Received: from localhost ([::1]:53372 helo=stodi.digitalkingdom.org) by stodi.digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.76) (envelope-from ) id 1RLBD2-0005I9-1V; Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:04:45 -0700 Received: from 173-13-139-235-sfba.hfc.comcastbusiness.net ([173.13.139.235]:46719 helo=jukni.digitalkingdom.org) by stodi.digitalkingdom.org with esmtps (TLSv1:AES256-SHA:256) (Exim 4.76) (envelope-from ) id 1RLBBp-0005HS-AJ for wikichanges@lojban.org; Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:04:34 -0700 Received: from jukni.digitalkingdom.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by jukni.digitalkingdom.org (8.14.5/8.14.5) with ESMTP id pA1A3QC4019600 for ; Tue, 1 Nov 2011 03:03:26 -0700 Received: (from apache@localhost) by jukni.digitalkingdom.org (8.14.5/8.14.5/Submit) id pA1A3NxZ019597; Tue, 1 Nov 2011 03:03:23 -0700 Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2011 03:03:23 -0700 X-Authentication-Warning: jukni.digitalkingdom.org: apache set sender to webmaster@lojban.org using -f To: wikichanges@lojban.org X-PHP-Originating-Script: 48:htmlMimeMail.php MIME-Version: 1.0 From: webmaster@lojban.org Message-ID: X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by jukni.digitalkingdom.org id pA1A3QC4019600 X-Spam-Score: 3.5 (+++) X-Spam_score: 3.5 X-Spam_score_int: 35 X-Spam_bar: +++ X-Spam-Report: Spam detection software, running on the system "stodi.digitalkingdom.org", has identified this incoming email as possible spam. The original message has been attached to this so you can view it (if it isn't spam) or label similar future email. If you have any questions, see the administrator of that system for details. Content preview: The page wavelessonscontinued was changed by klaki at 10:03 UTC You can view the page by following this link: http://www.lojban.org/tiki/wavelessonscontinued [...] Content analysis details: (3.5 points, 5.0 required) pts rule name description ---- ---------------------- -------------------------------------------------- 0.0 FRT_SOMA2 BODY: ReplaceTags: Soma (2) 0.4 RDNS_DYNAMIC Delivered to internal network by host with dynamic-looking rDNS 2.5 DRUGS_MUSCLE Refers to a muscle relaxant 0.6 TO_NO_BRKTS_DYNIP To: misformatted and dynamic rDNS 0.0 T_FILL_THIS_FORM_SHORT Fill in a short form with personal information Subject: [Wikichanges] Wiki page wavelessonscontinued changed by klaki X-BeenThere: wikichanges@lojban.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list Reply-To: webmaster@lojban.org List-Id: List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="===============2773842477237920695==" Errors-To: wikichanges-bounces@lojban.org Content-Length: 311970 --===============2773842477237920695== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The page wavelessonscontinued was changed by klaki at 10:03 UTC You can view the page by following this link: =20 http://www.lojban.org/tiki/wavelessonscontinued You can view a diff back to the previous version by following this link:=20 http://www.lojban.org/tiki/tiki-pagehistory.php?page=3Dwavelessonscontinu= ed&compare=3D1&oldver=3D1&newver=3D2 *********************************************************** The changes in this version follow below, followed after by the current f= ull page text. *********************************************************** +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ @@ -Lines: 1 changed to +Lines: 1-1335 @@ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ - CONTENT + Lojban Wave Lessons Continued:
by la klaku with help from la .krib= acr., la xalbo and others, autumn 2011.

Chapter zero: Foreword=
These lessons are an attempt to expand on the Google Wave Lessons, = an excellent Lojban tutorial by kribacr, xalbo, and others, which sadly o= nly covered the first four chapters in this tutorial. It implements the n= ewest rules of Lojban not covered by older materials such as What is Lojb= an? and Lojban for Beginners.

If you are new to Lojban, I reco= mmend listening to any recordings you can find of spoken Lojban both befo= re and while you are taking this tutorial, in order to make yourself fami= liar with the sounds and words of the language, which will not be explain= ed here. Furthermore, try to say the things you read in Lojban accent if = it=E2=80=99s reasonably practical. This can help your pronunciation a lot= .

When taking this tutorial, it=E2=80=99s best to pause betwee= n lessons in order to internalize what you have learnt. I have attempted = to build these lessons from the bottom up and exclude any words or concep= ts that have not been explained in previous lessons. Once explained, they= are used freely throughout the remainder of the tutorial. I urge readers= not to pass any misunderstood content; if you have questions or are unce= rtain about something, feel free to ask the Lojban community, which can b= e found in #lojban on the Freenode IRC network. They will be happy to hel= p.

In this tutorial, Lojban text is written in courier new fon= t and sometimes encased in {curly brackets}. Answers to exercises are col= ored light grey. Tilt your screen or copy the text into some other medium= , an address bar or text editor in order to see it.

Lastly, I = have as far as possible attempted to use the Lojban words for grammatical= constructs: sumka=E2=80=99i instead of pro-sumti, sumtcita instead of mo= dal and jufra instead of utterance. This is because I feel the English wo= rds are often either arbitrary, in which case they are just more words to= learn, or mi! sleading, in which case they are worse than useless. In either case, as = long as the words are specific to those who are learning Lojban anyway, t= here is no reason for them to exist as separate English words.


Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 lesson one (bridi, jufra, sumti and selbr= i)
A bridi is the most central unit of Lojban utterances. The concep= t is very close to what we call a proposition in English. A bridi is a cl= aim that some objects stand in a relation to each other, or that an objec= t has some property. This stands in contrast to jufra, which are merely L= ojban utterances, which can be bridi or anything else being said. The dif= ference between a bridi and a jufra is that a jufra does not necessarily = state anything, while a bridi does. Thus, a bridi might be true or false,= while not all jufra can be said to be such.
To have some examples (= in English, to begin with), =E2=80=9CMozart was the greatest musician of = all time=E2=80=9D is a bridi, because it makes a claim with a truth value= , and it involves an object, Mozart, and a property, being the greatest m= usician of all time. On the contrary, =E2=80=9COw! My toe!=E2=80=9D is no= t a bridi, since it does not involve a relation, and thus does not state = anything. Both, though, are jufra.
Try to identify the bridi among t= hese English jufra:

a) =E2=80=9CI hate it when you do that.= =E2=80=9D

b) =E2=80=9CRuns.=E2=80=9D

c) =E2=80= =9CWoah, that looks delicious!=E2=80=9D

d) =E2=80=9CGeez, n= ot again.=E2=80=9D

e) =E2=80=9CNo, I own three cars=E2=80=9D=

f) =E2=80=9CNineteen minutes past eight.=E2=80=9D
g) =E2=80=9CThis Saturday, yes.=E2=80=9D

Answer: a, c a= nd e are bridi. b contains no objects and the rest contain no relation or= claim of a property.

Put in Lojban terms, a bridi consists of= one selbri, and one or more sumti. The selbri is the relation or claim a= bout the object, and the sumti are the objects which are in a relation. N= ote that =E2=80=9Cobject=E2=80=9D is not a perfect translation of =E2=80=9C= sumti=E2=80=9D, since =E2=80=9Csumti=E2=80=9D can refer to not just physi= cal ! objects, but can also purely abstract things like =E2=80=9CThe idea of w= arfare=E2=80=9D. A better translation would be something like =E2=80=9Csu= bject, direct or indirect object=E2=80=9D for sumti, and =E2=80=9Cverb=E2= =80=9D for selbri, though, as we will see, this is not optimal either.We can now write the first important lesson down:
bridi =3D selbr= i + one or more sumti
Put another way, a bridi states that some sumt= i do/are something explained by a selbri.

Identify the sumti a= nd selbri equivalents in these jufra:
=E2=80=9CI will pick up my dau= ghters with my car=E2=80=9D

Answer: selbri: =E2=80=9Cpick up (= with)=E2=80=9D. sumti: =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cmy daughters=E2=80=9D= , =E2=80=9Cmy car=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CHe bought sixteen new shir= ts from Lea&Levy=E2=80=99s for just two hundred euro!=E2=80=9D
<= br />Answer: selbri: =E2=80=9Cbought (from) (for)=E2=80=9D sumti: =E2=80=9C= He=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Csixteen new shirts=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CLea&Lewis= =E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Ctwo hundred euros=E2=80=9D

Since these = concepts are so fundamental to Lojban, let=E2=80=99s have a third example= : =E2=80=9CSo far, the EPA have done nothing about the amount of sulphur = dioxide in the air.=E2=80=9D

Answer: selbri: =E2=80=9Chave don= e (about)=E2=80=9D sumti: =E2=80=9CThe EPA=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cnothing=E2=80= =9D and =E2=80=9Cthe amount of sulphor dioxide in the air=E2=80=9D
<= br />Now try begin making Lojban bridi. For this you will need to use som= e word, which can act as selbri:
dunda x1 gives x2 to x3 (without pa= yment)
pelxu x1 is yellow
zdani x1 is a home of x2

N= otice that these words meaning =E2=80=9Cgive=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cyellow=E2= =80=9D and =E2=80=9Chome=E2=80=9D would be considered a verb, an adjectiv= e and a noun in English. In Lojban, there are no such categories and no s= uch distinction. dunda can be translated =E2=80=9Cgives=E2=80=9D (verb), = =E2=80=9Cis a giver=E2=80=9D (noun), =E2=80=9Cis giving=E2=80=9D (adjecti= ve) as well as to an adverb form. They all act as selbri, and are used in= the same way.

As well as a few words, which can act as sumti:=
mi =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 the one or= those who are speaking.
ti =E2=80=9Cthis=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 a close= thing or event nearby which can be pointed to by the speaker.
d! o =E2=80=9Cyou=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 the one or those who are being spoken = to.

See the strange translations of the selbri above - especia= lly the x1, x2 and x3? Those are called sumti places. They are places whe= re sumti can go to fill a bridi. Filling a sumti in a place states that t= he sumti fits in that place. The second place of dunda, for example, x2, = is the thing being given. The third is the object which receives the thin= g. Notice also that the translation of dunda has the word =E2=80=9Cto=E2=80= =9D in it. This is because, while this word is needed in English to signi= fy the receiver, the receiver is in the third sumti place of dunda. So wh= en you fill the third sumti place of dunda, the sumti you fill in is alwa= ys the receiver, and you don=E2=80=99t need an equivalent to the word =E2= =80=9Cto=E2=80=9D!

To say a bridi, you simply say the x1 sumti= first, then the selbri, then any other sumti.
Usual bridi: [x1 sumt= i] [selbri] [x2 sumti] [x3 sumti] [x4 sumti] [x5 sumti] [and so on]
= The order can be played around with, but for now, we stick with the usual= form. To say =E2=80=9CI give this to you=E2=80=9D you just say mi dunda = ti do, with the three sumti at the right places.

So, how would= you say =E2=80=9CThis is a home of me=E2=80=9D?

Answer: ti zd= ani mi

Try a few more in order to get the idea of a place stru= cture sink in.

=E2=80=9CYou give this to me=E2=80=9D?
Answer: do dunda ti mi

And translate ti pelxu

A= nswer: =E2=80=9CThis is yellow.=E2=80=9D

Quite easy once you g= et the hang of it, right?

Multiple bridi after each other are = separated by .i This is the Lojban equivalent of full stop, but it usuall= y goes before bridi instead of after them. It=E2=80=99s often left out be= fore the first bridi, though, as in all these examples:

ti zda= ni mi .i ti pelxu =E2=80=9DThis is a home to me. This is yellow.=E2=80=9D=

Before you move on to the next lesson, I recommend that you t= ake a break for at least seven minutes to let the information sink in.

Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 lesson t! wo (FA and zo=E2=80=99e)
Most selbri have from one to five sumti pl= aces, but some have more. Here is a selbri with four sumti places:
v= ecnu x1 sells x2 to x3 for price x4

If I want to say =E2=80=9C= I sell this=E2=80=9D, it would be undesirable to fill the sumti places x3= and x4, which specify who I sell the thing to, and for what price. Lucki= ly, I don=E2=80=99t need to. sumti places can be filled with zo=E2=80=99e= . zo=E2=80=99e indicates to us that the value of the sumti place is unspe= cified because it=E2=80=99s unimportant or can be determined from context= .
zo=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9Csomething=E2=80=9D Fills a sumti place with = something, but does not state what.

So to say =E2=80=9CI sell = to you=E2=80=9D, I could say mi vecnu zo=E2=80=99e do zo=E2=80=99e =E2=80= =93 I sell something to you for some price.
How would you say: =E2=80= =9CThat=E2=80=99s a home (for somebody)=E2=80=9D?

Answer: ti z= dani zo=E2=80=99e

How about =E2=80=9C(someone) gives this to (= someone)=E2=80=9D?

Answer: zo=E2=80=99e dunda ti zo=E2=80=99e<= br />
Still, filling out three zo=E2=80=99e just to say that a thing= is being sold takes time. Therefore you don=E2=80=99t need to write all = the zo=E2=80=99e in a bridi. The rule simply is that if you leave out any= sumti, they will be considered as if they contained zo=E2=80=99e. If the= bridi begins with a selbri, the x1 is presumed to be omitted and the x1 = becomes zo=E2=80=99e.
Try it out. What=E2=80=99s Lojban for =E2=80=9C= I sell=E2=80=9D?

Answer: mi vecnu

And what does zda= ni mi mean?

Answer: =E2=80=9CSomething is a home of me=E2=80=9D= or just =E2=80=9CI have a home.=E2=80=9D

As mentioned earlier= , the form doesn=E2=80=99t have to be [x1 sumti] [selbri] [x2 sumti] [x3 = sumti] (ect.) In fact, you can place the selbri anywhere you want, just n= ot at the beginning of the bridi. If you do that, the x1 is considered le= ft out and filled with zo=E2=80=99e instead. So the following three jufra= are all the exactly same bridi:
mi dunda ti do
mi ti dunda do<= br />mi ti do dunda

Sometimes this is used for poetic effect. = =E2=80=9CYou sell yourself=E2=80=9D could be do do vecnu, which sounds be= tter than do vec! nu do. Or it can be used for clarity if the selbri is very long and ther= efore better be left at the end of the bridi.

There are also s= everal ways to play around with the order of the sumti inside the bridi. = The most easy one is by using the words fa, fe, fi, fo and fu. Notice tha= t the vowels are the five vowels in the Lojban alphabet in order. Using o= ne of these words marks that the next sumti will fill the x1, x2, x3, x4 = and x5 respectively. The next sumti after that will be presumed to fill a= slot one greater than the previous. To use an example:
dunda fa do = fe ti do =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CGiving by you of this thing to you=E2=80=9D. = fa marks the x1, the giver, which is you. fe marks the thing being given,= the x2. Sumti counting then continues from fe, meaning that the last sum= ti fills x3, the object receiving.

Attempt to translate the fo= llowing three sentences:

mi vecnu fo ti fe do

Answe= r: =E2=80=9DI sell, for the price of this, you=E2=80=9D. or =E2=80=9CI se= ll you for the price of this=E2=80=9D (probably pointing to a bunch of mo= ney)

zdani fe ti

Answer: =E2=80=9CThis has a home=E2= =80=9D. Here, the fe is redundant.

vecnu zo=E2=80=99e mi ti fa= do

Answer: =E2=80=9CYou sell something to me for this price=E2= =80=9D


Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 lesson three (tanru and = lo)
In this chapter, you will become familiar with the concept of ta= nru. A tanru is formed when a brivla is put in front of another brivla, m= odifying it=E2=80=99s meaning. A tanru is itself a selbri, and can combin= e with other brivla or tanru to form more complex tanru. Thus zdani vecnu= is a tanru, as well as pelxu zdani vecnu, which is made from the tanru = pelxu zdani and the single brivla word vecnu. To understand the concept o= f tanru, consider the English noun combination =E2=80=9Clemon tree=E2=80=9D= . If you didn=E2=80=99t know what a lemon tree was, but had heard about b= oth lemons and trees, you would not be able to deduce what a lemon tree w= as. Perhaps a lemon-colored tree, or a tree shaped like a lemon, or a tre= e whose bark tastes like lemo! n. The only things you could know for sure would be that it would be a t= ree, and it would be lemon-like in some way.
A tanru is closely anal= ogous to this. It cannot be said exactly what a zdani vecnu is, but it ca= n be said that it is definitely a vecnu, and that it=E2=80=99s zdani-like= in some way. And it could be zdani-like in any way. In theory, no matter= how silly or absurd the connection to zdani was, it could still truly be= a zdani vecnu. However, it must actually be a vecnu in the ordinary sens= e in order for the tanru to apply. You could gloss zdani vecnu as =E2=80=9C= house seller=E2=80=9D, or even better but worse sounding =E2=80=9Ca home-= type-of seller=E2=80=9D. The place structure of a tanru is always that of= the rightmost selbri. It=E2=80=99s also said that the left selbri modifi= es the right selbri.
=E2=80=9CReally?=E2=80=9D, you ask, sceptically= , =E2=80=9CIt doesn=E2=80=99t matter how silly the connection to the left= word in a tanru is, it=E2=80=99s still true? So I could call all sellers= for zdani vecnu and then make up some silly excuse why I think it=E2=80=99= s zdani-like?=E2=80=9D
Well yes, but then you=E2=80=99d be a dick. O= r at least you=E2=80=99d be intentionally misleading. In general, you sho= uld use a tanru when it=E2=80=99s obvious how the left word relates to th= e right.

Attempt to translate the following: ti pelxu zdani do=

Answer: =E2=80=9CThat is a yellow home for you=E2=80=9D Again= , we don=E2=80=99t know in which way it=E2=80=99s yellow. Probably it=E2=80= =99s painted yellow, but we don=E2=80=99t know for sure.

mi ve= cnu dunda

Answer: =E2=80=9CI sell-like give=E2=80=9D. What can= that mean? No idea. It certainly doesn=E2=80=99t mean that you sold some= thing, since, by definition of dunda, there can be no payment involved. I= t has to be a giveaway, but be sell-like in some aspect.

=E2=80= =A6 And now for something completely different. What if I wanted to say I= sold to a German?
dotco x1 is German/reflects German culture in asp= ect x2

I can=E2=80=99t say mi vecnu zo=E2=80=99e dotco because= that would leave two selbri in a bridi, which is not permitted. I could = say mi dotco vecnu ! but that would be unnecessary vague - I could sell in a German way.. Lik= ewise, if I want to say =E2=80=9CI am friends with an American=E2=80=9D, = what should I say?
pendo =E2=80=93 1x is a friend of x2
merko =E2= =80=93 x1 is American/reflect US culture in aspect x2

Again, t= he obvious would be to say mi pendo merko, but that would for a tanru, me= aning =E2=80=9CI am friend-like American=E2=80=9D, which is wrong. What w= e really want to is to take the selbri merko and transform it into a sumt= i so it can be used in the selbri pendo. This is done by the two words lo= and ku.
lo =E2=80=93 generic begin convert selbri to sumti word. Ex= tracts x1 of selbri to use as sumti.
ku =E2=80=93 end convert selbri= to sumti process.

You simply place a selbri between these two= words, and it takes anything that can fill the x1 of that selbri and tur= ns it into a sumti.
So for instance, the things that can fill zdani=E2= =80=98s x1are only things which are homes of somebody. So lo zdani ku mea= ns =E2=80=9Ca or some homes for somebody.=E2=80=9D Similarly, if I say th= at something is pelxu, it means it=E2=80=99s yellow. So lo pelxu ku refer= s to something yellow.

Now you got the necessary grammar to be= able to say =E2=80=9CI am friends with an American.=E2=80=9D How?
<= br />Answer: mi pendo lo merko ku

There is a good reason why t= he ku is necessary. Try to translate =E2=80=9CA German sells this to me=E2= =80=9D

Answer: lo dotco ku vecnu ti mi If you leave out the ku= , you do not get a bridi, but simply three sumti. Since lo=E2=80=A6ku can= not convert bridi, the ti is forced outside the sumti, the lo-construct i= s forced to close and it simply becomes the three sumti of lo dotco vecnu= [ku], ti and mi.

You always have to be careful with jufra lik= e lo zdani ku pelxu. If the ku is left out the conversion process does no= t end, and it simply becomes one sumti, made from the tanru zdani pelxu a= nd then converted with lo.


Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 less= on four (attitudinals)
Another concept which can be unfamiliar to En= glish speaker is that of attitudin! als, which are words which express emotions directly. The idea of attit= udinals originated in the feminist constructed language L=C3=A1adan, supp= osedly to enable true female emotions. The idea was that female emotional= expression was hindered by male dominated language.
In Lojban, ther= e is no such agenda, and attitudinals most probably have been designed in= to the language because they turned out to be incredibly awesome and usef= ul. They all have a so-called free grammar, which means that they can app= ear almost anywhere within bridi without disrupting the bridi=E2=80=99s g= rammar or any grammatical constructs.
In Lojban grammar, an attitudi= nal applies to the previous word. If that previous word is a word which b= egins a construct (like .i or lo), it applies to the entire construct. Li= kewise, if the attitudinal follows a word which ends a construct like ku,= it applies to the ended construct.

Let=E2=80=99s have two att= itudinals to make some examples:
.ui: attitudinal: simple pure emoti= on: happiness - unhappiness
za=E2=80=99a: attitudinal: evidential: I= directly observe

Note that in the definition of .ui, there ar= e listed two emotions, happiness and unhappiness. This means that .ui is = defined as happiness, while its =E2=80=9Cnegation=E2=80=9D, means unhappi= ness. =E2=80=9CNegation=E2=80=9D might be the wrong word here. Technicall= y, the other definition of .ui is another construct, .ui nai. Most of the= time, the second definition of attitudinals - the ones suffixed with nai= - really is the negation of the bare attitudinal. Other times, not so mu= ch.

And some more selbri, just for the heck of it:
citka = =E2=80=93 x1 eats x2
plise =E2=80=93 x1 is an apple of strain/type x= 2

The sentence do citka lo plise ku .ui, means =E2=80=9CYou ea= t an apple, yay!=E2=80=9D (expressing especially that it is the apple tha= t the speaker is happy about, not the eating, or the fact that it was you= .) In the sentence do za=E2=80=99a citka lo plise ku, the speaker directl= y observes that it is indeed =E2=80=9Cyou=E2=80=9D, who eats an apple as = opposed to someone ! else.

If an attitudinal is placed at the beginning of the bri= di, it is understood to apply to an explicit or implicit .i, thus applyin= g to the entire bridi:
.ui za=E2=80=99a do dunda lo plise ku mi =E2=80= =93 =E2=80=9CYay, I observe that you give an/some apple to me!=E2=80=9D
mi vecnu .ui nai lo zdani =E2=80=9CI sell (which sucks!) a hous= e=E2=80=9D.

Try it out with a few examples. First, though, her= e are some more attitudinals:
.u=E2=80=99u attitudinal: simple pure = emotion: guilt - remorselessness - innocence.
.oi attitudinal: compl= ex pure emotion: pain - complacency - comfort.
.iu attitudinal: misc= ellaneous pure emotion: love - hate.

Look at that, two words w= ith three emotions in the definition! The middle one is accessed by suffi= xinng with cu=E2=80=99i. It=E2=80=99s considered the midpoint of the emot= ion.

Try saying =E2=80=9CI give something to a German, who I l= ove=E2=80=9D

Answer: mi dunda fi lo dotco ku .iu or zo=E2=80=99= e instead of fi

Now =E2=80=9CAah, I eat a yellow apple=E2=80=9D=

Answer: .oi nai mi citka lo pelxu plise ku

Let=E2=80= =99s have another attitudinal of a different kind to illustrate something= peculiar:
.ei Attitudinal: complex propositional emotion: obligatio= n - freedom.

So, quite easy: =E2=80=9CI have to give the apple= away=E2=80=9D is mi dunda .ei lo plise ku, right? It is, actually! When = you think about it, that=E2=80=99s weird. Why is it that all the other at= titudinals we have seen so far expresses the speakers feeling about the b= ridi, but this one actually changes what the bridi means? Surely, by sayi= ng =E2=80=9CI have to give the apple away=E2=80=9D, we say nothing about = whether the apple actually is being given away. If I had used .ui, howeve= r, I would actually have stated that I gave the apple away, and that I wa= s happy about it. What=E2=80=99s that all about?

This issue, e= xactly how attitudinals change the conditions on which a bridi is true, i= s a subject of a minor debate. The official, =E2=80=9Ctextbook=E2=80=9D r= ules, which probably won=E2=80=99t be changed, is that there is a dis! tinction between =E2=80=9Cpure emotions=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cpropositio= nal emotions=E2=80=9D. Only propostional emotions can change the truth co= nditions, while pure emotions cannot. In order to express a propositional= emotional attitudinal without changing the truth value of the bridi, you= can just separate it fro the bridi with .i. There is also a word for exp= licitly conserving or changing the truth conditions of a bridi:
da=E2= =80=99i attitudinal: discursive: supposing - in fact
Saying da=E2=80= =99i in a bridi changes the truth conditions. Saying da=E2=80=99i nai pre= serves it, even with a propositional emotional attitudinal.

So= , what=E2=80=99s two ways of saying =E2=80=9CI give the apple away, to wh= ich I feel obligation=E2=80=9D?

Answer: mi dunda lo plise .i .= ei and mi dunda da=E2=80=99i nai .ei lo plise

The feeling of = an attitudinal can be subscribed to someone else using dai. Usually in or= dinary speech, the attitudinal is subscribed to the listener, but it does= n=E2=80=99t have to be so. Also, because the word is glossed =E2=80=9Cemp= athy=E2=80=9D (feeling others emotions), some Lojbanists mistakenly think= that the listener must share the emotion being subscribed to others.
Example: u=E2=80=99i .oi dai citka ti - =E2=80=9CHa ha, this was eaten!= That must have hurt!=E2=80=9D

What often used phrase could .o= i u=E2=80=99i dai mean?

Answer: =E2=80=9COuch, very funny.=E2=80= =9D

And another one to test your knowledge: Try to translate =E2= =80=9CHe was sorry he sold a house=E2=80=9D (remembering, that tense is i= mplied and need not be specified. Also, =E2=80=9Che=E2=80=9D could be obv= ious from context)

Answer: u=E2=80=99u dai vecnu lo zdani ku
Lastly, the intensity of an attitudinal can be specified using = certain words. These can be used after an attitudinal, or an attitudinal = with nai or cu=E2=80=99i suffixed. It=E2=80=99s less clear what happens w= hen you attach it to other words, like a selbri, must it=E2=80=99s mostly= understood as intensifying or weakening the selbri in some unspecified w= ay:
modifying word intensity
cai extreme/maximal
sai stron= g
(none) unspeci! fied (usually medium)
ru=E2=80=99e weak


What emoti= on is expressed using .u=E2=80=99i nai sai ?

Answer: Strong we= ariness

And how would you express that you are mildly remorsel= ess?

Answer: .u=E2=80=99u cu=E2=80=99i ru=E2=80=99e

Lojban lessons =E2=80=93 lesson five (SE)
Before we venture into th= e territory of more complex constructs, you should learn another mechanis= m for reordering the sumti of a selbri. This, as we will show, is very us= eful for making description-like sumti (the kind of sumti with lo).
= Consider the sentence =E2=80=9CI eat a gift=E2=80=9D, which might be appr= opriate if that gift is an apple. To translate this, it would seem natura= l to look up a selbri meaning =E2=80=9Cgift=E2=80=9D before continuing. H= owever, if one looks carefully at the definition of dunda, x1 gives x2 to= x3, one realizes that the x2 of dunda is something given =E2=80=93 a gif= t.
So, to express that sentence, we can=E2=80=99t say mi citka lo du= nda ku, because lo dunda ku would be the x1 of dunda, which is a donor of= a gift. Cannibalism aside, we don=E2=80=99t want to say that. What we wa= nt is a way to extract the x2 of a selbri.
This is one example where= it is useful to use the word se. What se does is to modify a selbri such= that the x1 and x2 of that selbri trade places. The construct of se + se= lbri is on its own considered one selbri. Let=E2=80=99s try with an ordin= ary sentence:
fanva =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 translates x2 to language x3 fro= m language x4 with result of translation x5=E2=80=9D
ti se fanva mi = =3D mi fanva ti
This is translated by me (=3D I translate this). Oft= en, but not always, bridi with se-constructs are translated to sentences = with the passive voice, since the x1 is often the object taking action.se has its own family of words. All of them swap a different place wi= th the x1.
se swap x1 and x2
te swap x1 and x3
ve swap x1 = and x4
xe swap x1 and x5


Note that s, t, v, and x a= re consecutive consonants in the lojban alphabet.

So: Using th= is knowledge, what would ti xe fa! nva ti mean?

Answer: =E2=80=9CThis is a translation of this=E2= =80=9D (or fanva ti fu ti)

se and its family can of course be = combined with fa and its family. The result can be very confusing indeed,= if you wish to make it so:
klama =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 travels/goes to x2= from x3 via x4 using x5 as transportation device=E2=80=9D
fu lo zda= ni ku te klama fe do ti fa mi. =3D mi te klama do ti lo zdani ku and sinc= e te exchanges x1 and x3: =3D ti klama do mi lo zdani ku
=E2=80=9CTh= is travels to you from me via a home.=E2=80=9D Of course, no one would ma= ke such a sentence except to confuse people, or cruelly to test their und= erstanding of Lojban grammar.
And thus, we have come to the point wh= ere we can say =E2=80=9CI eat a gift.=E2=80=9D. Simply exchange the sumti= places of dunda to get the gift to be x1, then extract this new x1 with = lo...ku. So, how would you say it?
One (possible) answer: mi citka l= o se dunda ku
This shows one of the many uses for se and its family.=


Lojban lessons =E2=80=93 lesson six (NU)
So far we= have only expressed single sentences one at a time. To express more comp= lex things, however, you often need subordinate sentences. Luckily, these= are much easier in Lojban than what one would expect.
We can begin = with an example to demonstrate this: =E2=80=9CI am happy that you are my = friend.=E2=80=9D Here, the main bridi is =E2=80=9CI am happy that X.=E2=80= =9D, and the sub-bridi is =E2=80=9CYou are my friend.=E2=80=9D Looking at= the definition for =E2=80=9Chappy=E2=80=9D, which is gleki:
gleki =3D= =E2=80=9Cx1 is happy about x2 (event/state)=E2=80=9D
One sees that = the x2 needs to be an event or a state. This is natural, because one cann= ot be happy about an object in itself, only about some state the object i= s in. But alas! Only bridi can express a state or an event, and only sumt= i can fill the x2 of gleki!.
As you might have guessed, there is a s= olution. The words su=E2=80=99u...kei is a generic =E2=80=9Cconvert bridi= to selbri=E2=80=9D function, and works just like lo=E2=80=A6ku. Example:=
mrobi=E2=80=99o =E2=80=9Cx1 dies under condition x2=E2=80=9D
m= i su=E2=80=99u do mrobi=E2! =80=99o kei =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI am your death=E2=80=9D.
It=E2=80=99= s hard to find good uses of a bridi as a selbri, and the above example se= ems a little unconvincing. However, since su=E2=80=99u BRIDI kei is a sel= bri, one can convert it to a sumti using lo...ku.
Now we have the eq= uipment to express =E2=80=9CI am happy that you are my friend=E2=80=9D. T= ry it out!
pendo =E2=80=9Cx1 is a friend of x2=E2=80=9D

A= nswer: mi gleki lo su=E2=80=99u do pendo mi kei ku

However, su= =E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6kei does not see much use. People prefer to use the mo= re specific words nu=E2=80=A6kei and du=E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6kei. They work = the same way, but mean something different. nu=E2=80=A6kei treats the bri= di in between as an event or state, and du=E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6kei treats i= t as an abstract bridi, for expressing things like ideas, thoughts or tru= ths. All these words (except kei) are called abstractors. There are many = of them, and only few are used much. su=E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6kei is a genera= l abstractor, and will work in all cases.

Use nu to say =E2=80= =9CI=E2=80=99m happy about talking to you.=E2=80=9D
tavla x1 talks t= o x2 about subject x3 in language x4.

Answer: mi gleki lo nu t= avla do (notice both the English and the Lojban is vague as to who is doi= ng the talking).
Other important abstractors include: ka...kei (prop= erty abstraction), si=E2=80=99o...kei (concept/idea abstraction), ni...ke= i (quantity abstraction) among others.

It is important to noti= ce that some abstractors have several sumti places. As an example, du=E2=80= =99u can be mentioned. du=E2=80=99u is defined:
du=E2=80=99u =3D =E2= =80=9Cabstractor. x1 is the predicate/bridi of [bridi] expressed in sente= nce x2=E2=80=9D.
The other sumti places besides x1 is rarely used, b= ut lo se du=E2=80=99u BRIDI kei ku is sometimes used as a sumti for indir= ect quotation: =E2=80=9CI said that I was given a dog=E2=80=9D can be wri= tten mi cusku lo se du=E2=80=99u mi te dunda lo gerku ku kei ku, if you w= ill pardon the weird example.
cusku x1 expresses x2 to x3 through me= dium x4

Lojban lessons =E2=80=93 lesson seven (NOI)
While= we=E2=80=99re at it, there=E2=80=99s another type of subordinate bridi. = Thes! e are called relative clauses. They are sentences which add some descrip= tion to a sumti. Indeed, the =E2=80=9Cwhich=E2=80=9D in the previous sent= ence marked the beginning of a relative clause in English describing rela= tive clauses. In Lojban, they come in two flavors, and it might be worth = distinguishing the two kinds before learning how to express them.
Th= e two kinds are called restrictive and non-restrictive (or incidential) r= elative clauses. An example would be good here:
=E2=80=9CMy brother,= who is two meters tall, is a politician.=E2=80=9D This can be understood= in two ways. I could have several brothers, in which case saying he is t= wo meters tall will let you know which brother I am talking about. Or I m= ight have only one brother, in which case I am simply giving you addition= al information.

In English as well as Lojban we distinguish be= tween these two kinds =E2=80=93 the first interpretation is restrictive (= since it helps restrict the possible brothers I might be talking about), = the second non-restrictive. When speaking English, context and tone of vo= ice (or in written English, punctuation) helps us distinguish between the= se two, but not so in Lojban. Lojban use the constructs poi=E2=80=A6ku=E2= =80=99o and noi=E2=80=A6ku=E2=80=99o for restrictive and non-restrictive = relative clauses, respectively.
Let=E2=80=99s have a Lojbanic exampl= e, which can also explain our strange gift-eating behaviour in the exampl= e in chapter 5:

mi citka lo se dunda ku poi plise ku=E2=80=99o= =3D =E2=80=9CI eat a gift such that (something is) an apple=E2=80=9D. He= re the poi=E2=80=A6ku=E2=80=99o is placed just after lo se dunda ku, so i= t applies to the gift. To be strict, the relative clause does not specify= what is an apple, but since the relative clause applies to the gift, we = can safely assume that is means the gift is an apple. After all, in the c= ontext of chapter 5, this seems reasonable. If we want to be absolutely s= ure that it indeed was the gift that was an apple, we use the word ke=E2=80= =99a, which is a pro-sumti (a Lojban pronoun) representing the sumti whic= h the relative clause is at! tached to.
.ui mi citka lo se dunda ku poi ke=E2=80=99a plise ku=E2= =80=99o =3D =E2=80=9CYay, I eat a gift, which is an apple=E2=80=9D.
= To underline the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive relat= ive clauses, here=E2=80=99s another example:
lojbo =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 r= eflects Lojbanic culture/community is aspect x2; x1 is Lojbanic.=E2=80=9D=
mi noi lojbo ku=E2=80=99o fanva fo lo lojbo ku =3D =E2=80=9CI, who = am a Lojbanic, translate from some Lojbanic language.=E2=80=9D Here, ther= e is not multiple things which mi could refer to, and the fact that I am = lojbanic is merely additional information not needed to identify me. Ther= efore noi=E2=80=A6ku=E2=80=99o is appropriate.
See if you can transl= ate this: =E2=80=9CI flirt with a man who is beautiful/handsome=E2=80=9D.=
nanmu =E2=80=9Cx1 is a man=E2=80=9D
melbi =E2=80=9Cx1 is beaut= iful to x2 in aspect (ka) x3 by standard x4=E2=80=9D
cinjikca =E2=80= =9Cx1 flirts/courts x2, exhibiting sexuality x3 by standard x4=E2=80=9DAnswer: mi cinjikca lo nanmu ku poi (ke=E2=80=99a) melbi ku=E2=80=99o=

On a more technical side note, it might be useful to know tha= t lo SELBRI ku is officially defined as zo=E2=80=99e noi ke=E2=80=99a SEL= BRI ku=E2=80=99o.


Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 Lesson eight = (terminator elision)
.au da=E2=80=99i mi djica lo nu le merko poi tu= nba mi vau ku'o ku jimpe lo du'u mi na nelci lo nu vo=E2=80=99a darxi mi = vau kei ku vau kei ku vau kei ku vau
- =E2=80=9CI wish the America= n, who is my sibling, would understand that I don=E2=80=99t like that he = hits me.=E2=80=9D
Regardless of whether the above sentence is being = understood, (it shouldn=E2=80=99t, as it contains words we have not cover= ed in these lessons yet) one thing stands out: As more complex Lojban str= uctures are learned, more and more of the sentences get filled with ku, k= ei, ku=E2=80=99o and other of those words which by themselves carry no me= aning.

The function of all these words are to signal the end o= f a certain grammatical construct, like for instance =E2=80=9Cconvert sel= bri to sumti=E2=80=9D in the case of lo=E2=80=A6ku. The English word for = this kind of word is =E2=80=9Cterminator=E2=80=9D, the Lojban word is fa=E2= =80=99orma=E2=80=99o. They ar! e colored grey in the example above.
Note: The vau in the above exa= mple are the terminator for =E2=80=9Cend bridi=E2=80=9D. There is a good = reason you have not yet seen it, stay tuned.

