The Complete Lojban Language
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The Complete Lojban Language (also referred to as The CLL, The Red Book, and The Refgram), originally published in 1997, is a complete description of the artificial language Lojban. It serves as a reference grammar for the language, offering an overview of the language, as well as linguistic details on every aspect of the language. This book serves as the standard defining the language design.
Though this description may sound imposing, technical and formal, the book is written in a light, often humorous style that teaches the reader about the Lojban language, about logic, and about linguistics in general.
Obtaining
The Logical Language Group, Inc. takes great pride in publishing The Complete Lojban Language, by John Woldemar Cowan.
This book has two editions. The latest edition is CLL v1.1, generated 2016-08-26; its ISBN-13 is 978-0966028324. Revisions of this version are tracked by date of production; you can see details of each revision in the changelog. It is available, in its entirety as published, in the following formats:
- As A Hardcover Book; the default edition sold directly by Amazon is the one provided by the LLG. The book is in hard cover and includes a thorough index and glossary. We do not ship the book ourselves except in special cases; send email to lojban@lojban.org if you have such a special case. PLEASE NOTE that we currently (Jun 2016) are selling it for $50 USD. If it's much more than that, that's not us.
- CLL v1.1 EPUB (the ebook format) and CLL v1.1 MOBI (another ebook format, generated from the EPUB using Kindle's tools, so it should work on all Kindle devices)
- CLL v1.1 PDF and CLL v1.1 PDF Cover ; these are the actual files we sent to the printer, so it's exactly what you get if you buy a copy
- In HTML in various chunks: CLL v1.1 HTML One Big File, CLL v1.1 HTML One File Per Chapter, CLL v1.1 HTML One File Per Section
The older edition, the original Red Book, has ISBN 0-9660283-0-9 and can be distinguished by the cover lettering being gold rather than white. It is available in the following formats:
- An online draft version
- It used to be available for purchase on Amazon and from the LLG, but all copies have been sold. Send email to lojban@lojban.org if you'd like to try to get a copy anyway.
- PLEASE NOTE that the most the LLG has *ever* sold *any* version of this book for is about $50 USD. If you see it offered for much more than that, it is *not* us, and we won't be getting any of that extra money (we've seen copies on sale on Amazon for up to $1,000 USD!).
Ongoing Work
The language design described by the first edition was declared frozen for a minimum 5 year period so that anyone who learned the language from this book could be assured that it wouldn't change unexpectedly. This period ended in 2002.
- A list of CLL, aka Reference Grammar, Errata is also available, most of which have been approved by the book's author.
- Suggestions for CLL, second edition (uncategorized suggestions for improvements or changes in the CLL)
- CLL dot side Errata, arising from The Case Against LA.
- CLL PEG Errata, for work pertaining to PEG requiring changes to the CLL.
Further Description
Lojban is a current version of Loglan, the artificial language project described in the June 1960 Scientific American article of that name. "Loglan" was also referred to by name in Robert Heinlein's classic novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, as well as in other novels.
Loglan/Lojban is a language designed for several purposes, including linguistics research (especially involving a proposed test of the Sapir/Whorf hypothesis), foreign language instruction, artificial intelligence research, machine translation and related human/computer interaction applications, and as a stimulating educational and entertaining mental exercise. A few people are interested in Lojban as a prospective international auxiliary language. An international community of aficionados has appeared, writing in and about the language, primarily on the Internet.
Other names
CLL is known jocularly as the Codex Woldemar, The Red Book, Woldy Codex, The Woldy and Lojbanically as la braxu'e (Big Red Thing), or le gencukta.
General Information About The LLG
The Logical Language Group, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) scientific- educational organization, and donations may be tax deductible within the U.S. We acknowledge all donations over $250 in accordance with IRS regulations, and other donations by request.
Please make your donations by sending a cheque to the address above, or by donating through PayPal to the LLG.
We can accept Internet advance orders via e-mail, but you must followup with verification via postal mail or telephone within 2 weeks. No C.O.D. orders. We require prepayment on purchase orders.
Queries should be addressed to the LLG Secretary at the above address or via email to lojban@lojban.org