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[bpfk] Re: Lojban word definitions style guidelines



I don't know how much dictionary definition guidelines are relevant to the BPFK, but for lack of a better alternative, I've sent Naours' proposal here, to the BPFK list.

Indeed, even if the BPFK were to publish official definition guidelines or recommendations, this wouldn't magically change all the existing definitions ; however this may be a good idea in order that future/newer definitions have a nicer and more consistent style.

Also, it would be nice to have official recommendations on how to represent sumti slots in Lujvo definitions. As of now, the x+N system, the gismu_first_letter+N system and a mix of both systems are currently in use, which make lujvo definitions' style inconsistent across the dictionary.

As a side note, it's not yet possible to attach a natural language translation to Lojban sentence examples in Jbovlaste, so there may also be technical hindrances to such a proposal. However it's still possible to put translated examples directly into the notes field, although it's conceptually less nice.

mi'e la .ilmen. mu'o


On 27/05/2015 21:41, Ilmen wrote:
coi ro do

A couple of weeks ago, Naours (aka Xelan) suggested to make an official set of style guidelines for Lojban word definitions, in order to have definitions that look better and have a consistent style across the dictionary.

Those guidelines would also aim at reducing the use of slashes '/' in definitions, favoring the use of the gloss fields for listing natural language equivalent words or expressions. The rational for this is that slashes make definitions more clunky and less pretty, and the result can be awkward in languages with inflectional agreements.

Below is Naours' proposal, translated from French and slightly modified/adjusted by me (hopefully without misrepresenting the idea of its author).

mu'o mi'e la .ilmen.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Propositions:

* Most important points:
Each definition must have a clear description. Slashes '/' should be avoided as much as possible, as they hinder comprehension and make definitions look awkward.
Each definition must have a simple description: the description is written using simple terms, even if that leads to more verbosity.
Each definition must have a description as generic as possible: only one term per concept, as generic as possible for encompassing the other appropriate terms.
Every terms corresponding to the described concept are recorded in the gloss fields.
The etymologies are presented along with the definition in order to retain the term and its origin.
The various sumti types must be specified between parentheses:
    — Proposition (bridi abstractor - lo du'u)
    — Event (action or state; event abstractor - lo nu)
    — Property/dimension (property abstractor - lo ka)
    — Quantity (quantity abstractor - lo ni)

* Points that may need to be further discussed:
The sumti are described using singular definite articles.

Expected results example:

balni (gimsu)
Description: x1 is a platform overhanging on facade x2
Gloss: {balcony, overhang, ledge, shelf}
Exemple 1:
  (English): This is a balcony
  (Lojban): ti balni
Exemple 2:
  (English): The balcony of this building
  (Lojban): lo balni be lo vi dinju
Etymology:
  Chinese: iantai
  English: balkani
  Hindi: baramda
  Spanish: balkon
  Russian: balkon
  Arabic: curfa
Notes:

Some points are rather advanced, and it will maybe be necessary to modify/improve/remove them.

mu'o mi'e la .na'urs.




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