In most spoken an= d written Lojban, most terminators are skipped (elided). This greatly sav= es syllables in speech and space in writing, however, one must always be = careful when eliding terminators. In the simple example lo merko ku klama= , removing the terminator ku would yield lo merko klama, which is a singl= e sumti made from the tanru merko klama. Thus, it means =E2=80=9Can Ameri= can traveler=E2=80=9D instead of =E2=80=9Can American travels=E2=80=9D. T= erminator elision can lead to very wrong results if done incorrectly, whi= ch is why you haven=E2=80=99t learned about it until now.

The = rule for when terminators can be elided is very simple, at least in theor= y: =E2=80=9CYou can elide a terminator, if and only if doing so does not = change the grammatical constructs in the sentence.=E2=80=9D
Most ter= minators can be safely elided at the end of the bridi. Exceptions are the= obvious ones like =E2=80=9Cend quote=E2=80=9D-terminators and =E2=80=9Ce= nd bridi grouping=E2=80=9D-terminators. This is why vau is almost never u= sed =E2=80=93 simply beginning a new bridi with .i will always terminate = the preceding bridi anyway. It has one frequent use, however. Since attit= udinals always apply to the preceding word, applying it to a terminator a= pplies it to the entire construct which is terminated. Using vau, one can= then use attitudinals afterthought and apply them to the entire bridi:za=E2=80=99a do dunda lo zdani lo prenu... vau i=E2=80=99e - =E2=80=9C= I see that you give a home to a person... I approve!=E2=80=9D
prenu = x1 is a person; x1 has a personality.

Knowing the basic rules = for terminator elision, we can thus return to the original sentence and b= egin removing terminators:

.au da=E2=80=99i mi djica lo nu le = merko poi tunba mi vau ku'o ku jimpe lo du'u mi na nelci lo nu vo=E2=80=99= a darxi mi vau kei ku vau kei ku vau kei ku vau

Removing the f= irst three terminators will leave both tunba and ! jimpe as selbri inside the relative clause. Since this is not grammatica= l (only one bridi can be in a relative clause, and only one selbri in one= bridi), eliding them will still leave jimpe outside the relative clause.= Nor can it make a tanru with merko, since that word already had a relati= ve clause attached to it, which only sumti can have. That means we can de= duce that removing those three are safe. Furthermore, all the terminators= at the very end can be elided too, since beginning a new bridi will term= inate all of these constructs anyway.
We then end up with:
.au = da=E2=80=99i mi djica lo nu le merko poi tunba mi jimpe lo du'u mi na nel= ci lo nu vo=E2=80=99a darxi mi =E2=80=93 with no terminators at all!

When eliding terminators, it is a good idea to be acquainted with = cu. cu is one of those words which can make your (Lojbanic) life a lot ea= sier. What it does is to separate any previous sumti from the selbri. One= could say that it defines the next word to be a selbri, and terminates e= xactly as much as it needs to in order to do that.

prami =3D =E2= =80=9Cx1 loves x2=E2=80=9D

lo su=E2=80=99u do cusku lo se du=E2= =80=99u do prami mi vau kei ku vau kei ku se djica mi =3D
lo su=E2=80= =99u do cusku lo se du=E2=80=99u do prami mi cu se djica mi
=E2=80=9C= That you say that you love me is desired by be=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI wis= h you said you loved me=E2=80=9D
note: cu is not a terminator, becau= se it is not tied to one specific construct. But it can be used to elide = other terminators.

One of the greatest strengths of cu is that= it quickly becomes easy to intuitively understand. By itself it means no= thing, but it reveals the structure of Lojban expressions by identifying = the core selbri. In the original example with the violent American brothe= r, using cu before jimpe does not change the meaning of the sentence in a= ny way, but might make it easier to read.

In the following cou= ple of chapters, cu will be used when necessary, and all terminators elid= ed if possible. The elided terminators will be encased in square brackets= , as sho! wn below.. Try to translate it!
du =E2=80=9Cx1 equals/is the same a= s x2, x3, x4, x5, x6 (and so on)=E2=80=9D
vajni =E2=80=9Cx1 is impor= tant to x2 for reason x3=E2=80=9D
jimpe =E2=80=9Cx1 understands that= x2 (du=E2=80=99u-abstraction) is true about x3=E2=80=9D
a=E2=80=99o= - Attitudinal: Hope - despair

a=E2=80=99o do noi ke=E2=80=99a= lojbo .i=E2=80=99e [ku=E2=80=99o] [ku] cu jimpe lo du=E2=80=99u lo fa=E2= =80=99orma=E2=80=99o [ku] cu vajni [vau] [kei] [ku] [vau]
What do I = state?

Answer: =E2=80=9CI hope that you, a proud Lojbanist, un= derstands that terminators are important=E2=80=9D

Fun side not= e: Most people well-versed in terminator elision do it so instinctively t= hat they often must be reminded how important understanding terminators a= re to the understanding of Lojban. Therefore, each Tuesday have been desi= gnated =E2=80=9CTerminator Day=E2=80=9D or fa=E2=80=99orma=E2=80=99o djed= i on the Lojban IRC chatroom. During Terminator Day, many people try (and= often fail) to remember writing out all terminators with some very verbo= se conversations as a result.


Lojban Lessons - Lesson ni= ne (sumtcita)

So far we have been doing pretty good with the s= elbri we have had at hand. However, there is a finite amount of selbri ou= t there, and in many cases the sumti places are not useful for what we ha= d in mind. What if, say, i want to say that I am translating using a comp= uter? There is no place in the structure of fanva to specify what tool I = translate with, since most of the time, that is not necessary. Not to wor= ry, this chapter is on how to add additional sumti places to the selbri.<= br />
The most basic way to add sumti places are with fi=E2=80=99o..= .fe=E2=80=99u (yes, another example of a terminator, fe=E2=80=99u. It=E2=80= =99s almost never necessary, so this might be the last time you ever see = it.)
In between these two words goes a selbri, and like lo...ku, fi=E2= =80=99o...fe=E2=80=99u extracts the x1 of the selbri put into it. However= , with fi=E2=80=99o...fe=E2=80=99u, the selbri place is converted, not to= a sumti, but to a sumtcita, meaning =E2=80=9Csumti-label=E2=80=9D, with = the place structure of the x1 of the selb! ri it converted. This sumtcita then absorbs the next sumti. One could sa= y that using a sumtcita, you import a sumti place from another selbri, an= d add it to the bridi being said.
Note: Sometimes, especially in old= er texts, the term =E2=80=9Ctag=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cmodal=E2=80=9D is us= ed for sumtcita. Ignore those puny English expressions. We teach proper L= ojban here.

While it is hard to grasp the process from reading= about it, an example can perhaps show its actual simplicity:
skami = =E2=80=9Cx1 is a computer for purpose x2=E2=80=9D
pilno =E2=80=9Cx1 = uses x2 as a tool for doing x3=E2=80=9D

mi fanva ti fi=E2=80=99= o se pilno [fe=E2=80=99u] lo skami [ku][vau].- =E2=80=9CI translate this = with a computer=E2=80=9D The x2 of pilno, which is the x1 of se pilno is = a place structure for a tool being used by someone. This place structure = is captured by fi=E2=80=99o...fe=E2=80=99u, and then filled by lo skami. = The idea of sumtcita is sometimes expressed in English using the followin= g translation:
=E2=80=9CI translate this with-tool: a computer=E2=80= =9D

A sumtcita can only absorb one sumti, which is always the = following one. Alternatively, the sumtcita construct can be terminated wi= th ku, in which case a zo=E2=80=99e is implied to fill the sumtcita. Or, = one could imagine an elided sumti being terminated with the ku.
zukt= e =E2=80=9Cx1 is a volitional entity carrying out action x2 for purpose x= 3=E2=80=9D
fi=E2=80=99o zukte [fe=E2=80=99u] ku lo skami [ku] cu pil= no lo lojbo [ku][vau] - =E2=80=9CWith volition, a computer used something= Lojbanic=E2=80=9D (perhaps implying that a Lojbanic computer went sentie= nt? Tough it does not specify who had volition. It could just be the prog= rammer who programmed the computer - how boring.)

What does mi= jimpe fi lo lojban [ku] fi=E2=80=99o se tavla [fe=E2=80=99u] mi state?<= br />
Answer: =E2=80=9CI understand something about Lojban, spoken t= o me=E2=80=9D

Putting the sumtcita right in front of the selbr= i also makes it self-terminate, since sumtcita only can absorb sumti, and= not selbri. This fact will be of importance in next chapter, as you will= see.

Sa! dly, fi=E2=80=99o is not used very often despite its flexibility. What I= S used very often, though, are BAI. BAI are a class of Lojban words, whic= h in themselves act as sumtcita. An example of this is zu=E2=80=99e, the = BAI for zukte. Gramatically, zu=E2=80=99e is the same as fi=E2=80=99o zuk= te fe=E2=80=99u. Thus, the above example could be reduced to:
zu=E2=80= =99e ku lo skami [ku] cu pilno lo lojbo [ku] [vau]. There exist something= like 60 BAI, and a lot of these are very useful indeed. Furtermore, BAI = can also be converted with se and friends, meaning that se zu=E2=80=99e i= s equal to fi=E2=80=99o se zukte fe=E2=80=99u, which results in a great d= eal more BAI.

Lojban Lessons - Lesson ten (PU, FAhA, ZI, VA, Z= EhA, VEhA)

How unfamiliar to the English-speaker a language Lo= jban is when one can read through nine chapters of Lojban grammar without= meeting a tense once. This is because, unlike many natural languages (mo= st Indo-European ones, for instance), all tenses in Lojban are optional. = Saying mi citka lo cirla [ku] can mean =E2=80=9CI eat cheese=E2=80=9D or = =E2=80=9CI ate the cheese=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI always eat cheese=E2=80=9D= or =E2=80=9CIn a moment, i will have just finished eating cheese=E2=80=9D= . Context resolves what is correct, and in most conversation, tenses are = not needed at all. However, when it=E2=80=99s needed it=E2=80=99s needed,= and it must be taught.
Like many other languages, the Lojban tense = system is perhaps the most difficult part of the language. Unlike many ot= her languages though, it=E2=80=99s perfectly regular and makes sense. So = fear not, for it will not involve sweating to learn how to modify the sel= bri or anything silly like that.
Furthermore, Lojban tenses are unus= ual because they treat time and space fundamentally the same - saying tha= t i worked a long time ago is not grammatically different than saying i w= ork far away to the north.

No, in the Lojban tense system, all= tenses are sumtcita, which we have conveniently just made ourselves fami= liar with. There are many different kinds of tense-sumtcita, so let=E2=80= =99s start at the ones most familiar to English-spea! kers.
{pu} - sumtcita: before [sumti]
{ca} - sumtcita: at the = same time as [sumti]
{ba} - sumtcita: after [sumti]

These= are like the English concepts =E2=80=9Cbefore=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cnow=E2=80= =9D and =E2=80=9Cafter=E2=80=9D. In actuality though, one could argue tha= t two point-like events can never occur exactly simultaneously, rendering= {ca} useless. But {ca} extends slightly into the past and the future, me= aning just =E2=80=9Cabout now=E2=80=9D. This is because human beings don=E2= =80=99t perceive time in a perfectly logical way, and the Lojban tense sy= stem reflects that.

Side note: It was actually suggested makin= g the Lojban tense system relativistic. That idea, however, was dropped, = because it is counter-intuitive, and would mean that to learn Lojban, one= would have to learn the theory of relativity first.

So, how= would you say =E2=80=9CI express this after I came here?=E2=80=9D (point= ing to a paper)

Answer: mi cusku ti ba lo nu mi klama ti [vau]= [kei [ku] [vau]

Usually when speaking, we do not need to spec= ify which event this action is in the past relative to. In: =E2=80=9CI ga= ve a computer away=E2=80=9D, we can assume that the action happened relat= ive to =E2=80=9Cnow=E2=80=9D, and thus we can elide the sumti of the sumt= cita, because it=E2=80=99s obvious:
{pu ku mi dunda lo skami [ku] [v= au]} or
{mi dunda lo skami [ku] pu [ku] [vau]} or, more commonly
{mi pu [ku] dunda lo skami [ku] [vau]}. The sumti which fills the sumtc= ita is an implied {zo=E2=80=99e}, which is almost always understood as re= lative to the speakers time and place (this is especially important when = speaking about left and right). If speaking about some events that happen= ed some other time than the present, it is sometimes assumed that all ten= ses are relative to that event which is being spoken about. In order to c= larify that all tenses are relative to the speakers current position, the= word {nau} can be used at any time. Another word, {ki} marks a tense whi= ch is then considered the new standard. That will be taught way later.
{gugde} =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 is t! he country of people x2 with land/territory x3=E2=80=9D

Also = note that {mi pu [ku] klama lo merko gugde [ku] [vau]}, =E2=80=9CI went t= o America=E2=80=9D, does not imply that I=E2=80=99m not still traveling t= o USA, only that it was also true some time in the past, for instance fiv= e minutes ago.

As mentioned, spacial and temporal time tenses = are very much alike. Contrast the previous three time tenses with these f= our spacial tenses:
{zu=E2=80=99a} sumtcita: left of [sumti]
{c= a=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: in front of [sumti]
{ri=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: = right of [sumti]
{bu=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: at the same place as [sumt= i] (spacial equivalent of {ca})

{o=E2=80=99o}: attitudinal: pa= tience - tolerance - anger

What would {.o=E2=80=99onai ri=E2=80= =99u [ku] nu lo prenu [ku] cu darxi lo gerku pu [ku] [ku] [vau] [kei] [va= u]} mean? (notice the first elided ku!)

Answer: =E2=80=9C[ange= r!] To the right (of something, probably me) and in the past (of some eve= nt), something is an event of a person beating a dog.=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9C= A man hit a dog to my right!=E2=80=9D

If there are several ten= se sumtcita in one bridi, the rule is that you read them from left to rig= ht, thinking it as a so called =E2=80=9Cimaginary journey=E2=80=9D, Where= you begin at an implied point in time and space (default: the speaker=E2= =80=99s now and here), and then follow the sumtcita one at a time from le= ft to right.
Example
{mi pu [ku] ba [ku] jimpe fi lo lojbo fa=E2= =80=99orma=E2=80=99o [ku] [vau]} =3D =E2=80=9CAt some time in the past, I= will be about to know about terminators.=E2=80=9D
{mi ba [ku] pu [k= u] jimpe fi lo lojbo fa=E2=80=99orma=E2=80=99o [ku] [vau]} =E2=80=9CAt so= me point in the future, I will have understood about terminators.=E2=80=9D=
Since we do not specify the amount of time we move back or forth, t= he understanding could in both cases happen in the future or the past of = when the sentence is being said.

Also, if spacial and temporal= tenses are mixed, the rule is to always put temporal before spacial. If = this rule is violated, it can sometimes result in syntactical ambiguity, = which Lojba! n does not tolerate.

Suppose we want to specify that the a ma= n hit a dog just a minute ago. The words {zi}, {za} and {zu} specifies a = short, unspecified (presumably medium) and long distance in time. Notice = the vowel order {i}, {a} and {u}. This order appears again and again in L= ojban, and might be worth to memorize. =E2=80=9CShort=E2=80=9D and =E2=80= =9Clong=E2=80=9D in are always context dependent, relative and subjective= . Two hundred years is a short time for a species to evolve, but a long t= ime to wait for the bus.

Similarly, spacial distance is marked= by {vi}, {va} and {vu} for short, unspecified (medium) and long distance= in space.
{gunka} =E2=80=9Cx1 works at x2 with objective x3=E2=80=9D=

Translate: {ba [ku] za ku mi vu [ku] gunka [vau]}

= Answer: =E2=80=9CSome time in the future, I will work a place long away=E2= =80=9D
Note: People rarely uses zi, za or zu without a pu or ba in f= ront of it. This is because we always need to specify past or future in E= nglish. When you think about it Lojbanically, most of the time the time-d= irection is obvious, and the pu or ba superfluous!

The order i= n which direction-sumtcita and distance-sumtcita are said makes a differe= nce. Remember that the meaning of several tense words are pictured by an = imaginary journey reading from left to right. Thus {pu zu} is =E2=80=9Ca = long time ago=E2=80=9D while {zu pu} is =E2=80=9Cin the past of some poin= t in time which is a long time toward the future or the past of now=E2=80= =9D. In the first example, pu shows that we begin in the past, zu then th= at it is a long time backwards. In the second example, zu shows that we b= egin at some point far away in time from now, pu then, that we move backw= ards from that point. Thus {pu zu} is always in the past. {zu pu} could b= e in the future!

As briefly implied earlier, all these constru= cts basically treat bridi as if they were point-like in time and space. I= n actuality, most events plays out over a span of time and space. In the = following few paragraphs, we will learn how to specify intervals of time = a! nd space..

{ze=E2=80=99i} sumtcita: spanning over the short t= ime of [sumti]
{ze=E2=80=99a} sumtcita: spanning over the unspecifie= d (medium) time of [sumti]
{ze=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: spanning over th= e long time of [sumti]

{ve=E2=80=99i} sumtcita: spanning over = the short space of [sumti]
{ve=E2=80=99a} sumtcita: spanning over th= e unspecified (medium) space of [sumti]
{ve=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: spa= nning over the long space of [sumti]

Six words at a time, I kn= ow, but remembering the vowel sequence and the similarity of the initial = letter z for temporal tenses and v for spacial tenses might help the memo= rizing.
{.oi} - attitudinal: pain - pleasure

Translate: {= .oi dai do ve=E2=80=99u [ku] klama lo dotco gugde [ku] ze=E2=80=99u [ku] = [vau]}

Answer: =E2=80=9COuch, you spend a long time traveling = a long space to Germany=E2=80=9D

Though most people are not fa= miliar with spacial tenses, these new words can open up for some pretty s= weet uses. One could, for instance, translate =E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s a b= ig dog=E2=80=9D as {ti ve=E2=80=99u [ku] gerku [vau]} Saying: =E2=80=9CTh= is thing dogs for a long space=E2=80=9D makes you sound retarded in Engli= sh, but well spoken in Lojban!

{ze=E2=80=99u} and its brothers= also combine with other tenses to form compound tenses. The rule for {ze= =E2=80=99u} and the others are that any tenses preceding it marks an endp= oint of the process and any tenses coming after it marks the other endpoi= nt relative to the first. This should be demonstrated with a couple of ex= amples:
{.o=E2=80=99ocu=E2=80=99i do citka pu [ku] ze=E2=80=99u [ku]= ba [ku] zu [ku] [vau]} - =E2=80=9C[tolerance] you eat beginning in the p= ast and for a long time ending at some point far into the future of when = you started=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CHmpf, you ate for a long time=E2=80=9D. = One can also contrast {do ca [ku] ze=E2=80=99i [ku] pu [ku] klama [vau]} = with {do pu [ku] ze=E2=80=99i [ku] ca [ku] klama [vau]}. The first event = of traveling has one endpoint in the present and extends a little towards= the past, while the second event has one endpoint in the past and extend= s only to the present! (that is, slighty into the past or future) of that endpoint.
{jmiv= e} =E2=80=9Cx1 is alive by standard x2=E2=80=9D

What does {.ui= mi pu [ku] zi [ku] ze=E2=80=99u [ku] jmive [vau]} express?

An= swer: =E2=80=9C[happiness!] I live from a little into the past and a long= way towards the future or past (obviously the future, in this case) of t= hat event=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI am young, and have most my life ahead of= me :)=E2=80=9D

Just to underline the similarity with spacial = tenses, let=E2=80=99s have another example, this time with spacial tenses= :
{.u=E2=80=99e} attitudinal: wonder - commonplace

{.u=E2= =80=99e za=E2=80=99a [ku] bu=E2=80=99u [ku] ve=E2=80=99u [ku] ca=E2=80=99= u [ku] zdani [vau]} - What does it mean?

Answer: =E2=80=9C[won= der] [I observe!] Extending a long space from here to my front is a home.= =E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CWow, this home extending ahead is huge!=E2=80=9D
Before we continue with this syntax-heavy tense system, i recomm= end spending at least ten minutes doing something which doesn=E2=80=99t o= ccupy your brain in order to let the information sink in. Sing a song or = eat a cookie very slowly - whatever, as long as you let your mind rest.

Lojban Lessons - Lesson eleven (ZAhO)

Though w= e won=E2=80=99t go through all Lojban tense constructs for now, there is = one other kind of tense that I think should be taught now. These are call= ed =E2=80=9Cevent contours=E2=80=9D, and represent a very different way o= f viewing tenses that we have seen so far. So let=E2=80=99s get to it:
Using the tenses we have learned so far, we can imagine an indef= inite time line, and we then place events on that line relative to the =E2= =80=9Cnow=E2=80=9D. With event contours, however, we view each event as a= process, which has certain stages: A time before it unfolds, a time when= it begins, a time when it is in process, a time when it ends, and a time= after it has ended. Event contours then tells us which part of the event= =E2=80=99s process was happening during the time specified by the other t= enses. We need a couple of tenses first:

{pu=E2=80=99o} - sumt= cita: event contour! : Bridi has not yet happened during [sumti]
{ca=E2=80=99o} - sumtci= ta: event contour: Bridi is in process during [sumti]
{ba=E2=80=99o}= - sumtcita: event contour: The process of bridi has ended during [sumti]=

This needs to be demonstrated by some examples. What=E2=80=99= s {.ui mi pu=E2=80=99o [ku] se zdani [vau]} mean?

Answer: =E2=80= =9CYay, I=E2=80=99ll begin to have a home=E2=80=9D.

But hey, y= ou ask, why not just say {.ui mi ba [ku] se zdani [vau]} and even save a = syllable? Because, remember, saying that you will have a home in the futu= re says nothing about whether you have a home now. Using {pu=E2=80=99o}, = though, you say that you are now in the past of the process of you having= a home, which means that you don=E2=80=99t have one now.
Note, by t= he way, that {mi ba [ku] se zdani [vau]} is similar to {mi pu=E2=80=99o [= ku] se zdani [vau]}, and likewise with {ba=E2=80=99o} and {pu}. Why do th= ey seem reversed? Because event contours view the present as seen from th= e viewpoint of the process, where as the other tenses view events seen fr= om the present.

Often, event contours are more precise that ot= her kind of tenses. Even more clarity is achieved by combining several te= nses: {a=E2=80=99o mi ba[ku] zi [ku] ba=E2=80=99o [ku] gunka [vau]} - =E2= =80=9CI hope I=E2=80=99ve soon finished working.=E2=80=9D

In L= ojban, we also operate with an event=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cnatural beginning= =E2=80=9D and its =E2=80=9Cnatural end=E2=80=9D. The term =E2=80=9Cnatura= l=E2=80=9D is highly subjective in this sense, and the natural end refers= to the point in the process where it should end. You can say about a lat= e train, for instance, that its process of reaching you is now extending = beyond its natural end. An undercooked, but served meal, similarly, is be= ing eaten before that process=E2=80=99 natural beginning. The event conto= urs used in these examples are as follows:

{za=E2=80=99o} - su= mtcita: event contour: Bridi is in process beyond its natural end during = [sumti]
{xa=E2=80=99o} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is immaturel= y in process during [sumti]

{cidja}: =E2=80=9Cx1 is food, whic= h is edible for x2! =E2=80=9D

Translate: {.oi do citka za=E2=80=99o lo nu do ba=E2= =80=99o [ku] u=E2=80=99e citka zo=E2=80=99e noi cidja do [vau] [ku=E2=80=99= o] [vau] [kei] [ku]}

Answer: =E2=80=9COy, you keep eating when= you have finished, incredibly, eating something edible!=E2=80=9D
ZA= hO tenses (event contours). All tenses above the line of the event signif= y stages covering an amount of time. All tenses below the event line sign= ify stages which are point-like.

All of these tenses have been= describing stages of a process which takes some time (as shown on the gr= aph above; those tenses above the event like). But many of the event cont= ours describes point like stages in the process, like its beginning. As i= s true of {ca} and {bu=E2=80=99u}, they actually extend slightly into the= past and future of that point, and need not to be precise.

Th= e two most important point-like event contours are:
{co=E2=80=99a} -= sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is at its beginning during [sumti]
{= co=E2=80=99u} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is at its ending during [s= umti]

Furthermore, there is a point where the process is natur= ally complete, but not necessarily has ended yet:
{mo=E2=80=99u} - s= umtcita: event contour: Bridi is at its natural ending during [sumti]
Most of the time, though, processes actually end at their natural endin= g; this is what makes it natural. Trains are not usually late, and people= usually retrain themselves to eat only edible food.

Since a p= rocess can be interrupted and resumed, these points have earned their own= event contour also:
{de=E2=80=99a} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi= is pausing during [sumti]
{di=E2=80=99a} - sumtcita: event contour:= Bridi is resuming during [sumti]

In fact, since {jundi} means= =E2=80=9Cx1 pays attention to x2=E2=80=9D, {de=E2=80=99a jundi} and {di=E2= =80=99a jundi} are common Lojban ways of saying =E2=80=9CBRB=E2=80=9D and= =E2=80=9Cback=E2=80=9D. One could of course also say the event contours = by themselves and hope the point gets across.

Finally, one can= treat an entire event, from the beginning to the end as o! ne single point using {co=E2=80=99i}:
{penmi} =E2=80=9Cx1 meets x2 = at location x3=E2=80=9D
{mi pu [ku] zi [ku] co=E2=80=99i [ku] penmi = lo dotco prenu [ku] [vau]} - =E2=80=9CA little while ago, I was at the po= int in time where i met a German person=E2=80=9D


Lojban = Lessons - Lesson twelve (orders and questions)
Phew, those two long = chapters with syntax heavy Lojban gives the brain something to ponder abo= ut. Especially because it=E2=80=99s so different from English. So let=E2=80= =99s turn to something a little lighter: orders and questions.

What the... sit up and focus!

Since the way to express orders= in English is to leave out the subject of the clause, why did you assume= that it was you I was speaking to, and not ordering myself, or expressin= g the obligation someone else has? Because the English language understan= ds that orders, by their very nature, are always directed towards the lis= tener - the =E2=80=9Cyou=E2=80=9D, and so the subject is not necessary.In Lojban, eliding the subject yields {zo=E2=80=99e}, so that possibi= lity is sadly not open to us. Instead, we use the word {ko}, which is the= imperative form of {do}. Grammatically, it=E2=80=99s equivalent to {do},= but it adds a layer of semantics, since it turns every statement with {k= o} in it into an order. =E2=80=9CDo such that this sentence is true for y= ou=3Dko!=E2=80=9D For the same reason we don=E2=80=99t need the subject i= n English sentences, we don=E2=80=99t need order-words derived from any o= ther sumti than {do}.

How could you order one to go far away f= or a long time (using {klama} as the only selbri?)

Answer: ko = ve=E2=80=99u ze=E2=80=99u klama
.i za=E2=80=99a dai a=E2=80=99o mi c= a co=E2=80=99u ciska lo fa=E2=80=99orma=E2=80=99o .i ko jimpe vau .ui - l= ook up ciska and work it out.

Questions in Lojban are very eas= y to learn, and they come in two kinds: Fill in the blank, and true/false= questions. Let=E2=80=99s begin with the true-false question kind - that=E2= =80=99s pretty overcomeable, since it only involves one word, {xu}.
= xu works like an attitudinal in the sense that it can go anywhere, and it= appli! es to the preceding word (or construct). It then transforms the sentence= into a question, asking whether it is true or not. In order to affirm, y= ou simply repeat the bridi:
{xu ve=E2=80=99u zdani do} {.i ve=E2=80=99= u zdani mi}, or you just repeat the the selbri: {zdani}.
There is an= even easier way to affirm using pro-bridis, but those are a tale for ano= ther time. To answer =E2=80=9Cno=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cfalse=E2=80=9D, you= simply answer with the bridi negated. That too, will be left for later, = but we will return to question answering by then.

The other ki= nd is fill in the blank. Here, you ask for the question word to be replac= ed for a construct, which makes the bridi correct. There are several of t= hese words, depending on what you are asking about:
ma - sumti quest= ion
mo - selbri question
xo - number question
cu=E2=80=99e= - tense question

As well as many others. To ask about a sumti= , you then just place the question word where you want your answer: {do d= unda ma mi} - asks for the x2 to be filled with a correct sumti. =E2=80=9C= You give what to me?=E2=80=9D The combination of sumtcita + ma is very us= eful indeed:
{mu=E2=80=99i} - sumtcita: motivated by the abstraction= of [sumti]

{.oi do darxi mi mu=E2=80=99i ma} - =E2=80=9COy, w= hy do you hit me?!=E2=80=9D
Let=E2=80=99s try another one. This time= , you translate:
{.ui dai do ca ze=E2=80=99u pu mo}

Answe= r: =E2=80=9CYou=E2=80=99re happy, what have you been doing all this long = time until now?=E2=80=9D Technically, it could also ask =E2=80=9Cwhat hav= e you been?=E2=80=9D, but answering with {.ua nai li=E2=80=99a remna} (Uh= , human, obviously) is just being incredibly annoying on purpose.
Since tone of voice or sentence structure does not reveal whether a s= entence is a question or not, one better not miss the question word. Ther= efore, since people tend to focus more on words in the beginning or at th= e end of sentences, it=E2=80=99s usually worth the while to re-order the = sentence so that the question words are at those places. If that is not f= easable, {pau} is an attitudinal marking that the sentence i! s a question. Contrary, {pau nai} explicitly marks any question as being= rhetorical.

While we are on the topic of questions, it=E2=80=99= s also appropriate to mention the word {kau}, which is a marker for =E2=80= =9Cindirect question=E2=80=9D. What=E2=80=99s an indirect question, then?= Well, take a look at the sentence: {mi djuno lo du=E2=80=99u ma kau zdan= i do} - =E2=80=9CI know what is your home.=E2=80=9D
{djuno} =E2=80=9C= x1 knows fact(s) x2 are true about x3 by epistemology x4=E2=80=9D
On= e can think it as the answer to the question {ma zdani do}. More rarely, = one can mark a non-question word with {kau}, in which case one still can = imagine it as the answer to a question: {mi jimpe lo du=E2=80=99u dunda t= i kau do} - =E2=80=9CI know what you have been given, it is this.=E2=80=9D=


Lojban Lessons - Lesson thirteen (morphology and word c= lasses)
Back to more syntax-heavy (and interesting) stuff.
If y= ou haven=E2=80=99t already, I strongly suggest you find the Lojbanic reco= rding called Story Time with Uncle Robin, or listen to someone speak Lojb= an on Mumble, and then practice your pronunciation. Having an internal co= nversation in your head in Lojban is only good if it isn=E2=80=99t with a= ll the wrong sounds, and learning pronunciation from written text is hard= . Therefore, this lesson will not be on the Lojban sounds, however import= ant they might be, but a short introduction to the Lojban morphology.

What is morphology? The word is derived from Greek meaning =E2=80= =9Cthe study of shapes=E2=80=9D, and in this context, we talk about how w= e make words from letters and sounds, as contrasted with syntax - how we = make sentences with words. Lojban operates with different morphological w= ord classes, which are all defined by their morphology. To make it all ni= ce and systematic though, words with certain functions tend to be grouped= by morphological classes, but exceptions may occur.
Class: Meaning = Defined By Typical function
Words:
- cmevla name-word Begin= ning and ending with pause. Last sound/letter is a consonant. Always acts= as a name.
- bri! vla
among these are: bridi-word Min. 5 letters. Among first 5 lette= rs (excluding =E2=80=9C =E2=80=98 =E2=80=9C) is a consonant cluster. Ends= in vowel. Acts as a selbri by default. Always has a place structure.
------- gismu (root word) root-word 5 letters of the form CVCCV or CCVC= V One to five sumti places. Covers basic concepts.
------- luvjo co= mpound word. Derived from from =E2=80=9Clujvla=E2=80=9D, meaning =E2=80=9C= complex word=E2=80=9D Min. 6 letters. Made by stringing rafsi together wi= th binding letters if necessary. Covers more complex concepts
------= - fu=E2=80=99ivla copy-word As brivla, but do not meet defining criteria = of gismu or lujvo, ex: {angeli} Covers unique concepts like names of plac= es or organisms.
- cmavo
among these are: grammar word. From =E2= =80=9Ccmavla=E2=80=9D, meaning =E2=80=9Csmall word=E2=80=9D One consonant= or less, ends in vowel. Grammatical functions, varies.
-------- (ma= ny subcategories called selma=E2=80=99o, with names like ZAhO and PU) <= br />Word-fragments:
- rafsi Affix. 3-5 letters, sometimes also a= =E2=80=9C =E2=80=98 =E2=80=9C. Begins with a consonant. Never appears al= one. Several rafsi form a lujvo.


cmevla are very easy to= identify because they begin and end with a pause, signaled by a full sto= p in writing, and the last letter is a consonant. cmevla can=E2=80=99t ha= ve any other function besides acting as a name. On the other hand, names = which are not selbri cannot appear in Lojban without them being cmevla, o= r encased by certain quote words. One can mark stress in the names by cap= italizing the letters which are stressed. Examples of cmevla are: {.iohAN= .} (Johan, h is capital apostrophe), {.mat.} (Matt) and {.lutci.MIN.} (Lu= i-Chi Min). Names which does not end in consonants have to have one added= : {.ivyn.} (Eve)

brivla are called =E2=80=9Cbridi-words=E2=80=9D= because they by default are selbri, and therefore almost all Lojban word= s with a place structure are brivla. This has also given them the English= nickname =E2=80=9Ccontent-words=E2=80=9D. It=E2=80=99s nearly impossible= to say anything useful without brivla, and almost all word! s for concepts outside lojban grammar are captured by brivla. As shown i= n the table, brivla has three subcategories:
gismu are the root word= s of the language. Only about 1450 exists, and very few new ones are adde= d. They cover the most basic concepts like =E2=80=9Ccircle=E2=80=9D, =E2=80= =9Cfriend=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Ctree=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cdream=E2=80=9D. E= xamples include {zdani}, {pelxu} and {dunda}
lujvo are made by combi= ning rafsi (see under rafsi), respresenting gismu. By combining rafsi, on= e narrows down the meaning of the word. lujvo are made by an elaborate al= gorithm, so making valid lujvo on the fly is near impossible, with few ex= ceptions like {selpa=E2=80=99i}, from {se prami}, which can only have one= definition. Instead, lujvo are made once, it=E2=80=99s place structure d= efined, and then that definition is made official by the dictionary. Exam= ples include {brivla} (bridi-word), {cinjikca} (sexual-socializing =3D fl= irting) and {cakcinki} (shell-insect =3D beetle).
fu=E2=80=99ivla ar= e made by making up words which fit the definition for brivla, but not fo= r lujvo or gismu. They tend to cover concepts which it=E2=80=99s hard to = cover by lujvo, for instance names of species, nations or very cultural s= pecific concepts. Examples include {gugdrgogurio} (Korea) {cidjrpitsa} (p= izza) or {angeli} (angel).

cmavo are small words with one or z= ero consonants. They tend to not signify anything in the exterior world, = but to have only grammatical function. Exceptions occur, and it=E2=80=99s= debatable how much attitudinals exists for their grammatical function. I= f you have been paying attention, you would already be familiar with {du}= , one of the few cmavo with a place structure. It is valid to type severa= l cmavo in a row as one word, but in these lessons, that won=E2=80=99t be= done. By grouping certain cmavo in functional units, though, it is somet= imes easier to read. Thus, {.uipuzuvukumi citka} is valid for {.ui pu zu = vu ku mi citka}. Like other Lojban words, one should (but need not always= ) place a full stop before any words beginning with a vowel.
cmavo o= f the form CV=E2=80=99V! V or V=E2=80=99VV are experimental, and are words which are not in the f= ormal grammar, but which have been added by Lojban users to respond to a = certain need.

rafsi are not Lojban words, and can never appear= alone. However, several (more than one) rafsi combine to form lujvo. The= se must still live up to the lujvo definition, for instance {lojban} is i= nvalid because it ends in a consonant (which makes it a cmevla), and {ci=E2= =80=99ekei} is invalid because it does not contain a consonant cluster, a= nd is thus read as two cmavo written as one word. Often, a 3-4 letter str= ing is both a cmavo and a rafsi, like {zu=E2=80=99e}, which is both the B= AI and the rafsi for {zukte}. Note that there is nowhere that both a cmav= o and a rafsi would be grammatical, so these are not considered homophone= s. All gismu can double as rafsi, if they are prefixed with another rafsi= . The first four letter of a gismu + y can also act as a rafsi, if they a= re suffixed. The vowel y can only appear in lujvo or cmevla. Valid rafsi = letter combinations are: CVV, CV=E2=80=99V, CCV, CVCCy- CCVCy-, -CVCCV an= d -CCVCV.

Using what you know now, you should be able to answe= r the test i thus present:
Categorize each of the following words as= cmevla (C), gismu (g), lujvo (l), fu=E2=80=99ivla (f) or cmavo (c):
A) jai G) mumbl
B) .irci H) .i=E2=80=99i
C) bost= u I) cu
D) xelman J) plajva
E) po=E2=80=99e = K) danseke
F) djisku L) .ertsa

Answer: a-c, b-f,= c-g, d-C, e-c, f-l, g-C, h-c, i-c, j-l, k-f, l-f. I left out the full st= ops before and after names so it wouldn=E2=80=99t be too easy.
Note:= some of these words, like bostu do not exist in the dictionary, but this= is irrelevant. The morphology still makes it a gismu, so it=E2=80=99s ju= st an undefined gismu. Similarly with .ertsa


Lojban Less= ons - Lesson fourteen (the Lojban sumti 1: LE and LA)
If you have re= ad and understood the content of all the chapters until now, you have ama= ssed a large enough knowledge of Lojban so that it doesn! =E2=80=99t matter in which order you learn the rest. As a result, the or= der of the next chapters will be a mixture of sorted by increasing diffic= ulty and sorted by importance in ordinary Lojban conversation.

