Re: [lojban-beginners] taxonomic .a descriptive

[Pierre Abbat <phma@phma.optus.nu>]

On Wednesday 22 December 2010 20:10:17 Jonathan Jones wrote:
> I have recently been thinking about a subject about which, in the past, I
> have been very vocal about, that being Lojban names for various species. At
> this time, there are basically two ways we do things, which I refer to as
> taxonomic, i.e. basing the lojban name upon the Linnaean (did I spell that
> right?) name, such as {bramlatu la.*acinonyx.jubatus.*} (big-cat of species
> *Acinonyx jubatus)*, and descriptive, i.e. basing the name on it's
> distinguishing characteristics, such as {bramlatu la traji sutra}
> (basically - big-cat of species "The Fastest"), both of which are what we
> call, in English, the Cheetah.

There is a third way, which is to make a fu'ivla from some natlang (or two, in 
the case of "makpapi"). Many common names in natlangs (especially Romance 
languages) are related to the Linnaean name, in which case two approaches may 
result in the same Lojban word. E.g. "cipnrfalko" and "falkoni" could be from 
the genus name "Falco" or from any of several natlang descendants of the 
Latin word.

> So, the poll is, what is your personal preference for species' names, and
> why? Do you prefer taxonomic, descriptive, neither both, either depending
> on circumstances, etc. etc., and what are your reasons?

All three, including having all of them for some living things, such 
as "arxokuna" (from some rindo bangu), "prokiono", and "lumge'u" (although 
it's not in the dog family, nor in the bear family, despite the similar 
German word).

> Please do not be afraid to speak up, because the point of this is to get a
> reading of the community. I am very curious, and the more of you who answer
> - and the more detailed your answer is - the happier I will be, even if the
> majority opinion is decidedly opposite of my own (, which is part of the
> reason why I have been careful to avoid expressing mine in this message.)
>
> Also, I would love to see other examples of Lojban names for things, such
> as, if anyone has another idea for what to call a Cheetah, or a Red-tailed
> Hawk (which is actually a buzzard, I recently learned), or any other
> creature.

I call it "ja'urtirxu", as it is a big cat with markings with something 
different about its claws (though they are not immobile, despite the genus 
name). Don't know about the red-tailed hawk.

Pierre
-- 
Jews use a lunisolar calendar; Muslims use a solely lunar calendar.

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