Origins in Loglan
- Lojban is descended from Loglan.
- Loglan was invented by Dr. James Cooke Brown (a.k.a. JCB) in 1955.
- Intended to test Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
- Published in Scientific American article, Loglan, June 1960.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
the structure of a language constrains the thinking of people using that language
- strong form:
- language limits thought
- weak form:
- language influences thought
The Loglan Institute
Brown founded the Loglan Institute (a.k.a. TLI).
From left: James Cooke Brown, Bob McIvor, and Alex Leith.
The Logical Language Group (a.k.a. LLG)
- 1986 Washington DC splinter group decided to re-engineer Loglan, organized in informally 1987
- Created language called Lojban
- Legal battle over trademark to Loglan
- Brown's copyright was ruled invalid
- LLG incorporated in 1988, became 501(c)(3) in 1989
- Lojban language baselined in 1997