One of the biggest constrains on your speak now is your limited knowledg= e on how to make sumti. So far, you only know {ti} and {lo SELBRI}, which= doesn=E2=80=99t take you far considering how important sumti are in Lojb= an. This chapter as well as the following two will be about the Lojban su= mti. For now, we focus on the descriptive-like sumti, the ones made with = articles like {lo}
Articles are in lojban called {gadri}, and all th= e ones discussed in this chapter are terminated by {ku} (except the combi= nation {la CMEVLA}). We will begin by describing three simple kinds, and = then immediately find that they are not so simple after all:
{lo} - = gadri: Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result a= s individual(s).
{le} - gadri: Descriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri t= o sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result as individual(s).
{la} - gadri: Namin= g article: Conventional, =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri or cmevla to sumti=E2=80= =9D. Treat result as individual(s).

You are already familiar w= ith {lo} and what it does. But what does it mean, =E2=80=9CVerdical=E2=80= =9D and =E2=80=9CTreat result as individuals=E2=80=9D? The latter about i= ndividuals, I=E2=80=99ll come back to later when speaking about masses. F= or now, =E2=80=9Cverdical=E2=80=9D in this context means that in order fo= r a thing to qualify begin labelled as {lo klama}, it has to actually kla= ma. Thus, verdical gadri makes a claim which may be true or false - that = the object(s) in question are actually the x1 of the selbri after {lo}.
This may be contrasted with {le}, which is descriptive, and thu= s not verdical. Saying {le gerku} says that you have one or more specific= objects in mind, and you use the selbri {gerku} to describe it, so that = the listener may identify those specific objects.This means that {le} hav= es two important differences from {lo}: Firstly, it does not refer to obj= ects in general, but ! to specific objects. Secondly, while {lo gerku} definitely is one or mor= e dogs, {le gerku}, because it=E2=80=99s not verdical, can be anything, a= s long as the speaker thinks the description will help identifying the co= rrect objects. Perhaps the speaker is referring to a hyena, but are not f= amiliar with them and think =E2=80=9Cdog=E2=80=9D is a good enough approx= imation to be understood. This non-verdicality is perhaps over-emphasised= in most many texts; The best way to describe a dog is usually to describ= e it as being a dog, and unless there is a good reason not to, {le gerku}= is usually presumed to refer to something which is also {lo gerku}.
In translation, {lo gerku} is usually =E2=80=9Ca dog=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9C= some dogs=E2=80=9D, while {le gerku} is =E2=80=9Cthe dog=E2=80=9D or =E2=80= =9Cthe dogs=E2=80=9D. Even better for {le gerku} would be =E2=80=9Cthe =E2= =80=9Cdog(s)=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9D

Last of the three basic gadri,= there is {la}, the naming gadri, which I have unconventionally called =E2= =80=9Cconventional=E2=80=9D. What I mean by this is that it=E2=80=99s nei= ther descriptive nor verdical, since it refers to a proper name. If I in = English refer to a person called Innocent by her name, I neither describe= her as being innocent, nor do I state that she is. I only state that by = convention, that object is referred to by that selbri or cmevla. Note tha= t {la} and the gadri derived from it can convert cmevla to sumti unlike a= ny other gadri. Also: Be cautious: Other texts does not mention that name= s can be formed from ordinary selbri using the gadri {la}. But those here= tics must burn; selbri names are as good as they get, and many a proud Lo= jbanist have them.

These three basic gadri can be expanded wit= h three more, which corresponds to the previous:

{loi} - gadri= : Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result as mas= s(es).
{lei} - gadri: Descriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2= =80=9D. Treat result as a mass(es).
{lai} - gadri: Naming article: C= onventional, =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri or cmevla to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat r= esult as mass(es).

These are the same in all aspects exce! pt for one: They treat the sumti as masses instead of individuals. If th= ere is only one object in question, these two concepts are equivalent. Th= e difference between these two concepts lie in which selbri can be ascrib= ed to a group of individuals versus a mass. A group of individuals can be= said to fit a certain selbri, if all members of the group each fit the s= elbri. It is correct to describe a pack of {lo gerku}, as being black, if= for each of the dogs it=E2=80=99s true that they are black. A mass, on t= he other hand, fits all the selbri which any of its members fit, as well = as the selbri which none of the members fit, but which the group consider= ed as a whole does. Thus, a mass of dogs can be both black and white. How= ever, all the members of the mass of dogs must be dogs in order for {loi}= to be applicable. Another example can illustrate how a mass can have pro= perties which none of its members has:
{sruri}: =E2=80=9Cx1 flanks/e= ncircles/encloses x2 in line/plane/directions x3=E2=80=9D
{lei prenu= cu sruri lo zdani} - =E2=80=9CThe people surrounded the home.=E2=80=9D i= s plausible, even though, yo moma jokes not considered, it=E2=80=99s comp= letely implausible that it could be true for any one of the members alone= . An English analogy could be: =E2=80=9CHumans defeated smallpox in the 2= 0th century=E2=80=9D. Surely no humans did so, but the mass of humans did= , and that makes the sentence true in English, as well as in Lojban if =E2= =80=9Chumans=E2=80=9D are a mass. Just like the Lojban mass, the English = mass =E2=80=9Chumans=E2=80=9D can only refer to individuals each of which= are human.
{lei gerku} refers to a mass formed by a group of specif= ic individuals, each of which the speaker refers to as {le gerku}.
M= ass names as describes by {lai} are only appropriate if the group as a wh= ole is named such, and not just if any of the members are. It can, howeve= r be used if the bridi is true for only a fraction of that group.
Also, there are three set-forming gadri:

{lo=E2=80=99i} - = gadri: Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result a= s a set.
{le=E2=80=99! i} - gadri: Descriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat= result as a set.
{la=E2=80=99i} - gadri: Naming article: Convention= al, =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri or cmevla to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result as = a set.

Unlike groups of individuals or masses, sets does not t= ake any of the properties from the objects from which the set is formed. = A set is a purely mathematical or logical construct, and has properties l= ike cardinality, membership or set inclusion. Again, note the difference = between a set of things, and the things of which the set is formed:
= {tirxu} =E2=80=9Cx1 is a tiger/leopard/jaguar of species/breed x2 with co= at markings x3=E2=80=9D
{lo=E2=80=99i tirxu cu cmalu} says nothing a= bout whether big cats are small (which is, by the way, obviously false), = but instead say that the set of big cats is small; that is - there are fe= w of them.

Lastly, there are the generalizing gadri:
{lo=E2= =80=99e} - gadri: Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Sum= ti refers to the archetype of {lo SELBRI}.
{le=E2=80=99e} - gadri: D= escriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Sumti refers to the= described/perceived archetype of {le SELBRI}.
Of which there is no = {la}-equivalent.

So, what is actually meant by the archetype? = For {lo=E2=80=99e tirxu}, it is an ideal, imagined big cat, which has all= the properties which best exemplifies big cats. It would be wrong to say= that this includes having a striped fur, since a big systematic subgroup= of the members of the set of big cats do not have striped fur, the leopa= rds and the jaguars. Likewise, the typical human does not live in Asia ev= en though a lot of humans do. However, if sufficiently many humans have a= trait, for instance being able to speak, we can say:
{kakne}: =E2=80= =9Cx1 is capable of doing/being x2 under circumstance x3=E2=80=9D
{l= o=E2=80=99e remna cu kakne lo nu tavla} - =E2=80=9CThe typical human bein= g can speak=E2=80=9D.

{le=E2=80=99e} then, is the ideal object= as perceived or described by the speaker. This need not be factually cor= rect, and is often translated as the =E2=80=9Cstereotype=E2=80=9D,! even though the English phrase have some unpleasant negative connotatio= ns, which the Lojban does not. In fact, everyone has a stereotypical arch= etypichal image of any category. In other words, {lo=E2=80=99e remna} is = the archetype which best exemplifies all {lo remna}, while the archetype = {le=E2=80=99e remna} best exemplifies all {le remna}.

The elev= en gadri can be seen in the diagram below.
Generic Masses Sets Gene= ralizing
Verdical lo loi lo=E2=80=99i lo=E2=80=99e
Descriptive = le lei le=E2=80=99i le=E2=80=99e
Name la lai la=E2=80=99i does not e= xist

Note: Earlier, there was a word {xo=E2=80=99e} for the ge= neric gadri. However, the rules and definitions for gadri were changed in= late 2004, and the current set of rules nicked =E2=80=9Cxorlo=E2=80=9D h= as replaced the old way. Now, {lo} is generic, and {xo=E2=80=99e} has not= yet found another definition.


Lojban Lessons - Lesson f= ifteen (the Lojban sumti 2: KOhA3, KOhA5 and KOhA6)
See what happens= if I try to translate the sentence: =E2=80=9CStereotypical people who ca= n speak Lojban speak to each other about the languages they can speak=E2=80= =9D:
{bangu} =E2=80=9Cx1 is a language used by x2 to express x3 (abs= traction)=E2=80=9D
{le=E2=80=99e prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a kakne lo nu = tavla fo la .lojban. cu tavla le=E2=80=99e prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a kakne l= o nu tavla fo la .lojban. lo bangu poi lo prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a tavla fo= la .lojban. cu se bangu ke=E2=80=99a}

What we see is that the= Lojban version is much longer than the English. This is primarily becaus= e the first, ridiculously long, sumti is being repeated two more times in= the Lojban text, while the English can refer to it by =E2=80=9Ceach othe= r=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cthey=E2=80=9D - much more efficiently. Wouldn=E2=80= =99t it be clever if Lojban somehow had mechanisms for doing the same?
It turns out it does, what a surprise! Lojban has a range of wor= ds called {sumka=E2=80=99i} meaning =E2=80=9Csumti-representatives=E2=80=9D= . In English, we refer to them as pro-sumti, because they are essentially= the same as the English pronouns, but with sumti instead of nouns. In fa= ct, you already know {ti},! {do} and {mi}, but there are many more, so let=E2=80=99s get learning. = First, we want to put it into system. We can begin with the ones most fam= iliar to English, and what you=E2=80=99ve already learned:

{ti= } - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9Cimmediate =E2=80=98it=E2=80=99: represents = a sumti physically near the speaker=E2=80=9D
{ta} - sumka=E2=80=99i:= =E2=80=9Cnearby =E2=80=98it=E2=80=99: represents a sumti some physical d= istance from the speaker OR close to the listener=E2=80=9D
{tu} - su= mka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9Cdistant =E2=80=98it=E2=80=99: represents a sumti = physically far from the speaker and the listener.=E2=80=9D

You= can again recognize the =E2=80=9Ci, a, u=E2=80=9D-sequence which pops up= over and over. Some things might take some clearing up, though. Firstly,= these sumti can represent anything which can be said to occupy a physica= l space. Objects, certainly. Ideas, certainly not. Events are accepted, b= ut only to the extent they are restricted to a specific place - the Jasmi= n Revolution cannot be pointed at, but some bar-fight or a kiss might. Se= condly, note that the distance is relative to different things for the di= fferent words: {tu} only applies if it=E2=80=99s distant from both the sp= eaker and the listener. In cases where the speaker and listener is far ap= art and the listener cannot see the speaker talking, {ta} refers to somet= hing close to the listener. Thirdly, it=E2=80=99s all relative and contex= t dependent. These three words are all problematic in written text, for i= nstance, because the position of the speaker and listener is unknown to e= ach other, and changes as time goes by. Furthermore, the author of a book= cannot point to an object and express the pointing in the book.
Then there is a series called KOhA3, to which {mi} and {do} (and ko, b= ut I won=E2=80=99t write that here) belongs:
{mi} - sumka=E2=80=99i:= The speaker(s).
{mi=E2=80=99o} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The mass of the s= peaker(s) and the listener(s) .
{mi=E2=80=99a} - sumka=E2=80=99i: Th= e mass of the speaker(s) and others.
{ma=E2=80=99a} - sumka=E2=80=99= i: The mass of the speaker(s), the listener(s) and others.
{do} - su= mka=E2=80=99i: The listener(s).
{! do=E2=80=99o} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The mass of the listener(s) and others.=

These six sumka=E2=80=99i are more easily grasped in the belo= w Venn diagram:
Venn diagram of KOhA3. {le drata} is not a KOhA3, bu= t means =E2=80=9Cthe other(s)=E2=80=9D

It is possible for seve= ral people to be =E2=80=9Cthe speakers=E2=80=9D, if one statement is made= on the behalf of all of them. Therefore, while =E2=80=9Cwe=E2=80=9D can = be translated as either {mi}, {mi=E2=80=99o}, {mi=E2=80=99a} or {ma=E2=80= =99a}, what one quite often means is really just {mi}. All of these six, = if they refer to more than one individual, represent masses. Within bridi= -logic, the bridi {mi gleki} said by speaker A is exactly equivalent to {= do gleki} said by speaker B to speaker A, and are considered the same bri= di. We will come back to this later, in the brika=E2=80=99i (pro-bridi) l= esson.

All of these sumka=E2=80=99i are very content-specific,= and can not be used, for instance, to help us with the sentence which th= is lesson began with. The following series can in principle be used to re= fer to any sumti:
ri - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9CLast sumti mentione= d=E2=80=9D
ra - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9CA recent, but not the last= sumti mentioned=E2=80=9D
ru - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9CA sumti men= tioned long ago=E2=80=9D

These sumti will refer to any termina= ted sumti except most other sumka=E2=80=99i. The reason that most other s= umka=E2=80=99i cannot be referred to by these sumti, is that they are so = easy to just repeat by themselves. The exception to the rule are {ti}, {t= a} and {tu}, because you could have changed what you point at, and thus c= annot just repeat the word. They will only refer to terminated sumti, and= thus cannot, for instance, be used to refer to an abstraction if the wor= d in is that abstraction: {le pendo noi ke=E2=80=99a pendo mi cu djica lo= nu ri se zdani} - here {ri} cannot refer to the abstration, since it is = not terminated, nor to {mi} or {ke=E2=80=99a}, since they are sumka=E2=80= =99i, so it refers to {le pendo}.
{ra} and {ru} are context-dependen= t in what they refer to, but they follow the rules mentioned above, and {= ru} always refer to a more! distant sumti than {ra}, which is always more distant than {ri}.
<= br />{ri} and it=E2=80=99s brothers are pretty well suited for dealing wi= th the original sentence. Try saying it using two instances of sumka=E2=80= =99i!

Answer: {le=E2=80=99e prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a kakne lo nu= tavla fo la .lojban. cu tavla ru lo bangu poi ru cu se bangu ke=E2=80=99= a} {ri} is not correct, because it refers to {la .lojban.}. {ra}, could b= e used, but could be mistakenly be thought to refer to {lo nu tavla fo la= .lojban.}, but {ru} is assumed to refer to the most distant sumti - the = most outer one.

Lastly, there a sumtcita which represent utter= ances: So called utterance variables. They need not be restricted to one = sentence (jufra), but can be several sentences, if the context allows it:=
da=E2=80=99u Utterance variable: Remote past sentence
de=E2=80= =99u Utterance variable: Recent sentence
di=E2=80=99u Utterance vari= able: Previous sentence
dei Utterance variable: This sentence
d= i=E2=80=99e Utterance variable: Next sentence
de=E2=80=99e Utterance= variable: Near future sentence
da=E2=80=99e Utterance variable: Rem= ote future sentence
do=E2=80=99i Utterance variable: Elliptical utte= rance variable: =E2=80=9CSome sentence=E2=80=9D
These represents sen= tences as sumti, and refer only to the spoken words or the letters, not t= o the meaning behind them.

There are more Lojban sumka=E2=80=99= i, but for now you probably need a break from them. The next chapter will= be on derived sumti, sumti made from other sumti.


Lojba= n Lessons - Lesson sixteen (the Lojban sumti 3: derived sumti)
You c= an probably see that the sumti {le bangu poi mi se bangu ke=E2=80=99a} is= a less than elegant expression for =E2=80=9Cmy language=E2=80=9D. This i= s because it=E2=80=99s really a work around. A language which I speak can= be said to fill into the x1 of the bridi {bangu mi}. We can=E2=80=99t co= nvert that to a sumti using a gadri: {le bangu [ku] mi} is two sumti, bec= ause {bangu mi} is a bridi, not a selbri. Neither can we convert it using= {le su=E2=80=99u}, because the su=E2=80=99u gives the bridi ! a new x1, the abstraction, and the {le} then extracts that. That makes a= n abstraction sumti meaning something like =E2=80=9Cthat something is my = language=E2=80=9D.
Enter {be}. {be} is a word which binds constructs= (sumti, sumtcita and others) to a selbri. Using it in ordinary selbri ha= s no effect: in {mi nelci be do}, the be does nothing. However, when a su= mti is bound to a selbri this way, you can use a gadri on the selbri with= out the sumti splitting off: {le bangu be mi} is a correct solution to th= e problem above. Likewise, you can attach a sumtcita: {le nu darxi kei be= gau do}: =E2=80=9CThe event of hitting, which is caused by you=E2=80=9D.= Note that the presence or absence of kei makes it parse differently: Wit= h the terminator present, be attaches to nu, without the terminator, it a= ttaches to darxi. So it decides what is being emphasised: Is the hitting,= or the event of hitting caused by you? Luckily, in this case, that=E2=80= =99s just about the same thing.

What if I want to attach sever= al sumti to a selbri inside a gadri? =E2=80=9CThe giver of the apple to y= ou=E2=80=9D is {le dunda be lo plise be do}, right? Nope. The second {be}= attaches to the apple, meaning {le plise be do} - =E2=80=9CThe apple of = the strain of you=E2=80=9D, which makes so sense. In order to string seve= ral sumti to a selbri, the all the ones following the first must be bound= with {bei}. The =E2=80=9Cbinding=E2=80=9D can be terminated with {be=E2=80= =99o} - one instance of {be=E2=80=99o} for each selbri which has sumti bo= und by {be}.
To list them:
be binds sumti or sumtcita to selbri=
bei binds a second, third, fourth (ect) sumti or sumtcita to a selb= ri
be=E2=80=99o ends binding to selbri

There is also ways= to loosely associate a sumti with another. {pe} and {ne} for restrictive= and non-restrictive association. Actually, {le bangu pe mi} is a better = translation of =E2=80=9Cmy language=E2=80=9D, since this phrase, like the= English, is vague as to how the two are associated with each other.
pe and ne are used as loose association only, like saying =E2=80=9Cmy ch= air=E2=80=9D about a chair which you ! sit on. It=E2=80=99s not really yours, but has something do to with you.= A more intimate connection can be established with po, which makes the a= ssociation unique and binding to a person, as in =E2=80=9Cmy car=E2=80=9D= for a car that you actually own.
A very useful construct to know is= {GADRI SUMTI SELBRI}. this is equivalent to {GADRI SELBRI pe SUMTI}. For= instance le mi gerku is equivalent to le gerku pe mi. One could have des= cription sumti inside description sumti, saying le le se cinjikca be mi k= u gerku, =3D le gerku pe le se cinjikca be mi =3D=E2=80=9Cthe dog of the = man I=E2=80=99m flirting with=E2=80=9D, but that=E2=80=99s not very easy = to read (or to understand when spoken), and is often being avoided.
=
One need also to learn {tu=E2=80=99a}, since it will make a lot of = sentences much easier. It takes a sumti and converts it to another sumti = - an elliptical abstraction which has something to do with the first sumt= i. For example, I could say {mi djica lo nu mi citka lo plise}, or I coul= d let it be up to context what abstraction about the apple I desire and j= ust say {mi djica tu=E2=80=99a lo plise}. One always has to guess what ab= straction the speaker means by {tu=E2=80=99a SUMTI}, so it should only be= used when context makes it easy to guess. Another example:
{gasnu} = =E2=80=9Cx1 does/brings about x2 (volition not implied)=E2=80=9D
{za= =E2=80=99a do gasnu tu=E2=80=99a lo skami} - =E2=80=9CI see that you make= the computer do something=E2=80=9D. Officially, {tu=E2=80=99a SUMTI} is = equivalent to {le su=E2=80=99u SUMTI co=E2=80=99e}. Vague, but useful. Th= ere are situations where you cannot use tu=E2=80=99a, even though it woul= d seem suitable. These situations are when I don=E2=80=99t want the resul= ting sumti to be an abstraction, but a concrete sumti. In this case, one = can use zo=E2=80=99e pe.

Finally, if one sumti A refers to a s= umti B, for instance because sumti A is a title of a book, or a name, or = a sentence (which always refer to something), (la=E2=80=99e SUMTI A) refe= rs to sumti B. For instance, mi nelci la=E2=80=99e di=E2=80=99u for =E2=80= =9Ci like what you just said=E2=80=9D or la=E2=80=99e le cmalu noltru for= the book =E2=80=9CThe Little Princ! e=E2=80=9D, some little prince himself. The cmavo lu=E2=80=99e does the = exact reverse - lu=E2=80=99e SUMTI refers to an object which refers to th= e sumti.
la=E2=80=99e - =E2=80=9Cthe thing referred to by=E2=80=9D -= extracts a sumti A from a sumti B which refers to A.
lu=E2=80=99e -= =E2=80=9Cthe thing referring to=E2=80=9D - extracts a sumti B from a sum= ti A, when B refers to A.


Lojban Lessons - Lesson sevent= een (cute assorted words)
And with that, third chapter, you know a l= ot about Lojban sumti. After such a long time of rigorous systematic lear= ning, what could be more fitting that this chapter where I speak about so= me words which I could not, or wanted not to fit into any other chapters?= So here are a few small and really useful words:

The followin= g four cmavo are all elliptical words. You should already be familiar wit= h the first.
{zo=E2=80=99e} - elliptical sumti
{co=E2=80=99e} -= elliptical selbri
{do=E2=80=99e} - elliptical sumtcita
{ju=E2=80= =99a} - elliptical evidential
{do=E2=80=99i} - elliptical utterance = variable
{ge=E2=80=99e} - elliptical attitudinal

All of t= hese act grammatically as a cmavo of the kind they represent, but they co= ntain no information, and can be quite handy when you=E2=80=99re lazy and= don=E2=80=99t need to be specific anyway. There are, however, a few thin= gs which need to be cleared up:

{zo=E2=80=99e} have to ref= er to something which is claimed to have a value. =E2=80=9Czero cars=E2=80= =9D or =E2=80=9Cnothing=E2=80=9D, for instance, has no value, and therefo= re cannot be referred to by {zo=E2=80=99e}. This is because, if it could = mean =E2=80=9Cnothing=E2=80=9D by zo=E2=80=99e, then any selbri could be = identical to its negation, if one of the elided sumti were filled with a = {zo=E2=80=99e} with no value.
{ge=E2=80=99e} does not mean that = you feel no emotion, just that you feel nothing special or worth to menti= on at the moment. It=E2=80=99s similar to =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m fine.=E2=80= =9D. {ge=E2=80=99e pei} ask about an elliptical emotion and is a good tra= nslation for: =E2=80=9CHow are you feeling?=E2=80=9D.
{co=E2=80=99= e} is handy when needing a selbri in a construct for grammatical rea! sons, like in the definition of {tu=E2=80=99a} in the previous chapter.<= br /> {ju=E2=80=99a} does not change the truth value or subjective und= erstanding of the bridi or anything like that. In fact, it=E2=80=99s most= ly does nothing. However, {ju=E2=80=99a pei}, =E2=80=9CWhat is your basis= for saying that?=E2=80=9D is handy.
{do=E2=80=99i} is really us= eful. A lot of times when you refer to utterances or conversations by wor= ds like =E2=80=9Cthis=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cthat=E2=80=9D, you want {do=E2= =80=99i}.
If you fill in more sumti than a selbri has places for= , the last sumti have implied {do=E2=80=99e} sumtcita in front of them.


Furthermore, there is a word, {zi=E2=80=99o}, that = you can fill a sumti place with to delete it from any selbri. {lo melbi b= e zi=E2=80=99o}, for instance, is just =E2=80=9CSomething beautiful=E2=80= =9D, and does not include the usual x2 of melbi, which is the observer wh= o judges something to be beautiful. Thus, it can mean something like =E2=80= =9CObjectively beautiful.=E2=80=9D It does not state that nothing fills t= he sumti place which is being deleted, just that the sumti place is not b= eing considered in the selbri. Using {zi=E2=80=99o} with a sumtcita gives= weird results. Formally, they should cancel each other out. Practically,= it would probably be understood as an explicit way of saying that the su= mtcita does not apply, as in: {mi darxi do mu=E2=80=99i zi=E2=80=99o} - =E2= =80=9CI hit you, with or without motivation.=E2=80=9D

Then the= re is the word {jai}. It=E2=80=99s one of those cool, small words which a= re hard to grasp, but easy to work with once you know it. It has two dist= inct, but similar functions. Both have something to do with converting th= e selbri, like {se} does.
The first grammatical construction it can = make is {jai SUMTCITA SELBRI}. It changes the sumti places such that the = sumti place of the sumtcita becomes the selbri=E2=80=99s x1, and the selb= ri=E2=80=99s old x1 is removed, and only accessible by using {fai}, which= works like {fa}. You can see it with this example:
{gau} - sumtcita= (from gasnu) =E2=80=9Cbridi has been brought about by/with active agent = [sumti]=E2=80=9D
{do ja! i gau jundi ti fai mi}. - =E2=80=9CYou bring about attention to this by = me=E2=80=9D. The new selbri, {jai gau jundi}, has the place structure of = =E2=80=9Cx1 brings about attention paid to x2=E2=80=9D. These are then fi= lled by {do} and {ti}. The {fai} then marks the place for the old x1, the= one who was paying attention, and fill it with {mi}. This can be very co= nvenient and has tons of uses. A good example is descriptive-like sumti. = One can, for instance, refer to =E2=80=9Cthe method of volitional action=E2= =80=9D by {lo jai ta=E2=80=99i zukte}.
{ta=E2=80=99i}: sumtcita (fro= m tadji) =E2=80=9CBridi is done with the method of [sumti]=E2=80=9D
= Can you deduce what the ordinary Lojban phrase {do jai gau mo} means?

Answer: =E2=80=9CWhat are you doing?=E2=80=9D

The othe= r function of {jai} is easier to explain. It simply converts the selbri s= uch that the sumti in the x1 gets a {tu=E2=80=99a} in front of it (ko=E2=80= =99a jai broda =3D tu=E2=80=99a ko=E2=80=99a broda). In other words, it c= onverts the selbri in a way such that it builds an elliptical abstraction= from the sumti in the x1, and then fills x1 with the abstraction instead= of the actual sumti. Again, the original sumti-place is accessible by {f= ai}.
A very active Lojban IRC-user often says {le gerku be do jai se= stidi mi}, to use a random example of a sumti in x1. What=E2=80=99s he s= ay?
{stidi} x1 inspires/suggests x2 in/to x3=E2=80=9D

Ans= wer: =E2=80=9CI suggest (something about) your dog.=E2=80=9D

S= o far you=E2=80=99ve learned how to convert bridi to selbri, selbri to su= mti, and selbri into bridi, since all selbri by themselves are also bridi= . You only need one last function: convert sumti to selbri. This is done = with the word {me}. It accepts a sumti and converts it into a selbri with= the place structure =E2=80=9Cx1 is specific to SUMTI in property x2=E2=80= =9D.
There are also words for converting sumti to individuals, masse= s or sets in the class LAhE, but they won=E2=80=99t be covered.

When screwing a sentence up, knowing how to correct yourself is a good = idea. There are three words in Lojban which you can use to delete your p! revious word(s)
si - deletion: Deletes last word only.
sa - de= letion: Deletes back until next cmavo spoken.
su - deletion: Deletes= entire discourse.
The function of these words are very obvious. The= y delete words as if they have never been spoken. They do not work inside= certain quotes (all quotes except lu..li=E2=80=99u), though, as that wou= ld leave it impossible to quote these words. Several si in a row deletes = several words.


Lojban Lessons - Lesson eighteen (quotes)=
One of the key design features of Lojban is that it=E2=80=99s suppo= sed to be audio-visual isomorphic, meaning that everything expressed in t= ext should also be expressed in speech and vice versa. Therefore, there c= annot be any punctuation which is not pronounced. This means that Lojban = has a wide range of words to quote other words. All Lojban quotes take so= me input of text and converts it to a sumti. Let=E2=80=99s begin with the= most simple:

lu Quote word: Begin quote of grammatical Lojban= content
li=E2=80=99u Quote word: End quote of grammatical Lojban co= ntent

The text inside this construct must by itself be grammat= ical. It can quote all Lojban words with some few exceptions, most notabl= y, obviously, li=E2=80=99u.

Try to translate the following sen= tence. Take your time.
mi stidi lo drata be tu=E2=80=99a lu ko jai g= au mo li=E2=80=99u
drata x1 is different from x2 by standard
Answer: =E2=80=9CI suggest something different than something about =E2= =80=9Cko jai gau mo=E2=80=9D.=E2=80=9D

These quote words canno= t quote ungrammatical text. This is sometimes useful, when you want to on= ly pick out part of a sentence, as in: =E2=80=9C is =E2=80=9Cgi=E2=80=99e= =E2=80=9D a Lojban sumtcita?=E2=80=9D

For this, you need these= two cmavo
lo=E2=80=99u Quote word: Begin quote of ungrammatical but= Lojban content
le=E2=80=99u Quote word: End quote of ungrammatical = but Lojban content

The text inside must be Lojban words, but n= eed not be grammatical. Try to translate the above example into Lojban
Answer: xu lo=E2=80=99u gi=E2=80=99e le=E2! =80=99u lojbo sumtcita

This quote can be used to quote all Lo= jban words except le=E2=80=99u. However, this is not enough. If we want t= o translate =E2=80=9C=E2=80=9Ddo mo=E2=80=9D is a correct translation of = =E2=80=9CWhat=E2=80=99s up?=E2=80=9D=E2=80=9D, we might be slightly wrong= about what we here state, since do mo also can mean =E2=80=9CWhat are yo= u?=E2=80=9D, but let=E2=80=99s roll with it for a second. What we need he= re is the word zoi.

zoi Next cmavo is begin all-purpose quote = and close all-purpose quote.

When using zoi, you pick a cmavo = at will, which then opens a quote. To close is, use the cmavo again. This= way, you can quote anything except that cmavo, which shouldn=E2=80=99t b= e a problem because you can pick it yourself. Usually, the cmavo picked i= s either zoi itself, or a letter which stands for the language which the = quote is written in. Example: =E2=80=9CI liked The Phantom of the Opera=E2= =80=9D is mi pu nelci la=E2=80=99e zoi zoi. The Phantom of the Opera .zoi= Notice two things: Firstly, I need a la=E2=80=99e, since I didn=E2=80=99= t like the quote, but rather what it referred to. Secondly, between the c= hosen delimiter cmavo and the quote, there are pauses, represented by a f= ull stop. This is necessary to correctly identify the delimiter cmavo.
Try to translate the above sentence concerning =E2=80=9CWhat=E2=80= =99s up?=E2=80=9D

drani x1 is correct/proper in aspect x2 in s= ituation x3 by standard x4

Answer: lu do mo li=E2=80=99u drani= xe fanva zoi gy. What=E2=80=99s up? .gy

Closely analogously, = there is la=E2=80=99o. It works exactly like zoi, but turns the resulting= quote into a name. It is needed because normally, only selbri and cmevla= can be names, not quotes.
la=E2=80=99o Next cmavo is begin all-purp= ose quote and close all-purpose quote =E2=80=93 use as name.

L= ast of the official quote words, there is zo. zo always quotes the next L= ojban word, no matter what it is. It=E2=80=99s pretty handy.
zo Quot= e next Lojban word, no matter what.
Example: zo zo zo=E2=80=99o plix= au =E2=80=9C =E2=80=9Czo=E2=80=9D is useful, hehe=E2=80=9D
zo=E2=80=99= o attitudinal: discursive: Humorously, =E2=80=9Ckidding! you=E2=80=9D
plixau x1 is useful for x2 to do purpose x3

Lojban users have found it useful to supplement with four additional qu= ote words. They are all experimental, and the formal grammar does not sup= port it. Nonetheless, they are used often, and it=E2=80=99s good to be ab= le to recognize them. The most used is:

zo=E2=80=99oi Quote ne= xt word only. Next word is identified by pauses in speech or whitespace i= n writing:

Example: ri pu cusku zo=E2=80=99oi Doh! .u=E2=80=99= i =E2=80=9CHa ha, he said =E2=80=9CDoh!=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9C
.u=E2=80=99= i: attitudinal: simple pure emotion: amusement - weariness

It=E2= =80=99s very easy to use. Again, note that all grammar bots with consider= the sentence not grammatical, because these words do not exist in the fo= rmal grammar.

Analogous to zoi and la=E2=80=99o, there is also= the word la=E2=80=99oi, which works just like zo=E2=80=99oi, but treats = the quote as a name:
la=E2=80=99oi Quote next word only, use as name= . Next word is identified by pauses in speech or whitespace in writing:
How would you say: =E2=80=9CMy English name is =E2=80=9CSafi=E2= =80=9D=E2=80=9D?
glico x1 is English/pertains to English culture in = aspect x2
cmene x1 is the name of x2 as used by x3

Answer= : mi glico se cmene la=E2=80=99oi Safi Notice the necessary se. We don=E2= =80=99t what to say that we=E2=80=99re a name!

Thirdly, ra=E2=80= =99oi quotes the next rafsi. Since rafsi are not words, they would usuall= y have to be quoted by zoi. Furthermore, several rafsi are also cmavo. To= avoid confusion of which is meant, ra=E2=80=99oi always refer to a rafsi= , and is wrong in front of any text string which are not rafsi.

What does ra=E2=80=99oi zu=E2=80=99e rafsi zo zukte .iku=E2=80=99i zo=E2= =80=99oi zu=E2=80=99e sumtcita mean?
ku=E2=80=99i attitudinal: discu= rsive: However / though (contrasts to something previously said)
raf= si x1 an affix for word/concept x2 with properties/of form x3 in language= x4

Answer: =E2=80=9CThe rafsi =E2=80=9Czu=E2=80=99e=E2=80=9D = is a rafsi for =E2=80=9Czukte=E2=80=9D. But =E2=80=9Czu=E2=80=99e=E2=80=9D= is a sumtcita=E2=80=9D

And finally the useful word ma=E2=80=99= oi. ma=E2=80=99oi quotes any! cmavo, but treats the quote as a name for the word class (selma=E2=80=99= o) to which that word belongs. So, for instance, ba=E2=80=99o belongs to = the wordclass called ZAhO, so ma=E2=80=99oi ba=E2=80=99o is unofficial Lo= jban for =E2=80=9CZahO=E2=80=9D

Try it out. Say that pu and ba= are in the same selma=E2=80=99o!
cmavo x1 is a grammatical word of = class x2 in language x3

(One possible) Answer: zo pu cmavo ma=E2= =80=99oi ba

Lojban Lessons - Lesson nineteen (numbers and quan= tifiers)
a fraction of loi is of all selbri


Lojban = Lessons - Lesson twenty (bo, ke and more cuteness)
Lojban Lessons - = Lesson twenty (bo, ke, co and more cuteness)
Say you=E2=80=99re an i= mportant American buyer of computers. How do you express this? For constr= ucts like these, tanru are ideal: mi vajni merko skami te vecnu. No wait,= that=E2=80=99s not right. Tanru are grouped from left to right, so this = tanru is understood: ((vajni merko) skami) te vecnu, a buyer of computers= for important Americans. You can=E2=80=99t change the order of the selbr= i to get a useful tanru. Neither can this be solved with logical connecti= ves, which you will first learn about later anyway. The only way to make = a fitting tanru is to force the selbri to group differently.

T= o bind two selbri close together in a tanru, the word bo can be placed be= tween them: mi vajni bo merko skami bo te vecnu is read mi (vajni bo merk= o) (skami bo te vecnu), which is useful in this context. If bo is placed = between several selbri in a row, they are grouped from right to left inst= ead of the usual left to right: mi vajni merko bo skami bo te vecnu is re= ad vajni (merko bo (skami bo te vecnu)) an =E2=80=9Cimportant (American c= omputer-buyer)=E2=80=9D, which is even more appropriate in the situation.=
bo Binds two selbri together strongly.

How would you say= =E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s a tasty yellow apple=E2=80=9D?
kukte x1 is = tasty for x2

Answer: ti kukte pelxu bo plise

What a= bout =E2=80=9DThat=E2=80=99s a big, tasty yellow apple=E2=80=9D

Answer: ti barda kukte bo pelxu bo plise!

