[lojban-beginners] Re: Converting Quotable Names

[Jorge Llambías <jjllambias@gmail.com>]

On 9/27/05, thgarris@nc.rr.com <thgarris@nc.rr.com> wrote:
> These answers are very helpful, but given the Sitting Bull example,
> couldn't you translate "Rite of Spring" to {la ritli pe vensa}.

You could, but I think there is a subtle difference.
In the case of Sitting Bull, there is no sitting bull, it
is just a name. In the case of the Rite of Spring the
title may actually refer to a rite of spring (this is even
more clear in the Hitchhiker's Guide case).

Anyway, probably nobody would object if you use
{la ritli pe vensa}.

>  Maybe
> I'm misunderstanding the other parts of {la'e lu lo ritli pe lo vensa
> li'u}, so I'll walk through my understanding just so someone can correct
> me if I'm wrong.  The {lu} and {li'u} are quoting a proper name.

Just quoting the words. {lu ... li'u} is for any kind of citation
as long as what is quoted is grammatical Lojban text.
{la'e} takes you to the thing referred to by those words.

> So if
> I were to say I heard "Rite of Spring", I would use {lu} and {li'u}, but
> if I were writing the program for the concert, I'd leave them out.

I'd do that, but I'm not sure there is a firm convention about
this.

> {lo}
> would be indicating that I am refering to the actual season of Spring
> and the actual Rites associated with it, and not just the generalized
> concepts of springiness and rituals.  If a native Lojbanist were writing
> the title on his score, would we use {lo}, or leave that to context?

{ritli pe lo vensa} is not grammatical though, because {pe}
attaches {lo vensa} to another sumti, so it has to be
{lo ritli pe lo vensa}, whether quoted or not.

> Now, as to a native Lojbanist, would we use {pe} or just {vensa ritli}
> (with or without the {lo}s)?

Yes, that's a possibility too.

> And for that matter, would we just build a
> cmene: {vensa.ritlis} (though he may use rafsi)?

{vensa.ritlis} is not a cmene, the first part is a gismu.
A cmene can consist of more than one word, but they
all must end in a consonant, so {vensaritlis} or
{vensyritlis}, or {vensas.ritlis.}, or ... But I wouldn't do
any of that when retaining the meaning of the words is
important.

mu'o mi'e xorxes