The meaning of tanru: a necessary detour

draw their material was performed by Ivan D= erzhanski. LLG acknowledges his kind permission to use the fruits of his re= search. LLG The pictures in this book were drawn by Nora Tansky LeChevalier,= except for the picture appearing in=20 pictures , which is by Sylvia Rutiser Rissell.= The index was made by Nora Tansky LeChevalier. I would like to thank the following people for their detailed re= views, suggestions, comments, and early detection of my embarrassing errors= in Lojban, logic, English, and cross-references: Nick Nicholas, Mark Shoul= son, Veijo Vilva, Colin Fine, And Rosta, Jorge Llambias, Iain Alexander, Pa= ulo S. L. M. Barreto, Robert J. Chassell, Gale Cowan, Karen Stein, Ivan Der= zhanski, Jim Carter, Irene Gates, Bob LeChevalier, John Parks-Clifford (als= o known as=20 pc), and Nora Tansky LeChevalier. Nick Nicholas (NSN) would like to thank the following Lojbanists= : Mark Shoulson, Veijo Vilva, Colin Fine, And Rosta, and Iain Alexander for= their suggestions and comments; John Cowan, for his extensive comments, hi= s exemplary trailblazing of Lojban grammar, and for solving the=20 diff --git a/todocbook/12.xml b/todocbook/12.xml index 9935cf3..cf6a373 100644 --- a/todocbook/12.xml +++ b/todocbook/12.xml @@ -43,21 +43,21 @@ Although the lujvo=20 fagyfestiis derived from the tanru=20 fagri festi, it is not equivalent in meaning to it. In = particular,=20 fagyfestihas a distinct place structure of its own, not= the same as that of=20 festi. (In contrast, the tanru does have the same place= structure as=20 festi.) The lujvo needs to take account of the places o= f=20 fagrias well. When a tanru is made into a lujvo, there = is no equivalent of=20 be ... bei ... be'o(described in=20 - ) to incorporate sumti into the middl= e of the lujvo. + ) to incorporate sumti into the middle of t= he lujvo. So why have lujvo? Primarily to reduce semantic ambiguity. On he= aring a tanru, there is a burden on the listener to figure out what the tan= ru might mean. Adding further terms to the tanru reduces ambiguity in one s= ense, by providing more information; but it increases ambiguity in another = sense, because there are more and more tanru joints, each with an ambiguous= significance. Since lujvo, like other brivla, have a fixed place structure= and a single meaning, encapsulating a commonly-used tanru into a lujvo rel= ieves the listener of the burden of creative understanding. In addition, lu= jvo are typically shorter than the corresponding tanru. creative understanding There are no absolute laws fixing the place structure of a newly= created lujvo. The maker must consider the place structures of all the com= ponents of the tanru and then decide which are still relevant and which can= be removed. What is said in this chapter represents guidelines, presented = as one possible standard, not necessarily complete, and not the only possib= le standard. There may well be lujvo that are built without regard for thes= e guidelines, or in accordance with entirely different guidelines, should s= uch alternative guidelines someday be developed. The reason for presenting = any guidelines at all is so that Lojbanists have a starting point for decid= ing on a likely place structure - one that others seeing the same word can = also arrive at by similar consideration. alternative guidelines absolute laws If the tanru includes connective cmavo such as=20 bo,=20 @@ -70,21 +70,21 @@ .

