[lojban-beginners] Re: precise definition of cmene

[Bob Slaughter <rslau@mindspring.com>]

> OK, thanks, making more sense now . . . but "Labrador Retriever," for
> example, is a breed.  Could I then say "la labrydor.rytrivyr." although
> that is not a Latin classification?  Or is that considered too vague since 
> it isn't biologically defined?
> 
> How *would* I say that Deena is a mutt?  Could I say
> 
> la dinas. gerku le mixre

Sure.
 
> Could I even say
> 
> la dinas. mixre la labrydor.rytrivyr.
> 
> if I wanted to specify that she is a Lab mix?

I think this is OK, *but* "la labrydor.rytrivyr." like any other cmene carries 
*no* real 'meaning'. A speaker of English will recognize what you trying to do,
but a native speaker of French won't, no more so than most of us know that
"Mary" comes from "myrhh", and means "bitter". 
 
> We like our dog, and talk about her a lot.  .a'i

The sentence of type "X is Y" is one of the worst to move to Lojban, because 
of the multiple uses and meanings of "is" in English.

Look this one up, and see if it also conveys your intentions:

la dinas. gerku pisu'oroda

Realize that the second sumti is a *number*.

Also, what about this one:

la dinas. gerku zo'e

Normally, "zo'e" is the same as leaving the sumti blank, but in this case, it 
clarifies that she is of some specifically unspecified breed. Remember, adding 
sumti *restricts* or *narrows* the statement. Does specifying she is a mutt 
actually meaningfully *restrict* the statement "la dinas. gerku" in the same 
way as specifying a breed would for a pure-bred dog?

Then there are the mass/set articles, which can also be used to specify which 
breeds she is part of. I'll let others more trained than I talk about those.


-- 
Bob Slaughter, rslau@mindspring.com     http://www.mindspring.com/~rslau/
North Georgia Modurail: http://www.mindspring.com/~rslau/ngm/
In which language of the world does the word 'taxi' mean "I cannot drive"?
e'osai ko sarji la lojban fo lonu pilno -- http://www.lojban.org/