plurigrid Lojban Skill
".i la lojban. bangu lo ka ce'u logji" — "Lojban is a language characterized by being logical"
Lojban: the logical language designed for unambiguous machine-parseable human expression with perfect IPA correspondence.
Overview
Lojban (ISO 639-3: jbo) is a constructed language based on predicate logic, designed by the Logical Language Group (1987-1997) from James Cooke Brown's Loglan (1955).
Key properties:
- Unambiguous grammar (PEG-parseable)
- Culturally neutral vocabulary (from 6 source languages)
- 1:1 phoneme-grapheme correspondence
- Predicate-argument structure (selbri-sumti)
GF(3) Classification
Trit: 0 (ERGODIC)
Role: Mediator between natural language chaos and formal logic
Conservation: Balanced self-referential structure
Core Structures
Gismu (Root Words)
1341 root predicates, each with defined place structure:
| Gismu | x₁ | x₂ | x₃ | x₄ | x₅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| klama | goer | destination | origin | route | vehicle |
| tavla | speaker | listener | subject | language | — |
| djuno | knower | fact | subject | epistemology | — |
| gerku | dog | breed | — | — | — |
Selbri-Sumti Structure
lo prenu cu klama lo zarci
──────── ────── ────────
sumti₁ selbri sumti₂
(the person) (goes-to) (the market)
IPA Correspondence
Lojban has perfect phoneme-grapheme mapping:
| Letter | IPA | Description |
|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | open front |
| e | /ɛ/ | open-mid front |
| i | /i/ | close front |
| o | /o/ | close-mid back |
| u | /u/ | close back |
| y | /ə/ | schwa (buffer) |
| ' | /h/ | glottal separator |
Consonants map directly: p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, s/z, c/j [ʃ/ʒ], x [x], m, n, l, r
Causal Scale Mapping
| Level | Lojban Feature |
|---|---|
| 0 (Total Order) | Unambiguous parse tree |
| 1 (Ordered Locale) | Place structure with open slots |
| 2 (Directed Locale) | Tense/aspect as directed modality |
| 3 (Causal Structure) | Logical connectives (ja, je, jo, ju) |
| 4 (Partial Causal) | Attitudinals (uncertainty markers) |
| 5 (Indefinite Causal) | Metalinguistic quotes (lu...li'u) |
| 6 (Process Matrix) | Self-referential predicates (logji) |
SICP Connection
Lojban embodies SICP's metalinguistic abstraction (Chapter 4):
- selbri = procedure (predicate with place structure)
- sumti = arguments (fill places)
- tanru = compound predicates (composition)
- abstraction (nu, ka, du'u) = lambda over propositions
;; SICP metacircular evaluator parallel:
(define (lojban-eval bridi environment)
(cond ((selbri? bridi)
(apply-selbri (operator bridi)
(list-of-sumti bridi)
environment))
((tanru? bridi)
(compose-selbri (tanru-parts bridi)))
...))
String Diagram Representation
┌─────────────┐
x₁ ───→│ │───→ truth-value
│ selbri │
x₂ ───→│ (klama) │
│ │
x₃ ───→│ │
└─────────────┘
Tanru composition:
┌──────┐ ┌──────┐
x₁ ───→│sutra │────→│klama │───→
└──────┘ └──────┘
(fast) (goer)
= "sutra klama" (fast-goer = runner)
Key Cmavo (Grammar Words)
| Cmavo | Function | GF(3) |
|---|---|---|
| cu | selbri separator | 0 |
| lo | descriptor (veridical) | +1 |
| le | descriptor (described) | -1 |
| nu | event abstraction | 0 |
| ka | property abstraction | +1 |
| du'u | proposition abstraction | -1 |
| ja | logical OR | 0 |
| je | logical AND | 0 |
| jo | logical IFF | 0 |
Resources
- la sutysisku — dictionary
- la vlasisku — search engine
- CLL — Complete Lojban Language
- la karda — reference card
Integration with IES
# Parse Lojban to ACSet
function lojban_to_acset(text::String)
parse_tree = camxes_parse(text) # PEG parser
acset = BridiACSet()
for bridi in parse_tree
add_selbri!(acset, bridi.selbri)
for (i, sumti) in enumerate(bridi.sumti)
add_sumti!(acset, sumti, place=i)
end
end
return acset
end
Lojban ↔ String Diagram Morphism
The functor L: Lojban → StringDiag maps:
- selbri ↦ box with n input wires
- sumti ↦ wires
- tanru ↦ sequential composition
- connectives ↦ parallel composition (⊗)
This makes Lojban a free monoidal category generated by gismu.
".i mi jimpe fi lo bangu" — "I understand about language"
Autopoietic Marginalia
The interaction IS the skill improving itself.
Every use of this skill is an opportunity for worlding:
- MEMORY (-1): Record what was learned
- REMEMBERING (0): Connect patterns to other skills
- WORLDING (+1): Evolve the skill based on use
Add Interaction Exemplars here as the skill is used.