The meaning of tanru: a necessary detour necessary detour The meaning of a lujvo is controlled by - but is not the same as= - the meaning of the tanru from which the lujvo was constructed. The tanru= corresponding to a lujvo is called its=20 veljvoin Lojban, and since there is no concise English = equivalent, that term will be used in this chapter. Furthermore, the left (= modifier) part of a tanru will be called the=20 seltau, and the right (modified) part the=20 tertau, following the usage of=20 - . For brevity, we will speak of the s= eltau or tertau of a lujvo, meaning of course the seltau or tertau of the v= eljvo of that lujvo. (If this terminology is confusing, substituting=20 + . For brevity, we will speak of the seltau = or tertau of a lujvo, meaning of course the seltau or tertau of the veljvo = of that lujvo. (If this terminology is confusing, substituting=20 modifierfor=20 seltauand=20 modifiedfor=20 tertaumay help.) The place structure of a tanru is always the same as the place s= tructure of its tertau. As a result, the meaning of the tanru is a modified= version of the meaning of the tertau; the tanru will typically, but not al= ways, refer to a subset of the things referred to by the tertau. The purpose of a tanru is to join concepts together without nece= ssarily focusing on the exact meaning of the seltau. For example, in the=20 Iliad, the poet talks about=20 the wine-dark sea, in which=20 wine-dark sea @@ -367,21 +367,21 @@ Why so? Because not only is the j1 place (the one who pays atten= tion) equivalent to the t1 place (the hearer), but the j2 place (the thing = paid attention to) is equivalent to the t2 place (the thing heard). A substantial minority of lujvo have the property that the first= place of the seltau (=20 gerkuin this case) is equivalent to a place other than = the first place of the tertau; such lujvo are said to be=20 asymmetrical. (There is a deliberate parallel here with= the terms=20 asymmetrical tanruand=20 asymmetrical tanru symmetrical tanruused in=20 symmetrical tanru - .) + .) In principle any asymmetrical lujvo could be expressed as a symm= etrical lujvo. Consider=20 gerzda, discussed in=20 , where we learned that the= g1 place was equivalent to the z2 place. In order to get the places aligne= d, we could convert=20 zdanito=20 se zdani(or=20 selzdawhen expressed as a lujvo). The place structure o= f=20 selzdais <anchor xml:id=3D"c12e5d5" /> @@ -1666,21 +1666,21 @@ <quote>jdaselsku</quote>, not resolvable by using=20 <quote>seljdasku</quote>. No veljvo involving just the two gismu=20 <quote>lijda</quote>and=20 <quote>cusku</quote>can fully express the relationship implicit in pra= yer. A prayer is not just anything said by the adherents of a religion; nor= is it even anything said by them acting as adherents of that religion. Rat= her, it is what they say under the authority of that religion, or using the= religion as a medium, or following the rules associated with the religion,= or something of the kind. So the veljvo is somewhat elliptical.</para> <para>As a result, both=20 <quote>seljdasku</quote>and=20 <quote>jdaselsku</quote>belong to the second class of anomalous lujvo:= the veljvo doesn't really supply all that the lujvo requires.</para> <para>Another example of this kind of anomalous lujvo, drawn from the = tanru lists in=20  <indexterm><primary>lists</primary></indexterm> - <xref linkend=3D"cll_chapter5" />, is=20 + <xref linkend=3D"selbri" />, is=20 <quote>lange'u</quote>, meaning=20 <quote>sheepdog</quote>. Clearly a sheepdog is not a dog which is a sh= eep (the symmetrical interpretation is wrong), nor a dog of the sheep breed= (the asymmetrical interpretation is wrong). Indeed, there is simply no ove= rlap in the places of=20  <indexterm><primary>sheepdog</primary></indexterm>  <indexterm><primary>sheep breed</primary></indexterm> <quote>lanme</quote>and=20 <quote>gerku</quote>at all. Rather, the lujvo refers to a dog which co= ntrols sheep flocks, a=20 <quote>terlanme jitro gerku</quote>, the lujvo from which is=20 <quote>terlantroge'u</quote>with place structure:</para> diff --git a/todocbook/14.xml b/todocbook/14.xml index f476149..4dba34d 100644 --- a/todocbook/14.xml +++ b/todocbook/14.xml @@ -403,21 +403,21 @@ <interlinear-gloss> <jbo>la djan. nanmu .inaja la djeimyz. ninmu</jbo> <gloss>John is-not-a-man or James is-a-woman.</gloss> <gloss>John is a man only if James is a woman.</gloss> <en>If John is a man, then James is a woman.</en> </interlinear-gloss> </example> <para>The following example illustrates the use of=20 <quote>se</quote>to, in effect, exchange the two sentences. The normal= use of=20 <quote>se</quote>is to (in effect) transpose places of a bridi, as exp= lained in=20 - <xref linkend=3D"cll_chapter5" />.</para> + <xref linkend=3D"selbri" />.</para> <example role=3D"interlinear-gloss-example" xml:id=3D"random-id-z43X"> <title> <anchor xml:id=3D"c14e4d11" /> <anchor xml:id=3D"cll_chapter14-section4-example11" />

