Re: Latin a loglang? (was Re: Unambiguous languages (was: EU allumettes))

Ray wrote:

"Good grief! I remember my headmaster (who seemed positively ancient way
back in the 1950s) telling us that Latin was a logical language; but even as
a teenager, I could see the falsity of the statement. I didn't know that
urban myth was still alive.

"Of course I'm referring to Stephen Baxter here - I did notice John's smiley
and, in any case, know that John wouldn't make such a foolish claim.

"Latin is, of course, in no way a loglang in the proper sense of the word;
it's not a mapping of any formalized logic. But Classical Latin, rather like
the 19th 7 20th cent Greek Katharevousa, is derived from a conscious
engineering of its natlang source. It could be considered a quasi-engelang -
but loglang, no way."

Here is an interesting page rebuttling this myth:
http://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/LatinBackground/LatinandLogic.html

Trebor.

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