Re: la'e

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

Cowan:
>Logical Language Group wrote:
>
>> It makes sense to me.  Indeed anything in Lojban makes sense if the
>> listener can ascribe meaning to it.
>
>That works only if you have an independent criterion for ascribing
>meaning.  Otherwise, Lojban looks like Xoinglish (Nora's variant of
>English in which all sentences begin with "Xoi" meaning "It may or
>may not be true that ..." and so are all true).  If I am allowed
>to insert my own criteria of meaning, then we can interpret any
>sentence as anything.

The independent criterion in my book is either feedback from the speaker that
indicates that the listener has understood the speaker, or a pattern of
analysis that offers results repeatedly consistent with the universe of
discourse (i.e. generally the real world).  In short, correctness of
meaning is pragmatic - of it works, it is a valid meaning.  Since we have
no official theory of semantics in Lojban pragmatics is the ultiumate judge
of successful understanding.  (but of course this still says nothing about
"goodness" of Lojban).

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
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