la djan. nanmu .iseju la djeimyz. ninmu Whether or not John is a man, James is a woman.

diff --git a/todocbook/15.xml b/todocbook/15.xml index 931bbbe..7567917 100644 --- a/todocbook/15.xml +++ b/todocbook/15.xml @@ -666,21 +666,21 @@ I (other-than-walkingly)-go-to the market. mi cadzu na'e klama le zarci I walkingly-(other-than-go-to) the market. These negations show the default scope of=20 na'eis close-binding on an individual brivla in a tanru= .=20 close-binding says that I am goi= ng to the market, but in some kind of a non-walking manner. (As with most t= anru, there are a few other possible interpretations, but we'll assume this= one - see=20 - for a discussion of tanru meaning). + for a discussion of tanru meaning). In neither=20 nor=20 does the=20 na'enegate the entire selbri. While both sentences cont= ain negations that deny a particular relationship between the sumti, they a= lso have a component which makes a positive claim about such a relationship= . This is clearer in=20 , which says that = I am going, but in a non-walking manner. In=20 , we have claimed = that the relationship between me and the market in some way involves walkin= g, but is not one of=20 going to(perhaps we are walking around the market, or w= alking-in-place while at the market). The=20 scale, or actually the=20 set, implied in Lojban tanru negations is anything whic= h plausibly can be substituted into the tanru. (Plausibility here is interp= reted in the same way that answers to a=20 diff --git a/todocbook/16.xml b/todocbook/16.xml index d22bcad..4de7c00 100644 --- a/todocbook/16.xml +++ b/todocbook/16.xml @@ -549,21 +549,21 @@

ro da poi prenu cu se batci de poi gerku Every-X which is-a-person is-bitten-by some-Y which is-a-dog.<= /en>

using the conversion operator=20 se(explained in=20 - ) to change the selbri=20 + ) to change the selbri=20 batci(=20 bites) into=20 se batci(=20 is bitten by). The translation given in=20 uses the correspon= ding strategy in English, since English does not have prenexes (except in s= trained=20 logician's English). This implies that a sentence with = both a universal and an existential variable can't be freely converted with= =20 existential variable existential diff --git a/todocbook/19.xml b/todocbook/19.xml index 9986c91..7c8fa1a 100644 --- a/todocbook/19.xml +++ b/todocbook/19.xml @@ -645,21 +645,21 @@ a prenex/topic (to modify some previously expressed bridi, s= ee=20 ) linked arguments (beginning with=20 linked arguments beor=20 beiand attached to some previously expressed selbri= , often in a description,see=20 - ) + ) At the beginning of a text, the following non-bridi are also per= mitted: one or more names (to indicate direct address without=20 direct address doi, see=20 ) diff --git a/todocbook/2.xml b/todocbook/2.xml index 0d034cc..c095b4b 100644 --- a/todocbook/2.xml +++ b/todocbook/2.xml @@ -504,21 +504,21 @@ Note that only the first and third sumti have switched places; t= he second sumti has remained in the second place. The cmavo=20 veand=20 xeswitch the first and fourth sumti places, and the fir= st and fifth sumti places, respectively. These changes in the order of plac= es are known as=20 conversions, and the=20 se,=20 te,=20 ve, and=20 xecmavo are said to convert the selbri. More than one of these operators may be used on a given selbri a= t one time, and in such a case they are evaluated from left to right. Howev= er, in practice they are used one at a time, as there are better tools for = complex manipulation of the sumti places. See=20 - for details. + for details. The effect is similar to what in English is called the=20 passive voice. In Lojban, the converted selbri has a ne= w place structure that is renumbered to reflect the place reversal, thus ha= ving effects when such a conversion is used in combination with other const= ructs such as=20 passive voice converted selbri le selbri [ku](see=20 ).

