Re: reply to And #2

[Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>]

>Lojbab wrote:
>>And indeed, the draft textbook has many such
>>statements of philosophy (though I cannot recall what I said about
>>attitudinals off-hand, and the draft dates back 8 years now anyway).
>
>Um, is it OK to use the draft textbook to learn lojban?  I had assumed
>it was.  But being 8 years old sounds like it would put it out of date.
>I've used it (after reading most of the refgram), and it is being used
>as the first intro to the language by my wife.

It is usable.  There are minor errors, but not generally the sort of thing
that prevents it being used as a "first intro" as you are using it.
Mostly things like teh occasional change in place structure.  But very little
of the basics has changed in even 8 years, and there WAS one revision (albeit
mostly a weeding of sections difficult to update).

I suspect that the textbook is at least as accurate a description of Lojban
as most first year Spanish or Russian textbooks are accurate in presenting
their languages.  Errors and sloppiness exist, but mostly omission or glossing
over points that we now know to be essential.  The worst criticism of the
textbook, which still holds, is that it has far too few examples to serve its
proper function.  I don't beleive that we are quite yet at the level of
language mastery that we can produce the volume of examples we need for a
full textbook and make them interestimng enough that someone will actually
stick to them.  (the alternative is a textbook as mechanically dull as
LogFlash - which works quite effectively but is indeed "boring").

lojbab
----
lojbab                                                lojbab@access.digex.net
Bob LeChevalier, President, The Logical Language Group, Inc.
2904 Beau Lane, Fairfax VA 22031-1303 USA                        703-385-0273
Artificial language Loglan/Lojban: ftp.access.digex.net /pub/access/lojbab
    or see Lojban WWW Server: href="http://xiron.pc.helsinki.fi/lojban/";
    Order _The Complete Lojban Language_ - see our Web pages or ask me.