Message-Id: <9202051726.AA20071@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Date:         Wed, 5 Feb 1992 11:59:21 -0500
Reply-To: Logical Language Group <cbmvax!uunet!GREBYN.COM!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!lojbab>
Sender: Lojban list <cbmvax!uunet!CUVMA.BITNET!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!LOJBAN>
From: Logical Language Group <cbmvax!uunet!GREBYN.COM!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!lojbab>
Subject:      Lojban List projects - volunteers wanted
To: John Cowan <cowan@SNARK.THYRSUS.COM>,
        Eric Raymond <eric@SNARK.THYRSUS.COM>,
        Eric Tiedemann <est@SNARK.THYRSUS.COM>
Status: RO

A couple of little projects are going on in preparation for the first
book that people may want to get involved in.  Colin Fine and Nick
Nicholas, with some assistance from Ivan Derzhanski in Slavic and
reviewing other languages are preparing some lists of names as examples
for the book.

Their charter includes some samples of Lojbanization of given names,
mostly English but with a scattering of common non-English names that
could be useful to Lojbanists.  Colin will be working in particular to
make sure that both American and British pronunciations are respected.
He has noted, for example, that a British "John" might prefer "djon. to
"djan." as his Lojbanized name.

The more significant effort is an attempt to assemble, for each country
in the UN (and a few like the new softo republics that are not yet in
the UN), assemble a Lojban name for the country and for the
capital/principal city(ies), and perhaps the principal language(s)
spoken.  In addition, for the English-speakers that will be most
frequent consumers of the new book, lists of US States, Canadian and
Australian provinces and British counties/shires and their principal
city(ies.)  Where possible, foreign names should be Lojbanized in
accordance with the local name in the foreign language, and this may
take some research.

This list will be merged with our cultural gismu list to form a
comprehensive culture list.  "le'avla" for the cultures and languages
not in the gismu list will be made semi-algorithmically from the names.

Volunteers should contact Nick or Colin, whom I suspect will say more
about what kind of help they need.

Another project was suggested by Gary Burgess in accordance with some
ideas he has in mind for a Lojban phrase book.  Such phrase books
typically have a sample sentence and then a list of closely related
words that can be substituted.  Three such lists seem ripe for group
action/effort, and you may think of others:  parts of the body,
garments, and, places (as in "Can you direct me to the _____?").

Many of the words that would go in these sets are gismu.  A few will
need lujvo made.  For example, in parts of the body we have bongu
(bone), nazbi (nose), stedu (head), etc., but we have to make lujvo for
skull (stedybongu) and chin (xedjyjinto) and cheek (flirymlana and
zargyflira?)  (I prefer receiving lujvo proposals in expanded form like
this for easy checking, although those who know the rafsi rules are
welcome to suggest a preferred shorter form as well.)

I would need a volunteer to make up and post a list of concepts for each
category, and then assemble responses.  Multiple suggestions for some
concepts are OK.  I suggest that no one person volunteer for more than
one category list for now, and that the way to say 'I volunteer' is to
post your own list of concepts (others who were making up their own
lists in preparation for posting can still do so, and the first poster
will merge new concepts into her/his list).  Then when you have a list
of concepts, start making tanru - and then lujvo.  I want to see some
good suggestions for "gums" %^).  All you need to contribute is a gismu
list, and it can be new or old since place structure changes are
unlikely to affect the choices of tanru in these limited domains.

I hope to see a lot of messages flying around the list soon with body
parts, places to visit, etc., as well as lists of names for people to
review.

lojbab