@@ -1487,21 +1487,21 @@ sumti: argument; words identifying something which stands in a sp= ecified relationship to something else, or which has a specified property. = See=20 . selbri: logical predicate; the core of a bridi; the word or words = specifying the relationship between the objects referred to by the sumti. S= ee=20 - . + . cmavo: one of the Lojban parts of speech; a short word; a structu= ral word; a word used for its grammatical function. parts of speech @@ -1542,21 +1542,21 @@ rafsi: a word fragment; one or more is associated with each gismu= ; can be assembled according to rules in order to make lujvo; not a valid w= ord by itself. See=20 . tanru: a group of two or more brivla, possibly with associated cm= avo, that form a selbri; always divisible into two parts, with the first pa= rt modifying the meaning of the second part (which is taken to be basic). S= ee=20 - . + . selma'o: a group of cmavo that have the same grammatical use (can a= ppear interchangeably in sentences, as far as the grammar is concerned) but= differ in meaning or other usage. See=20 . diff --git a/todocbook/4.xml b/todocbook/4.xml index bf34490..e84566d 100644 --- a/todocbook/4.xml +++ b/todocbook/4.xml @@ -188,21 +188,21 @@ punctuation marks prepositions hundred conjunctions articles selma'o, each having a specifically defined grammatical= usage. The various selma'o are discussed throughout=20 - to=20 + to=20 and summarized in=20 . Standard cmavo occur in four forms defined by their word structu= re. Here are some examples of the various forms:

V-form .a .e .i .o .u

@@ -572,21 +572,21 @@ skami pilno is the tanru which expresses the concept of=20 computer user. The simplest Lojban tanru are pairings of two concepts or ideas.= Such tanru take two simpler ideas that can be represented by gismu and com= bine them into a single more complex idea. Two-part tanru may then be recom= bined in pairs with other tanru, or with individual gismu, to form more com= plex or more specific ideas, and so on. The meaning of a tanru is usually at least partly ambiguous:=20 skami pilnocould refer to a computer that is a user, or= to a user of computers. There are a variety of ways that the modifier comp= onent can be related to the modified component. It is also possible to use = cmavo within tanru to provide variations (or to prevent ambiguities) of mea= ning. Making tanru is essentially a poetic or creative act, not a scie= nce. While the syntax expressing the grouping relationships within tanru is= unambiguous, tanru are still semantically ambiguous, since the rules defin= ing the relationships between the gismu are flexible. The process of devisi= ng a new tanru is dealt with in detail in=20 - . + . To express a simple tanru, simply say the component gismu togeth= er. Thus the binary metaphor=20 big boatbecomes the tanru big boat <anchor xml:id=3D"c4e5d2" /> <anchor xml:id=3D"cll_chapter4-section5-example2" />