Another approach to this is to use the words ke=E2=80=A6ke=E2= =80=99e. These can be considered as equivalent to the parenthesises used = in the paragraph above. ke begins strong selbri grouping, ke=E2=80=99e en= ds it.
ke =E2=80=93 begin strong selbri grouping.
ke=E2=80=99e = =E2=80=93 end strong selbri grouping.
The strength of the binding is= the same as that of bo. Therefore, mi vajni merko bo skami bo te vecnu c= an be written mi vajni ke merko ke skami te vecnu [ke=E2=80=99e] [ke=E2=80= =99e].
How could you say =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m a German seller of yel= low homes?=E2=80=9D

Answer: mi dotco ke pelxu zdani vecnu

While we=E2=80=99re at messing with the ordinary tanru structure, = there is another word worth paying attention to. If I want to say that I=E2= =80=99m a professional translator, I could say mi fanva se jibri.
ji= bri x1 is a job of x2 under agreement x3
docbau x1 is German used by= x2 to say x3
If I wanted to say that I=E2=80=99m a professional tra= nslater from English to German, I=E2=80=99d have to mess around with be a= nd bei: mi fanva be le docbau bei le glibau be=E2=80=99o se jibri, and th= e fact that it was a tanru could quickly be lost in speech due to the com= plicated structure of the sentence. Here, we can use the word co. it inve= rts the tanru, making the rightmost selbri modify the leftmost instead of= the other way around:
mi se jibri co fanva le docbau le glibau is t= he same bridi as the previous Lojban one, but much more easy to understan= d. Notice that any sumti before the tanru fills se jibri, while any follo= wing it only fills the modifying selbri: fanva.
co Invert tanru. Any= previous sumti fill the modified, any following fill the modifier.
=
The strength by which two selbri are bound together with co is the = weakest of them all =E2=80=93 even weaker than normal tanru grouping with= out any grouping words. This makes sure that, in a co-construct, the left= most selbri is always the selbri being modified, and the rightmost always= modifies, even if any of those parts are tanru. This makes a co-construc= t easy to parse:
ti pelx! u plise co kukte is read ti (pelxu plise) co kukte, which is the same as= ti kukte pelxu bo plise. This also means that a ke=E2=80=A6ke=E2=80=99e = cannot encompass a co.

How can you express =E2=80=9DI am an im= portant American buyer of computers=E2=80=9D using a co?

Answe= r: mi skami te vecnu co vajni merko

If it=E2=80=99s of any use= , this is the list of different kind of selbri groupers ranked by strengt= h:

1. bo and ke..ke=E2=80=99e

2. logical conn= ectives (explained in chapter twenty-four)

3. no grouping w= ords

4. co

The rest of this chapter will not be on= selbri grouping, but much like chapter seventeen mention assorted words,= which can be of use.

bo has another use, which seems separate= from selbri grouping: It can also bind a sumtcita to an entire bridi, so= that the content of the sumtcita is not a sumti, but the following bridi= . This is best explained with an example.
xebni x1 hates x2
mi = darxi do .i mu=E2=80=99i bo mi do xebni =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI hit you, wit= h motivation that I hate you.=E2=80=9D Here the bo binds mu=E2=80=99i to = the following bridi.

The unofficial word me=E2=80=99oi is equi= valent to me la=E2=80=99e zo=E2=80=99oi, which means that it converts the= content of the next word into a selbri. It is used to invent brivla on t= he fly: mi ca zgana la me=E2=80=99oi X-files for =E2=80=9CI now watch X-f= iles=E2=80=9D. Like all quote next word-cmavo, it is not supported by the= official grammar, but to the lazy Lojbanist, it=E2=80=99s invaluable.
The word gi is strage kind of bridi separator, analogous to .i, = but to my knowledge, it is used in only two different kinds of constructs= : Most often with logical connectives, explained in lesson twenty-four, b= ut also with sumtcita. With sumtcita it creates a useful, but hardly seen= , construct:
{mu=E2=80=99i gi BRIDI-1 gi BRIDI-2}, which is equivale= nt to {BRIDI-2 .i mu=E2=80=99i bo BRIDI 1}. Therefore, the example above,= which explained why I hit you, can be written mu=E2=80=99i gi mi xebni d= o gi mi darxi do, or to preserve the same order as the or! iginal sentence, we can convert mu=E2=80=99i with se: se mu=E2=80=99i gi= mi darxi do gi mi xebni do.
It is in examples like this that gi rea= lly can show its versatility. It does not just separate two bridi like .i= does, but can also separate two constructs within a bridi, making all co= nstructs outside the scope of gi apply to both bridi, as this example dem= onstrates:
cinba x1 kisses x2 at locus x3

mi gi prami do = gi cinba do leaves mi outside the construct, making it apply to both brid= i. This can also be done with do, which is also present in broth bridi: m= i gi prami gi cinba vau do. Note that vau is needed to make do appear out= side the second bridi.

Thus, we can write the original sentenc= e shorter: mi mu=E2=80=99i gi xebni gi darxi vau do, or, to omit even the= vau, we can write it even shorter and more elegantly: mi do mu=E2=80=99i= gi xebni gi darxi


Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-one (C= OI)
In this chapter, you will familiarize yourself with vocatives, o= r ma=E2=80=99oi coi. They get their own lesson, not because understanding= these provides a basis for understanding Lojban grammar in general, or b= ecause they are hard to understand, but rather because they are very ofte= n used in casual speech, and there are a lot of them.
A vocative is = used partly to define who do refers to. If the vocative is followed by a = cmevla, the cmevla gets an implied la in front of it. If a selbri follows= , a le is used as a gadri instead.
In these examples, I will use the= vocative coi, with means =E2=80=9CHi=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CHello=E2=80=9D= .
If a person is called la + SELBRI, using a vocative with only the = selbri to address that person will mean you refer to her as actually bein= g the x1 of that selbri, which is often wrong. If, for instance, a person= is called la tsani, =E2=80=9CSky=E2=80=9D, saying coi tsani refers to he= r as a le tsani, meaning =E2=80=9CHi, you sky=E2=80=9D, while coi la tsan= i correctly refers to her as someone called Sky, meaning =E2=80=9CHi Sky=E2= =80=9D. This is a frequent mistake, especially among new Lojbanists.
All vocatives have! a terminator which is sometimes required. This is do=E2=80=99u. It=E2=80= =99s mostly used if both the first word after the vocative phrase and the= last word of the phrase is a selbri, so that it prevents forming a tanru= :

do=E2=80=99u End vocative phrase. Usually elidable.
kla= ku x1 cries x2 (tears) for reason x3
coi la gleki do=E2=80=99u klaku= fi ma =E2=80=9DHello Happy. Why cry?=E2=80=9D

The generic voc= ative, doi, does nothing except defining who do is:
doi .ernst. xu d= o dotco merko =E2=80=9CErnst: Are you a German-American?=E2=80=9D
All the other vocatives have some content beside defining do. coi, wh= ich you know, also means =E2=80=9CHello=E2=80=9D, for example. Many of th= e vocatives have two or three definitions like the attitudinals. Like att= itudinals, this is because they can be modified with cu=E2=80=99i and nai= , though only one vocative has the cu=E2=80=99i-form defined.
Some i= mportant vocatives are listed in the table below. There are others, but t= hose are not used much.
vocative Without suffix -cu=E2=80=99i -naicoi Hello - -
co=E2=80=99o Goodbye - -
je=E2=80=99e Underst= ood / OK - Not understood
fi=E2=80=99i Welcome - Not welcome herepe=E2=80=99u Please - -
ki=E2=80=99e Thanks - Disappreciation
re=E2=80=99i Ready to recieve - Not ready
ju=E2=80=99i Hey! At eas= e Ignore me
ta=E2=80=99a Interruption - -
vi=E2=80=99o Will do = - Will not do
ke=E2=80=99o Please repeat - No repeat needed

What would coi co=E2=80=99o mean?

Answer: =E2=80=9CGr= eetings in passing=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CHello and Goodbye=E2=80=9D
<= br />je=E2=80=99e is used as =E2=80=9COK=E2=80=9D, but also the appropria= te response when receiving praise or thanks, as it indicates that the pra= ise or thanks was successfully understood.

Translate ki=E2=80=99= e sidju be mi bei lo vajni .i je=E2=80=99e .jenifyn.
sidju x1 helps = x2 do x3

Answer: =E2=80=9CThanks, you helper of me to do somet= hing important.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CNo problem, Jennifer=E2=80=9D

And fi=E2=80=99i te vecnu .i pe=E2=80=99u ko citka

Answer: =E2= =80=9DWelcome, buyer. Please eat!=E2=80=9D

re=E2=80=99i is use= d to signal that you are ready t! o be spoken to. It can be used as the Lojban equivalent of =E2=80=9CWhat= can I do for you?=E2=80=9D or perhaps replace =E2=80=9CHello=E2=80=9D, w= hen speaking on a phone. re=E2=80=99i nai can mean =E2=80=9CAFK=E2=80=9D = or =E2=80=9CBe there is a second.=E2=80=9D

Translate: =E2=80=9C= Hello, what can I do for you, Interpreter/Translater?=E2=80=9D

Answer: coi re=E2=80=99i la fanva

ta=E2=80=99a is used when a= ttempting to politely interrupt someone else. What would be good response= s to this?

Translate: ta=E2=80=99a ro do mi co=E2=80=99a cliva=
cliva x1 leaves x2 via route x3

Answer: =E2=80=9CExcuse = me for interrupting, everyone. I begin to leave now=E2=80=9D Notice that = no terminator or .i is needed.

ke=E2=80=99o is used a lot when= inexperienced Lojbanists speak together vocally. It=E2=80=99s quite a ha= ndy word
sutra x1 is quick at doing x2

Translate: .y ke=E2= =80=99o sutra tavla

Answer: =E2=80=9CUh, Please repeat, you qu= ick speaker.=E2=80=9D

And =E2=80=9COkay okay, I got it already= ! I=E2=80=99ll do it!=E2=80=9D

An answer: ke=E2=80=99o nai .ui= nai vi=E2=80=99o


Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-two (ne= gation)
Sometimes, just saying what=E2=80=99s the truth is not enoug= h. Often, we want to specify what=E2=80=99s not the truth, and we do this= by using negation.
Negation in English mostly involves =E2=80=9Cnot= =E2=80=9D, and is completely arbitrary and ambiguous. We, as Lojbanists, = can=E2=80=99t have that, of course, so Lojban contains an elegant and una= mbigious system for negating.

The first you need to know about= is bridi negation, so called because it negates the bridi it=E2=80=99s i= n, saying it=E2=80=99s not true. The way to negate a bridi is to place na= either just before the selbri (after any cu), or first in the sentence w= ith a ku after it.
speni x1 is married to x2 under convention x3
Thus: le mi speni cu na ninmu states that =E2=80=9CMy spouse is not a w= oman=E2=80=9D. It states nothing about what my wife is, or if I even have= a wife. It only states that I do not have a wife who is also a woman. Th= is has an important implication: If the negation of a bridi is false, th! e bridi must be true: na ku le mi speni cu na ninmu must mean that I hav= e both a spouse, and that she is a she.
It is possible to use bridi = negations in all bridi, even the implicit bridi of descriptive sumti. lo = na prenu can refer to anything non-human, whether it be a sphinx, a baseb= all or the property of appropriateness.

glibau x1 is English u= sed by x2 to express x3
bau sumtcita, from bangu: using the language= of [sumti]
se ja=E2=80=99e sumtcita, from se jalge: because of [sum= ti]

Often when using na, it=E2=80=99s a problem that negates t= he entire bridi. If I say mi na sutra tavla bau le glibau se ja=E2=80=99e= le nu mi dotco, I end up negating too much, and it is not clear that I w= anted to only negate that I speak fast. The sentence could suggest that I= in fact speak fast because of some other reason, or that I speak fast in= French because I=E2=80=99m German. To express the sentence correctly, I = need to only negate that I speak fast, and not the other things.
To = only negate part of a bridi, na ku can be moved around the bridi and plac= ed anywhere a sumti can go. It then negates any sumti, selbri and sumtcit= a placed after it.

Moving na ku from the left end of the bridi= and rightwards effects any quantifiers in a certain way, as can be seen = by this example:

na ku ro remna cu verba =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s= not true that: All humans are children=E2=80=9D
su=E2=80=99o remna = na ku cu verba =E2=80=9CFor at least one human it=E2=80=99s not true that= : It=E2=80=99s a child=E2=80=9D. See that the na ku is placed before cu, = since a sumti can go only there. Had I only used na, it would have to go = after cu.

The quantifier is inverted, ro is turned into su=E2=80= =99o. This is, of course, only if the meaning of the bridi has to be pres= erved. This means that when the na ku is placed at the end of the bridi, = only the selbri is negated but all the sumti and sumtcita are preserved, = as can be seen by these three identical bridi:
ckule x1 is a school = at location x2 teaching x3 to students x4 and operated by x5

n= a ku ro! verba cu ve ckule fo su=E2=80=99o ckule =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s= not true that all children are students in a school.=E2=80=9D
su=E2= =80=99o verba cu ve ckule na ku fo su=E2=80=99o ckule =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9C= Some children are students in not a single school.=E2=80=9D
su=E2=80= =99o verba cu ve ckule fo ro ckule na ku =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CSome children= are for all schools not students in them.=E2=80=9D

While the = mechanism of na ku resembles natural language negation, it can be difficu= lt to keep track of exactly what is negated and how that affects the brid= i. For that reason, the construct na ku is rarely seen anywhere other tha= n the beginning of a bridi. In most cases where more specific negation is= needed people resort to a different method. This method, called scalar n= egation, is an elegant and intuitive tool. Using it, you effect only the = selbri, since the words used in scalar negation binds to the selbri much = like the word se.
The name =E2=80=9Cscalar negation=E2=80=9D is deri= ved from the fact that the words which bind to the selbri can be placed a= long a scale from affirmation over negation and to stating that the oppos= ite case is true:
Word Meaning
je=E2=80=99a =E2=80=9CIndeed=E2=80= =9D; scalar affirmer
no=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9CNot really=E2=80=9D, scal= ar midpoint
na=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9CNon-=E2=80=9C, scalar negator
to=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9CIl=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CDis-=E2=80=9C, =E2=80=9CMis=E2= =80=9D ect; scalar opposer


These words are not negators = in the same sense as na. They do not state that a bridi is false, but mak= es a positive statement that a bridi is true =E2=80=93 the same bridi, bu= t with a different selbri.
The words no=E2=80=99e and to=E2=80=99e s= hould only be used when the selbri has an implicit scale:
le mi spen= i cu to=E2=80=99e melbi =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DMy spouse is ugly=E2=80=9D mak= es sense, since we immediately know what the opposite of beautiful is, wh= ile
mi klama le mi to=E2=80=99e zdani =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DI go to my = opposite thing of home=E2=80=9D, while grammatical, leaves the listener g= uessing what the speakers =E2=80=9Copposite-home=E2=80=9D is and should b= e avoided.


Try to translate these sentences:
=E2=80= =9CMy spouse is not a woman=E2=80=9D (meaning that he is a male! )

Answer: le mi speni cu na=E2=80=99e / to=E2=80=99e ninmu. U= sing scalar negation here implies that he exists, which na did not.
=
=E2=80=9CMy spouse is not really a woman=E2=80=9D

Answer= : le mi speni cu no=E2=80=99e ninmu. The scale here is presumed to be fro= m woman to man.

=E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t speak fast in English= because I=E2=80=99m German=E2=80=9D

Answer: mi na=E2=80=99e s= utra tavla bau le glibau se ja=E2=80=99e le nu mi dotco

Also, = note that whenever these words are used together with a tanru, they only = affect the leftmost selbri. In order to make it bind to the whole tanru o= r parts of the tanru, the usual tanru-grouping words can be used.
Try to say =E2=80=9CI sell something which is not yellow homes=E2=80=9D= using the tanru pelxu zdani vecnu

Answer: mi na=E2=80=99e ke = pelxu zdani ke=E2=80=99e vecnu or mi na=E2=80=99e pelxu bo zdani vecnu
When attempting to answer: =E2=80=9CIs the king of the USA fat?=E2= =80=9D, all of these negations fail. While it=E2=80=99s technically corre= ct to negate it with na, since it makes no assumptions of that is true, i= t=E2=80=99s mildly misleading since it could lead the listener to believe= there is a king of the USA. For these scenarios, there is a metalinguist= ic negator, na=E2=80=99i.
na=E2=80=99i Metalinguistic negator. Somet= hing is wrong with assigning a truth value to the bridi.
Because na=E2= =80=99i can be needed anywhere it has been given the grammar of the attit= udinals, which means it can appear anywhere, and it attaches to the previ= ous word or construct.

palci x1 is evil by standard x2
le= na=E2=80=99i pu te zukte be le skami cu palci =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DThe sou= ght goal [mistake!] of the computer was evil=E2=80=9D, probably protests = that computers can seek a goal volitionally.

Since this is a c= hapter on negation, I believe the word nai deserves a short mention. It i= s used to negate minor grammatical constructs, and can be used in combina= tion with attitudinals, all sumtcita including tenses, vocatives and logi= cal connectives. The rules for negating using nai depend on the construct= , and so the e! ffect of nai has been discussed when mentioning the construct themselves= . The exception is sumtcita, where the rules for negation are more comple= x, and will not be discussed here.


Lojban Lessons - Less= on twenty-three (brika=E2=80=99i/pro-bridi and ko=E2=80=99a)
If I sa= y that I=E2=80=99m called Mikhail, la .mikail. cmene mi, and you have to = say the exact same bridi, what would that be? One of the many answers is = do se cmene la .mikail.. For the bridi to be the same, you have to replac= e mi with do, and it doesn=E2=80=99t matter which if you say the bridi wi= th the se-converted selbri or not. This is because a bridi is not the wor= ds which express it =E2=80=93 a bridi is an idea, an abstract proposition= . The word mi when I say it and the word do when you do refers to the sam= e sumti, so the two bridi are identical.
This lesson is on brika=E2=80= =99i, the bridi equivalent of sumka=E2=80=99i. They are word which repres= ent entire bridi. Here it is important to remember that a bridi consists = only of sumti and the things which contain the sumti, selbri and sumtcita= . Neither attitudinals, nor the semantic layer of ko or ma are part of th= e bridi proper, and so these are not represented by a brika=E2=80=99i.
There are much fewer brika=E2=80=99i than there are sumka=E2=80=99= i. We will begin by going through the most used series, called GOhA:
Word: Definition:
go=E2=80=99u Repeats remote past bridi
go=E2= =80=99a Repeats past bridi
go=E2=80=99e Repeats next-to-last bridigo=E2=80=99i Repeats last mentioned bridi
go=E2=80=99o Repeats f= uture bridi
nei Repeats current bridi
no=E2=80=99a Repeats oute= r bridi

The GOhA brika=E2=80=99i. Notice the familiar i, a, u-= pattern for close in past, medium in past and distant in past.


These are very much like the sumka=E2=80=99i ri, ra and ru. They c= an only refer to main bridi of jufra, and not those contained in relative= phrases or description sumti. The main bridi can contain a relative phra= se, of course, but a brika=E2=80=99i can never be used to refer to only t= he relative phrase.
A GOhA acts gram! matically much like a selbri, any construct which can apply to selbri ca= n also apply to these. The place structure of a GOhA is the same as that = of the bridi it represents, and the sumti are by default the same as in t= he bridi it represents. Filling the sumti places of a GOhA explicitly ove= rwrites the sumti of the bridi it represents. Contrast:
A: mi citka = lo plise B: go=E2=80=99i =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI eat an apple.=E2=80=9D =E2=80= =9CYou do.=E2=80=9D with
A: mi citka lo plise B: mi go=E2=80=99i =E2= =80=93 =E2=80=9CI eat an apple.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CI do, too.=E2=80=9D

These brika=E2=80=99i are very useful when answering a question w= ith xu:
A: xu do nelci le mi speni B: go=E2=80=99i / na go=E2=80=99i= =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CDo you like my wife?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CYes./No.=E2=80= =9D. The xu, being an attitudinal, is not copied.

nei and no=E2= =80=99a are not used much, except for =E2=80=9Cmind-breaking purposes=E2=80= =9D, which is making up bridi which are hard to parse, like dei na se du=E2= =80=99u le no=E2=80=99a la=E2=80=99e le nei. Since nei repeats the curren= t outer bridi, however, le nei can be used to refer to the x1 of the curr= ent outer bridi, le se nei the x2 and so on.

When using brika=E2= =80=99i, one must always be wary of copying sentences with the personal s= umka=E2=80=99i like mi, do, ma=E2=80=99a ect, and be careful not to repea= t them when they are in the wrong contect, as shown in the two examples w= ith apple eating above. Instead of replacing them one by one, though, the= word ra=E2=80=99o anywhere in the bridi updates the personal sumka=E2=80= =99i so that they apply for the speaker=E2=80=99s perspective:
A: mi= do prami B: mi do go=E2=80=99i is equivalent to A: mi do prami B: go=E2=80= =99i ra=E2=80=99o
ra=E2=80=99o Update all personal sumka=E2=80=99i s= o that they now fit the speaker=E2=80=99s point of view.

The o= nly other series of brika=E2=80=99i are very easy to remember:
broda= Bridi variable 1
brode Bridi variable 2
brodi Bridi variable 3=
brodo Bridi variable 4
brodu Bridi variable 5
cei Define = bridi variable


The first five are just five instances of= the same word. They can be used as shortcuts to bridi. After saying a br= idi, say! ing cei broda defines that bridi as broda, and broda can then be used as= brika=E2=80=99i for that bridi in the following conversation.
While= we=E2=80=99re at it, there is an analogous series of sumka=E2=80=99i, wh= ich probably does not belong in this chapter, but here they are anyway:ko=E2=80=99a Sumti variable 1 fo=E2=80=99a Sumti variable 6
ko=E2= =80=99e Sumti variable 2 fo=E2=80=99e Sumti variable 7
ko=E2=80=99i = Sumti variable 3 fo=E2=80=99i Sumti variable 8
ko=E2=80=99o Sumti va= riable 4 fo=E2=80=99o Sumti variable 9
ko=E2=80=99u Sumti variable 5= fo=E2=80=99u Sumti variable 10

goi


Define s= umti variable


These are used like the brika=E2=80=99i-se= ries. Just place, for instance, goi ko=E2=80=99u after a sumti, and that = sumti can be referred to by ko=E2=80=99u.

Strangely, these ser= ies are rarely used for their intended purpose. They are, however, used a= s arbitrary selbri and sumti in example texts:
=E2=80=9CSo, is it tr= ue that the truth condition of ko=E2=80=99a ko=E2=80=99e broda na ku is a= lways the same as na ku ko=E2=80=99a ko=E2=80=99e broda?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9C= Nope, it isn=E2=80=99t.=E2=80=9D


Lojban Lessons - Lesson= twenty-four (logical connectives)
=E2=80=9CIf you ask a Lojbanist: = =E2=80=9CDo you want milk or sugar in your coffee?=E2=80=9D she=E2=80=99l= l answer: =E2=80=9CCorrect.=E2=80=9D=E2=80=9D

Witty as this jo= ke might be, it illustrates a weird property of the English way of asking= this question. It is phrased as a true/false question, but it really isn= =E2=80=99t. In Lojban, we can=E2=80=99t have this kind of inconsistency, = and so we must find another way of asking this kind of question. If you t= hink about it, it=E2=80=99s pretty hard to find a good and easy way, and = it seems Lojban have picked a good way instead of an easy way.

To explain it, let us take two separate bridi: Bridi 1: =E2=80=9CI like = milk in my coffee=E2=80=9D and bridi 2: =E2=80=9CI like sugar in my coffe= e=E2=80=9D. Both of these bridi can have the state true or false. This yi= elds four combinations of which bridi is/are true:
A) 1 and 2 B) 1 b= ut not 2
C) 2 but not 1 D)neither 1 nor 2

I, in actuality= , like milk in m! y coffee, and I=E2=80=99m indifferent as to whether there is sugar in it= or not. Therefore, my preference can be written A) true B) true C) false= D) false, since both A and B yields true for me, but neither C nor D doe= s. A more compact way of writing my coffee preferences would be TTFF for = true, true, false, false. Similarly, a person liking his coffee black and= only black would have a coffee preference of FFFT. This is called a =E2=80= =9Ctruth function=E2=80=9D for the two statements =E2=80=9CI like milk in= my coffee=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CI like sugar in my coffee=E2=80=9D. Note= that the order of the statements matters.
In Lojban, we operate wit= h 4 truth functions, which we consider fundamental:
A: TTTF (and/or)=
O: TFFT (if and only iff)
U: TTFF (whether or not)
E: TFF= F (and)

In this example, they would translate to something lik= e: A:=E2=80=9DJust not black coffee=E2=80=9D, O: =E2=80=9CEither both mil= k or sugar, or nothing for me, please=E2=80=9D, U: =E2=80=9CMilk, and I d= on=E2=80=99t care about if there=E2=80=99s sugar or not=E2=80=9D and E: =E2= =80=9CMilk and sugar, please.=E2=80=9D.

In Lojban, you place t= he word for the truth function between the two bridi, selbri or sumti in = question. That word is called a logical connective. The words for truth f= unctions between sumti (and just for sumti!) are .a .o .u and .e. How ni= ce. For instance: =E2=80=9CI am friends with an American and a German=E2=80= =9D would be lo merko .e lo dotco cu pendo mi.
How would you say: =E2= =80=9CEither I flirt with you or with none at all?=E2=80=9D

An= swer: mi cinjikca do .o no da

One more: =E2=80=9CI like cheese= whether or not I like coffee=E2=80=9D
ckafi x1 is a quantity/contai= ns coffee from source/of grain x2

Answer: mi nelci lo=E2=80=99= e cirla .u lo=E2=80=99e ckafi

You can perhaps deduce that ther= e are sixteen possible truth functions, so we need to learn 12 more in or= der to know them all. 8 more can be obtained by negating either the first= sentence or the second. The first is negated by prefixing the truth func= tion word with na, the second is negated by placing nai after the word. F= o! r example, since .e represents TFFF, .e nai must be =E2=80=9Cboth 1 is t= rue and 2 is false=E2=80=9D, which is FTFF. Similarly, na .a is =E2=80=9C= Just not: 1 is true and 2 is false=E2=80=9D, which is TTFT. Doing this ty= pe of conversion in the head real-time is very, very hard, so perhaps one= should focus on learning how logical connectives work in general, and th= en learn the logical connectives themselves by heart.

Four fun= ctions cannot be made this way: TTTT, TFTF, FTFT and FFFF. The first and = the last cannot be made using logical connectives at all, but they are ki= nd of useless anyway. Using a hypothetical logical connective in the sent= ence =E2=80=9CI like milk FFFF sugar in my coffee=E2=80=9D is equivalent = to saying =E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t like coffee=E2=80=9D, just more compli= cated. The last two, TFTF and FTFT, can be made by prefixing .u with good= ol=E2=80=99 se, which just reverts the two statements. se .u , for insta= nce is =E2=80=9CB whether or not A=E2=80=9D, which is TFTF. The final lis= t of all logical connectives can be seen below.

TTTT: Cannot b= e made
TTTF: .a
TTFT: .a nai
TTFF: .u
TFTT: na .a
TFTF: se .u
TFFT: .o
TFFF: .e
FTTT: na .a nai
FTTF:= na .o OR .o nai
FTFT: se .u nai
FTFF: .e nai
FFTT: na .u<= br />FFTF: na .e
FFFT: na .e nai
FFFF: Cannot be made

Logically, saying a sentence with a logical connective, like for instan= ce mi nelci lo=E2=80=99e cirla .e nai lo=E2=80=99e ckafi is equivalent to= saying two sentences: mi nelci lo=E2=80=99e cirla .i na ku mi nelci lo=E2= =80=99e ckafi. This is how the function of logical connectives is defined= .

By putting a =E2=80=9Cj=E2=80=9D in front of the core word o= f a logical connective, it connects two selbri. An example is mi ninmu na= jo nanmu =E2=80=9CI am a man or a woman, but not both=E2=80=9D
ninm= u x1 is a woman
ninmu x1 is a woman

This is =E2=80=9Ctanr= u-internal=E2=80=9D, meaning that it loosely binds selbri together, even = when they form a tanru: lo dotco ja merko prenu means =E2=80=9Ca German o= r American man=E2=80=9D, and is parsed lo (dotco ja merko) prenu. This bi= n! ding is slightly stronger that normal tanru-grouping (still weaker than = specific grouping-words), and as such, lo dotco ja merko ninmu ja nanmu i= s parsed lo (dotco ja merko) (ninmu ja nanmu). The selbri logical connect= ives can also be attached to .i in order to connect two sentences togethe= r: la .kim. cmene mi .i ju mi nanmu =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m called Kim, whet= her or not I=E2=80=99m a man=E2=80=9D

Unfairly hard question: = Using logical connectives, how would you translate =E2=80=9CIf you=E2=80=99= re called Bob, you=E2=80=99re a man.=E2=80=9D?

Answer: la .bab= . cmene do .i na ja do nanmu or =E2=80=9CEither you=E2=80=99re not named = Bob and a man, or you=E2=80=99re not named Bob and not a man, or you=E2=80= =99re named Bob and a man. But you can=E2=80=99t be named Bob and not be = a man.=E2=80=9D The only combination not permitted is: =E2=80=9CYou=E2=80= =99re called Bob, but not a man.=E2=80=9D This must mean that, if it=E2=80= =99s true that you=E2=80=99re called Bob, you must be a man!

I= f we try to translate the sad, sad event of =E2=80=9CI cried and gave awa= y my dog=E2=80=9D, we run into a problem.
Attempting to say the sent= ence with a je between the selbri =E2=80=9Cgave=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Ccri= ed=E2=80=9D, would mean the same word for word, but unfortunately mean th= at =E2=80=9CI cried the dog and gave away the dog=E2=80=9D, cf. the defin= ition of logical connectives. One can cry tears or even blood, but crying= dogs is just silly.
However, we can get around by using bridi-tail = logical connectives. What they do is that any previous sumtcita and sumti= attaches to both selbri bound by the bridi-tail logical connective, but = any following terms only applies to the last mentioned: The bridi splits = up from one head to two tails, to speak metaphorically.
The form of = a bridi-tail logical connective is gi=E2=80=99V, with the V for the vowel= of the truth function.
How could you correctly translate the Englis= h sentence to Lojban?

Answer: mi pu klaku gi=E2=80=99e dunda l= e mi gerku

What does ro remna palci gi=E2=80=99o zukte lo palc= i mean?
palci x1 is evil by standard x2

Answer: =E2=80=9C= People are evil if and only if they do e! vil things.=E2=80=9D

Furthermore, there is a forethought all-= but tanru internal group of connecters made by prefixing =E2=80=9Cg=E2=80= =9D in front of the truth function vowel. =E2=80=9CForethought=E2=80=9D i= n this context means that they need to go in front of the things they con= nect, and thus you need to think about the grammatical structure of the s= entence before saying it. All-but tanru internal means that it serves bot= h as a connective between sumti, bridi, selbri and bridi-tails, but not b= etween two selbri of one tanru. Let me show you how it works, rewriting t= he Lojban sentence above:
go lo remna cu palci gi lo remna cu zukte = lo palci
The first logical connective in these kinds of constructs a= re what carries the vowel which signal what truth function is being used.= The second logical connective is always gi, and like .i, it has no truth= function. It simply serves to seperate the two terms being connected. If= you want to negate the first or second sentence, a nai is suffixed to ei= ther the first (for the first sentence) or second (for the second sentenc= e) logical connective.
Provided that the constructs are terminated p= roperly, it has remarkable flexibility, as the following few examples dem= onstrate:
mi go klama gi cadzu vau le mi zdani =E2=80=9CI go, if and= only if walk, to my home=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI can only go to my home b= y walking.=E2=80=9D Notice that the vau is needed to make le mi zdani app= ly to both cadzu and klama.
se gu do gi nai mi bajra le do ckule =E2= =80=9CWhether or not you, then not I, run to your school=E2=80=9D or =E2=80= =9CI won=E2=80=99t run to your school no matter if you do or not=E2=80=9D=

The tanru-internal equivalent of gV is gu=E2=80=99V. These ar= e exactly the same, except that they are exclusively tanru-internal, and = that they bind a selbri to the gi tighter than normal tanru-grouping, but= weaker than explicit binding-sumti:
la hanz.krt. gu=E2=80=99e merko= gi dotco nanmu is equivalent to
la hanz.krt. merko je dotco nanmu
And so you=E2=80=99ve read page up and page down just to get th= e necessary knowledge in order ! to be able to learn how to ask =E2=80=9CWould you like milk or sugar in = your coffee?=E2=80=9D in Lojban. Simply place a question logical connecti= ve instead of another logical connective, and like ma, it asks the listen= er to fill in a correct response. Unfortunately, these question-logical c= onnectives don=E2=80=99t always match the pattern of the logical connecti= ves they ask for:
ji Logical connective question: Asks for a sumti l= ogical connective (A)
je=E2=80=99i Logical connective question: Asks= for a tanru-internal selbri logical connective (JA)
gi=E2=80=99i Lo= gical connective question: Asks for a bridi-tail logical connective (GIhA= )
ge=E2=80=99i Logical connective question: Asks for a forethought a= ll-but tanru internal logical connective (GA)
gu=E2=80=99i Logical c= onnective question: Asks for a forethought only tanru internal logical co= nnective (GUhA)

So... how would you ask if the persons wants m= ilk or sugar in her coffee?
ladru x1 is/contains milk from source x2=
sakta x1 is/contains sugar from source x2 of composition x3
Possible answer: sakta je=E2=80=99i ladru le do ckafi though I guess = something more English and less elegant could also suffice like do djica = lenu lo sakta ji lo ladru cu nenri le do ckafi

Lojban Lessons = - Lesson twenty-five (lojban logic: da, bu=E2=80=99a, zo=E2=80=99u and te= rms)

Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-six (notes on abstractors)=
The notion of abstractions and abstractors is quite fundamental to = Lojban, and you have already learned the mechanism twenty lessons ago. Th= ere are, however, many abstractors with slightly different semantic meani= ng to explore, as well as a single important mechanism which has not been= covered yet. In this lesson, all twelve abstractors will be elaborated o= n. The terminator for all of these is kei.

The first and most = basic abstractor is su=E2=80=99u, which you already know.
su=E2=80=99= u x1 is an abstract nature of BRIDI of type x2
You might not have se= en the definition of su=E2=80=99u. This would have needlessly confused in= earlier! chapters. The new information is the x2 of {su=E2=80=99u BRIDI}, which = can be explained as follows:
The English phrase =E2=80=9Cthat I love= you=E2=80=9D is definitely a sumti, since it=E2=80=99s meant to function= as a subject or object in a sentence. It=E2=80=99s also clearly made fro= m an abstraction. It can therefore be translated {(lo/le) su=E2=80=99u mi= do prami}. Without the context of the English sentence, though, it=E2=80= =99s hard to guess what kind of abstraction was meant. =E2=80=9CI will di= e happy by the time that I love you.=E2=80=9D treats the abstraction like= an event happening in time. =E2=80=9CThe truth is that I love you.=E2=80= =9D treats the abstraction like a bridi, which can be considered true or = false. In the sentence =E2=80=9CThe most beautiful thing in the world is = the idea that I love you=E2=80=9D, the abstraction is considered an abstr= act concept. Using the second sumti place of su=E2=80=99u, these can be e= xplicitly distinguished between:
le su=E2=80=99u mi do prami kei be = lo fasnu is an event.
le su=E2=80=99u mi do prami kei be lo bridi is= a bridi.
le su=E2=80=99u mi do prami kei be lo sidbo is a concept.<= br />
Using su=E2=80=99u this way, the semantic, though perhaps not = grammatical, range of all abstractors can be covered. More usually, thoug= h, other abstractors are used. nu, which you also know, treats the abstra= ction as an event.
nu x1 is an event of BRIDI

There are m= any ways to view an event, and so there are four other abstractors whose = semantic are all covered by nu, but more specific.
mu=E2=80=99e x1 i= s a point-like event of BRIDI happening
za=E2=80=99i x1 is a state o= f BRIDI being true
pu=E2=80=99u x1 is a process of BRIDI unfolding t= hrough stages x2
zu=E2=80=99o x1 is an activity of BRIDI consisting = of the repeated event of x2

The understanding of these abstrac= tors is tied to the understanding of event contours. mu=E2=80=99e is akin= to the event contour co=E2=80=99i in the sense that both treat the bridi= as point-like in time and space:
le mu=E2=80=99e mi kanro binxo cu = se djica mi =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DMe becoming healthy is desired by me=E2=80= =9D has the semantic meani! ng that the process of becoming healthy is not being considered. If it c= onsists of chemotherapy, it is plausible that this process is not desired= at all. =E2=80=9CBecoming healthy=E2=80=9D, in a point-like sense is des= ired, however.

za=E2=80=99i is like the event contour ca=E2=80= =99o in the sense that le za=E2=80=99i bridi begins to apply when the bri= di begins and sharply ends when the bridi ceases to be true, much like ca= =E2=80=99o.
za=E2=80=99o za=E2=80=99i mi kanro binxo means that the = state of me becoming healthy took too long time; that the time between my= health beginning to improve and be actually being healthy was long-winde= d.

The actual treatment is perhaps better caught by pu=E2=80=99= u, which, like event contours in general, puts emphasis on the entire eve= nt as unfolding through time. .ii ba zi co=E2=80=99a pu=E2=80=99u mi kanr= o binxo vau .oi expresses fear that the painful process of becoming healt= hy is about to begin.The x2 is filled by a sequence of stages, which can = be made by interspacing the stages with the non-logical connective ce=E2=80= =99o: ze=E2=80=99u pu=E2=80=99u mi kanro binxo kei le nu mi facki ce=E2=80= =99o le nu mi jai tolsti ce=E2=80=99o mi ENDURE means =E2=80=9Csomething = is a long process of me becoming healthy consisting of the stages A) I fi= nd out B) something about me begins C) I endure.=E2=80=9D

Fina= lly, the semantics of zu=E2=80=99o treats the abstraction as consisting o= f reapeated actions: jibri mi fa lo zu=E2=80=99o mi zbasu lo karce =E2=80= =93 =E2=80=9CThe activity of me making cars is my job=E2=80=9D is accurat= e if, for instance, the speaker works at a car-producing factory. Here, h= er activity of producing cars consists of the repeated actions A) she low= ers frame 1 onto car 1 B) she welds frame 1 to car 1, C) repeat with car = 2. The x2 here is also a sequence.

