lojban Resources
There are various ways of learning Lojban unique to the individual learning it, but to help you get started here are some suggestions. There are also on-English Lojban Materials earning materials available in non-English languages.
Get started with a book
To get started, you will need to begin reading one or more of the Lojban Books, such as
- the freely available online introductory jbocre: What is Lojban?, The Book hat is Lojban?
- the learning text ojban for Beginners (aka L4B) (jbocre: Lessons Errata 4B Errata)
- and the reference book The Complete Lojban Language.
These books will teach you about how to read and use Lojban; what the different types of words and grammatical constructs do, how to use them and interpret them; how to express yourself Lojbanically. They will not, however, teach you vocabulary, style, spoken flow, nor other aspects involved in really learning about and using a human language.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Since the publication of most of the books, there has been a change to the semantics of Lojban articles known as xorlo. These changes simplify the grammar in that aspect and are not difficult to grasp. Please keep this reform in mind when consulting the official reference grammar, as it was effectively published before the approval of xorlo.
Get started following a class
As it happens, this fall 2011 semester contains the first Lojban Class at Rice University. Following that page will give you resources associated with the class.
ALSO! Any even partially experienced Lojbanists willing to help / refresh should follow the class and notify jbocre: ailto:jandew+lojban@gmail.com?subject=Lojban Course at Rice University oe Anderson (IRC:djandus) of any issues. There is also a thread with the same title on the mailing list.
Quick reference
A separate page has been set to collect heat sheets to be used as quick reference and as an aid for memorization.
Try out new interactive learning tools
New online tools for self-directed learning are constantly being developed. One such tool is the language fluency game quot;Where are your Keys?". For Lojban, go to website quot;lo do ckiku ma zvati". Another tool is wavelessonscontinued ave Lessons continued.
A web site dedicated to learning vocabulary called emrise has word lists for Lojban gismu and cmavo, ordered by usage frequency. It also features smaller lists for certain groups of cmavo that share similar caracteristics.
Choose a source of vocabulary
The Lojban books and games teach you how to use Lojban, but they don't help you learn the whole vocabulary. For that you will need ord Lists, and flashcard sets from a site such as smart.fm, which is probably the most popular online flashcard site with Lojbanists. Another flashcard site gaining popularity among Lojbanists is emrise. Other options include nki (downloadable; Lojban decks are downloadable within the program), uizlet (it's online; register and join the lojban group; downloadable from Quizard on iPod/iPhone and from Kaka Flashcards on Android devices), Memorize instructions Memorize (downloadable) or ogflash (if you are more technically inclined and like MS-DOS). Also, take a look at the bovlaste dictionary and its (unfortunately) English-only user-friendly frontend lasisku. You will need to have read a little, from one of the learning texts, about Lojban to know what kind of words you need to learn and thus how to effectively search for definitions.
A set of ronunciation ronunciation guides are available to help you speak Lojban.
Read lojban texts
Try reading a progression of proofread (proofed by at least one lojbanist in addition to the author) lojban exts In Lojban exts, starting with short-and-easy through to long-and-difficult. For example, read a teris. po'u lo tirxu cu vitke zi'o le barda tcadu erry the Tiger (you can listen to this one too!), then one of the Berenstain Bears books, for example he Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin, then Le Petit Prince he Little Prince. For conversational text, try jbocre: veryday Lojban B01 veryday Lojban, hrasebook hrasebook and Simple phrases.
Connect with the community
The two most active points of communication for the he Lojbanic Community ojban community are the ojbanic Forums ojban forums.
Many Lojban students find the Lojban IRC chat room to be very valuable for getting their questions answered quickly when there are others around on the network. One can also try practicing their Lojban with others in a reasonable approximation of conversational speed.
Depending on your preferences, anyone of these will meet your needs. For those unfamiliar with mailing lists, there is a eb forum interface to it, which some prefer.
A good idea is to familiarise yourself with common expressions such as reetings ojban greetings to get you started in chatting Lojban with other Lojbanists. The Lojban IRC cheat sheet provides some useful fundamental vocabulary.
Not quite a learning material, but the Beginner's Mailing List is an appropriate place for beginner's to ask questions.
Google+ hangouts
There is the roup]in Google+ where you can videochat in real-time with other lojbanists. Both classes for beginners and advanced learners are planned. Just check out for the last messages on hangouts (the term that denotes videoconversations in Google+) !
What's next?
Continue memorizing the vocabulary and using Lojban as much as you can! Chatting with the community can help you with this. Writing a personal diary or performing translations, are other possibilities. Lojban means different things to different people; for some it is a linguistic curiousity -- a test-bed for language experimentation; for others a way to expand their mind or discipline their thought; the desire for precise expression; a new way to look at languages; a fun way to meet and communicate with friends; entertainment; a challenge; art; software application; the list goes on! What will Lojban mean for you?
Once you know what words you want to learn, you could try oftware assisted learning dditional memorization software to vastly improve your vocabulary. Chatting regularly on the ojban IRC channel is another way of using your vocabulary in real time. Some start logs or diaries, others translate music.
a laxma'i spaji spaji, the bilingual Lojban/English blog, can be helpful for learning both how various English idioms may be translated into Lojban, and how to use a wide range of Lojban cmavo (mainly in a narrative tone)