Message-ID: <20041218132511.25453.qmail@web41908.mail.yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 05:25:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Jorge "Llambías" <jjllambias2000@yahoo.com.ar>
Subject: [lojban-beginners] Re: grasping lojban
To: lojban-beginners@chain.digitalkingdom.org
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la aizek cusku di'e

> I heard that lojban can use SOV order without any particles, so how can 
> you interpret "mi klama zdani" as "I go to a home" and not "I am a home 
> of something that goes"?

You need particles (articles or quantifiers) to mark a noun phrase, 
unless it's a pronoun which can stand on its own. But given that,
you can use SOV or SVO order without further marks. VSO order will
require a mark on S, otherwise it is iterpreted as [S]VO1O2 with
elided subject.

> How do you form adjectives?

Two or more predicates in a row form a tanru, which is a  predicate 
with the same structure as the last one where each predicate is 
modified by the preceding one: {blanu zdani} "blue house".

> How do you include the objects of nouns?

With {be} for the first object, and {bei} for any additional ones:
{lo dunda be lo xirma bei la djan} "A giver of the horse to John".

> How can you tell when a compound phrase arnt just two words in different 
> positions?

The grammar is unambiguous. Each word belongs to a grammar class.
The grammar classes of particles are called selma'o, and are
labeled by one of the members in capital letters. For example
selmaho LA includes {la}, {lai} and {la'i}. There are also the
class BRIVLA which includes all predicates and the class CMENE
which includes all names. The meaning of a compound phrase is
unambiguously determined by the word classes of its words.

> How do you form adverbs?

In general, {fi'o} followed by a predicate. This really
forms a preposition, but adverbs in Lojban are simply 
prepositions with no explicit object. There are also 
several selmaho that include prepositions (BAI, PU, ZAhE, 
and many more, all tenses are prepositions.)

> What are the logical and set operators, and how do they work semantically?

Where do you want to start? :)

> When talking about something in the plural, is it by default considered 
> to function as a set or as each thing?

Neither is assumed by default. You can explicitly quantify with {ro}
for each thing, or use the gadri {loi} to talk about the group.
The basic gadri, {lo}, can refer to more than one thing but does not 
make explicit the distribution.

> How do you specify the degree of a word?

What is the degree of a word?

> How do you talk about things like ownership and belongingship?

{pe}, {po}, {po'e} for different degrees of possesion.

There is also the construction {me <sumti> moi} which 
converts the argument <sumti> into the predicate:
"x1 is <sumti>'s x2 by relationship x3"

> How do you talk about physical relation and motion?

There is a whole set of spatial tense prepositions/adverbs.

> Which mailinglist is good for newbies to practise lojban?

This one is good.
 
> ki'e mi'e aizek

je'e mi'e xorxes


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