Message-Id: <m0pd34M-0000PsC@xiron.pc.helsinki.fi>
Date:         Sat, 5 Mar 1994 15:35:38 EST
Reply-To:     jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU
Sender:       Lojban list <LOJBAN%CUVMB.bitnet@FINHUTC.hut.fi>
From:         Jorge Llambias <jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Go!
To:           Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
Content-Length: 1835
Lines: 65

Matthew says:

> As part of a drive to start learning Lojban again (now that pressure at work
> has lessened slightly), I decided to rename some of my more common utilities
> to Lojban names.  The first one that came to mind is a script called "go"
> that I use to start of a number of commonly used things just after I log in.
>
> I tried to find a bridi to match "go", with the meaning start something.  I
> assumed that there would be one as I knew of "sisti", but only found "cfari"

I had the opposite problem a while back. I couldn't find an intransitive
equivalent of {sisti} ({mulno}, {denpa} and {fanmo} seem to provide
good approximations, but not quite). But creating a transitive form is easy,
as you begin to do:

> which is intransitive.  Which leads me to the question, is:
>
>     ko gasnu le cfari
>
> the shortest possible translation for "go"  (meaning start some process as
> opposed to physically moving yourself)?  Is:
>
>     gau ko cfari
>
> valid,

Yes, I think so.

> and does it mean the same thing?

Not *exactly* the same, but very close.

{ko gasnu le cfari} means something like: "Be an agent in the process
that initiates."

{gau ko cfari} is more like: "Make some unspecified process (probably
clear from context) to initiate."

In the first one, you are calling the process that you're referring to
{le cfari} "the starting one".

In the second, you're not filling the place for the process that you
are referring to. It is of course, not necessary to specify which
process you mean, but you could if you wanted to.

> How about:
>
>     cfari gau ko
>

This is equivalent to {gau ko cfari}

> Are there any alternative mechanisms based on forming a lujvo?

Yes. The lujvo {cfagau} would mean:

x1 (agent) initiates/starts event/process x2

So,
        ko cfagau

will give you what you want.


Jorge