Modules

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Goals of the Logical Language Modules Project

Build a Library of Logical Language Modular Components and Tools.

These components should aim to:

  • A full logical language can be assembled wholly or partly from existing modules.
    • Innovators can focus on developing a new module rather than a whole language.
  • Enumerate the design space of Logical Languages.
    • Provide alternate modules for different design choices.
  • Describe modules' strengths, weaknesses, and compatibility.
    • Do not apply value judgements or advocate for any particular option.
  • Be systematic and well documented.
    • A method or a choice without documented justification will be lost.
  • Provide software for working with these components.

Modular Language Architecture

  • Morphology
    • Written
      • Writing System
    • Verbal
      • Phonotactics
        • Phonology
  • Vocabulary
  • Syntax
    • Predicates and Arguments
    • Numbers and Counting
  • Semantic Foundation

Module Design Space and Features

Morphology

  • Self-segmentation strategies
    Continuation marker
    certain feature or features of a syllable is used to determine if it is a continuation of the previous word
    • Toaq uses the flat toneme for this[1]
    Word length marker
    the first syllable of each word determines how long the word is
    Initial consonant cluster
    Sentinel value
    programming concept: special predetermined value as a signal for termination
    • Lojban: name words (cmevla) are booked with pauses[4][5]; foreign quotes triggered with zoi/la'o start and end with any chosen one-word terminator[6]
  • Relation between Written and Verbal
    Audio-Visual Isomorphism

Written

  • Writing System
    Alphabet
    Syllabary
    Logography

Verbal

Vocabulary

Provides set of non-core/non-syntactic/non-structural words with defined meanings Not attached to specific phonological forms Different vocabulary module instances could incorporate different philosophies, such as world view for constructing composites - have a word for 'tooth', or use a compound like 'mouth-stone'?

Syntax

Predicates and their arguments

  • Sentence functions
    Predicate–argument
    predicates, together with arguments, form predications; both must be present (at least implicitly)
    • see(man, cat)
    • present in most logical languages
    Predicate–variable
    predicates only accept variable labels as terms; these, in turn, can be bound by quantifier expressions and restricted with subsequent predicate clauses
    Predicate
    no arguments are exposed; predicates are implicitly connected with quantified variables
    • man₁ = see₁; see₂ = cat₁
  • Ad-hoc predicate composition
    Serial predicates
    the embedding of one predicate's structure inside another
    Compound metaphors
    predicate apposition as modification of one predicate's meaning by the other's
    • Lojban has a highly developed appositional tanru grammar

Numbers and counting

  • Representation
    Numerals as a part of speech
    numbers constitute a separate grammatical class
    Numbers as predicates
    numbers are cardinality predicates (‘x₁ is three in number’ etc.)
  • Composition
    Concatenation
    values are expressed as a sequence of digits in positional notation
    • Lojban: pa re ci vo mu (lit. ‘1 2 3 4 5’) denotes the number 12,345[12]
  • Usage
    As quantifiers
    numbers attach to terms and scope over the predicate, signifying how many possible values of the term satisfy the predicate
    • Lojban: ci da (lit. ‘three something’) = ‘there exist exactly three things that…’[14]. Lojban has an extensive assortment of number grammar particles which allow to construct more elaborate quantifications: for example, su'o (pa) ‘at least one’ for ∃, ro ‘all’ for ∀, or even things like da'a su'e rau ‘all but at most enough’.

Semantic Foundations

  • Predicate Logic

References