Note the difference between= mu=E2=80=99e bajra, za=E2=80=99i bajra, pu=E2=80=99u bajra, zu=E2=80=99o= bajra and nu bajra. The point-like event of running puts emphasis on the= event happening, but nothing else. The state of running begins when the = runner begins and stops when the runner stops. The process of running con= sists of a warm-! up, keeping a steady speed, and the final sprint. The activity of runnin= g consists the cycles of lifting one foot, moving it forward, dropping it= down, repeat with the other foot. All of these are covered by the event = of running.

The abstractor du=E2=80=99u has nothing to do with= events and only considers the bridi inside the abstraction as a bridi:.ui sai zi facki le du=E2=80=99u zi citka lo cidjrpitsa =E2=80=93 =E2= =80=9CYes! I just found out that pizza will be eaten soon!=E2=80=9D. What= is being discovered is the truth of an abstract bridi, not an event. In = general, abstractions like truths, lies, things being discovered or belie= ved are all pure bridi, so du=E2=80=99u is appropriate.
du=E2=80=99= u x1 is the bridi of BRIDI expressed in sentence x2
For bridi to exi= st (or at least to have any relevance), they must be expressed in some me= dium, whether this is speech, thought or writing. The term =E2=80=9Cexpre= ssed=E2=80=9D is misleading if it is expressed only in the mind of someon= e but the term nonetheless applies. Specifying which medium the bridi is = expressed in is what the x2 of du=E2=80=99u is used for: .ui facki le du= =E2=80=99u jai cidjrpitsa kei zo=E2=80=99e pe le mi mamta =E2=80=93 =E2=80= =9CYay, discovered that something about pizza, expressed in something tha= t had to do with my mother!=E2=80=9D. The translation is clumsy, but prob= ably means that the speaker=E2=80=99s mother told him that pizza was comi= ng.

The next abstractor, si=E2=80=99o, is derived from the gis= mu sidbo meaning =E2=80=9Cidea=E2=80=9D. It=E2=80=99s relatively easy to = understand: le si=E2=80=99o mi mamta is the very idea that I am a mother.= Similarly, le si=E2=80=99o prami is =E2=80=9CThe concept that someone lo= ves someone=E2=80=9D, which can be translated as merely =E2=80=9CLove its= elf.=E2=80=9D All ideas need someone to reflect on them, and the second s= umti place of si=E2=80=99o mirrors this:
si=E2=80=99o x1 is an idea = of BRIDI as imagined by x2
le si=E2=80=99o nanmu kei be do cu xlali = vau pe=E2=80=99i =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CYour idea of manliness is harmful, I = think,=E2=80=9D

The abstractor jei is very different from thos= e covered so far, because of its place structure:
! jei x1 is the truth value of BRIDI under epistemology x2
The first = sumti place is not an abstracted bridi, but a verdict of truth, which lie= s between 0 (false) and 1 (truth) inclusive. These two numbers are used t= o represent falsehood or truth, not mathematical quantity, and therefore = cannot be used in mathematics. {le jei BRIDI} is not a number, but a trut= h verdict, which might be represented by a number or any other symbols.The x2 is often left vague.
.y li pi so=E2=80=99u jei go=E2=80=99= i kei tu=E2=80=99a mi =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CUuh, that=E2=80=99s not very tru= e, according to me.=E2=80=9D

