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Lojban as foreign language in High School?!?

Phil P

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Dec 10, 2012
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After graduating high school, I see many people who do not use their foreign language much in the real world. However, practical use is not the only benefit of learning a foreign language -- it is also intellectually beneficial.

That being said, should high schools offer Lojban?

The logical structure of this language would be more intellectually stimulating than other languages, and it may well be easier to learn.

The downside is that not many people speak it, but that could change if high schools offered it.

Thoughts?
 

Such Irony

Honor Thy Inferior
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Jul 23, 2010
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Sounds like another Esperanto. A good idea in concept but in the real world hardly anyone speaks it.

It would be nice if more languages were constructed like this though, without having to deal with all the irregularities and exceptions. Languages that a large segment of the earth's population actually speaks. I don't see that happening anytime soon though.

So I'd rather learn a language where I can actually put my skills to use and that will make me more useful in the job market. Like Spanish.
 

/DG/

silentigata ano (profile)
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
4,602
I've never even heard of Lojban, whereas Esperanto actually has some following. In fact, I tried learned it at one point, but gave up due to laziness.

It's very simple and easy to learn, but like @SuchIrony said, the world just isn't going to accept it. The most widely spoken languages are always going to be the natural language of the most powerful countries.

Similarly, it's important to learn relevant languages where you live. I live in the USA, so I already know English. However, it's important for me to also know Spanish because of the increasing hispanic population in our country. If I were to live in Canada, it may be relevant for me to learn French, etc.

For a great Esperanto community, try lernu.net.

*edit* I just found this and this on Wikipedia. It says:
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a first language, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both speakers' first languages. Examples of lingua francas are numerous, and exist on every continent. The most obvious example is English, which is the current lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation. There are many other lingua francas centralized on particular regions, such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

The popularity of languages changes over time, and there are many lingua francas that are of historical importance. These include French, which was the language of European diplomacy from the 17th century until the mid-20th century, and Classical Chinese, which served as both the written lingua franca and the diplomatic language in Far East Asia until the early 20th century. French and Chinese are still significant lingua francas today.

International auxiliary languages such as Esperanto have historically had such a low level of adoption and use that they can only be described as potential rather than functioning lingua francas.
 
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