Lojban Alice In Wonderland

I recently discovered that there are a number of Lexicon Valleypodcasts that I hadn't heard and have been working my way through them. Episode 33 was entitled The End of Ambiguity and dealt with an artificial language that was originally known as Loglan and is now called Lojban. The aim was to create a language in which ambiguous utterances are impossible and it is, or sounds to be from this podcast, insanely complex. Possibly literally insanely.

To give an example from the podcast there are 25 different ways to say “and” in Lojban.

In the sentence “John and Mary carried the box” there is one word for “and” if we mean together and a different word for “and” if we mean alternately. A third word is used in “John and Mary are friends.” where it means that considered jointly they are friends.

The language, quite frankly, sounds nuts.

I was intrigued enough that I shall be reading more about it later. Lojban as such wasn't the main point of interest for me. That came a few minutes from the end when I discovered that there is a Lojban translation of Alice In Wonderland. Of course I had to check if I could find one. And find one I did.

Here are the opening paragraphs. To me it doesn't even look like a language, it looks like an especially complicated cipher.

“1 ni’oni’o pamo’o mo’ini’a le ractu kevna

no’i la alis co’a tatpi le nu zutse le rirxe korbi re’o le mensi gi’e zukte fi noda

i abuboi so’uroi sutra zgana le cukta poi le mensi cu tcidu i ku’i cy vasru no

pixra ja nuncasnu i lu ji’a ma prali sei la alis pensi fi lo cukta poi vasru no

pixra ja nuncasnu li’u

i abu ca’o menli jdice to sekai le xagrai selka’e pe va’o le nu le glare djedi

cu rinka le nu abu lifri le nu sipydji je bebna toi le du’u xukau le nu pluka fa

le nu zbasu lo xrula linsi cu se vamji le raktu poi nu sa’irbi’o gi’e crepu loi

xrula icabo suksa fa le nu lo blabi ractu poi xunblabi se kanla cu bajra zo’a

abu

i la’e di’u no’e ba’e mutce le ka cizra ijenaiji’a la alis jinvi le du’u ba’e

mutce le ka nalfadni kei fa le nu tirna le nu le ractu cu sezysku lu oiro’a

oiro’a mi lerci li’u to baku ca le nu abu pensi la’e di’u kei abu ri te sidbo le

du’u ei ri abu cizra i ku’i caku piro ri simlu le ka rarna toi i ku’i ca le nu le

ractu ca’a lebna lo junla le kosta daski gi’e catlu jy gi’e di’a sutra kei la alis

spaji sa’irbi’o ki’u le nu lindi pagre le abu menli fa le si’o abu pu noroi viska

lo ractu poi ponse lo kosta daski a lo junla poi ry ke’a dy ka’e lebna i bai

le nu kucli kei abu bajra pagre le foldi gi’e jersi ry gi’e u’adai viska le nu ry

canci mo’ine’i lo barda ke ractu kevna noi cnita le spabi’u

i baziku la alis mo’ine’i jersi ry gi’e noroi pensi le du’u ta’i ba’e makau

abu ba za’ure’u bartu”

Who'd have thought that randomly listening to an old podcast would find me such a strange new version of my lifelong obsession.