Semantically close to jei is ni, = the amount abstraction.
ni x1 is the quantity of BRIDI as measured a= t scale x2
Unlike the x1 of jei, the x1 of ni is a number. It is us= ed to quantify whatever; some texts stress that those things which are no= t easily quantifiable like le ni mi tunba do, the amount of me being your= sibling, makes no sense. For others this is a perfectly reasonable thing= to say, even though actually quantifying it is not practical.
*********************************************************** The new page content follows below. *********************************************************** Lojban Wave Lessons Continued: by la klaku with help from la .kribacr., la xalbo and others, autumn 2011. Chapter zero: Foreword These lessons are an attempt to expand on the Google Wave Lessons, an exc= ellent Lojban tutorial by kribacr, xalbo, and others, which sadly only co= vered the first four chapters in this tutorial. It implements the newest = rules of Lojban not covered by older materials such as What is Lojban? an= d Lojban for Beginners. If you are new to Lojban, I recommend listening to any recordings you can= find of spoken Lojban both before and while you are taking this tutorial= , in order to make yourself familiar with the sounds and words of the lan= guage, which will not be explained here. Furthermore, try to say the thin= gs you read in Lojban accent if it=E2=80=99s reasonably practical. This c= an help your pronunciation a lot. When taking this tutorial, it=E2=80=99s best to pause between lessons in = order to internalize what you have learnt. I have attempted to build thes= e lessons from the bottom up and exclude any words or concepts that have = not been explained in previous lessons. Once explained, they are used fre= ely throughout the remainder of the tutorial. I urge readers not to pass = any misunderstood content; if you have questions or are uncertain about s= omething, feel free to ask the Lojban community, which can be found in #l= ojban on the Freenode IRC network. They will be happy to help. In this tutorial, Lojban text is written in courier new font and sometime= s encased in {curly brackets}. Answers to exercises are colored light gre= y. Tilt your screen or copy the text into some other medium, an address b= ar or text editor in order to see it. Lastly, I have as far as possible attempted to use the Lojban words for g= rammatical constructs: sumka=E2=80=99i instead of pro-sumti, sumtcita ins= tead of modal and jufra instead of utterance. This is because I feel the = English words are often either arbitrary, in which case they are just mor= e words to learn, or misleading, in which case they are worse than useles= s. In either case, as long as the words are specific to those who are lea= rning Lojban anyway, there is no reason for them to exist as separate Eng= lish words. Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 lesson one (bridi, jufra, sumti and selbri) A bridi is the most central unit of Lojban utterances. The concept is ver= y close to what we call a proposition in English. A bridi is a claim that= some objects stand in a relation to each other, or that an object has so= me property. This stands in contrast to jufra, which are merely Lojban ut= terances, which can be bridi or anything else being said. The difference = between a bridi and a jufra is that a jufra does not necessarily state an= ything, while a bridi does. Thus, a bridi might be true or false, while n= ot all jufra can be said to be such. To have some examples (in English, to begin with), =E2=80=9CMozart was th= e greatest musician of all time=E2=80=9D is a bridi, because it makes a c= laim with a truth value, and it involves an object, Mozart, and a propert= y, being the greatest musician of all time. On the contrary, =E2=80=9COw!= My toe!=E2=80=9D is not a bridi, since it does not involve a relation, a= nd thus does not state anything. Both, though, are jufra. Try to identify the bridi among these English jufra: a) =E2=80=9CI hate it when you do that.=E2=80=9D b) =E2=80=9CRuns.=E2=80=9D c) =E2=80=9CWoah, that looks delicious!=E2=80=9D d) =E2=80=9CGeez, not again.=E2=80=9D e) =E2=80=9CNo, I own three cars=E2=80=9D f) =E2=80=9CNineteen minutes past eight.=E2=80=9D g) =E2=80=9CThis Saturday, yes.=E2=80=9D Answer: a, c and e are bridi. b contains no objects and the rest contain = no relation or claim of a property. Put in Lojban terms, a bridi consists of one selbri, and one or more sumt= i. The selbri is the relation or claim about the object, and the sumti ar= e the objects which are in a relation. Note that =E2=80=9Cobject=E2=80=9D= is not a perfect translation of =E2=80=9Csumti=E2=80=9D, since =E2=80=9C= sumti=E2=80=9D can refer to not just physical objects, but can also purel= y abstract things like =E2=80=9CThe idea of warfare=E2=80=9D. A better tr= anslation would be something like =E2=80=9Csubject, direct or indirect ob= ject=E2=80=9D for sumti, and =E2=80=9Cverb=E2=80=9D for selbri, though, a= s we will see, this is not optimal either. We can now write the first important lesson down: bridi =3D selbri + one or more sumti Put another way, a bridi states that some sumti do/are something explaine= d by a selbri. Identify the sumti and selbri equivalents in these jufra: =E2=80=9CI will pick up my daughters with my car=E2=80=9D Answer: selbri: =E2=80=9Cpick up (with)=E2=80=9D. sumti: =E2=80=9CI=E2=80= =9D, =E2=80=9Cmy daughters=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cmy car=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CHe bought sixteen new shirts from Lea&Levy=E2=80=99s for just tw= o hundred euro!=E2=80=9D Answer: selbri: =E2=80=9Cbought (from) (for)=E2=80=9D sumti: =E2=80=9CHe=E2= =80=9D, =E2=80=9Csixteen new shirts=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CLea&Lewis=E2=80=9D= and =E2=80=9Ctwo hundred euros=E2=80=9D Since these concepts are so fundamental to Lojban, let=E2=80=99s have a t= hird example: =E2=80=9CSo far, the EPA have done nothing about the amount= of sulphur dioxide in the air.=E2=80=9D Answer: selbri: =E2=80=9Chave done (about)=E2=80=9D sumti: =E2=80=9CThe E= PA=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cnothing=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cthe amount of sulphor= dioxide in the air=E2=80=9D Now try begin making Lojban bridi. For this you will need to use some wor= d, which can act as selbri: dunda x1 gives x2 to x3 (without payment) pelxu x1 is yellow zdani x1 is a home of x2 Notice that these words meaning =E2=80=9Cgive=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cyellow=E2= =80=9D and =E2=80=9Chome=E2=80=9D would be considered a verb, an adjectiv= e and a noun in English. In Lojban, there are no such categories and no s= uch distinction. dunda can be translated =E2=80=9Cgives=E2=80=9D (verb), = =E2=80=9Cis a giver=E2=80=9D (noun), =E2=80=9Cis giving=E2=80=9D (adjecti= ve) as well as to an adverb form. They all act as selbri, and are used in= the same way. As well as a few words, which can act as sumti: mi =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 the one or those= who are speaking. ti =E2=80=9Cthis=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 a close thing or event nearby which c= an be pointed to by the speaker. do =E2=80=9Cyou=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 the one or those who are being spoken = to. See the strange translations of the selbri above - especially the x1, x2 = and x3? Those are called sumti places. They are places where sumti can go= to fill a bridi. Filling a sumti in a place states that the sumti fits i= n that place. The second place of dunda, for example, x2, is the thing be= ing given. The third is the object which receives the thing. Notice also = that the translation of dunda has the word =E2=80=9Cto=E2=80=9D in it. Th= is is because, while this word is needed in English to signify the receiv= er, the receiver is in the third sumti place of dunda. So when you fill t= he third sumti place of dunda, the sumti you fill in is always the receiv= er, and you don=E2=80=99t need an equivalent to the word =E2=80=9Cto=E2=80= =9D! To say a bridi, you simply say the x1 sumti first, then the selbri, then = any other sumti. Usual bridi: [x1 sumti] [selbri] [x2 sumti] [x3 sumti] [x4 sumti] [x5 sum= ti] [and so on] The order can be played around with, but for now, we stick with the usual= form. To say =E2=80=9CI give this to you=E2=80=9D you just say mi dunda = ti do, with the three sumti at the right places. So, how would you say =E2=80=9CThis is a home of me=E2=80=9D? Answer: ti zdani mi Try a few more in order to get the idea of a place structure sink in. =E2=80=9CYou give this to me=E2=80=9D? Answer: do dunda ti mi And translate ti pelxu Answer: =E2=80=9CThis is yellow.=E2=80=9D Quite easy once you get the hang of it, right? Multiple bridi after each other are separated by .i This is the Lojban eq= uivalent of full stop, but it usually goes before bridi instead of after = them. It=E2=80=99s often left out before the first bridi, though, as in a= ll these examples: ti zdani mi .i ti pelxu =E2=80=9DThis is a home to me. This is yellow.=E2= =80=9D Before you move on to the next lesson, I recommend that you take a break = for at least seven minutes to let the information sink in. Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 lesson two (FA and zo=E2=80=99e) Most selbri have from one to five sumti places, but some have more. Here = is a selbri with four sumti places: vecnu x1 sells x2 to x3 for price x4 If I want to say =E2=80=9CI sell this=E2=80=9D, it would be undesirable t= o fill the sumti places x3 and x4, which specify who I sell the thing to,= and for what price. Luckily, I don=E2=80=99t need to. sumti places can b= e filled with zo=E2=80=99e. zo=E2=80=99e indicates to us that the value o= f the sumti place is unspecified because it=E2=80=99s unimportant or can = be determined from context. zo=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9Csomething=E2=80=9D Fills a sumti place with somethi= ng, but does not state what. So to say =E2=80=9CI sell to you=E2=80=9D, I could say mi vecnu zo=E2=80=99= e do zo=E2=80=99e =E2=80=93 I sell something to you for some price. How would you say: =E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s a home (for somebody)=E2=80=9D= ? Answer: ti zdani zo=E2=80=99e How about =E2=80=9C(someone) gives this to (someone)=E2=80=9D? Answer: zo=E2=80=99e dunda ti zo=E2=80=99e Still, filling out three zo=E2=80=99e just to say that a thing is being s= old takes time. Therefore you don=E2=80=99t need to write all the zo=E2=80= =99e in a bridi. The rule simply is that if you leave out any sumti, they= will be considered as if they contained zo=E2=80=99e. If the bridi begin= s with a selbri, the x1 is presumed to be omitted and the x1 becomes zo=E2= =80=99e. Try it out. What=E2=80=99s Lojban for =E2=80=9CI sell=E2=80=9D? Answer: mi vecnu And what does zdani mi mean? Answer: =E2=80=9CSomething is a home of me=E2=80=9D or just =E2=80=9CI ha= ve a home.=E2=80=9D As mentioned earlier, the form doesn=E2=80=99t have to be [x1 sumti] [sel= bri] [x2 sumti] [x3 sumti] (ect.) In fact, you can place the selbri anywh= ere you want, just not at the beginning of the bridi. If you do that, the= x1 is considered left out and filled with zo=E2=80=99e instead. So the f= ollowing three jufra are all the exactly same bridi: mi dunda ti do mi ti dunda do mi ti do dunda Sometimes this is used for poetic effect. =E2=80=9CYou sell yourself=E2=80= =9D could be do do vecnu, which sounds better than do vecnu do. Or it can= be used for clarity if the selbri is very long and therefore better be l= eft at the end of the bridi. There are also several ways to play around with the order of the sumti in= side the bridi. The most easy one is by using the words fa, fe, fi, fo an= d fu. Notice that the vowels are the five vowels in the Lojban alphabet i= n order. Using one of these words marks that the next sumti will fill the= x1, x2, x3, x4 and x5 respectively. The next sumti after that will be pr= esumed to fill a slot one greater than the previous. To use an example: dunda fa do fe ti do =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CGiving by you of this thing to yo= u=E2=80=9D. fa marks the x1, the giver, which is you. fe marks the thing = being given, the x2. Sumti counting then continues from fe, meaning that = the last sumti fills x3, the object receiving. Attempt to translate the following three sentences: mi vecnu fo ti fe do Answer: =E2=80=9DI sell, for the price of this, you=E2=80=9D. or =E2=80=9C= I sell you for the price of this=E2=80=9D (probably pointing to a bunch o= f money) zdani fe ti Answer: =E2=80=9CThis has a home=E2=80=9D. Here, the fe is redundant. vecnu zo=E2=80=99e mi ti fa do Answer: =E2=80=9CYou sell something to me for this price=E2=80=9D Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 lesson three (tanru and lo) In this chapter, you will become familiar with the concept of tanru. A ta= nru is formed when a brivla is put in front of another brivla, modifying = it=E2=80=99s meaning. A tanru is itself a selbri, and can combine with ot= her brivla or tanru to form more complex tanru. Thus zdani vecnu is a tan= ru, as well as pelxu zdani vecnu, which is made from the tanru pelxu zda= ni and the single brivla word vecnu. To understand the concept of tanru, = consider the English noun combination =E2=80=9Clemon tree=E2=80=9D. If yo= u didn=E2=80=99t know what a lemon tree was, but had heard about both lem= ons and trees, you would not be able to deduce what a lemon tree was. Per= haps a lemon-colored tree, or a tree shaped like a lemon, or a tree whose= bark tastes like lemon. The only things you could know for sure would be= that it would be a tree, and it would be lemon-like in some way. A tanru is closely analogous to this. It cannot be said exactly what a zd= ani vecnu is, but it can be said that it is definitely a vecnu, and that = it=E2=80=99s zdani-like in some way. And it could be zdani-like in any wa= y. In theory, no matter how silly or absurd the connection to zdani was, = it could still truly be a zdani vecnu. However, it must actually be a vec= nu in the ordinary sense in order for the tanru to apply. You could gloss= zdani vecnu as =E2=80=9Chouse seller=E2=80=9D, or even better but worse = sounding =E2=80=9Ca home-type-of seller=E2=80=9D. The place structure of = a tanru is always that of the rightmost selbri. It=E2=80=99s also said th= at the left selbri modifies the right selbri. =E2=80=9CReally?=E2=80=9D, you ask, sceptically, =E2=80=9CIt doesn=E2=80=99= t matter how silly the connection to the left word in a tanru is, it=E2=80= =99s still true? So I could call all sellers for zdani vecnu and then mak= e up some silly excuse why I think it=E2=80=99s zdani-like?=E2=80=9D Well yes, but then you=E2=80=99d be a dick. Or at least you=E2=80=99d be = intentionally misleading. In general, you should use a tanru when it=E2=80= =99s obvious how the left word relates to the right. Attempt to translate the following: ti pelxu zdani do Answer: =E2=80=9CThat is a yellow home for you=E2=80=9D Again, we don=E2=80= =99t know in which way it=E2=80=99s yellow. Probably it=E2=80=99s painted= yellow, but we don=E2=80=99t know for sure. mi vecnu dunda Answer: =E2=80=9CI sell-like give=E2=80=9D. What can that mean? No idea. = It certainly doesn=E2=80=99t mean that you sold something, since, by defi= nition of dunda, there can be no payment involved. It has to be a giveawa= y, but be sell-like in some aspect. =E2=80=A6 And now for something completely different. What if I wanted to= say I sold to a German? dotco x1 is German/reflects German culture in aspect x2 I can=E2=80=99t say mi vecnu zo=E2=80=99e dotco because that would leave = two selbri in a bridi, which is not permitted. I could say mi dotco vecnu= but that would be unnecessary vague - I could sell in a German way.. Lik= ewise, if I want to say =E2=80=9CI am friends with an American=E2=80=9D, = what should I say? pendo =E2=80=93 1x is a friend of x2 merko =E2=80=93 x1 is American/reflect US culture in aspect x2 Again, the obvious would be to say mi pendo merko, but that would for a t= anru, meaning =E2=80=9CI am friend-like American=E2=80=9D, which is wrong= . What we really want to is to take the selbri merko and transform it int= o a sumti so it can be used in the selbri pendo. This is done by the two = words lo and ku. lo =E2=80=93 generic begin convert selbri to sumti word. Extracts x1 of s= elbri to use as sumti. ku =E2=80=93 end convert selbri to sumti process. You simply place a selbri between these two words, and it takes anything = that can fill the x1 of that selbri and turns it into a sumti. So for instance, the things that can fill zdani=E2=80=98s x1are only thin= gs which are homes of somebody. So lo zdani ku means =E2=80=9Ca or some h= omes for somebody.=E2=80=9D Similarly, if I say that something is pelxu, = it means it=E2=80=99s yellow. So lo pelxu ku refers to something yellow. Now you got the necessary grammar to be able to say =E2=80=9CI am friends= with an American.=E2=80=9D How? Answer: mi pendo lo merko ku There is a good reason why the ku is necessary. Try to translate =E2=80=9C= A German sells this to me=E2=80=9D Answer: lo dotco ku vecnu ti mi If you leave out the ku, you do not get a= bridi, but simply three sumti. Since lo=E2=80=A6ku cannot convert bridi,= the ti is forced outside the sumti, the lo-construct is forced to close = and it simply becomes the three sumti of lo dotco vecnu [ku], ti and mi. You always have to be careful with jufra like lo zdani ku pelxu. If the k= u is left out the conversion process does not end, and it simply becomes = one sumti, made from the tanru zdani pelxu and then converted with lo. Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 lesson four (attitudinals) Another concept which can be unfamiliar to English speaker is that of att= itudinals, which are words which express emotions directly. The idea of = attitudinals originated in the feminist constructed language L=C3=A1adan,= supposedly to enable true female emotions. The idea was that female emot= ional expression was hindered by male dominated language. In Lojban, there is no such agenda, and attitudinals most probably have b= een designed into the language because they turned out to be incredibly a= wesome and useful. They all have a so-called free grammar, which means th= at they can appear almost anywhere within bridi without disrupting the br= idi=E2=80=99s grammar or any grammatical constructs. In Lojban grammar, an attitudinal applies to the previous word. If that p= revious word is a word which begins a construct (like .i or lo), it appli= es to the entire construct. Likewise, if the attitudinal follows a word w= hich ends a construct like ku, it applies to the ended construct. Let=E2=80=99s have two attitudinals to make some examples: .ui: attitudinal: simple pure emotion: happiness - unhappiness za=E2=80=99a: attitudinal: evidential: I directly observe Note that in the definition of .ui, there are listed two emotions, happin= ess and unhappiness. This means that .ui is defined as happiness, while i= ts =E2=80=9Cnegation=E2=80=9D, means unhappiness. =E2=80=9CNegation=E2=80= =9D might be the wrong word here. Technically, the other definition of .u= i is another construct, .ui nai. Most of the time, the second definition = of attitudinals - the ones suffixed with nai - really is the negation of = the bare attitudinal. Other times, not so much. And some more selbri, just for the heck of it: citka =E2=80=93 x1 eats x2 plise =E2=80=93 x1 is an apple of strain/type x2 The sentence do citka lo plise ku .ui, means =E2=80=9CYou eat an apple, y= ay!=E2=80=9D (expressing especially that it is the apple that the speaker= is happy about, not the eating, or the fact that it was you.) In the sen= tence do za=E2=80=99a citka lo plise ku, the speaker directly observes th= at it is indeed =E2=80=9Cyou=E2=80=9D, who eats an apple as opposed to so= meone else. If an attitudinal is placed at the beginning of the bridi, it is understo= od to apply to an explicit or implicit .i, thus applying to the entire br= idi: .ui za=E2=80=99a do dunda lo plise ku mi =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CYay, I observ= e that you give an/some apple to me!=E2=80=9D mi vecnu .ui nai lo zdani =E2=80=9CI sell (which sucks!) a house=E2=80=9D. Try it out with a few examples. First, though, here are some more attitud= inals: .u=E2=80=99u attitudinal: simple pure emotion: guilt - remorselessness - = innocence. .oi attitudinal: complex pure emotion: pain - complacency - comfort. .iu attitudinal: miscellaneous pure emotion: love - hate. Look at that, two words with three emotions in the definition! The middle= one is accessed by suffixinng with cu=E2=80=99i. It=E2=80=99s considered= the midpoint of the emotion. Try saying =E2=80=9CI give something to a German, who I love=E2=80=9D Answer: mi dunda fi lo dotco ku .iu or zo=E2=80=99e instead of fi Now =E2=80=9CAah, I eat a yellow apple=E2=80=9D Answer: .oi nai mi citka lo pelxu plise ku Let=E2=80=99s have another attitudinal of a different kind to illustrate = something peculiar: .ei Attitudinal: complex propositional emotion: obligation - freedom. So, quite easy: =E2=80=9CI have to give the apple away=E2=80=9D is mi dun= da .ei lo plise ku, right? It is, actually! When you think about it, that= =E2=80=99s weird. Why is it that all the other attitudinals we have seen = so far expresses the speakers feeling about the bridi, but this one actua= lly changes what the bridi means? Surely, by saying =E2=80=9CI have to gi= ve the apple away=E2=80=9D, we say nothing about whether the apple actual= ly is being given away. If I had used .ui, however, I would actually have= stated that I gave the apple away, and that I was happy about it. What=E2= =80=99s that all about? This issue, exactly how attitudinals change the conditions on which a bri= di is true, is a subject of a minor debate. The official, =E2=80=9Ctextbo= ok=E2=80=9D rules, which probably won=E2=80=99t be changed, is that there= is a distinction between =E2=80=9Cpure emotions=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cpr= opositional emotions=E2=80=9D. Only propostional emotions can change the = truth conditions, while pure emotions cannot. In order to express a propo= sitional emotional attitudinal without changing the truth value of the br= idi, you can just separate it fro the bridi with .i. There is also a word= for explicitly conserving or changing the truth conditions of a bridi: da=E2=80=99i attitudinal: discursive: supposing - in fact Saying da=E2=80=99i in a bridi changes the truth conditions. Saying da=E2= =80=99i nai preserves it, even with a propositional emotional attitudinal. So, what=E2=80=99s two ways of saying =E2=80=9CI give the apple away, to = which I feel obligation=E2=80=9D? Answer: mi dunda lo plise .i .ei and mi dunda da=E2=80=99i nai .ei lo pl= ise The feeling of an attitudinal can be subscribed to someone else using dai= . Usually in ordinary speech, the attitudinal is subscribed to the listen= er, but it doesn=E2=80=99t have to be so. Also, because the word is gloss= ed =E2=80=9Cempathy=E2=80=9D (feeling others emotions), some Lojbanists m= istakenly think that the listener must share the emotion being subscribed= to others. Example: u=E2=80=99i .oi dai citka ti - =E2=80=9CHa ha, this was eaten! T= hat must have hurt!=E2=80=9D What often used phrase could .oi u=E2=80=99i dai mean? Answer: =E2=80=9COuch, very funny.=E2=80=9D And another one to test your knowledge: Try to translate =E2=80=9CHe was = sorry he sold a house=E2=80=9D (remembering, that tense is implied and ne= ed not be specified. Also, =E2=80=9Che=E2=80=9D could be obvious from con= text) Answer: u=E2=80=99u dai vecnu lo zdani ku Lastly, the intensity of an attitudinal can be specified using certain wo= rds. These can be used after an attitudinal, or an attitudinal with nai o= r cu=E2=80=99i suffixed. It=E2=80=99s less clear what happens when you at= tach it to other words, like a selbri, must it=E2=80=99s mostly understoo= d as intensifying or weakening the selbri in some unspecified way: modifying word intensity cai extreme/maximal sai strong (none) unspecified (usually medium) ru=E2=80=99e weak What emotion is expressed using .u=E2=80=99i nai sai ? Answer: Strong weariness And how would you express that you are mildly remorseless? Answer: .u=E2=80=99u cu=E2=80=99i ru=E2=80=99e Lojban lessons =E2=80=93 lesson five (SE) Before we venture into the territory of more complex constructs, you shou= ld learn another mechanism for reordering the sumti of a selbri. This, as= we will show, is very useful for making description-like sumti (the kind= of sumti with lo). Consider the sentence =E2=80=9CI eat a gift=E2=80=9D, which might be appr= opriate if that gift is an apple. To translate this, it would seem natura= l to look up a selbri meaning =E2=80=9Cgift=E2=80=9D before continuing. H= owever, if one looks carefully at the definition of dunda, x1 gives x2 to= x3, one realizes that the x2 of dunda is something given =E2=80=93 a gif= t. So, to express that sentence, we can=E2=80=99t say mi citka lo dunda ku, = because lo dunda ku would be the x1 of dunda, which is a donor of a gift.= Cannibalism aside, we don=E2=80=99t want to say that. What we want is a = way to extract the x2 of a selbri. This is one example where it is useful to use the word se. What se does i= s to modify a selbri such that the x1 and x2 of that selbri trade places.= The construct of se + selbri is on its own considered one selbri. Let=E2= =80=99s try with an ordinary sentence: fanva =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 translates x2 to language x3 from language x4 with = result of translation x5=E2=80=9D ti se fanva mi =3D mi fanva ti This is translated by me (=3D I translate this). Often, but not always, b= ridi with se-constructs are translated to sentences with the passive voic= e, since the x1 is often the object taking action. se has its own family of words. All of them swap a different place with t= he x1. se swap x1 and x2 te swap x1 and x3 ve swap x1 and x4 xe swap x1 and x5 Note that s, t, v, and x are consecutive consonants in the lojban alphabe= t. So: Using this knowledge, what would ti xe fanva ti mean? Answer: =E2=80=9CThis is a translation of this=E2=80=9D (or fanva ti fu t= i) se and its family can of course be combined with fa and its family. The r= esult can be very confusing indeed, if you wish to make it so: klama =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 travels/goes to x2 from x3 via x4 using x5 as trans= portation device=E2=80=9D fu lo zdani ku te klama fe do ti fa mi. =3D mi te klama do ti lo zdani ku= and since te exchanges x1 and x3: =3D ti klama do mi lo zdani ku =E2=80=9CThis travels to you from me via a home.=E2=80=9D Of course, no o= ne would make such a sentence except to confuse people, or cruelly to tes= t their understanding of Lojban grammar. And thus, we have come to the point where we can say =E2=80=9CI eat a gif= t.=E2=80=9D. Simply exchange the sumti places of dunda to get the gift to= be x1, then extract this new x1 with lo...ku. So, how would you say it? One (possible) answer: mi citka lo se dunda ku This shows one of the many uses for se and its family. Lojban lessons =E2=80=93 lesson six (NU) So far we have only expressed single sentences one at a time. To express = more complex things, however, you often need subordinate sentences. Lucki= ly, these are much easier in Lojban than what one would expect. We can begin with an example to demonstrate this: =E2=80=9CI am happy tha= t you are my friend.=E2=80=9D Here, the main bridi is =E2=80=9CI am happy= that X.=E2=80=9D, and the sub-bridi is =E2=80=9CYou are my friend.=E2=80= =9D Looking at the definition for =E2=80=9Chappy=E2=80=9D, which is gleki= : gleki =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 is happy about x2 (event/state)=E2=80=9D One sees that the x2 needs to be an event or a state. This is natural, be= cause one cannot be happy about an object in itself, only about some stat= e the object is in. But alas! Only bridi can express a state or an event,= and only sumti can fill the x2 of gleki!. As you might have guessed, there is a solution. The words su=E2=80=99u...= kei is a generic =E2=80=9Cconvert bridi to selbri=E2=80=9D function, and = works just like lo=E2=80=A6ku. Example: mrobi=E2=80=99o =E2=80=9Cx1 dies under condition x2=E2=80=9D mi su=E2=80=99u do mrobi=E2=80=99o kei =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI am your death= =E2=80=9D. It=E2=80=99s hard to find good uses of a bridi as a selbri, and the above= example seems a little unconvincing. However, since su=E2=80=99u BRIDI k= ei is a selbri, one can convert it to a sumti using lo...ku. Now we have the equipment to express =E2=80=9CI am happy that you are my = friend=E2=80=9D. Try it out! pendo =E2=80=9Cx1 is a friend of x2=E2=80=9D Answer: mi gleki lo su=E2=80=99u do pendo mi kei ku However, su=E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6kei does not see much use. People prefer to= use the more specific words nu=E2=80=A6kei and du=E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6kei.= They work the same way, but mean something different. nu=E2=80=A6kei tre= ats the bridi in between as an event or state, and du=E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6k= ei treats it as an abstract bridi, for expressing things like ideas, thou= ghts or truths. All these words (except kei) are called abstractors. Ther= e are many of them, and only few are used much. su=E2=80=99u=E2=80=A6kei = is a general abstractor, and will work in all cases. Use nu to say =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m happy about talking to you.=E2=80=9D tavla x1 talks to x2 about subject x3 in language x4. Answer: mi gleki lo nu tavla do (notice both the English and the Lojban i= s vague as to who is doing the talking). Other important abstractors include: ka...kei (property abstraction), si=E2= =80=99o...kei (concept/idea abstraction), ni...kei (quantity abstraction)= among others. It is important to notice that some abstractors have several sumti places= . As an example, du=E2=80=99u can be mentioned. du=E2=80=99u is defined: du=E2=80=99u =3D =E2=80=9Cabstractor. x1 is the predicate/bridi of [bridi= ] expressed in sentence x2=E2=80=9D. The other sumti places besides x1 is rarely used, but lo se du=E2=80=99u = BRIDI kei ku is sometimes used as a sumti for indirect quotation: =E2=80=9C= I said that I was given a dog=E2=80=9D can be written mi cusku lo se du=E2= =80=99u mi te dunda lo gerku ku kei ku, if you will pardon the weird exam= ple. cusku x1 expresses x2 to x3 through medium x4 Lojban lessons =E2=80=93 lesson seven (NOI) While we=E2=80=99re at it, there=E2=80=99s another type of subordinate br= idi. These are called relative clauses. They are sentences which add some= description to a sumti. Indeed, the =E2=80=9Cwhich=E2=80=9D in the previ= ous sentence marked the beginning of a relative clause in English describ= ing relative clauses. In Lojban, they come in two flavors, and it might b= e worth distinguishing the two kinds before learning how to express them. The two kinds are called restrictive and non-restrictive (or incidential)= relative clauses. An example would be good here: =E2=80=9CMy brother, who is two meters tall, is a politician.=E2=80=9D Th= is can be understood in two ways. I could have several brothers, in which= case saying he is two meters tall will let you know which brother I am t= alking about. Or I might have only one brother, in which case I am simply= giving you additional information. In English as well as Lojban we distinguish between these two kinds =E2=80= =93 the first interpretation is restrictive (since it helps restrict the = possible brothers I might be talking about), the second non-restrictive. = When speaking English, context and tone of voice (or in written English, = punctuation) helps us distinguish between these two, but not so in Lojban= . Lojban use the constructs poi=E2=80=A6ku=E2=80=99o and noi=E2=80=A6ku=E2= =80=99o for restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses, respectivel= y. Let=E2=80=99s have a Lojbanic example, which can also explain our strange= gift-eating behaviour in the example in chapter 5: mi citka lo se dunda ku poi plise ku=E2=80=99o =3D =E2=80=9CI eat a gift = such that (something is) an apple=E2=80=9D. Here the poi=E2=80=A6ku=E2=80= =99o is placed just after lo se dunda ku, so it applies to the gift. To b= e strict, the relative clause does not specify what is an apple, but sinc= e the relative clause applies to the gift, we can safely assume that is m= eans the gift is an apple. After all, in the context of chapter 5, this s= eems reasonable. If we want to be absolutely sure that it indeed was the = gift that was an apple, we use the word ke=E2=80=99a, which is a pro-sumt= i (a Lojban pronoun) representing the sumti which the relative clause is = attached to. .ui mi citka lo se dunda ku poi ke=E2=80=99a plise ku=E2=80=99o =3D =E2=80= =9CYay, I eat a gift, which is an apple=E2=80=9D. To underline the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive relat= ive clauses, here=E2=80=99s another example: lojbo =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 reflects Lojbanic culture/community is aspect x2; x= 1 is Lojbanic.=E2=80=9D mi noi lojbo ku=E2=80=99o fanva fo lo lojbo ku =3D =E2=80=9CI, who am a L= ojbanic, translate from some Lojbanic language.=E2=80=9D Here, there is n= ot multiple things which mi could refer to, and the fact that I am lojban= ic is merely additional information not needed to identify me. Therefore = noi=E2=80=A6ku=E2=80=99o is appropriate. See if you can translate this: =E2=80=9CI flirt with a man who is beautif= ul/handsome=E2=80=9D. nanmu =E2=80=9Cx1 is a man=E2=80=9D melbi =E2=80=9Cx1 is beautiful to x2 in aspect (ka) x3 by standard x4=E2=80= =9D cinjikca =E2=80=9Cx1 flirts/courts x2, exhibiting sexuality x3 by standar= d x4=E2=80=9D Answer: mi cinjikca lo nanmu ku poi (ke=E2=80=99a) melbi ku=E2=80=99o On a more technical side note, it might be useful to know that lo SELBRI = ku is officially defined as zo=E2=80=99e noi ke=E2=80=99a SELBRI ku=E2=80= =99o. Lojban Lessons =E2=80=93 Lesson eight (terminator elision) .au da=E2=80=99i mi djica lo nu le merko poi tunba mi vau ku'o ku jimpe l= o du'u mi na nelci lo nu vo=E2=80=99a darxi mi vau kei ku vau kei ku vau = kei ku vau - =E2=80=9CI wish the American, who is my sibling, would understand tha= t I don=E2=80=99t like that he hits me.=E2=80=9D Regardless of whether the above sentence is being understood, (it shouldn= =E2=80=99t, as it contains words we have not covered in these lessons yet= ) one thing stands out: As more complex Lojban structures are learned, mo= re and more of the sentences get filled with ku, kei, ku=E2=80=99o and ot= her of those words which by themselves carry no meaning. The function of all these words are to signal the end of a certain gramma= tical construct, like for instance =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80= =9D in the case of lo=E2=80=A6ku. The English word for this kind of word = is =E2=80=9Cterminator=E2=80=9D, the Lojban word is fa=E2=80=99orma=E2=80= =99o. They are colored grey in the example above. Note: The vau in the above example are the terminator for =E2=80=9Cend br= idi=E2=80=9D. There is a good reason you have not yet seen it, stay tuned. In most spoken and written Lojban, most terminators are skipped (elided).= This greatly saves syllables in speech and space in writing, however, on= e must always be careful when eliding terminators. In the simple example = lo merko ku klama, removing the terminator ku would yield lo merko klama,= which is a single sumti made from the tanru merko klama. Thus, it means = =E2=80=9Can American traveler=E2=80=9D instead of =E2=80=9Can American tr= avels=E2=80=9D. Terminator elision can lead to very wrong results if done= incorrectly, which is why you haven=E2=80=99t learned about it until now. The rule for when terminators can be elided is very simple, at least in t= heory: =E2=80=9CYou can elide a terminator, if and only if doing so does = not change the grammatical constructs in the sentence.=E2=80=9D Most terminators can be safely elided at the end of the bridi. Exceptions= are the obvious ones like =E2=80=9Cend quote=E2=80=9D-terminators and =E2= =80=9Cend bridi grouping=E2=80=9D-terminators. This is why vau is almost = never used =E2=80=93 simply beginning a new bridi with .i will always ter= minate the preceding bridi anyway. It has one frequent use, however. Sinc= e attitudinals always apply to the preceding word, applying it to a termi= nator applies it to the entire construct which is terminated. Using vau, = one can then use attitudinals afterthought and apply them to the entire b= ridi: za=E2=80=99a do dunda lo zdani lo prenu... vau i=E2=80=99e - =E2=80=9CI s= ee that you give a home to a person... I approve!=E2=80=9D prenu x1 is a person; x1 has a personality. Knowing the basic rules for terminator elision, we can thus return to the= original sentence and begin removing terminators: .au da=E2=80=99i mi djica lo nu le merko poi tunba mi vau ku'o ku jimpe l= o du'u mi na nelci lo nu vo=E2=80=99a darxi mi vau kei ku vau kei ku vau = kei ku vau Removing the first three terminators will leave both tunba and jimpe as s= elbri inside the relative clause. Since this is not grammatical (only one= bridi can be in a relative clause, and only one selbri in one bridi), el= iding them will still leave jimpe outside the relative clause. Nor can it= make a tanru with merko, since that word already had a relative clause a= ttached to it, which only sumti can have. That means we can deduce that r= emoving those three are safe. Furthermore, all the terminators at the ver= y end can be elided too, since beginning a new bridi will terminate all o= f these constructs anyway. We then end up with: .au da=E2=80=99i mi djica lo nu le merko poi tunba mi jimpe lo du'u mi na= nelci lo nu vo=E2=80=99a darxi mi =E2=80=93 with no terminators at all! When eliding terminators, it is a good idea to be acquainted with cu. cu = is one of those words which can make your (Lojbanic) life a lot easier. W= hat it does is to separate any previous sumti from the selbri. One could = say that it defines the next word to be a selbri, and terminates exactly = as much as it needs to in order to do that. prami =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 loves x2=E2=80=9D lo su=E2=80=99u do cusku lo se du=E2=80=99u do prami mi vau kei ku vau ke= i ku se djica mi =3D lo su=E2=80=99u do cusku lo se du=E2=80=99u do prami mi cu se djica mi =E2=80=9CThat you say that you love me is desired by be=E2=80=9D or =E2=80= =9CI wish you said you loved me=E2=80=9D note: cu is not a terminator, because it is not tied to one specific cons= truct. But it can be used to elide other terminators. One of the greatest strengths of cu is that it quickly becomes easy to in= tuitively understand. By itself it means nothing, but it reveals the stru= cture of Lojban expressions by identifying the core selbri. In the origin= al example with the violent American brother, using cu before jimpe does = not change the meaning of the sentence in any way, but might make it easi= er to read. In the following couple of chapters, cu will be used when necessary, and = all terminators elided if possible. The elided terminators will be encase= d in square brackets, as shown below. Try to translate it! du =E2=80=9Cx1 equals/is the same as x2, x3, x4, x5, x6 (and so on)=E2=80= =9D vajni =E2=80=9Cx1 is important to x2 for reason x3=E2=80=9D jimpe =E2=80=9Cx1 understands that x2 (du=E2=80=99u-abstraction) is true = about x3=E2=80=9D a=E2=80=99o - Attitudinal: Hope - despair a=E2=80=99o do noi ke=E2=80=99a lojbo .i=E2=80=99e [ku=E2=80=99o] [ku] cu= jimpe lo du=E2=80=99u lo fa=E2=80=99orma=E2=80=99o [ku] cu vajni [vau] [= kei] [ku] [vau] What do I state? Answer: =E2=80=9CI hope that you, a proud Lojbanist, understands that ter= minators are important=E2=80=9D Fun side note: Most people well-versed in terminator elision do it so ins= tinctively that they often must be reminded how important understanding t= erminators are to the understanding of Lojban. Therefore, each Tuesday ha= ve been designated =E2=80=9CTerminator Day=E2=80=9D or fa=E2=80=99orma=E2= =80=99o djedi on the Lojban IRC chatroom. During Terminator Day, many peo= ple try (and often fail) to remember writing out all terminators with som= e very verbose conversations as a result. Lojban Lessons - Lesson nine (sumtcita) So far we have been doing pretty good with the selbri we have had at hand= . However, there is a finite amount of selbri out there, and in many case= s the sumti places are not useful for what we had in mind. What if, say, = i want to say that I am translating using a computer? There is no place i= n the structure of fanva to specify what tool I translate with, since mos= t of the time, that is not necessary. Not to worry, this chapter is on ho= w to add additional sumti places to the selbri. The most basic way to add sumti places are with fi=E2=80=99o...fe=E2=80=99= u (yes, another example of a terminator, fe=E2=80=99u. It=E2=80=99s almos= t never necessary, so this might be the last time you ever see it.) In between these two words goes a selbri, and like lo...ku, fi=E2=80=99o.= ..fe=E2=80=99u extracts the x1 of the selbri put into it. However, with f= i=E2=80=99o...fe=E2=80=99u, the selbri place is converted, not to a sumti= , but to a sumtcita, meaning =E2=80=9Csumti-label=E2=80=9D, with the plac= e structure of the x1 of the selbri it converted. This sumtcita then abso= rbs the next sumti. One could say that using a sumtcita, you import a sum= ti place from another selbri, and add it to the bridi being said. Note: Sometimes, especially in older texts, the term =E2=80=9Ctag=E2=80=9D= or =E2=80=9Cmodal=E2=80=9D is used for sumtcita. Ignore those puny Engli= sh expressions. We teach proper Lojban here. While it is hard to grasp the process from reading about it, an example c= an perhaps show its actual simplicity: skami =E2=80=9Cx1 is a computer for purpose x2=E2=80=9D pilno =E2=80=9Cx1 uses x2 as a tool for doing x3=E2=80=9D mi fanva ti fi=E2=80=99o se pilno [fe=E2=80=99u] lo skami [ku][vau].- =E2= =80=9CI translate this with a computer=E2=80=9D The x2 of pilno, which is= the x1 of se pilno is a place structure for a tool being used by someone= . This place structure is captured by fi=E2=80=99o...fe=E2=80=99u, and th= en filled by lo skami. The idea of sumtcita is sometimes expressed in Eng= lish using the following translation: =E2=80=9CI translate this with-tool: a computer=E2=80=9D A sumtcita can only absorb one sumti, which is always the following one. = Alternatively, the sumtcita construct can be terminated with ku, in which= case a zo=E2=80=99e is implied to fill the sumtcita. Or, one could imagi= ne an elided sumti being terminated with the ku. zukte =E2=80=9Cx1 is a volitional entity carrying out action x2 for purpo= se x3=E2=80=9D fi=E2=80=99o zukte [fe=E2=80=99u] ku lo skami [ku] cu pilno lo lojbo [ku]= [vau] - =E2=80=9CWith volition, a computer used something Lojbanic=E2=80=9D= (perhaps implying that a Lojbanic computer went sentient? Tough it does = not specify who had volition. It could just be the programmer who program= med the computer - how boring.) What does mi jimpe fi lo lojban [ku] fi=E2=80=99o se tavla [fe=E2=80=99u]= mi state? Answer: =E2=80=9CI understand something about Lojban, spoken to me=E2=80=9D Putting the sumtcita right in front of the selbri also makes it self-term= inate, since sumtcita only can absorb sumti, and not selbri. This fact wi= ll be of importance in next chapter, as you will see. Sadly, fi=E2=80=99o is not used very often despite its flexibility. What = IS used very often, though, are BAI. BAI are a class of Lojban words, whi= ch in themselves act as sumtcita. An example of this is zu=E2=80=99e, the= BAI for zukte. Gramatically, zu=E2=80=99e is the same as fi=E2=80=99o zu= kte fe=E2=80=99u. Thus, the above example could be reduced to: zu=E2=80=99e ku lo skami [ku] cu pilno lo lojbo [ku] [vau]. There exist s= omething like 60 BAI, and a lot of these are very useful indeed. Furtermo= re, BAI can also be converted with se and friends, meaning that se zu=E2=80= =99e is equal to fi=E2=80=99o se zukte fe=E2=80=99u, which results in a g= reat deal more BAI. Lojban Lessons - Lesson ten (PU, FAhA, ZI, VA, ZEhA, VEhA) How unfamiliar to the English-speaker a language Lojban is when one can r= ead through nine chapters of Lojban grammar without meeting a tense once.= This is because, unlike many natural languages (most Indo-European ones,= for instance), all tenses in Lojban are optional. Saying mi citka lo cir= la [ku] can mean =E2=80=9CI eat cheese=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI ate the che= ese=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI always eat cheese=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CIn a mo= ment, i will have just finished eating cheese=E2=80=9D. Context resolves = what is correct, and in most conversation, tenses are not needed at all. = However, when it=E2=80=99s needed it=E2=80=99s needed, and it must be tau= ght. Like many other languages, the Lojban tense system is perhaps the most di= fficult part of the language. Unlike many other languages though, it=E2=80= =99s perfectly regular and makes sense. So fear not, for it will not invo= lve sweating to learn how to modify the selbri or anything silly like tha= t. Furthermore, Lojban tenses are unusual because they treat time and space = fundamentally the same - saying that i worked a long time ago is not gram= matically different than saying i work far away to the north. No, in the Lojban tense system, all tenses are sumtcita, which we have co= nveniently just made ourselves familiar with. There are many different ki= nds of tense-sumtcita, so let=E2=80=99s start at the ones most familiar t= o English-speakers. {pu} - sumtcita: before [sumti] {ca} - sumtcita: at the same time as [sumti] {ba} - sumtcita: after [sumti] These are like the English concepts =E2=80=9Cbefore=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cno= w=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cafter=E2=80=9D. In actuality though, one could ar= gue that two point-like events can never occur exactly simultaneously, re= ndering {ca} useless. But {ca} extends slightly into the past and the fut= ure, meaning just =E2=80=9Cabout now=E2=80=9D. This is because human bein= gs don=E2=80=99t perceive time in a perfectly logical way, and the Lojban= tense system reflects that. Side note: It was actually suggested making the Lojban tense system relat= ivistic. That idea, however, was dropped, because it is counter-intuitive= , and would mean that to learn Lojban, one would have to learn the theory= of relativity first. =20 So, how would you say =E2=80=9CI express this after I came here?=E2=80=9D= (pointing to a paper) Answer: mi cusku ti ba lo nu mi klama ti [vau] [kei [ku] [vau] Usually when speaking, we do not need to specify which event this action = is in the past relative to. In: =E2=80=9CI gave a computer away=E2=80=9D,= we can assume that the action happened relative to =E2=80=9Cnow=E2=80=9D= , and thus we can elide the sumti of the sumtcita, because it=E2=80=99s o= bvious: {pu ku mi dunda lo skami [ku] [vau]} or {mi dunda lo skami [ku] pu [ku] [vau]} or, more commonly {mi pu [ku] dunda lo skami [ku] [vau]}. The sumti which fills the sumtcit= a is an implied {zo=E2=80=99e}, which is almost always understood as rela= tive to the speakers time and place (this is especially important when sp= eaking about left and right). If speaking about some events that happened= some other time than the present, it is sometimes assumed that all tense= s are relative to that event which is being spoken about. In order to cla= rify that all tenses are relative to the speakers current position, the w= ord {nau} can be used at any time. Another word, {ki} marks a tense which= is then considered the new standard. That will be taught way later. {gugde} =3D =E2=80=9Cx1 is the country of people x2 with land/territory x= 3=E2=80=9D Also note that {mi pu [ku] klama lo merko gugde [ku] [vau]}, =E2=80=9CI w= ent to America=E2=80=9D, does not imply that I=E2=80=99m not still travel= ing to USA, only that it was also true some time in the past, for instanc= e five minutes ago. As mentioned, spacial and temporal time tenses are very much alike. Contr= ast the previous three time tenses with these four spacial tenses: {zu=E2=80=99a} sumtcita: left of [sumti] {ca=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: in front of [sumti] {ri=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: right of [sumti] {bu=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: at the same place as [sumti] (spacial equivalent= of {ca}) {o=E2=80=99o}: attitudinal: patience - tolerance - anger What would {.o=E2=80=99onai ri=E2=80=99u [ku] nu lo prenu [ku] cu darxi l= o gerku pu [ku] [ku] [vau] [kei] [vau]} mean? (notice the first elided ku= !) Answer: =E2=80=9C[anger!] To the right (of something, probably me) and in= the past (of some event), something is an event of a person beating a do= g.=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CA man hit a dog to my right!=E2=80=9D If there are several tense sumtcita in one bridi, the rule is that you re= ad them from left to right, thinking it as a so called =E2=80=9Cimaginary= journey=E2=80=9D, Where you begin at an implied point in time and space = (default: the speaker=E2=80=99s now and here), and then follow the sumtci= ta one at a time from left to right. Example {mi pu [ku] ba [ku] jimpe fi lo lojbo fa=E2=80=99orma=E2=80=99o [ku] [vau= ]} =3D =E2=80=9CAt some time in the past, I will be about to know about t= erminators.=E2=80=9D {mi ba [ku] pu [ku] jimpe fi lo lojbo fa=E2=80=99orma=E2=80=99o [ku] [vau= ]} =E2=80=9CAt some point in the future, I will have understood about ter= minators.=E2=80=9D Since we do not specify the amount of time we move back or forth, the und= erstanding could in both cases happen in the future or the past of when t= he sentence is being said. Also, if spacial and temporal tenses are mixed, the rule is to always put= temporal before spacial. If this rule is violated, it can sometimes resu= lt in syntactical ambiguity, which Lojban does not tolerate. Suppose we want to specify that the a man hit a dog just a minute ago. Th= e words {zi}, {za} and {zu} specifies a short, unspecified (presumably me= dium) and long distance in time. Notice the vowel order {i}, {a} and {u}.