedvideo service="youtube" alignment="right" dimensions="240x160" container="frame" description="«prami simbi'o», a song by Djemynai">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3BQ-pE7ypY</embedvideo> <embedvideo service="youtube" alignment="right" dimensions="240x160" container="frame" description="«ro lo ma'a datka», a song by guskant">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emCDL4aocDE</embedvideo>

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, it wishes to see how these 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 has a live community of speakers expanding its vocabulary day by day.

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?

More basic information ...

Learning Lojban

Official resources

  • "The Complete Lojban Language", a reference grammar of Lojban. This book will teach you how to read and use Lojban, what the different types of words and grammatical constructs do. 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 xorlo have become widely adopted.

Unofficial and supplemental resources

<embedvideo service="youtube" alignment="right" dimensions="240x160" container="frame" description="«Lessons in Lojban» by Dustin Lacewell">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZjSTUK3hFI</embedvideo> <embedvideo service="youtube" alignment="right" dimensions="240x160" container="frame" description="«The Perfect Language», an introduction to Lojban by Wesley Wilson">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIpn0OEpT40</embedvideo>

Different non-authoritative learning resources have been created. They are said to be more beginner-friendly.

Dictionaries

Related things

Software tools

  • Memrise.com offers on-line Lojban vocabulary flashcards. Anki is a downloadable alternative.
  • camxes is an automatic grammar of Lojban. It can help you to understand the structure and correctness of sentences.

Other learning materials ...

Connect with the community

<embedvideo service="youtube" alignment="right" dimensions="240x160" container="frame" description="«bripre jikca», a community literary vlog"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6fXtgkPdWQ</embedvideo>

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

IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

At any time of day, there are likely to be Lojbanists available on IRC to answer questions or engage in real-time Lojban conversation. Join the chat in your browser with the KiwiIRC or QWebIRC browser-based clients, or connect with the IRC client of your choice. There are three channels (chat rooms) on the Freenode IRC network (host: chat.freenode.net, ports: 6667 or 6697 for an SSL-encrypted connection) that are typically used for Lojban:

  • #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

Here is an cheat sheet for those unfamiliar with IRC.

Mailing lists

Got a question about Lojban?
Ask the the lojban-beginners mailing list!

The lojban-beginners mailing list is for questions about learning and understanding Lojban. You can subscribe to the list by sending a question to [email protected].

The general-purpose 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 [email protected].

Social media

Lojban has a presence on many of the most popular web sites: Facebook Logo Mini.svg Facebook, Google plus icon.svg Google+, reddit-12.png Reddit, quora.png Quora.

la jbotcan is an informal bulletin board which hosts images and discussions in Lojban and English.

International Contacts

<embedvideo service="youtube" alignment="right" dimensions="240x160" container="frame" description="an exposition by guskant in Japanese">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzqhNYCWKLo</embedvideo>

  Languages spoken
la selpa'i
[email protected]
English, German
la gleki
[email protected]
English, Russian
la ilmen
[email protected]
English, French
la tsani
[email protected]
English, French
la xorxes
[email protected]
English, Spanish
la guskant
[email protected]
English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Esperanto
la remod
[email protected]
English, Italian

Lojban around the world - other ways of communication ...

What's next?

  • Try your hand at translating into Lojban, or write your own original texts: Poetry, prose, blogs, tweets, etc.
  • Continue learning vocabulary using memorization software.
  • Help expand the dictionary by translating Lojban words into other languages, or coin new compound words and add them.

More info ...


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.