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Date:         Thu, 8 Aug 1996 10:02:08 MET
Reply-To:     Claudio Gnoli <CTGNOLI@IMICILEA.CILEA.IT>
Sender:       Lojban list <LOJBAN%CUVMB.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
From:         Claudio Gnoli <CTGNOLI@IMICILEA.CILEA.IT>
Subject:      Re: Resolution of compound words
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Status: R


I wrote on the ConLang list:
> John Cowan, while speaking about Loglan and Lojban:
> > Actually, there are two subgoals with different purposes:
> > to be able to divide utterances into words unambiguously, and to be
> > able to divide multi-morpheme words into morphemes unambiguously.
> Please can someone shortly explain how this latter works?

And Lojbab kindly replied:
> Lojban multi-morpheme compounds, called "lujvo" are composed of pieces,
> called "rafsi" (affixes), and when warranted by the word-formation
> rules, the letters "y", "r" and/or "n" as "word-glue".  The use of the
> latter are completely prescribed:  (...)
> There is no duplication in the rafsi assignments; this means for
> example, that the three-letter rafsi "bri" is assigned to "bridi" and t
> no other root word, and "vla" is assigned to "valsi" and to no other
> root word.  (...)

Thanks a lot for your explanation.
I suppose all this must to be somewhere in Lojban ftp and www sites,
however I didn't yet find it, due to lack of time and to difficulties
in quickly accessing the 'Net. So I apologize if my questions are
someway naive.

What I wonder now is: if rafsi are equivalent in meaning to gismu,
but shorter, why do not use rafsi instead of gismu also for simple
words? E.g., why do not say "bri" instead of "bridi"?

BTW, I'm glad to be part of the Lojban community!
Greetings all from Italy.

Claudio /.

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Claudio T. Gnoli                   <ctgnoli@imicilea.cilea.it>
    self-styled ethologist, zoosemiotician, conlanger, philosopher
                ...actually, a simple librarian

               (On vacation from 10 to 25 August)