@@ -1943,21 +1943,21 @@ Zipf's Law basis This doesn't lead to ambiguity, as it might seem to. A given luj= vo still has exactly one meaning and place structure. It is just that more = than one tanru is competing for the same lujvo. But more than one meaning f= or the tanru was already competing for the=20 rightto define the meaning of the lujvo. Someone has to= use judgment in deciding which one meaning is to be chosen over the others= . If the lujvo made by a shorter form of tanru is in use, or is li= kely to be useful for another meaning, the decider then retains one or more= of the cmavo, preferably ones that set this meaning apart from the shorter= form meaning that is used or anticipated. As a rule, therefore, the shorte= r lujvo will be used for a more general concept, possibly even instead of a= more frequent word. If both words are needed, the simpler one should be sh= orter. It is easier to add a cmavo to clarify the meaning of the more compl= ex term than it is to find a good alternate tanru for the simpler term. anticipated And of course, we have to consider the listener. On hearing an u= nknown word, the listener will decompose it and get a tanru that makes no s= ense or the wrong sense for the context. If the listener realizes that the = grouping operators may have been dropped out, he or she may try alternate g= roupings, or try inserting an abstraction operator if that seems plausible.= (The grouping of tanru is explained in=20 - ; abstraction is explained in=20 + ; abstraction is explained in=20 .) Plausibility is the key to learni= ng new ideas and to evaluating unfamiliar lujvo.

The lujvo-making algorithm The following is the current algorithm for generating Lojban luj= vo given a known tanru and a complete list of gismu and their assigned rafs= i. The algorithm was designed by Bob LeChevalier and Dr. James Cooke Brown = for computer program implementation. It was modified in 1989 with the assis= tance of Nora LeChevalier, who detected a flaw in the original=20 Brown tosmabru test. tosmabru test diff --git a/todocbook/5.xml b/todocbook/5.xml index b423caa..7a1b964 100644 --- a/todocbook/5.xml +++ b/todocbook/5.xml @@ -1,13 +1,12 @@ - - Chapter 5=20 - <quote>Pretty Little Girls' School</quote>: The Structure Of Lojban selb= ri + + <quote>Pretty Little Girls' School</quote>: The Structure Of Lojb= an selbri

Lojban content words: brivla At the center, logically and often physically, of every Lojban b= ridi is one or more words which constitute the selbri. A bridi expresses a = relationship between things: the selbri specifies which relationship is ref= erred to. The difference between: <anchor xml:id=3D"c5e1d1" /> <anchor xml:id=3D"cll_chapter5-section1-example1" />

do mamta mi diff --git a/todocbook/6.xml b/todocbook/6.xml index 3e723f9..86fd6b7 100644 --- a/todocbook/6.xml +++ b/todocbook/6.xml @@ -1204,21 +1204,21 @@ mi ponse su'o ci lo cutci I possess at-least three things-which-really-are shoes I own three (or more) shoes.