= This order appears again and again in Lojban, and might be worth to memo= rize. =E2=80=9CShort=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Clong=E2=80=9D in are always co= ntext dependent, relative and subjective. Two hundred years is a short ti= me for a species to evolve, but a long time to wait for the bus. Similarly, spacial distance is marked by {vi}, {va} and {vu} for short, u= nspecified (medium) and long distance in space. {gunka} =E2=80=9Cx1 works at x2 with objective x3=E2=80=9D Translate: {ba [ku] za ku mi vu [ku] gunka [vau]} Answer: =E2=80=9CSome time in the future, I will work a place long away=E2= =80=9D Note: People rarely uses zi, za or zu without a pu or ba in front of it. = This is because we always need to specify past or future in English. When= you think about it Lojbanically, most of the time the time-direction is = obvious, and the pu or ba superfluous! The order in which direction-sumtcita and distance-sumtcita are said make= s a difference. Remember that the meaning of several tense words are pict= ured by an imaginary journey reading from left to right. Thus {pu zu} is = =E2=80=9Ca long time ago=E2=80=9D while {zu pu} is =E2=80=9Cin the past o= f some point in time which is a long time toward the future or the past o= f now=E2=80=9D. In the first example, pu shows that we begin in the past,= zu then that it is a long time backwards. In the second example, zu show= s that we begin at some point far away in time from now, pu then, that we= move backwards from that point. Thus {pu zu} is always in the past. {zu = pu} could be in the future! As briefly implied earlier, all these constructs basically treat bridi as= if they were point-like in time and space. In actuality, most events pla= ys out over a span of time and space. In the following few paragraphs, we= will learn how to specify intervals of time and space. {ze=E2=80=99i} sumtcita: spanning over the short time of [sumti] {ze=E2=80=99a} sumtcita: spanning over the unspecified (medium) time of [= sumti] {ze=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: spanning over the long time of [sumti] {ve=E2=80=99i} sumtcita: spanning over the short space of [sumti] {ve=E2=80=99a} sumtcita: spanning over the unspecified (medium) space of = [sumti] {ve=E2=80=99u} sumtcita: spanning over the long space of [sumti] Six words at a time, I know, but remembering the vowel sequence and the s= imilarity of the initial letter z for temporal tenses and v for spacial t= enses might help the memorizing. {.oi} - attitudinal: pain - pleasure Translate: {.oi dai do ve=E2=80=99u [ku] klama lo dotco gugde [ku] ze=E2=80= =99u [ku] [vau]} Answer: =E2=80=9COuch, you spend a long time traveling a long space to Ge= rmany=E2=80=9D Though most people are not familiar with spacial tenses, these new words = can open up for some pretty sweet uses. One could, for instance, translat= e =E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s a big dog=E2=80=9D as {ti ve=E2=80=99u [ku] ger= ku [vau]} Saying: =E2=80=9CThis thing dogs for a long space=E2=80=9D make= s you sound retarded in English, but well spoken in Lojban! {ze=E2=80=99u} and its brothers also combine with other tenses to form co= mpound tenses. The rule for {ze=E2=80=99u} and the others are that any te= nses preceding it marks an endpoint of the process and any tenses coming = after it marks the other endpoint relative to the first. This should be d= emonstrated with a couple of examples: {.o=E2=80=99ocu=E2=80=99i do citka pu [ku] ze=E2=80=99u [ku] ba [ku] zu [= ku] [vau]} - =E2=80=9C[tolerance] you eat beginning in the past and for a= long time ending at some point far into the future of when you started=E2= =80=9D or =E2=80=9CHmpf, you ate for a long time=E2=80=9D. One can also c= ontrast {do ca [ku] ze=E2=80=99i [ku] pu [ku] klama [vau]} with {do pu [k= u] ze=E2=80=99i [ku] ca [ku] klama [vau]}. The first event of traveling h= as one endpoint in the present and extends a little towards the past, whi= le the second event has one endpoint in the past and extends only to the = present (that is, slighty into the past or future) of that endpoint. {jmive} =E2=80=9Cx1 is alive by standard x2=E2=80=9D What does {.ui mi pu [ku] zi [ku] ze=E2=80=99u [ku] jmive [vau]} express? Answer: =E2=80=9C[happiness!] I live from a little into the past and a lo= ng way towards the future or past (obviously the future, in this case) of= that event=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI am young, and have most my life ahead = of me :)=E2=80=9D Just to underline the similarity with spacial tenses, let=E2=80=99s have = another example, this time with spacial tenses: {.u=E2=80=99e} attitudinal: wonder - commonplace {.u=E2=80=99e za=E2=80=99a [ku] bu=E2=80=99u [ku] ve=E2=80=99u [ku] ca=E2= =80=99u [ku] zdani [vau]} - What does it mean? Answer: =E2=80=9C[wonder] [I observe!] Extending a long space from here t= o my front is a home.=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CWow, this home extending ahead= is huge!=E2=80=9D Before we continue with this syntax-heavy tense system, i recommend spend= ing at least ten minutes doing something which doesn=E2=80=99t occupy you= r brain in order to let the information sink in. Sing a song or eat a coo= kie very slowly - whatever, as long as you let your mind rest. Lojban Lessons - Lesson eleven (ZAhO) Though we won=E2=80=99t go through all Lojban tense constructs for now, t= here is one other kind of tense that I think should be taught now. These = are called =E2=80=9Cevent contours=E2=80=9D, and represent a very differe= nt way of viewing tenses that we have seen so far. So let=E2=80=99s get t= o it: Using the tenses we have learned so far, we can imagine an indefinite tim= e line, and we then place events on that line relative to the =E2=80=9Cno= w=E2=80=9D. With event contours, however, we view each event as a process= , which has certain stages: A time before it unfolds, a time when it begi= ns, a time when it is in process, a time when it ends, and a time after i= t has ended. Event contours then tells us which part of the event=E2=80=99= s process was happening during the time specified by the other tenses. We= need a couple of tenses first: {pu=E2=80=99o} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi has not yet happened duri= ng [sumti] {ca=E2=80=99o} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is in process during [sum= ti] {ba=E2=80=99o} - sumtcita: event contour: The process of bridi has ended = during [sumti] This needs to be demonstrated by some examples. What=E2=80=99s {.ui mi pu= =E2=80=99o [ku] se zdani [vau]} mean? Answer: =E2=80=9CYay, I=E2=80=99ll begin to have a home=E2=80=9D. But hey, you ask, why not just say {.ui mi ba [ku] se zdani [vau]} and ev= en save a syllable? Because, remember, saying that you will have a home i= n the future says nothing about whether you have a home now. Using {pu=E2= =80=99o}, though, you say that you are now in the past of the process of = you having a home, which means that you don=E2=80=99t have one now. Note, by the way, that {mi ba [ku] se zdani [vau]} is similar to {mi pu=E2= =80=99o [ku] se zdani [vau]}, and likewise with {ba=E2=80=99o} and {pu}. = Why do they seem reversed? Because event contours view the present as see= n from the viewpoint of the process, where as the other tenses view event= s seen from the present. Often, event contours are more precise that other kind of tenses. Even mo= re clarity is achieved by combining several tenses: {a=E2=80=99o mi ba[ku= ] zi [ku] ba=E2=80=99o [ku] gunka [vau]} - =E2=80=9CI hope I=E2=80=99ve s= oon finished working.=E2=80=9D In Lojban, we also operate with an event=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cnatural begin= ning=E2=80=9D and its =E2=80=9Cnatural end=E2=80=9D. The term =E2=80=9Cna= tural=E2=80=9D is highly subjective in this sense, and the natural end re= fers to the point in the process where it should end. You can say about a= late train, for instance, that its process of reaching you is now extend= ing beyond its natural end. An undercooked, but served meal, similarly, i= s being eaten before that process=E2=80=99 natural beginning. The event c= ontours used in these examples are as follows: {za=E2=80=99o} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is in process beyond its = natural end during [sumti] {xa=E2=80=99o} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is immaturely in process = during [sumti] {cidja}: =E2=80=9Cx1 is food, which is edible for x2=E2=80=9D Translate: {.oi do citka za=E2=80=99o lo nu do ba=E2=80=99o [ku] u=E2=80=99= e citka zo=E2=80=99e noi cidja do [vau] [ku=E2=80=99o] [vau] [kei] [ku]} Answer: =E2=80=9COy, you keep eating when you have finished, incredibly, = eating something edible!=E2=80=9D ZAhO tenses (event contours). All tenses above the line of the event sign= ify stages covering an amount of time. All tenses below the event line si= gnify stages which are point-like. All of these tenses have been describing stages of a process which takes = some time (as shown on the graph above; those tenses above the event like= ). But many of the event contours describes point like stages in the proc= ess, like its beginning. As is true of {ca} and {bu=E2=80=99u}, they actu= ally extend slightly into the past and future of that point, and need not= to be precise. The two most important point-like event contours are: {co=E2=80=99a} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is at its beginning durin= g [sumti] {co=E2=80=99u} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is at its ending during [= sumti] Furthermore, there is a point where the process is naturally complete, bu= t not necessarily has ended yet: {mo=E2=80=99u} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is at its natural ending = during [sumti] Most of the time, though, processes actually end at their natural ending;= this is what makes it natural. Trains are not usually late, and people u= sually retrain themselves to eat only edible food. Since a process can be interrupted and resumed, these points have earned = their own event contour also: {de=E2=80=99a} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is pausing during [sumti] {di=E2=80=99a} - sumtcita: event contour: Bridi is resuming during [sumti= ] In fact, since {jundi} means =E2=80=9Cx1 pays attention to x2=E2=80=9D, {= de=E2=80=99a jundi} and {di=E2=80=99a jundi} are common Lojban ways of sa= ying =E2=80=9CBRB=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cback=E2=80=9D. One could of cours= e also say the event contours by themselves and hope the point gets acros= s. Finally, one can treat an entire event, from the beginning to the end as = one single point using {co=E2=80=99i}: {penmi} =E2=80=9Cx1 meets x2 at location x3=E2=80=9D {mi pu [ku] zi [ku] co=E2=80=99i [ku] penmi lo dotco prenu [ku] [vau]} - = =E2=80=9CA little while ago, I was at the point in time where i met a Ger= man person=E2=80=9D Lojban Lessons - Lesson twelve (orders and questions) Phew, those two long chapters with syntax heavy Lojban gives the brain so= mething to ponder about. Especially because it=E2=80=99s so different fro= m English. So let=E2=80=99s turn to something a little lighter: orders an= d questions. What the... sit up and focus! Since the way to express orders in English is to leave out the subject of= the clause, why did you assume that it was you I was speaking to, and no= t ordering myself, or expressing the obligation someone else has? Because= the English language understands that orders, by their very nature, are = always directed towards the listener - the =E2=80=9Cyou=E2=80=9D, and so = the subject is not necessary. In Lojban, eliding the subject yields {zo=E2=80=99e}, so that possibility= is sadly not open to us. Instead, we use the word {ko}, which is the imp= erative form of {do}. Grammatically, it=E2=80=99s equivalent to {do}, but= it adds a layer of semantics, since it turns every statement with {ko} i= n it into an order. =E2=80=9CDo such that this sentence is true for you=3D= ko!=E2=80=9D For the same reason we don=E2=80=99t need the subject in Eng= lish sentences, we don=E2=80=99t need order-words derived from any other = sumti than {do}. How could you order one to go far away for a long time (using {klama} as = the only selbri?) Answer: ko ve=E2=80=99u ze=E2=80=99u klama .i za=E2=80=99a dai a=E2=80=99o mi ca co=E2=80=99u ciska lo fa=E2=80=99or= ma=E2=80=99o .i ko jimpe vau .ui - look up ciska and work it out. Questions in Lojban are very easy to learn, and they come in two kinds: F= ill in the blank, and true/false questions. Let=E2=80=99s begin with the = true-false question kind - that=E2=80=99s pretty overcomeable, since it o= nly involves one word, {xu}. xu works like an attitudinal in the sense that it can go anywhere, and it= applies to the preceding word (or construct). It then transforms the sen= tence into a question, asking whether it is true or not. In order to affi= rm, you simply repeat the bridi: {xu ve=E2=80=99u zdani do} {.i ve=E2=80=99u zdani mi}, or you just repeat= the the selbri: {zdani}. There is an even easier way to affirm using pro-bridis, but those are a t= ale for another time. To answer =E2=80=9Cno=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cfalse=E2= =80=9D, you simply answer with the bridi negated. That too, will be left = for later, but we will return to question answering by then. The other kind is fill in the blank. Here, you ask for the question word = to be replaced for a construct, which makes the bridi correct. There are = several of these words, depending on what you are asking about: ma - sumti question mo - selbri question xo - number question cu=E2=80=99e - tense question As well as many others. To ask about a sumti, you then just place the que= stion word where you want your answer: {do dunda ma mi} - asks for the x2= to be filled with a correct sumti. =E2=80=9CYou give what to me?=E2=80=9D= The combination of sumtcita + ma is very useful indeed: {mu=E2=80=99i} - sumtcita: motivated by the abstraction of [sumti] {.oi do darxi mi mu=E2=80=99i ma} - =E2=80=9COy, why do you hit me?!=E2=80= =9D Let=E2=80=99s try another one. This time, you translate: {.ui dai do ca ze=E2=80=99u pu mo} Answer: =E2=80=9CYou=E2=80=99re happy, what have you been doing all this = long time until now?=E2=80=9D Technically, it could also ask =E2=80=9Cwha= t have you been?=E2=80=9D, but answering with {.ua nai li=E2=80=99a remna= } (Uh, human, obviously) is just being incredibly annoying on purpose. Since tone of voice or sentence structure does not reveal whether a sente= nce is a question or not, one better not miss the question word. Therefor= e, since people tend to focus more on words in the beginning or at the en= d of sentences, it=E2=80=99s usually worth the while to re-order the sent= ence so that the question words are at those places. If that is not feasa= ble, {pau} is an attitudinal marking that the sentence is a question. Con= trary, {pau nai} explicitly marks any question as being rhetorical. While we are on the topic of questions, it=E2=80=99s also appropriate to = mention the word {kau}, which is a marker for =E2=80=9Cindirect question=E2= =80=9D. What=E2=80=99s an indirect question, then? Well, take a look at t= he sentence: {mi djuno lo du=E2=80=99u ma kau zdani do} - =E2=80=9CI know= what is your home.=E2=80=9D {djuno} =E2=80=9Cx1 knows fact(s) x2 are true about x3 by epistemology x4= =E2=80=9D One can think it as the answer to the question {ma zdani do}. More rarely= , one can mark a non-question word with {kau}, in which case one still ca= n imagine it as the answer to a question: {mi jimpe lo du=E2=80=99u dunda= ti kau do} - =E2=80=9CI know what you have been given, it is this.=E2=80= =9D Lojban Lessons - Lesson thirteen (morphology and word classes) Back to more syntax-heavy (and interesting) stuff. If you haven=E2=80=99t already, I strongly suggest you find the Lojbanic = recording called Story Time with Uncle Robin, or listen to someone speak = Lojban on Mumble, and then practice your pronunciation. Having an interna= l conversation in your head in Lojban is only good if it isn=E2=80=99t wi= th all the wrong sounds, and learning pronunciation from written text is = hard. Therefore, this lesson will not be on the Lojban sounds, however im= portant they might be, but a short introduction to the Lojban morphology. What is morphology? The word is derived from Greek meaning =E2=80=9Cthe s= tudy of shapes=E2=80=9D, and in this context, we talk about how we make w= ords from letters and sounds, as contrasted with syntax - how we make sen= tences with words. Lojban operates with different morphological word clas= ses, which are all defined by their morphology. To make it all nice and s= ystematic though, words with certain functions tend to be grouped by morp= hological classes, but exceptions may occur. Class: Meaning Defined By Typical function Words: =09 - cmevla name-word Beginning and ending with pause. Last sound/letter is= a consonant. Always acts as a name. - brivla among these are: bridi-word Min. 5 letters. Among first 5 letters (exclud= ing =E2=80=9C =E2=80=98 =E2=80=9C) is a consonant cluster. Ends in vowel.= Acts as a selbri by default. Always has a place structure. ------- gismu (root word) root-word 5 letters of the form CVCCV or CCVCV = One to five sumti places. Covers basic concepts. ------- luvjo compound word. Derived from from =E2=80=9Clujvla=E2=80=9D,= meaning =E2=80=9Ccomplex word=E2=80=9D Min. 6 letters. Made by stringing= rafsi together with binding letters if necessary. Covers more complex co= ncepts ------- fu=E2=80=99ivla copy-word As brivla, but do not meet defining cri= teria of gismu or lujvo, ex: {angeli} Covers unique concepts like names o= f places or organisms. - cmavo among these are: grammar word. From =E2=80=9Ccmavla=E2=80=9D, meaning =E2= =80=9Csmall word=E2=80=9D One consonant or less, ends in vowel. Grammatic= al functions, varies. -------- (many subcategories called selma=E2=80=99o, with names like ZAhO= and PU) =09 Word-fragments: =09 - rafsi Affix. 3-5 letters, sometimes also a =E2=80=9C =E2=80=98 =E2=80=9C= . Begins with a consonant. Never appears alone. Several rafsi form a lujv= o. cmevla are very easy to identify because they begin and end with a pause,= signaled by a full stop in writing, and the last letter is a consonant. = cmevla can=E2=80=99t have any other function besides acting as a name. On= the other hand, names which are not selbri cannot appear in Lojban witho= ut them being cmevla, or encased by certain quote words. One can mark str= ess in the names by capitalizing the letters which are stressed. Examples= of cmevla are: {.iohAN.} (Johan, h is capital apostrophe), {.mat.} (Matt= ) and {.lutci.MIN.} (Lui-Chi Min). Names which does not end in consonants= have to have one added: {.ivyn.} (Eve) brivla are called =E2=80=9Cbridi-words=E2=80=9D because they by default a= re selbri, and therefore almost all Lojban words with a place structure a= re brivla. This has also given them the English nickname =E2=80=9Ccontent= -words=E2=80=9D. It=E2=80=99s nearly impossible to say anything useful wi= thout brivla, and almost all words for concepts outside lojban grammar ar= e captured by brivla. As shown in the table, brivla has three subcategori= es: gismu are the root words of the language. Only about 1450 exists, and ver= y few new ones are added. They cover the most basic concepts like =E2=80=9C= circle=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cfriend=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Ctree=E2=80=9D and =E2= =80=9Cdream=E2=80=9D. Examples include {zdani}, {pelxu} and {dunda} lujvo are made by combining rafsi (see under rafsi), respresenting gismu.= By combining rafsi, one narrows down the meaning of the word. lujvo are = made by an elaborate algorithm, so making valid lujvo on the fly is near = impossible, with few exceptions like {selpa=E2=80=99i}, from {se prami}, = which can only have one definition. Instead, lujvo are made once, it=E2=80= =99s place structure defined, and then that definition is made official b= y the dictionary. Examples include {brivla} (bridi-word), {cinjikca} (sex= ual-socializing =3D flirting) and {cakcinki} (shell-insect =3D beetle). fu=E2=80=99ivla are made by making up words which fit the definition for = brivla, but not for lujvo or gismu. They tend to cover concepts which it=E2= =80=99s hard to cover by lujvo, for instance names of species, nations or= very cultural specific concepts. Examples include {gugdrgogurio} (Korea)= {cidjrpitsa} (pizza) or {angeli} (angel). cmavo are small words with one or zero consonants. They tend to not signi= fy anything in the exterior world, but to have only grammatical function.= Exceptions occur, and it=E2=80=99s debatable how much attitudinals exist= s for their grammatical function. If you have been paying attention, you = would already be familiar with {du}, one of the few cmavo with a place st= ructure. It is valid to type several cmavo in a row as one word, but in t= hese lessons, that won=E2=80=99t be done. By grouping certain cmavo in fu= nctional units, though, it is sometimes easier to read. Thus, {.uipuzuvuk= umi citka} is valid for {.ui pu zu vu ku mi citka}. Like other Lojban wor= ds, one should (but need not always) place a full stop before any words b= eginning with a vowel. cmavo of the form CV=E2=80=99VV or V=E2=80=99VV are experimental, and are= words which are not in the formal grammar, but which have been added by = Lojban users to respond to a certain need. rafsi are not Lojban words, and can never appear alone. However, several = (more than one) rafsi combine to form lujvo. These must still live up to = the lujvo definition, for instance {lojban} is invalid because it ends in= a consonant (which makes it a cmevla), and {ci=E2=80=99ekei} is invalid = because it does not contain a consonant cluster, and is thus read as two = cmavo written as one word. Often, a 3-4 letter string is both a cmavo and= a rafsi, like {zu=E2=80=99e}, which is both the BAI and the rafsi for {z= ukte}. Note that there is nowhere that both a cmavo and a rafsi would be = grammatical, so these are not considered homophones. All gismu can double= as rafsi, if they are prefixed with another rafsi. The first four letter= of a gismu + y can also act as a rafsi, if they are suffixed. The vowel = y can only appear in lujvo or cmevla. Valid rafsi letter combinations are= : CVV, CV=E2=80=99V, CCV, CVCCy- CCVCy-, -CVCCV and -CCVCV. Using what you know now, you should be able to answer the test i thus pre= sent: Categorize each of the following words as cmevla (C), gismu (g), lujvo (l= ), fu=E2=80=99ivla (f) or cmavo (c): A) jai G) mumbl B) .irci H) .i=E2=80=99i C) bostu I) cu D) xelman J) plajva E) po=E2=80=99e K) danseke F) djisku L) .ertsa Answer: a-c, b-f, c-g, d-C, e-c, f-l, g-C, h-c, i-c, j-l, k-f, l-f. I lef= t out the full stops before and after names so it wouldn=E2=80=99t be too= easy. Note: some of these words, like bostu do not exist in the dictionary, but= this is irrelevant. The morphology still makes it a gismu, so it=E2=80=99= s just an undefined gismu. Similarly with .ertsa Lojban Lessons - Lesson fourteen (the Lojban sumti 1: LE and LA) If you have read and understood the content of all the chapters until now= , you have amassed a large enough knowledge of Lojban so that it doesn=E2= =80=99t matter in which order you learn the rest. As a result, the order = of the next chapters will be a mixture of sorted by increasing difficulty= and sorted by importance in ordinary Lojban conversation. One of the biggest constrains on your speak now is your limited knowledge= on how to make sumti. So far, you only know {ti} and {lo SELBRI}, which = doesn=E2=80=99t take you far considering how important sumti are in Lojba= n. This chapter as well as the following two will be about the Lojban sum= ti. For now, we focus on the descriptive-like sumti, the ones made with a= rticles like {lo} Articles are in lojban called {gadri}, and all the ones discussed in this= chapter are terminated by {ku} (except the combination {la CMEVLA}). We = will begin by describing three simple kinds, and then immediately find th= at they are not so simple after all: {lo} - gadri: Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat r= esult as individual(s). {le} - gadri: Descriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Trea= t result as individual(s). {la} - gadri: Naming article: Conventional, =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri or cm= evla to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result as individual(s). You are already familiar with {lo} and what it does. But what does it mea= n, =E2=80=9CVerdical=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CTreat result as individuals=E2= =80=9D? The latter about individuals, I=E2=80=99ll come back to later whe= n speaking about masses. For now, =E2=80=9Cverdical=E2=80=9D in this cont= ext means that in order for a thing to qualify begin labelled as {lo klam= a}, it has to actually klama. Thus, verdical gadri makes a claim which ma= y be true or false - that the object(s) in question are actually the x1 o= f the selbri after {lo}. This may be contrasted with {le}, which is descriptive, and thus not verd= ical. Saying {le gerku} says that you have one or more specific objects i= n mind, and you use the selbri {gerku} to describe it, so that the listen= er may identify those specific objects.This means that {le} haves two imp= ortant differences from {lo}: Firstly, it does not refer to objects in ge= neral, but to specific objects. Secondly, while {lo gerku} definitely is = one or more dogs, {le gerku}, because it=E2=80=99s not verdical, can be a= nything, as long as the speaker thinks the description will help identify= ing the correct objects. Perhaps the speaker is referring to a hyena, but= are not familiar with them and think =E2=80=9Cdog=E2=80=9D is a good eno= ugh approximation to be understood. This non-verdicality is perhaps over-= emphasised in most many texts; The best way to describe a dog is usually = to describe it as being a dog, and unless there is a good reason not to, = {le gerku} is usually presumed to refer to something which is also {lo ge= rku}. In translation, {lo gerku} is usually =E2=80=9Ca dog=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9C= some dogs=E2=80=9D, while {le gerku} is =E2=80=9Cthe dog=E2=80=9D or =E2=80= =9Cthe dogs=E2=80=9D. Even better for {le gerku} would be =E2=80=9Cthe =E2= =80=9Cdog(s)=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9D Last of the three basic gadri, there is {la}, the naming gadri, which I h= ave unconventionally called =E2=80=9Cconventional=E2=80=9D. What I mean b= y this is that it=E2=80=99s neither descriptive nor verdical, since it re= fers to a proper name. If I in English refer to a person called Innocent = by her name, I neither describe her as being innocent, nor do I state tha= t she is. I only state that by convention, that object is referred to by = that selbri or cmevla. Note that {la} and the gadri derived from it can c= onvert cmevla to sumti unlike any other gadri. Also: Be cautious: Other t= exts does not mention that names can be formed from ordinary selbri using= the gadri {la}. But those heretics must burn; selbri names are as good a= s they get, and many a proud Lojbanist have them. These three basic gadri can be expanded with three more, which correspond= s to the previous: {loi} - gadri: Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat = result as mass(es). {lei} - gadri: Descriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D. Tre= at result as a mass(es). {lai} - gadri: Naming article: Conventional, =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri or c= mevla to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result as mass(es). These are the same in all aspects except for one: They treat the sumti as= masses instead of individuals. If there is only one object in question, = these two concepts are equivalent. The difference between these two conce= pts lie in which selbri can be ascribed to a group of individuals versus = a mass. A group of individuals can be said to fit a certain selbri, if al= l members of the group each fit the selbri. It is correct to describe a p= ack of {lo gerku}, as being black, if for each of the dogs it=E2=80=99s t= rue that they are black. A mass, on the other hand, fits all the selbri w= hich any of its members fit, as well as the selbri which none of the memb= ers fit, but which the group considered as a whole does. Thus, a mass of = dogs can be both black and white. However, all the members of the mass of= dogs must be dogs in order for {loi} to be applicable. Another example c= an illustrate how a mass can have properties which none of its members ha= s: {sruri}: =E2=80=9Cx1 flanks/encircles/encloses x2 in line/plane/direction= s x3=E2=80=9D {lei prenu cu sruri lo zdani} - =E2=80=9CThe people surrounded the home.=E2= =80=9D is plausible, even though, yo moma jokes not considered, it=E2=80=99= s completely implausible that it could be true for any one of the members= alone. An English analogy could be: =E2=80=9CHumans defeated smallpox in= the 20th century=E2=80=9D. Surely no humans did so, but the mass of huma= ns did, and that makes the sentence true in English, as well as in Lojban= if =E2=80=9Chumans=E2=80=9D are a mass. Just like the Lojban mass, the E= nglish mass =E2=80=9Chumans=E2=80=9D can only refer to individuals each o= f which are human. {lei gerku} refers to a mass formed by a group of specific individuals, e= ach of which the speaker refers to as {le gerku}. Mass names as describes by {lai} are only appropriate if the group as a w= hole is named such, and not just if any of the members are. It can, howev= er be used if the bridi is true for only a fraction of that group. Also, there are three set-forming gadri: {lo=E2=80=99i} - gadri: Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D= . Treat result as a set. {le=E2=80=99i} - gadri: Descriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80= =9D. Treat result as a set. {la=E2=80=99i} - gadri: Naming article: Conventional, =E2=80=9Cconvert se= lbri or cmevla to sumti=E2=80=9D. Treat result as a set. Unlike groups of individuals or masses, sets does not take any of the pro= perties from the objects from which the set is formed. A set is a purely = mathematical or logical construct, and has properties like cardinality, m= embership or set inclusion. Again, note the difference between a set of t= hings, and the things of which the set is formed: {tirxu} =E2=80=9Cx1 is a tiger/leopard/jaguar of species/breed x2 with co= at markings x3=E2=80=9D {lo=E2=80=99i tirxu cu cmalu} says nothing about whether big cats are sma= ll (which is, by the way, obviously false), but instead say that the set = of big cats is small; that is - there are few of them. Lastly, there are the generalizing gadri: {lo=E2=80=99e} - gadri: Verdical =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80=9D= . Sumti refers to the archetype of {lo SELBRI}. {le=E2=80=99e} - gadri: Descriptive =E2=80=9Cconvert selbri to sumti=E2=80= =9D. Sumti refers to the described/perceived archetype of {le SELBRI}. Of which there is no {la}-equivalent. So, what is actually meant by the archetype? For {lo=E2=80=99e tirxu}, it= is an ideal, imagined big cat, which has all the properties which best e= xemplifies big cats. It would be wrong to say that this includes having a= striped fur, since a big systematic subgroup of the members of the set o= f big cats do not have striped fur, the leopards and the jaguars. Likewis= e, the typical human does not live in Asia even though a lot of humans do= . However, if sufficiently many humans have a trait, for instance being a= ble to speak, we can say: {kakne}: =E2=80=9Cx1 is capable of doing/being x2 under circumstance x3=E2= =80=9D {lo=E2=80=99e remna cu kakne lo nu tavla} - =E2=80=9CThe typical human be= ing can speak=E2=80=9D. {le=E2=80=99e} then, is the ideal object as perceived or described by the= speaker. This need not be factually correct, and is often translated as = the =E2=80=9Cstereotype=E2=80=9D, even though the English phrase have som= e unpleasant negative connotations, which the Lojban does not. In fact, e= veryone has a stereotypical archetypichal image of any category. In other= words, {lo=E2=80=99e remna} is the archetype which best exemplifies all = {lo remna}, while the archetype {le=E2=80=99e remna} best exemplifies all= {le remna}. The eleven gadri can be seen in the diagram below. Generic Masses Sets Generalizing Verdical lo loi lo=E2=80=99i lo=E2=80=99e Descriptive le lei le=E2=80=99i le=E2=80=99e Name la lai la=E2=80=99i does not exist Note: Earlier, there was a word {xo=E2=80=99e} for the generic gadri. How= ever, the rules and definitions for gadri were changed in late 2004, and = the current set of rules nicked =E2=80=9Cxorlo=E2=80=9D has replaced the = old way. Now, {lo} is generic, and {xo=E2=80=99e} has not yet found anoth= er definition. Lojban Lessons - Lesson fifteen (the Lojban sumti 2: KOhA3, KOhA5 and KOh= A6) See what happens if I try to translate the sentence: =E2=80=9CStereotypic= al people who can speak Lojban speak to each other about the languages th= ey can speak=E2=80=9D: {bangu} =E2=80=9Cx1 is a language used by x2 to express x3 (abstraction)=E2= =80=9D {le=E2=80=99e prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a kakne lo nu tavla fo la .lojban. cu = tavla le=E2=80=99e prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a kakne lo nu tavla fo la .lojban= . lo bangu poi lo prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a tavla fo la .lojban. cu se bangu= ke=E2=80=99a} What we see is that the Lojban version is much longer than the English. T= his is primarily because the first, ridiculously long, sumti is being rep= eated two more times in the Lojban text, while the English can refer to i= t by =E2=80=9Ceach other=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cthey=E2=80=9D - much more = efficiently. Wouldn=E2=80=99t it be clever if Lojban somehow had mechanis= ms for doing the same? It turns out it does, what a surprise! Lojban has a range of words called= {sumka=E2=80=99i} meaning =E2=80=9Csumti-representatives=E2=80=9D. In En= glish, we refer to them as pro-sumti, because they are essentially the sa= me as the English pronouns, but with sumti instead of nouns. In fact, you= already know {ti}, {do} and {mi}, but there are many more, so let=E2=80=99= s get learning. First, we want to put it into system. We can begin with t= he ones most familiar to English, and what you=E2=80=99ve already learned= : {ti} - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9Cimmediate =E2=80=98it=E2=80=99: represen= ts a sumti physically near the speaker=E2=80=9D {ta} - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9Cnearby =E2=80=98it=E2=80=99: represents = a sumti some physical distance from the speaker OR close to the listener=E2= =80=9D {tu} - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9Cdistant =E2=80=98it=E2=80=99: represents= a sumti physically far from the speaker and the listener.=E2=80=9D You can again recognize the =E2=80=9Ci, a, u=E2=80=9D-sequence which pops= up over and over. Some things might take some clearing up, though. First= ly, these sumti can represent anything which can be said to occupy a phys= ical space. Objects, certainly. Ideas, certainly not. Events are accepted= , but only to the extent they are restricted to a specific place - the Ja= smin Revolution cannot be pointed at, but some bar-fight or a kiss might.= Secondly, note that the distance is relative to different things for the= different words: {tu} only applies if it=E2=80=99s distant from both the= speaker and the listener. In cases where the speaker and listener is far= apart and the listener cannot see the speaker talking, {ta} refers to so= mething close to the listener. Thirdly, it=E2=80=99s all relative and con= text dependent. These three words are all problematic in written text, fo= r instance, because the position of the speaker and listener is unknown t= o each other, and changes as time goes by. Furthermore, the author of a b= ook cannot point to an object and express the pointing in the book. Then there is a series called KOhA3, to which {mi} and {do} (and ko, but = I won=E2=80=99t write that here) belongs: {mi} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The speaker(s). {mi=E2=80=99o} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The mass of the speaker(s) and the list= ener(s) . {mi=E2=80=99a} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The mass of the speaker(s) and others. {ma=E2=80=99a} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The mass of the speaker(s), the listene= r(s) and others. {do} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The listener(s). {do=E2=80=99o} - sumka=E2=80=99i: The mass of the listener(s) and others. These six sumka=E2=80=99i are more easily grasped in the below Venn diagr= am: Venn diagram of KOhA3. {le drata} is not a KOhA3, but means =E2=80=9Cthe = other(s)=E2=80=9D It is possible for several people to be =E2=80=9Cthe speakers=E2=80=9D, i= f one statement is made on the behalf of all of them. Therefore, while =E2= =80=9Cwe=E2=80=9D can be translated as either {mi}, {mi=E2=80=99o}, {mi=E2= =80=99a} or {ma=E2=80=99a}, what one quite often means is really just {mi= }. All of these six, if they refer to more than one individual, represent= masses. Within bridi-logic, the bridi {mi gleki} said by speaker A is ex= actly equivalent to {do gleki} said by speaker B to speaker A, and are co= nsidered the same bridi. We will come back to this later, in the brika=E2= =80=99i (pro-bridi) lesson. All of these sumka=E2=80=99i are very content-specific, and can not be us= ed, for instance, to help us with the sentence which this lesson began wi= th. The following series can in principle be used to refer to any sumti: ri - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9CLast sumti mentioned=E2=80=9D ra - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9CA recent, but not the last sumti mentioned= =E2=80=9D ru - sumka=E2=80=99i: =E2=80=9CA sumti mentioned long ago=E2=80=9D These sumti will refer to any terminated sumti except most other sumka=E2= =80=99i. The reason that most other sumka=E2=80=99i cannot be referred to= by these sumti, is that they are so easy to just repeat by themselves. T= he exception to the rule are {ti}, {ta} and {tu}, because you could have = changed what you point at, and thus cannot just repeat the word. They wil= l only refer to terminated sumti, and thus cannot, for instance, be used = to refer to an abstraction if the word in is that abstraction: {le pendo = noi ke=E2=80=99a pendo mi cu djica lo nu ri se zdani} - here {ri} cannot = refer to the abstration, since it is not terminated, nor to {mi} or {ke=E2= =80=99a}, since they are sumka=E2=80=99i, so it refers to {le pendo}. {ra} and {ru} are context-dependent in what they refer to, but they follo= w the rules mentioned above, and {ru} always refer to a more distant sumt= i than {ra}, which is always more distant than {ri}. {ri} and it=E2=80=99s brothers are pretty well suited for dealing with th= e original sentence. Try saying it using two instances of sumka=E2=80=99i= ! Answer: {le=E2=80=99e prenu poi ke=E2=80=99a kakne lo nu tavla fo la .loj= ban. cu tavla ru lo bangu poi ru cu se bangu ke=E2=80=99a} {ri} is not co= rrect, because it refers to {la .lojban.}. {ra}, could be used, but could= be mistakenly be thought to refer to {lo nu tavla fo la .lojban.}, but {= ru} is assumed to refer to the most distant sumti - the most outer one. Lastly, there a sumtcita which represent utterances: So called utterance = variables. They need not be restricted to one sentence (jufra), but can b= e several sentences, if the context allows it: da=E2=80=99u Utterance variable: Remote past sentence de=E2=80=99u Utterance variable: Recent sentence di=E2=80=99u Utterance variable: Previous sentence dei Utterance variable: This sentence di=E2=80=99e Utterance variable: Next sentence de=E2=80=99e Utterance variable: Near future sentence da=E2=80=99e Utterance variable: Remote future sentence do=E2=80=99i Utterance variable: Elliptical utterance variable: =E2=80=9C= Some sentence=E2=80=9D These represents sentences as sumti, and refer only to the spoken words o= r the letters, not to the meaning behind them. There are more Lojban sumka=E2=80=99i, but for now you probably need a br= eak from them. The next chapter will be on derived sumti, sumti made from= other sumti. Lojban Lessons - Lesson sixteen (the Lojban sumti 3: derived sumti) You can probably see that the sumti {le bangu poi mi se bangu ke=E2=80=99= a} is a less than elegant expression for =E2=80=9Cmy language=E2=80=9D. T= his is because it=E2=80=99s really a work around. A language which I spea= k can be said to fill into the x1 of the bridi {bangu mi}. We can=E2=80=99= t convert that to a sumti using a gadri: {le bangu [ku] mi} is two sumti,= because {bangu mi} is a bridi, not a selbri. Neither can we convert it u= sing {le su=E2=80=99u}, because the su=E2=80=99u gives the bridi a new x1= , the abstraction, and the {le} then extracts that. That makes an abstrac= tion sumti meaning something like =E2=80=9Cthat something is my language=E2= =80=9D. Enter {be}. {be} is a word which binds constructs (sumti, sumtcita and ot= hers) to a selbri. Using it in ordinary selbri has no effect: in {mi nelc= i be do}, the be does nothing. However, when a sumti is bound to a selbri= this way, you can use a gadri on the selbri without the sumti splitting = off: {le bangu be mi} is a correct solution to the problem above. Likewis= e, you can attach a sumtcita: {le nu darxi kei be gau do}: =E2=80=9CThe e= vent of hitting, which is caused by you=E2=80=9D. Note that the presence = or absence of kei makes it parse differently: With the terminator present= , be attaches to nu, without the terminator, it attaches to darxi. So it = decides what is being emphasised: Is the hitting, or the event of hitting= caused by you? Luckily, in this case, that=E2=80=99s just about the same= thing. What if I want to attach several sumti to a selbri inside a gadri? =E2=80= =9CThe giver of the apple to you=E2=80=9D is {le dunda be lo plise be do}= , right? Nope. The second {be} attaches to the apple, meaning {le plise b= e do} - =E2=80=9CThe apple of the strain of you=E2=80=9D, which makes so = sense. In order to string several sumti to a selbri, the all the ones fol= lowing the first must be bound with {bei}. The =E2=80=9Cbinding=E2=80=9D = can be terminated with {be=E2=80=99o} - one instance of {be=E2=80=99o} fo= r each selbri which has sumti bound by {be}. To list them: be binds sumti or sumtcita to selbri bei binds a second, third, fourth (ect) sumti or sumtcita to a selbri be=E2=80=99o ends binding to selbri There is also ways to loosely associate a sumti with another. {pe} and {n= e} for restrictive and non-restrictive association. Actually, {le bangu p= e mi} is a better translation of =E2=80=9Cmy language=E2=80=9D, since thi= s phrase, like the English, is vague as to how the two are associated wit= h each other. pe and ne are used as loose association only, like saying =E2=80=9Cmy cha= ir=E2=80=9D about a chair which you sit on. It=E2=80=99s not really yours= , but has something do to with you. A more intimate connection can be est= ablished with po, which makes the association unique and binding to a per= son, as in =E2=80=9Cmy car=E2=80=9D for a car that you actually own. A very useful construct to know is {GADRI SUMTI SELBRI}. this is equivale= nt to {GADRI SELBRI pe SUMTI}. For instance le mi gerku is equivalent to = le gerku pe mi. One could have description sumti inside description sumti= , saying le le se cinjikca be mi ku gerku, =3D le gerku pe le se cinjikca= be mi =3D=E2=80=9Cthe dog of the man I=E2=80=99m flirting with=E2=80=9D,= but that=E2=80=99s not very easy to read (or to understand when spoken),= and is often being avoided. One need also to learn {tu=E2=80=99a}, since it will make a lot of senten= ces much easier. It takes a sumti and converts it to another sumti - an e= lliptical abstraction which has something to do with the first sumti. For= example, I could say {mi djica lo nu mi citka lo plise}, or I could let = it be up to context what abstraction about the apple I desire and just sa= y {mi djica tu=E2=80=99a lo plise}. One always has to guess what abstract= ion the speaker means by {tu=E2=80=99a SUMTI}, so it should only be used = when context makes it easy to guess. Another example: {gasnu} =E2=80=9Cx1 does/brings about x2 (volition not implied)=E2=80=9D {za=E2=80=99a do gasnu tu=E2=80=99a lo skami} - =E2=80=9CI see that you m= ake the computer do something=E2=80=9D. Officially, {tu=E2=80=99a SUMTI} = is equivalent to {le su=E2=80=99u SUMTI co=E2=80=99e}. Vague, but useful.= There are situations where you cannot use tu=E2=80=99a, even though it w= ould seem suitable. These situations are when I don=E2=80=99t want the re= sulting sumti to be an abstraction, but a concrete sumti. In this case, o= ne can use zo=E2=80=99e pe. Finally, if one sumti A refers to a sumti B, for instance because sumti A= is a title of a book, or a name, or a sentence (which always refer to so= mething), (la=E2=80=99e SUMTI A) refers to sumti B. For instance, mi nelc= i la=E2=80=99e di=E2=80=99u for =E2=80=9Ci like what you just said=E2=80=9D= or la=E2=80=99e le cmalu noltru for the book =E2=80=9CThe Little Prince=E2= =80=9D, some little prince himself. The cmavo lu=E2=80=99e does the exact= reverse - lu=E2=80=99e SUMTI refers to an object which refers to the sum= ti. la=E2=80=99e - =E2=80=9Cthe thing referred to by=E2=80=9D - extracts a su= mti A from a sumti B which refers to A. lu=E2=80=99e - =E2=80=9Cthe thing referring to=E2=80=9D - extracts a sumt= i B from a sumti A, when B refers to A. Lojban Lessons - Lesson seventeen (cute assorted words) And with that, third chapter, you know a lot about Lojban sumti. After su= ch a long time of rigorous systematic learning, what could be more fittin= g that this chapter where I speak about some words which I could not, or = wanted not to fit into any other chapters? So here are a few small and re= ally useful words: The following four cmavo are all elliptical words. You should already be = familiar with the first. {zo=E2=80=99e} - elliptical sumti {co=E2=80=99e} - elliptical selbri {do=E2=80=99e} - elliptical sumtcita {ju=E2=80=99a} - elliptical evidential {do=E2=80=99i} - elliptical utterance variable {ge=E2=80=99e} - elliptical attitudinal All of these act grammatically as a cmavo of the kind they represent, but= they contain no information, and can be quite handy when you=E2=80=99re = lazy and don=E2=80=99t need to be specific anyway. There are, however, a = few things which need to be cleared up: {zo=E2=80=99e} have to refer to something which is claimed to have a = value. =E2=80=9Czero cars=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cnothing=E2=80=9D, for inst= ance, has no value, and therefore cannot be referred to by {zo=E2=80=99e}= . This is because, if it could mean =E2=80=9Cnothing=E2=80=9D by zo=E2=80= =99e, then any selbri could be identical to its negation, if one of the e= lided sumti were filled with a {zo=E2=80=99e} with no value. {ge=E2=80=99e} does not mean that you feel no emotion, just that you = feel nothing special or worth to mention at the moment. It=E2=80=99s simi= lar to =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m fine.=E2=80=9D. {ge=E2=80=99e pei} ask about = an elliptical emotion and is a good translation for: =E2=80=9CHow are you= feeling?=E2=80=9D. {co=E2=80=99e} is handy when needing a selbri in a construct for gram= matical reasons, like in the definition of {tu=E2=80=99a} in the previous= chapter. {ju=E2=80=99a} does not change the truth value or subjective understa= nding of the bridi or anything like that. In fact, it=E2=80=99s mostly do= es nothing. However, {ju=E2=80=99a pei}, =E2=80=9CWhat is your basis for = saying that?=E2=80=9D is handy. {do=E2=80=99i} is really useful. A lot of times when you refer to utt= erances or conversations by words like =E2=80=9Cthis=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9C= that=E2=80=9D, you want {do=E2=80=99i}. If you fill in more sumti than a selbri has places for, the last sumt= i have implied {do=E2=80=99e} sumtcita in front of them. Furthermore, there is a word, {zi=E2=80=99o}, that you can fill a sumti p= lace with to delete it from any selbri. {lo melbi be zi=E2=80=99o}, for i= nstance, is just =E2=80=9CSomething beautiful=E2=80=9D, and does not incl= ude the usual x2 of melbi, which is the observer who judges something to = be beautiful. Thus, it can mean something like =E2=80=9CObjectively beaut= iful.=E2=80=9D It does not state that nothing fills the sumti place which= is being deleted, just that the sumti place is not being considered in t= he selbri. Using {zi=E2=80=99o} with a sumtcita gives weird results. Form= ally, they should cancel each other out. Practically, it would probably b= e understood as an explicit way of saying that the sumtcita does not appl= y, as in: {mi darxi do mu=E2=80=99i zi=E2=80=99o} - =E2=80=9CI hit you, w= ith or without motivation.=E2=80=9D Then there is the word {jai}. It=E2=80=99s one of those cool, small words= which are hard to grasp, but easy to work with once you know it. It has = two distinct, but similar functions. Both have something to do with conve= rting the selbri, like {se} does. The first grammatical construction it can make is {jai SUMTCITA SELBRI}. = It changes the sumti places such that the sumti place of the sumtcita bec= omes the selbri=E2=80=99s x1, and the selbri=E2=80=99s old x1 is removed,= and only accessible by using {fai}, which works like {fa}. You can see i= t with this example: {gau} - sumtcita (from gasnu) =E2=80=9Cbridi has been brought about by/wi= th active agent [sumti]=E2=80=9D {do jai gau jundi ti fai mi}. - =E2=80=9CYou bring about attention to thi= s by me=E2=80=9D. The new selbri, {jai gau jundi}, has the place structur= e of =E2=80=9Cx1 brings about attention paid to x2=E2=80=9D. These are th= en filled by {do} and {ti}. The {fai} then marks the place for the old x1= , the one who was paying attention, and fill it with {mi}. This can be ve= ry convenient and has tons of uses. A good example is descriptive-like su= mti. One can, for instance, refer to =E2=80=9Cthe method of volitional ac= tion=E2=80=9D by {lo jai ta=E2=80=99i zukte}. {ta=E2=80=99i}: sumtcita (from tadji) =E2=80=9CBridi is done with the met= hod of [sumti]=E2=80=9D Can you deduce what the ordinary Lojban phrase {do jai gau mo} means? Answer: =E2=80=9CWhat are you doing?=E2=80=9D The other function of {jai} is easier to explain. It simply converts the = selbri such that the sumti in the x1 gets a {tu=E2=80=99a} in front of it= (ko=E2=80=99a jai broda =3D tu=E2=80=99a ko=E2=80=99a broda). In other w= ords, it converts the selbri in a way such that it builds an elliptical a= bstraction from the sumti in the x1, and then fills x1 with the abstracti= on instead of the actual sumti. Again, the original sumti-place is access= ible by {fai}. A very active Lojban IRC-user often says {le gerku be do jai se stidi mi}= , to use a random example of a sumti in x1. What=E2=80=99s he say? {stidi} x1 inspires/suggests x2 in/to x3=E2=80=9D Answer: =E2=80=9CI suggest (something about) your dog.