Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 17:20:16 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199801072220.RAA23436@locke.ccil.org> Reply-To: Colin Fine Sender: Lojban list From: Colin Fine Subject: Re: lujvo forming X-To: Lojban list To: John Cowan In-Reply-To: <884027831.1029076.0@listserv.cuny.edu> X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 2785 X-From-Space-Date: Wed Jan 7 17:20:17 1998 X-From-Space-Address: LOJBAN@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU vecu'u le notci po'u <884027831.1029076.0@listserv.cuny.edu> la Rob Zook cu cusku di'e >coi, > >I'm trying to learn how to make lujvo. From reading the material on >the web, I guess as my first step I should make a tanru, and then >collapse it into a single words, using the gismus' combining forms >and any additional letters necessary to keep the word morphologically >correct. > >However, I feel confused about what to do regarding cmavo which may >exist in the tanru. For example, say I wish to make a lujvo to >represent a "quantum irregularity", I might use as the tanru: >. > >So, would ka'udi'inai work as a lujvo for that tanru? Unfortunately, di'i is a rafsi of jdini and nai of natmi; so if that were valid as a lujvo it would mean 'quantum money nation' in some sense, whatever that might mean. However, it will in fact fall apart into ka'u di'i nai "I know culturally irregularly .." ,for example "ka'u di'i nai citsi fa la Istr" "I know culturally that Easter is an irregular season" KEEP RAFSI AND CMAVO COMPLETELY SEPARATE! Brivla (predicate words) are made up of uncontracted brivla (with the final vowel replaced by 'y' if they are non-final) and rafsi (combining forms). Some rafsi have the same form as some cmavo - such as di'i above. But you must keep them strictly apart: they behave in different ways, and usually a rafsi and a cmavo of the same form have completely different meaning. A few cmavo have defined rafsi, but very few of these are identical to the cmavo. So rafsi may only be used in combination (and sometimes you need glue to keep the combination together - for example, every brivla must have consecutive consonants somewhere in the first N letters - 5 I think, but I'm not sure) A combination of rafsi-like things that doesn't obey the rules for a brivla will be a sequence of cmavo, that may or may not be grammatical and make sense. (Note that with a few exceptions strings of cmavo may be run together or not at will). So ka'udi'inai = ka'u di'i nai = "I know culturally aperiodic" ka'urdi'i nai is ungrammatical, but ka'urdi'i would be quantum money! ka'u di'irnai = "I know culturally (something) is a money nation ka'urdi'irnai = "is a quantum money nation" What you probably mean is ka'urvitci -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Colin Fine 66 High Ash, Shipley, W Yorks. BD18 1NE, UK | | Tel: 01274 592696/0976 635354 e-mail: colin@kindness.demon.co.uk | | "Don't just do something! Stand there!" | | - from 'Behold the Spirit' (workshop) | -----------------------------------------------------------------------