Message-Id: <m0qRYV5-000023C@xiron.pc.helsinki.fi>
Date:         Sat, 23 Jul 1994 00:14:55 -0400
Reply-To:     Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Sender:       Lojban list <LOJBAN%CUVMB.bitnet@FINHUTC.hut.fi>
From:         Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Subject:      Re: lojban thesaurus query
To:           Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
Content-Length: 1622
Lines: 26

There is as yet no Lojban English dictionary, much less thesaurus.
There have been 3 efforts in the past to devise a thesaurus for Lojban based
only on the gismu.  These have been based on 3 different schemes for
dividing up semantic space.  But unfortunately all of them were done based
on the English keywords for the most part, rather thann on the predicates
themselves, and not in the least on the oblique places.

IT is not entirely clear how to do a thesaurus on the predicates themselves
thus including 'verbs' and 'adjectives' and 'adverbs' as well as 'nouns'.
What we have is too tied to the x1 places to be a general reference, though
it is helpful in finding relationships between words.  (A 4th thesaurus-like
effect can be gotten out of the cross-references in the gismu list, but these
are not classified by any external semantic scheme like a thesaurus is).

Colin was working on, and completed, a set of keyowrds for the oblique places,
which is being used in constructing the dictionary.  His effort was merged
with Nora's, who also did the same thing.  Colin was a bit more systematic
than Nora, but in merging, we lost some of that regularity, and the rush to
complete the dictionary has made it impossible to restore it.  I expect to
eventually (probably sooner rather than later) post this set of keyowrds to
the ftp site (and hence presumably to the www page).  But this still is
nothing resembling a thesaurus (if we resystematize everything, we will have
all keywords interpeted as nouns, which might be a first step for what you
have in mind - that would be the easiest resystematization.

lojbab