sumti-based descriptions As stated in=20 , most descriptions consist = of just a descriptor and a selbri. (In this chapter, the selbri have always= been single gismu, but of course any selbri, however complex, can be emplo= yed in a description. The syntax and semantics of selbri are explained in= =20 - .) In the intervening sections, inner= and outer quantifiers have been added to the syntax. Now it is time to dis= cuss a description of a radically different kind: the sumti-based descripti= on. + .) In the intervening sections, inner and o= uter quantifiers have been added to the syntax. Now it is time to discuss a= description of a radically different kind: the sumti-based description. sumti-based description A sumti-based description has a sumti where the selbri would nor= mally be, and the inner quantifier is required - it cannot be implicit. An = outer quantifier is permitted but not required. sumti-based description A full theory of sumti-based descriptions has yet to be worked o= ut. One common case, however, is well understood. Compare the following: <anchor xml:id=3D"c6e9d1" /> <anchor xml:id=3D"cll_chapter6-section9-example1" /> diff --git a/todocbook/9.xml b/todocbook/9.xml index be4802b..00a2644 100644 --- a/todocbook/9.xml +++ b/todocbook/9.xml @@ -616,21 +616,21 @@ <quote>se ke blanu zdani [ke'e]</quote>is therefore:</para> <programlisting xml:space=3D"preserve"> x1 is the inhabitant of the blue house (etc.) x2 </programlisting> <para>Consequently,=20 <xref linkend=3D"cll_chapter9-section4-example8" />means:</para> <programlisting xml:space=3D"preserve"> I am the inhabitant of the blue house which is this thing. </programlisting> <para>Conversion applied to only part of a tanru has subtler effects w= hich are explained in=20 - <xref linkend=3D"cll_chapter5" />.</para> + <xref linkend=3D"selbri" />.</para> <para>It is grammatical to convert a selbri more than once with SE; la= ter (inner) conversions are applied before earlier (outer) ones. For exampl= e, the place structure of=20 <quote>se te klama</quote>is achieved by exchanging the x1 and x2 plac= e of=20  <indexterm><primary>se te</primary></indexterm> <quote>te klama</quote>, producing:</para> <programlisting xml:space=3D"preserve"> x1 is the destination and x2 is the origin of x3 going via x4 using= x5  <indexterm><primary>the destination</primary></indexterm> </programlisting> @@ -904,21 +904,21 @@ <en>A man of the north came to the city.</en> </interlinear-gloss> </example> <para>Here=20 <quote>le berti</quote>is provided as a modal place of the selbri=20 <quote>nanmu</quote>, but its exact significance is vague, and is para= lleled in the colloquial translation by the vague English preposition=20 <quote>of</quote>.=20 <xref linkend=3D"cll_chapter9-section6-example7" />also illustrates a = modal place bound into a selbri with=20 <quote>be</quote>. This construction is useful when the selbri of a de= scription requires a modal place; this and other uses of=20 <quote>be</quote>are more fully explained in=20 - <xref linkend=3D"cll_chapter5" />.</para> + <xref linkend=3D"selbri" />.</para> </section> <section xml:id=3D"cll_chapter9-section7"> <title>Modal sentence connection: the causals causals The following cmavo are discussed in this section:

ri'a BAI diff --git a/todocbook/TODO b/todocbook/TODO index 5fee21e..b14b77c 100644 --- a/todocbook/TODO +++ b/todocbook/TODO @@ -1,35 +1,69 @@ =20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Instructions For Helpers =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D + Fix the chapter name so it's just the second part, i.e. =20 Chapter 5 <quote>Pretty Little Girls' School</quote>: The Structure Of Lojban = selbri =20 becomes: =20 <quote>Pretty Little Girls' School</quote>: The Structure Of Lo= jban selbri =20 Make sure the bits look right (which is why the columns are so spaced out). =20 + ------ + +Fix IDs/tags. A command like the following should do the trick: + + sed -i 's/"cll_chapter5"/"selbri"/g' [0-9]*.xml + +Please run "git diff" afterwards to make sure it did what you +expected. Check in as often as you like (to make the diffs +manageable). + +We want short and meaningful; these are used to make file names and +so on. If multi-word, please make a slug (see +http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slug_%28web_publishing%29 ); we are +using - based slugs rather than _ based, so drop all special +characters, lowercase, replace space with -. + +Do this for all sections. Feel free to do it for examples too if an +example has an obvious title. The important thing here is that +*NOTHING* mentions a fixed number! *NOWHERE* in the docbook should +*ANYTHING* be aware that it is in chapter 20 or section 7 or +anything like that. This is to give us the freedom to move things +around later. + +Numeric-based stuff will all be autogenerated during processing, +based on the current state of the docs. + + =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Data =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D - lojban words, lojban phrases, terms of art ("abstraction"), others?... should each have their own index +- cll_chapter5-section1 should be content-words-brivla or so ; those + IDs should not change when things are moved around =20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Display =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D - links to examples should *say* "example N"; easy to test from the index - links to sections should say the number of section and chapter - examples should be 5.2.1 rather than 5.6 for the first example in section 2 of chatpre 5 =20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Both/Other =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D - make sure backwards-compatible anchors exist + - Ideally, make sure they are autogenerated as part of the HTML + production. +- Similarily, generate more-readable anchors based on current + section number and such --=20 You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "= BPFK" group. To post to this group, send email to bpfk-list@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to bpfk-list+unsubscribe@googleg= roups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bpfk-l= ist?hl=3Den.