[lojban-beginners] Re: [lojban] Re: Denoting counterfactual sentences in Lojban?

["Adam D. Lopresto" <adam@pubcrawler.org>]

> When a root word has more than one abbreviated form, is there ever a
> rationale to use one and not the other in a particular compound word? The
> only reason I have ever thought of was to prevent unpronouncable consonant
> combinations.  - epkat

Any of the rafsi will work, but sometimes there's a reason to use one instead
of another.  In particular, sometimes using one will generate consonant
clusters that are rather crunchy.  On the other hand, you need at least one
consonant cluster in the first five letters (or two syllables, or something,
depending on how camxes goes).  So leici'e wouldn't be legal (or rather,
wouldn't be a lujvo, it would be a cmavo cluster), but kleci'e would.  It
turns out that there are a lot of criteria for determining which form is
"better" than which other ones.  See chapter 4, section 12 of CLL
(http://lojban.org/publications/reference_grammar/chapter4.html#s12) for the
gruesome details.  Or download jbofi'e, and use jvocuhadju, which does it for
you.  Or just use whatever form pleases you most; it's not that big a problem.

Hmmm, seems jbovlaste doesn't do lujvo canonicalization.  It really should, so
if you look up {pavdjedi} or {pavdje} you get the record for {pavdei}.
(Probably not worth the programming it would take, though.)
--
Adam Lopresto
http://cec.wustl.edu/~adam/

'For myself,' said Faramir, 'I would see the White Tree in flower again in the
courts of the kings, and the Silver Crown return, and Minas Tirith in peace:
Minas Anor again as of old, full of light, high and fair, beautiful as a queen
among other queens: not a mistress of many slaves, nay, not even a kind
mistress of willing slaves. War must be, while we defend our lives against a
destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its
sharpness, nor the arrow for it swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I
love only that which they defend: the city of the men of Numenor; and I would
have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present
wisdom. Not feared, save as men may fear the dignity of a man, old and wise.'
--The Two Towers
  J.R.R. Tolkien