=E2=80=9D So far you=E2=80=99ve learned how to convert bridi to selbri, selbri to s= umti, and selbri into bridi, since all selbri by themselves are also brid= i. You only need one last function: convert sumti to selbri. This is done= with the word {me}. It accepts a sumti and converts it into a selbri wit= h the place structure =E2=80=9Cx1 is specific to SUMTI in property x2=E2=80= =9D. There are also words for converting sumti to individuals, masses or sets = in the class LAhE, but they won=E2=80=99t be covered. When screwing a sentence up, knowing how to correct yourself is a good id= ea. There are three words in Lojban which you can use to delete your prev= ious word(s) si - deletion: Deletes last word only. sa - deletion: Deletes back until next cmavo spoken. su - deletion: Deletes entire discourse. The function of these words are very obvious. They delete words as if the= y have never been spoken. They do not work inside certain quotes (all quo= tes except lu..li=E2=80=99u), though, as that would leave it impossible t= o quote these words. Several si in a row deletes several words. Lojban Lessons - Lesson eighteen (quotes) One of the key design features of Lojban is that it=E2=80=99s supposed to= be audio-visual isomorphic, meaning that everything expressed in text sh= ould also be expressed in speech and vice versa. Therefore, there cannot = be any punctuation which is not pronounced. This means that Lojban has a = wide range of words to quote other words. All Lojban quotes take some inp= ut of text and converts it to a sumti. Let=E2=80=99s begin with the most = simple: lu Quote word: Begin quote of grammatical Lojban content li=E2=80=99u Quote word: End quote of grammatical Lojban content The text inside this construct must by itself be grammatical. It can quot= e all Lojban words with some few exceptions, most notably, obviously, li=E2= =80=99u. Try to translate the following sentence. Take your time. mi stidi lo drata be tu=E2=80=99a lu ko jai gau mo li=E2=80=99u drata x1 is different from x2 by standard Answer: =E2=80=9CI suggest something different than something about =E2=80= =9Cko jai gau mo=E2=80=9D.=E2=80=9D These quote words cannot quote ungrammatical text. This is sometimes usef= ul, when you want to only pick out part of a sentence, as in: =E2=80=9C i= s =E2=80=9Cgi=E2=80=99e=E2=80=9D a Lojban sumtcita?=E2=80=9D For this, you need these two cmavo lo=E2=80=99u Quote word: Begin quote of ungrammatical but Lojban content le=E2=80=99u Quote word: End quote of ungrammatical but Lojban content The text inside must be Lojban words, but need not be grammatical. Try to= translate the above example into Lojban Answer: xu lo=E2=80=99u gi=E2=80=99e le=E2=80=99u lojbo sumtcita This quote can be used to quote all Lojban words except le=E2=80=99u. How= ever, this is not enough. If we want to translate =E2=80=9C=E2=80=9Ddo mo= =E2=80=9D is a correct translation of =E2=80=9CWhat=E2=80=99s up?=E2=80=9D= =E2=80=9D, we might be slightly wrong about what we here state, since do = mo also can mean =E2=80=9CWhat are you?=E2=80=9D, but let=E2=80=99s roll = with it for a second. What we need here is the word zoi. zoi Next cmavo is begin all-purpose quote and close all-purpose quote. When using zoi, you pick a cmavo at will, which then opens a quote. To cl= ose is, use the cmavo again. This way, you can quote anything except that= cmavo, which shouldn=E2=80=99t be a problem because you can pick it your= self. Usually, the cmavo picked is either zoi itself, or a letter which s= tands for the language which the quote is written in. Example: =E2=80=9CI= liked The Phantom of the Opera=E2=80=9D is mi pu nelci la=E2=80=99e zoi = zoi. The Phantom of the Opera .zoi Notice two things: Firstly, I need a l= a=E2=80=99e, since I didn=E2=80=99t like the quote, but rather what it re= ferred to. Secondly, between the chosen delimiter cmavo and the quote, th= ere are pauses, represented by a full stop. This is necessary to correctl= y identify the delimiter cmavo. Try to translate the above sentence concerning =E2=80=9CWhat=E2=80=99s up= ?=E2=80=9D drani x1 is correct/proper in aspect x2 in situation x3 by standard x4 Answer: lu do mo li=E2=80=99u drani xe fanva zoi gy. What=E2=80=99s up? .= gy Closely analogously, there is la=E2=80=99o. It works exactly like zoi, bu= t turns the resulting quote into a name. It is needed because normally, o= nly selbri and cmevla can be names, not quotes. la=E2=80=99o Next cmavo is begin all-purpose quote and close all-purpose = quote =E2=80=93 use as name. Last of the official quote words, there is zo. zo always quotes the next = Lojban word, no matter what it is. It=E2=80=99s pretty handy. zo Quote next Lojban word, no matter what. Example: zo zo zo=E2=80=99o plixau =E2=80=9C =E2=80=9Czo=E2=80=9D is usef= ul, hehe=E2=80=9D zo=E2=80=99o attitudinal: discursive: Humorously, =E2=80=9Ckidding you=E2= =80=9D plixau x1 is useful for x2 to do purpose x3 Lojban users have found it useful to supplement with four additional quot= e words. They are all experimental, and the formal grammar does not suppo= rt it. Nonetheless, they are used often, and it=E2=80=99s good to be able= to recognize them. The most used is: zo=E2=80=99oi Quote next word only. Next word is identified by pauses in = speech or whitespace in writing: Example: ri pu cusku zo=E2=80=99oi Doh! .u=E2=80=99i =E2=80=9CHa ha, he s= aid =E2=80=9CDoh!=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9C .u=E2=80=99i: attitudinal: simple pure emotion: amusement - weariness It=E2=80=99s very easy to use. Again, note that all grammar bots with con= sider the sentence not grammatical, because these words do not exist in t= he formal grammar. Analogous to zoi and la=E2=80=99o, there is also the word la=E2=80=99oi, = which works just like zo=E2=80=99oi, but treats the quote as a name: la=E2=80=99oi Quote next word only, use as name. Next word is identified = by pauses in speech or whitespace in writing: How would you say: =E2=80=9CMy English name is =E2=80=9CSafi=E2=80=9D=E2=80= =9D? glico x1 is English/pertains to English culture in aspect x2 cmene x1 is the name of x2 as used by x3 Answer: mi glico se cmene la=E2=80=99oi Safi Notice the necessary se. We = don=E2=80=99t what to say that we=E2=80=99re a name! Thirdly, ra=E2=80=99oi quotes the next rafsi. Since rafsi are not words, = they would usually have to be quoted by zoi. Furthermore, several rafsi a= re also cmavo. To avoid confusion of which is meant, ra=E2=80=99oi always= refer to a rafsi, and is wrong in front of any text string which are not= rafsi. What does ra=E2=80=99oi zu=E2=80=99e rafsi zo zukte .iku=E2=80=99i zo=E2=80= =99oi zu=E2=80=99e sumtcita mean? ku=E2=80=99i attitudinal: discursive: However / though (contrasts to some= thing previously said) rafsi x1 an affix for word/concept x2 with properties/of form x3 in langu= age x4 Answer: =E2=80=9CThe rafsi =E2=80=9Czu=E2=80=99e=E2=80=9D is a rafsi for = =E2=80=9Czukte=E2=80=9D. But =E2=80=9Czu=E2=80=99e=E2=80=9D is a sumtcita= =E2=80=9D And finally the useful word ma=E2=80=99oi. ma=E2=80=99oi quotes any cmavo= , but treats the quote as a name for the word class (selma=E2=80=99o) to = which that word belongs. So, for instance, ba=E2=80=99o belongs to the wo= rdclass called ZAhO, so ma=E2=80=99oi ba=E2=80=99o is unofficial Lojban f= or =E2=80=9CZahO=E2=80=9D Try it out. Say that pu and ba are in the same selma=E2=80=99o! cmavo x1 is a grammatical word of class x2 in language x3 (One possible) Answer: zo pu cmavo ma=E2=80=99oi ba Lojban Lessons - Lesson nineteen (numbers and quantifiers) a fraction of loi is of all selbri Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty (bo, ke and more cuteness) Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty (bo, ke, co and more cuteness) Say you=E2=80=99re an important American buyer of computers. How do you e= xpress this? For constructs like these, tanru are ideal: mi vajni merko s= kami te vecnu. No wait, that=E2=80=99s not right. Tanru are grouped from = left to right, so this tanru is understood: ((vajni merko) skami) te vecn= u, a buyer of computers for important Americans. You can=E2=80=99t change= the order of the selbri to get a useful tanru. Neither can this be solve= d with logical connectives, which you will first learn about later anyway= . The only way to make a fitting tanru is to force the selbri to group di= fferently. To bind two selbri close together in a tanru, the word bo can be placed b= etween them: mi vajni bo merko skami bo te vecnu is read mi (vajni bo mer= ko) (skami bo te vecnu), which is useful in this context. If bo is placed= between several selbri in a row, they are grouped from right to left ins= tead of the usual left to right: mi vajni merko bo skami bo te vecnu is r= ead vajni (merko bo (skami bo te vecnu)) an =E2=80=9Cimportant (American = computer-buyer)=E2=80=9D, which is even more appropriate in the situation. bo Binds two selbri together strongly. How would you say =E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s a tasty yellow apple=E2=80=9D? kukte x1 is tasty for x2 Answer: ti kukte pelxu bo plise What about =E2=80=9DThat=E2=80=99s a big, tasty yellow apple=E2=80=9D Answer: ti barda kukte bo pelxu bo plise Another approach to this is to use the words ke=E2=80=A6ke=E2=80=99e. The= se can be considered as equivalent to the parenthesises used in the parag= raph above. ke begins strong selbri grouping, ke=E2=80=99e ends it. ke =E2=80=93 begin strong selbri grouping. ke=E2=80=99e =E2=80=93 end strong selbri grouping. The strength of the binding is the same as that of bo. Therefore, mi vajn= i merko bo skami bo te vecnu can be written mi vajni ke merko ke skami te= vecnu [ke=E2=80=99e] [ke=E2=80=99e]. How could you say =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m a German seller of yellow homes?=E2= =80=9D Answer: mi dotco ke pelxu zdani vecnu While we=E2=80=99re at messing with the ordinary tanru structure, there i= s another word worth paying attention to. If I want to say that I=E2=80=99= m a professional translator, I could say mi fanva se jibri. jibri x1 is a job of x2 under agreement x3 docbau x1 is German used by x2 to say x3 If I wanted to say that I=E2=80=99m a professional translater from Englis= h to German, I=E2=80=99d have to mess around with be and bei: mi fanva be= le docbau bei le glibau be=E2=80=99o se jibri, and the fact that it was = a tanru could quickly be lost in speech due to the complicated structure = of the sentence. Here, we can use the word co. it inverts the tanru, maki= ng the rightmost selbri modify the leftmost instead of the other way arou= nd: mi se jibri co fanva le docbau le glibau is the same bridi as the previou= s Lojban one, but much more easy to understand. Notice that any sumti bef= ore the tanru fills se jibri, while any following it only fills the modif= ying selbri: fanva. co Invert tanru. Any previous sumti fill the modified, any following fill= the modifier. The strength by which two selbri are bound together with co is the weakes= t of them all =E2=80=93 even weaker than normal tanru grouping without an= y grouping words. This makes sure that, in a co-construct, the leftmost s= elbri is always the selbri being modified, and the rightmost always modif= ies, even if any of those parts are tanru. This makes a co-construct easy= to parse: ti pelxu plise co kukte is read ti (pelxu plise) co kukte, which is the s= ame as ti kukte pelxu bo plise. This also means that a ke=E2=80=A6ke=E2=80= =99e cannot encompass a co. How can you express =E2=80=9DI am an important American buyer of computer= s=E2=80=9D using a co? Answer: mi skami te vecnu co vajni merko If it=E2=80=99s of any use, this is the list of different kind of selbri = groupers ranked by strength: 1. bo and ke..ke=E2=80=99e 2. logical connectives (explained in chapter twenty-four) 3. no grouping words 4. co The rest of this chapter will not be on selbri grouping, but much like ch= apter seventeen mention assorted words, which can be of use. bo has another use, which seems separate from selbri grouping: It can als= o bind a sumtcita to an entire bridi, so that the content of the sumtcita= is not a sumti, but the following bridi. This is best explained with an = example. xebni x1 hates x2 mi darxi do .i mu=E2=80=99i bo mi do xebni =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI hit you, = with motivation that I hate you.=E2=80=9D Here the bo binds mu=E2=80=99i = to the following bridi. The unofficial word me=E2=80=99oi is equivalent to me la=E2=80=99e zo=E2=80= =99oi, which means that it converts the content of the next word into a s= elbri. It is used to invent brivla on the fly: mi ca zgana la me=E2=80=99= oi X-files for =E2=80=9CI now watch X-files=E2=80=9D. Like all quote next= word-cmavo, it is not supported by the official grammar, but to the lazy= Lojbanist, it=E2=80=99s invaluable. The word gi is strage kind of bridi separator, analogous to .i, but to my= knowledge, it is used in only two different kinds of constructs: Most of= ten with logical connectives, explained in lesson twenty-four, but also w= ith sumtcita. With sumtcita it creates a useful, but hardly seen, constru= ct: {mu=E2=80=99i gi BRIDI-1 gi BRIDI-2}, which is equivalent to {BRIDI-2 .i = mu=E2=80=99i bo BRIDI 1}. Therefore, the example above, which explained w= hy I hit you, can be written mu=E2=80=99i gi mi xebni do gi mi darxi do, = or to preserve the same order as the original sentence, we can convert mu= =E2=80=99i with se: se mu=E2=80=99i gi mi darxi do gi mi xebni do. It is in examples like this that gi really can show its versatility. It d= oes not just separate two bridi like .i does, but can also separate two c= onstructs within a bridi, making all constructs outside the scope of gi a= pply to both bridi, as this example demonstrates: cinba x1 kisses x2 at locus x3 mi gi prami do gi cinba do leaves mi outside the construct, making it app= ly to both bridi. This can also be done with do, which is also present in= broth bridi: mi gi prami gi cinba vau do. Note that vau is needed to mak= e do appear outside the second bridi. Thus, we can write the original sentence shorter: mi mu=E2=80=99i gi xebn= i gi darxi vau do, or, to omit even the vau, we can write it even shorter= and more elegantly: mi do mu=E2=80=99i gi xebni gi darxi Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-one (COI) In this chapter, you will familiarize yourself with vocatives, or ma=E2=80= =99oi coi. They get their own lesson, not because understanding these pro= vides a basis for understanding Lojban grammar in general, or because the= y are hard to understand, but rather because they are very often used in = casual speech, and there are a lot of them. A vocative is used partly to define who do refers to. If the vocative is = followed by a cmevla, the cmevla gets an implied la in front of it. If a = selbri follows, a le is used as a gadri instead. In these examples, I will use the vocative coi, with means =E2=80=9CHi=E2= =80=9D or =E2=80=9CHello=E2=80=9D. If a person is called la + SELBRI, using a vocative with only the selbri = to address that person will mean you refer to her as actually being the x= 1 of that selbri, which is often wrong. If, for instance, a person is cal= led la tsani, =E2=80=9CSky=E2=80=9D, saying coi tsani refers to her as a = le tsani, meaning =E2=80=9CHi, you sky=E2=80=9D, while coi la tsani corre= ctly refers to her as someone called Sky, meaning =E2=80=9CHi Sky=E2=80=9D= . This is a frequent mistake, especially among new Lojbanists. All vocatives have a terminator which is sometimes required. This is do=E2= =80=99u. It=E2=80=99s mostly used if both the first word after the vocati= ve phrase and the last word of the phrase is a selbri, so that it prevent= s forming a tanru: do=E2=80=99u End vocative phrase. Usually elidable. klaku x1 cries x2 (tears) for reason x3 coi la gleki do=E2=80=99u klaku fi ma =E2=80=9DHello Happy. Why cry?=E2=80= =9D The generic vocative, doi, does nothing except defining who do is: doi .ernst. xu do dotco merko =E2=80=9CErnst: Are you a German-American?=E2= =80=9D All the other vocatives have some content beside defining do. coi, which = you know, also means =E2=80=9CHello=E2=80=9D, for example. Many of the vo= catives have two or three definitions like the attitudinals. Like attitud= inals, this is because they can be modified with cu=E2=80=99i and nai, th= ough only one vocative has the cu=E2=80=99i-form defined. Some important vocatives are listed in the table below. There are others,= but those are not used much. vocative Without suffix -cu=E2=80=99i -nai coi Hello - - co=E2=80=99o Goodbye - - je=E2=80=99e Understood / OK - Not understood fi=E2=80=99i Welcome - Not welcome here pe=E2=80=99u Please - - ki=E2=80=99e Thanks - Disappreciation re=E2=80=99i Ready to recieve - Not ready ju=E2=80=99i Hey! At ease Ignore me ta=E2=80=99a Interruption - - vi=E2=80=99o Will do - Will not do ke=E2=80=99o Please repeat - No repeat needed What would coi co=E2=80=99o mean? Answer: =E2=80=9CGreetings in passing=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CHello and Good= bye=E2=80=9D je=E2=80=99e is used as =E2=80=9COK=E2=80=9D, but also the appropriate re= sponse when receiving praise or thanks, as it indicates that the praise o= r thanks was successfully understood. Translate ki=E2=80=99e sidju be mi bei lo vajni .i je=E2=80=99e .jenifyn. sidju x1 helps x2 do x3 Answer: =E2=80=9CThanks, you helper of me to do something important.=E2=80= =9D =E2=80=9CNo problem, Jennifer=E2=80=9D And fi=E2=80=99i te vecnu .i pe=E2=80=99u ko citka Answer: =E2=80=9DWelcome, buyer. Please eat!=E2=80=9D re=E2=80=99i is used to signal that you are ready to be spoken to. It can= be used as the Lojban equivalent of =E2=80=9CWhat can I do for you?=E2=80= =9D or perhaps replace =E2=80=9CHello=E2=80=9D, when speaking on a phone.= re=E2=80=99i nai can mean =E2=80=9CAFK=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CBe there is = a second.=E2=80=9D Translate: =E2=80=9CHello, what can I do for you, Interpreter/Translater?= =E2=80=9D Answer: coi re=E2=80=99i la fanva ta=E2=80=99a is used when attempting to politely interrupt someone else. = What would be good responses to this? Translate: ta=E2=80=99a ro do mi co=E2=80=99a cliva cliva x1 leaves x2 via route x3 Answer: =E2=80=9CExcuse me for interrupting, everyone. I begin to leave n= ow=E2=80=9D Notice that no terminator or .i is needed. ke=E2=80=99o is used a lot when inexperienced Lojbanists speak together v= ocally. It=E2=80=99s quite a handy word sutra x1 is quick at doing x2 Translate: .y ke=E2=80=99o sutra tavla Answer: =E2=80=9CUh, Please repeat, you quick speaker.=E2=80=9D And =E2=80=9COkay okay, I got it already! I=E2=80=99ll do it!=E2=80=9D An answer: ke=E2=80=99o nai .ui nai vi=E2=80=99o Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-two (negation) Sometimes, just saying what=E2=80=99s the truth is not enough. Often, we = want to specify what=E2=80=99s not the truth, and we do this by using neg= ation. Negation in English mostly involves =E2=80=9Cnot=E2=80=9D, and is complet= ely arbitrary and ambiguous. We, as Lojbanists, can=E2=80=99t have that, = of course, so Lojban contains an elegant and unambigious system for negat= ing. The first you need to know about is bridi negation, so called because it = negates the bridi it=E2=80=99s in, saying it=E2=80=99s not true. The way = to negate a bridi is to place na either just before the selbri (after any= cu), or first in the sentence with a ku after it. speni x1 is married to x2 under convention x3 Thus: le mi speni cu na ninmu states that =E2=80=9CMy spouse is not a wom= an=E2=80=9D. It states nothing about what my wife is, or if I even have a= wife. It only states that I do not have a wife who is also a woman. This= has an important implication: If the negation of a bridi is false, the b= ridi must be true: na ku le mi speni cu na ninmu must mean that I have bo= th a spouse, and that she is a she. It is possible to use bridi negations in all bridi, even the implicit bri= di of descriptive sumti. lo na prenu can refer to anything non-human, whe= ther it be a sphinx, a baseball or the property of appropriateness. glibau x1 is English used by x2 to express x3 bau sumtcita, from bangu: using the language of [sumti] se ja=E2=80=99e sumtcita, from se jalge: because of [sumti] Often when using na, it=E2=80=99s a problem that negates the entire bridi= . If I say mi na sutra tavla bau le glibau se ja=E2=80=99e le nu mi dotco= , I end up negating too much, and it is not clear that I wanted to only n= egate that I speak fast. The sentence could suggest that I in fact speak = fast because of some other reason, or that I speak fast in French because= I=E2=80=99m German. To express the sentence correctly, I need to only ne= gate that I speak fast, and not the other things. To only negate part of a bridi, na ku can be moved around the bridi and p= laced anywhere a sumti can go. It then negates any sumti, selbri and sumt= cita placed after it. Moving na ku from the left end of the bridi and rightwards effects any qu= antifiers in a certain way, as can be seen by this example: na ku ro remna cu verba =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s not true that: All humans a= re children=E2=80=9D su=E2=80=99o remna na ku cu verba =E2=80=9CFor at least one human it=E2=80= =99s not true that: It=E2=80=99s a child=E2=80=9D. See that the na ku is = placed before cu, since a sumti can go only there. Had I only used na, it= would have to go after cu. The quantifier is inverted, ro is turned into su=E2=80=99o. This is, of c= ourse, only if the meaning of the bridi has to be preserved. This means t= hat when the na ku is placed at the end of the bridi, only the selbri is = negated but all the sumti and sumtcita are preserved, as can be seen by t= hese three identical bridi: ckule x1 is a school at location x2 teaching x3 to students x4 and operat= ed by x5 na ku ro verba cu ve ckule fo su=E2=80=99o ckule =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CIt=E2= =80=99s not true that all children are students in a school.=E2=80=9D su=E2=80=99o verba cu ve ckule na ku fo su=E2=80=99o ckule =E2=80=93 =E2=80= =9CSome children are students in not a single school.=E2=80=9D su=E2=80=99o verba cu ve ckule fo ro ckule na ku =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CSome = children are for all schools not students in them.=E2=80=9D While the mechanism of na ku resembles natural language negation, it can = be difficult to keep track of exactly what is negated and how that affect= s the bridi. For that reason, the construct na ku is rarely seen anywhere= other than the beginning of a bridi. In most cases where more specific n= egation is needed people resort to a different method. This method, calle= d scalar negation, is an elegant and intuitive tool. Using it, you effect= only the selbri, since the words used in scalar negation binds to the se= lbri much like the word se. The name =E2=80=9Cscalar negation=E2=80=9D is derived from the fact that = the words which bind to the selbri can be placed along a scale from affir= mation over negation and to stating that the opposite case is true: Word Meaning je=E2=80=99a =E2=80=9CIndeed=E2=80=9D; scalar affirmer no=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9CNot really=E2=80=9D, scalar midpoint na=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9CNon-=E2=80=9C, scalar negator to=E2=80=99e =E2=80=9CIl=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CDis-=E2=80=9C, =E2=80=9CMis=E2= =80=9D ect; scalar opposer These words are not negators in the same sense as na. They do not state t= hat a bridi is false, but makes a positive statement that a bridi is true= =E2=80=93 the same bridi, but with a different selbri. The words no=E2=80=99e and to=E2=80=99e should only be used when the selb= ri has an implicit scale: le mi speni cu to=E2=80=99e melbi =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DMy spouse is ugly=E2= =80=9D makes sense, since we immediately know what the opposite of beauti= ful is, while mi klama le mi to=E2=80=99e zdani =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DI go to my opposite = thing of home=E2=80=9D, while grammatical, leaves the listener guessing w= hat the speakers =E2=80=9Copposite-home=E2=80=9D is and should be avoided. Try to translate these sentences: =E2=80=9CMy spouse is not a woman=E2=80=9D (meaning that he is a male) Answer: le mi speni cu na=E2=80=99e / to=E2=80=99e ninmu. Using scalar ne= gation here implies that he exists, which na did not. =E2=80=9CMy spouse is not really a woman=E2=80=9D Answer: le mi speni cu no=E2=80=99e ninmu. The scale here is presumed to = be from woman to man. =E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t speak fast in English because I=E2=80=99m German= =E2=80=9D Answer: mi na=E2=80=99e sutra tavla bau le glibau se ja=E2=80=99e le nu m= i dotco Also, note that whenever these words are used together with a tanru, they= only affect the leftmost selbri. In order to make it bind to the whole t= anru or parts of the tanru, the usual tanru-grouping words can be used. Try to say =E2=80=9CI sell something which is not yellow homes=E2=80=9D u= sing the tanru pelxu zdani vecnu Answer: mi na=E2=80=99e ke pelxu zdani ke=E2=80=99e vecnu or mi na=E2=80=99= e pelxu bo zdani vecnu When attempting to answer: =E2=80=9CIs the king of the USA fat?=E2=80=9D,= all of these negations fail. While it=E2=80=99s technically correct to n= egate it with na, since it makes no assumptions of that is true, it=E2=80= =99s mildly misleading since it could lead the listener to believe there = is a king of the USA. For these scenarios, there is a metalinguistic nega= tor, na=E2=80=99i. na=E2=80=99i Metalinguistic negator. Something is wrong with assigning a = truth value to the bridi. Because na=E2=80=99i can be needed anywhere it has been given the grammar= of the attitudinals, which means it can appear anywhere, and it attaches= to the previous word or construct. palci x1 is evil by standard x2 le na=E2=80=99i pu te zukte be le skami cu palci =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DThe s= ought goal [mistake!] of the computer was evil=E2=80=9D, probably protest= s that computers can seek a goal volitionally. Since this is a chapter on negation, I believe the word nai deserves a sh= ort mention. It is used to negate minor grammatical constructs, and can b= e used in combination with attitudinals, all sumtcita including tenses, v= ocatives and logical connectives. The rules for negating using nai depend= on the construct, and so the effect of nai has been discussed when menti= oning the construct themselves. The exception is sumtcita, where the rule= s for negation are more complex, and will not be discussed here. Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-three (brika=E2=80=99i/pro-bridi and ko=E2= =80=99a) If I say that I=E2=80=99m called Mikhail, la .mikail. cmene mi, and you h= ave to say the exact same bridi, what would that be? One of the many answ= ers is do se cmene la .mikail.. For the bridi to be the same, you have to= replace mi with do, and it doesn=E2=80=99t matter which if you say the b= ridi with the se-converted selbri or not. This is because a bridi is not = the words which express it =E2=80=93 a bridi is an idea, an abstract prop= osition. The word mi when I say it and the word do when you do refers to = the same sumti, so the two bridi are identical. This lesson is on brika=E2=80=99i, the bridi equivalent of sumka=E2=80=99= i. They are word which represent entire bridi. Here it is important to re= member that a bridi consists only of sumti and the things which contain t= he sumti, selbri and sumtcita. Neither attitudinals, nor the semantic lay= er of ko or ma are part of the bridi proper, and so these are not represe= nted by a brika=E2=80=99i. There are much fewer brika=E2=80=99i than there are sumka=E2=80=99i. We w= ill begin by going through the most used series, called GOhA: Word: Definition: go=E2=80=99u Repeats remote past bridi go=E2=80=99a Repeats past bridi go=E2=80=99e Repeats next-to-last bridi go=E2=80=99i Repeats last mentioned bridi go=E2=80=99o Repeats future bridi nei Repeats current bridi no=E2=80=99a Repeats outer bridi The GOhA brika=E2=80=99i. Notice the familiar i, a, u-pattern for close i= n past, medium in past and distant in past. These are very much like the sumka=E2=80=99i ri, ra and ru. They can only= refer to main bridi of jufra, and not those contained in relative phrase= s or description sumti. The main bridi can contain a relative phrase, of = course, but a brika=E2=80=99i can never be used to refer to only the rela= tive phrase. A GOhA acts grammatically much like a selbri, any construct which can app= ly to selbri can also apply to these. The place structure of a GOhA is th= e same as that of the bridi it represents, and the sumti are by default t= he same as in the bridi it represents. Filling the sumti places of a GOhA= explicitly overwrites the sumti of the bridi it represents. Contrast: A: mi citka lo plise B: go=E2=80=99i =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI eat an apple.=E2= =80=9D =E2=80=9CYou do.=E2=80=9D with A: mi citka lo plise B: mi go=E2=80=99i =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI eat an apple= .=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CI do, too.=E2=80=9D These brika=E2=80=99i are very useful when answering a question with xu: A: xu do nelci le mi speni B: go=E2=80=99i / na go=E2=80=99i =E2=80=93 =E2= =80=9CDo you like my wife?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CYes./No.=E2=80=9D. The xu, b= eing an attitudinal, is not copied. nei and no=E2=80=99a are not used much, except for =E2=80=9Cmind-breaking= purposes=E2=80=9D, which is making up bridi which are hard to parse, lik= e dei na se du=E2=80=99u le no=E2=80=99a la=E2=80=99e le nei. Since nei r= epeats the current outer bridi, however, le nei can be used to refer to t= he x1 of the current outer bridi, le se nei the x2 and so on. When using brika=E2=80=99i, one must always be wary of copying sentences = with the personal sumka=E2=80=99i like mi, do, ma=E2=80=99a ect, and be c= areful not to repeat them when they are in the wrong contect, as shown in= the two examples with apple eating above. Instead of replacing them one = by one, though, the word ra=E2=80=99o anywhere in the bridi updates the p= ersonal sumka=E2=80=99i so that they apply for the speaker=E2=80=99s pers= pective: A: mi do prami B: mi do go=E2=80=99i is equivalent to A: mi do prami B: g= o=E2=80=99i ra=E2=80=99o ra=E2=80=99o Update all personal sumka=E2=80=99i so that they now fit the= speaker=E2=80=99s point of view. The only other series of brika=E2=80=99i are very easy to remember: broda Bridi variable 1 brode Bridi variable 2 brodi Bridi variable 3 brodo Bridi variable 4 brodu Bridi variable 5 cei Define bridi variable The first five are just five instances of the same word. They can be used= as shortcuts to bridi. After saying a bridi, saying cei broda defines th= at bridi as broda, and broda can then be used as brika=E2=80=99i for that= bridi in the following conversation. While we=E2=80=99re at it, there is an analogous series of sumka=E2=80=99= i, which probably does not belong in this chapter, but here they are anyw= ay: ko=E2=80=99a Sumti variable 1 fo=E2=80=99a Sumti variable 6 ko=E2=80=99e Sumti variable 2 fo=E2=80=99e Sumti variable 7 ko=E2=80=99i Sumti variable 3 fo=E2=80=99i Sumti variable 8 ko=E2=80=99o Sumti variable 4 fo=E2=80=99o Sumti variable 9 ko=E2=80=99u Sumti variable 5 fo=E2=80=99u Sumti variable 10 goi =09 Define sumti variable These are used like the brika=E2=80=99i-series. Just place, for instance,= goi ko=E2=80=99u after a sumti, and that sumti can be referred to by ko=E2= =80=99u. Strangely, these series are rarely used for their intended purpose. They = are, however, used as arbitrary selbri and sumti in example texts: =E2=80=9CSo, is it true that the truth condition of ko=E2=80=99a ko=E2=80= =99e broda na ku is always the same as na ku ko=E2=80=99a ko=E2=80=99e br= oda?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CNope, it isn=E2=80=99t.=E2=80=9D Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-four (logical connectives) =E2=80=9CIf you ask a Lojbanist: =E2=80=9CDo you want milk or sugar in yo= ur coffee?=E2=80=9D she=E2=80=99ll answer: =E2=80=9CCorrect.=E2=80=9D=E2=80= =9D Witty as this joke might be, it illustrates a weird property of the Engli= sh way of asking this question. It is phrased as a true/false question, b= ut it really isn=E2=80=99t. In Lojban, we can=E2=80=99t have this kind of= inconsistency, and so we must find another way of asking this kind of qu= estion. If you think about it, it=E2=80=99s pretty hard to find a good an= d easy way, and it seems Lojban have picked a good way instead of an easy= way. To explain it, let us take two separate bridi: Bridi 1: =E2=80=9CI like m= ilk in my coffee=E2=80=9D and bridi 2: =E2=80=9CI like sugar in my coffee= =E2=80=9D. Both of these bridi can have the state true or false. This yie= lds four combinations of which bridi is/are true: A) 1 and 2 B) 1 but not 2 C) 2 but not 1 D)neither 1 nor 2 I, in actuality, like milk in my coffee, and I=E2=80=99m indifferent as t= o whether there is sugar in it or not. Therefore, my preference can be wr= itten A) true B) true C) false D) false, since both A and B yields true f= or me, but neither C nor D does. A more compact way of writing my coffee = preferences would be TTFF for true, true, false, false. Similarly, a pers= on liking his coffee black and only black would have a coffee preference = of FFFT. This is called a =E2=80=9Ctruth function=E2=80=9D for the two st= atements =E2=80=9CI like milk in my coffee=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CI like s= ugar in my coffee=E2=80=9D. Note that the order of the statements matters. In Lojban, we operate with 4 truth functions, which we consider fundament= al: A: TTTF (and/or) O: TFFT (if and only iff) U: TTFF (whether or not) E: TFFF (and) In this example, they would translate to something like: A:=E2=80=9DJust = not black coffee=E2=80=9D, O: =E2=80=9CEither both milk or sugar, or noth= ing for me, please=E2=80=9D, U: =E2=80=9CMilk, and I don=E2=80=99t care a= bout if there=E2=80=99s sugar or not=E2=80=9D and E: =E2=80=9CMilk and su= gar, please.=E2=80=9D. In Lojban, you place the word for the truth function between the two brid= i, selbri or sumti in question. That word is called a logical connective.= The words for truth functions between sumti (and just for sumti!) are .= a .o .u and .e. How nice. For instance: =E2=80=9CI am friends with an Ame= rican and a German=E2=80=9D would be lo merko .e lo dotco cu pendo mi. How would you say: =E2=80=9CEither I flirt with you or with none at all?=E2= =80=9D Answer: mi cinjikca do .o no da One more: =E2=80=9CI like cheese whether or not I like coffee=E2=80=9D ckafi x1 is a quantity/contains coffee from source/of grain x2 Answer: mi nelci lo=E2=80=99e cirla .u lo=E2=80=99e ckafi You can perhaps deduce that there are sixteen possible truth functions, s= o we need to learn 12 more in order to know them all. 8 more can be obtai= ned by negating either the first sentence or the second. The first is neg= ated by prefixing the truth function word with na, the second is negated = by placing nai after the word. For example, since .e represents TFFF, .e = nai must be =E2=80=9Cboth 1 is true and 2 is false=E2=80=9D, which is FTF= F. Similarly, na .a is =E2=80=9CJust not: 1 is true and 2 is false=E2=80=9D= , which is TTFT. Doing this type of conversion in the head real-time is v= ery, very hard, so perhaps one should focus on learning how logical conne= ctives work in general, and then learn the logical connectives themselves= by heart. Four functions cannot be made this way: TTTT, TFTF, FTFT and FFFF. The fi= rst and the last cannot be made using logical connectives at all, but the= y are kind of useless anyway. Using a hypothetical logical connective in = the sentence =E2=80=9CI like milk FFFF sugar in my coffee=E2=80=9D is equ= ivalent to saying =E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t like coffee=E2=80=9D, just mor= e complicated. The last two, TFTF and FTFT, can be made by prefixing .u w= ith good ol=E2=80=99 se, which just reverts the two statements. se .u , f= or instance is =E2=80=9CB whether or not A=E2=80=9D, which is TFTF. The f= inal list of all logical connectives can be seen below. TTTT: Cannot be made TTTF: .a TTFT: .a nai TTFF: .u TFTT: na .a TFTF: se .u TFFT: .o TFFF: .e FTTT: na .a nai FTTF: na .o OR .o nai FTFT: se .u nai FTFF: .e nai FFTT: na .u FFTF: na .e FFFT: na .e nai FFFF: Cannot be made Logically, saying a sentence with a logical connective, like for instance= mi nelci lo=E2=80=99e cirla .e nai lo=E2=80=99e ckafi is equivalent to s= aying two sentences: mi nelci lo=E2=80=99e cirla .i na ku mi nelci lo=E2=80= =99e ckafi. This is how the function of logical connectives is defined. By putting a =E2=80=9Cj=E2=80=9D in front of the core word of a logical c= onnective, it connects two selbri. An example is mi ninmu na jo nanmu =E2= =80=9CI am a man or a woman, but not both=E2=80=9D ninmu x1 is a woman ninmu x1 is a woman This is =E2=80=9Ctanru-internal=E2=80=9D, meaning that it loosely binds s= elbri together, even when they form a tanru: lo dotco ja merko prenu mean= s =E2=80=9Ca German or American man=E2=80=9D, and is parsed lo (dotco ja = merko) prenu. This binding is slightly stronger that normal tanru-groupin= g (still weaker than specific grouping-words), and as such, lo dotco ja m= erko ninmu ja nanmu is parsed lo (dotco ja merko) (ninmu ja nanmu). The s= elbri logical connectives can also be attached to .i in order to connect = two sentences together: la .kim. cmene mi .i ju mi nanmu =E2=80=9CI=E2=80= =99m called Kim, whether or not I=E2=80=99m a man=E2=80=9D Unfairly hard question: Using logical connectives, how would you translat= e =E2=80=9CIf you=E2=80=99re called Bob, you=E2=80=99re a man.=E2=80=9D? Answer: la .bab. cmene do .i na ja do nanmu or =E2=80=9CEither you=E2=80=99= re not named Bob and a man, or you=E2=80=99re not named Bob and not a man= , or you=E2=80=99re named Bob and a man. But you can=E2=80=99t be named B= ob and not be a man.=E2=80=9D The only combination not permitted is: =E2=80= =9CYou=E2=80=99re called Bob, but not a man.=E2=80=9D This must mean that= , if it=E2=80=99s true that you=E2=80=99re called Bob, you must be a man! If we try to translate the sad, sad event of =E2=80=9CI cried and gave aw= ay my dog=E2=80=9D, we run into a problem. Attempting to say the sentence with a je between the selbri =E2=80=9Cgave= =E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Ccried=E2=80=9D, would mean the same word for word,= but unfortunately mean that =E2=80=9CI cried the dog and gave away the d= og=E2=80=9D, cf. the definition of logical connectives. One can cry tears= or even blood, but crying dogs is just silly. However, we can get around by using bridi-tail logical connectives. What = they do is that any previous sumtcita and sumti attaches to both selbri b= ound by the bridi-tail logical connective, but any following terms only a= pplies to the last mentioned: The bridi splits up from one head to two ta= ils, to speak metaphorically. The form of a bridi-tail logical connective is gi=E2=80=99V, with the V f= or the vowel of the truth function. How could you correctly translate the English sentence to Lojban? Answer: mi pu klaku gi=E2=80=99e dunda le mi gerku What does ro remna palci gi=E2=80=99o zukte lo palci mean? palci x1 is evil by standard x2 Answer: =E2=80=9CPeople are evil if and only if they do evil things.=E2=80= =9D Furthermore, there is a forethought all-but tanru internal group of conne= cters made by prefixing =E2=80=9Cg=E2=80=9D in front of the truth functio= n vowel. =E2=80=9CForethought=E2=80=9D in this context means that they ne= ed to go in front of the things they connect, and thus you need to think = about the grammatical structure of the sentence before saying it. All-but= tanru internal means that it serves both as a connective between sumti, = bridi, selbri and bridi-tails, but not between two selbri of one tanru. L= et me show you how it works, rewriting the Lojban sentence above: go lo remna cu palci gi lo remna cu zukte lo palci The first logical connective in these kinds of constructs are what carrie= s the vowel which signal what truth function is being used. The second lo= gical connective is always gi, and like .i, it has no truth function. It = simply serves to seperate the two terms being connected. If you want to n= egate the first or second sentence, a nai is suffixed to either the first= (for the first sentence) or second (for the second sentence) logical con= nective. Provided that the constructs are terminated properly, it has remarkable f= lexibility, as the following few examples demonstrate: mi go klama gi cadzu vau le mi zdani =E2=80=9CI go, if and only if walk, = to my home=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI can only go to my home by walking.=E2=80= =9D Notice that the vau is needed to make le mi zdani apply to both cadzu= and klama. se gu do gi nai mi bajra le do ckule =E2=80=9CWhether or not you, then no= t I, run to your school=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9CI won=E2=80=99t run to your = school no matter if you do or not=E2=80=9D The tanru-internal equivalent of gV is gu=E2=80=99V. These are exactly th= e same, except that they are exclusively tanru-internal, and that they bi= nd a selbri to the gi tighter than normal tanru-grouping, but weaker than= explicit binding-sumti: la hanz.krt. gu=E2=80=99e merko gi dotco nanmu is equivalent to la hanz.krt. merko je dotco nanmu And so you=E2=80=99ve read page up and page down just to get the necessar= y knowledge in order to be able to learn how to ask =E2=80=9CWould you li= ke milk or sugar in your coffee?=E2=80=9D in Lojban. Simply place a quest= ion logical connective instead of another logical connective, and like ma= , it asks the listener to fill in a correct response. Unfortunately, thes= e question-logical connectives don=E2=80=99t always match the pattern of = the logical connectives they ask for: ji Logical connective question: Asks for a sumti logical connective (A) je=E2=80=99i Logical connective question: Asks for a tanru-internal selbr= i logical connective (JA) gi=E2=80=99i Logical connective question: Asks for a bridi-tail logical c= onnective (GIhA) ge=E2=80=99i Logical connective question: Asks for a forethought all-but = tanru internal logical connective (GA) gu=E2=80=99i Logical connective question: Asks for a forethought only tan= ru internal logical connective (GUhA) So... how would you ask if the persons wants milk or sugar in her coffee? ladru x1 is/contains milk from source x2 sakta x1 is/contains sugar from source x2 of composition x3 Possible answer: sakta je=E2=80=99i ladru le do ckafi though I guess some= thing more English and less elegant could also suffice like do djica lenu= lo sakta ji lo ladru cu nenri le do ckafi Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-five (lojban logic: da, bu=E2=80=99a, zo=E2= =80=99u and terms) Lojban Lessons - Lesson twenty-six (notes on abstractors) The notion of abstractions and abstractors is quite fundamental to Lojban= , and you have already learned the mechanism twenty lessons ago. There ar= e, however, many abstractors with slightly different semantic meaning to = explore, as well as a single important mechanism which has not been cover= ed yet. In this lesson, all twelve abstractors will be elaborated on. The= terminator for all of these is kei. The first and most basic abstractor is su=E2=80=99u, which you already kn= ow. su=E2=80=99u x1 is an abstract nature of BRIDI of type x2 You might not have seen the definition of su=E2=80=99u. This would have n= eedlessly confused in earlier chapters. The new information is the x2 of = {su=E2=80=99u BRIDI}, which can be explained as follows: The English phrase =E2=80=9Cthat I love you=E2=80=9D is definitely a sumt= i, since it=E2=80=99s meant to function as a subject or object in a sente= nce. It=E2=80=99s also clearly made from an abstraction. It can therefore= be translated {(lo/le) su=E2=80=99u mi do prami}. Without the context of= the English sentence, though, it=E2=80=99s hard to guess what kind of ab= straction was meant. =E2=80=9CI will die happy by the time that I love yo= u.=E2=80=9D treats the abstraction like an event happening in time. =E2=80= =9CThe truth is that I love you.=E2=80=9D treats the abstraction like a b= ridi, which can be considered true or false. In the sentence =E2=80=9CThe= most beautiful thing in the world is the idea that I love you=E2=80=9D, = the abstraction is considered an abstract concept. Using the second sumti= place of su=E2=80=99u, these can be explicitly distinguished between: le su=E2=80=99u mi do prami kei be lo fasnu is an event. le su=E2=80=99u mi do prami kei be lo bridi is a bridi. le su=E2=80=99u mi do prami kei be lo sidbo is a concept. Using su=E2=80=99u this way, the semantic, though perhaps not grammatical= , range of all abstractors can be covered. More usually, though, other ab= stractors are used. nu, which you also know, treats the abstraction as an= event. nu x1 is an event of BRIDI There are many ways to view an event, and so there are four other abstrac= tors whose semantic are all covered by nu, but more specific. mu=E2=80=99e x1 is a point-like event of BRIDI happening za=E2=80=99i x1 is a state of BRIDI being true pu=E2=80=99u x1 is a process of BRIDI unfolding through stages x2 zu=E2=80=99o x1 is an activity of BRIDI consisting of the repeated event = of x2 The understanding of these abstractors is tied to the understanding of ev= ent contours. mu=E2=80=99e is akin to the event contour co=E2=80=99i in t= he sense that both treat the bridi as point-like in time and space: le mu=E2=80=99e mi kanro binxo cu se djica mi =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9DMe becom= ing healthy is desired by me=E2=80=9D has the semantic meaning that the p= rocess of becoming healthy is not being considered. If it consists of che= motherapy, it is plausible that this process is not desired at all. =E2=80= =9CBecoming healthy=E2=80=9D, in a point-like sense is desired, however. za=E2=80=99i is like the event contour ca=E2=80=99o in the sense that le = za=E2=80=99i bridi begins to apply when the bridi begins and sharply ends= when the bridi ceases to be true, much like ca=E2=80=99o. za=E2=80=99o za=E2=80=99i mi kanro binxo means that the state of me becom= ing healthy took too long time; that the time between my health beginning= to improve and be actually being healthy was long-winded. The actual treatment is perhaps better caught by pu=E2=80=99u, which, lik= e event contours in general, puts emphasis on the entire event as unfoldi= ng through time. .ii ba zi co=E2=80=99a pu=E2=80=99u mi kanro binxo vau .= oi expresses fear that the painful process of becoming healthy is about t= o begin.The x2 is filled by a sequence of stages, which can be made by in= terspacing the stages with the non-logical connective ce=E2=80=99o: ze=E2= =80=99u pu=E2=80=99u mi kanro binxo kei le nu mi facki ce=E2=80=99o le nu= mi jai tolsti ce=E2=80=99o mi ENDURE means =E2=80=9Csomething is a long = process of me becoming healthy consisting of the stages A) I find out B) = something about me begins C) I endure.=E2=80=9D Finally, the semantics of zu=E2=80=99o treats the abstraction as consisti= ng of reapeated actions: jibri mi fa lo zu=E2=80=99o mi zbasu lo karce =E2= =80=93 =E2=80=9CThe activity of me making cars is my job=E2=80=9D is accu= rate if, for instance, the speaker works at a car-producing factory. Here= , her activity of producing cars consists of the repeated actions A) she = lowers frame 1 onto car 1 B) she welds frame 1 to car 1, C) repeat with c= ar 2. The x2 here is also a sequence. Note the difference between mu=E2=80=99e bajra, za=E2=80=99i bajra, pu=E2= =80=99u bajra, zu=E2=80=99o bajra and nu bajra. The point-like event of r= unning puts emphasis on the event happening, but nothing else. The state = of running begins when the runner begins and stops when the runner stops.= The process of running consists of a warm-up, keeping a steady speed, an= d the final sprint. The activity of running consists the cycles of liftin= g one foot, moving it forward, dropping it down, repeat with the other fo= ot. All of these are covered by the event of running. The abstractor du=E2=80=99u has nothing to do with events and only consid= ers the bridi inside the abstraction as a bridi: .ui sai zi facki le du=E2=80=99u zi citka lo cidjrpitsa =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9C= Yes! I just found out that pizza will be eaten soon!=E2=80=9D. What is be= ing discovered is the truth of an abstract bridi, not an event. In genera= l, abstractions like truths, lies, things being discovered or believed ar= e all pure bridi, so du=E2=80=99u is appropriate.=20 du=E2=80=99u x1 is the bridi of BRIDI expressed in sentence x2 For bridi to exist (or at least to have any relevance), they must be expr= essed in some medium, whether this is speech, thought or writing. The ter= m =E2=80=9Cexpressed=E2=80=9D is misleading if it is expressed only in th= e mind of someone but the term nonetheless applies. Specifying which medi= um the bridi is expressed in is what the x2 of du=E2=80=99u is used for: = .ui facki le du=E2=80=99u jai cidjrpitsa kei zo=E2=80=99e pe le mi mamta= =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CYay, discovered that something about pizza, expressed= in something that had to do with my mother!=E2=80=9D. The translation is= clumsy, but probably means that the speaker=E2=80=99s mother told him th= at pizza was coming. The next abstractor, si=E2=80=99o, is derived from the gismu sidbo meanin= g =E2=80=9Cidea=E2=80=9D. It=E2=80=99s relatively easy to understand: le = si=E2=80=99o mi mamta is the very idea that I am a mother. Similarly, le = si=E2=80=99o prami is =E2=80=9CThe concept that someone loves someone=E2=80= =9D, which can be translated as merely =E2=80=9CLove itself.=E2=80=9D All= ideas need someone to reflect on them, and the second sumti place of si=E2= =80=99o mirrors this: si=E2=80=99o x1 is an idea of BRIDI as imagined by x2 le si=E2=80=99o nanmu kei be do cu xlali vau pe=E2=80=99i =E2=80=93 =E2=80= =9CYour idea of manliness is harmful, I think,=E2=80=9D The abstractor jei is very different from those covered so far, because o= f its place structure: jei x1 is the truth value of BRIDI under epistemology x2 The first sumti place is not an abstracted bridi, but a verdict of truth,= which lies between 0 (false) and 1 (truth) inclusive. These two numbers = are used to represent falsehood or truth, not mathematical quantity, and = therefore cannot be used in mathematics. {le jei BRIDI} is not a number, = but a truth verdict, which might be represented by a number or any other = symbols. The x2 is often left vague. .y li pi so=E2=80=99u jei go=E2=80=99i kei tu=E2=80=99a mi =E2=80=93 =E2=80= =9CUuh, that=E2=80=99s not very true, according to me.=E2=80=9D Semantically close to jei is ni, the amount abstraction. ni x1 is the quantity of BRIDI as measured at scale x2 Unlike the x1 of jei, the x1 of ni is a number. It is used to quantify w= hatever; some texts stress that those things which are not easily quantif= iable like le ni mi tunba do, the amount of me being your sibling, makes = no sense. For others this is a perfectly reasonable thing to say, even th= ough actually quantifying it is not practical.=20 --===============2773842477237920695== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline _______________________________________________ Wikichanges mailing list Wikichanges@lojban.org http://mail.lojban.org/mailman/listinfo/wikichanges --===============2773842477237920695==--