[lojban-beginners] Re: How 'natural' a language?

[Jorge Llambías <jjllambias@gmail.com>]

On 11/4/05, sunnan@handgranat.org <sunnan@handgranat.org> wrote:
> Speaking of mabla: I often look at it as being on roughly the same level
> as "goddamn"; and often use it alone.

Me too. I prefer the definition offered here to the official one:
<http://www.lojban.org/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=mabla>

> But jbofi'e often gives me some weird interpretations for mabla lujvo, like
> "derogative-form-ish-" X.
>
> Is malpre a workable insult, or am I missing how "mal-" works?
>
> It's not the fact that the person's a person that's bad, it's the fact
> that the person is, for example, a fazna bebna.

Right. As I understand it, {malpre} means something like "x1 is a
deplorable / wretched / shitty / awful / rotten / worthless / contemptible
kind of person (to x2)", not something like "x1 is derogatively called
'person' by x2".

> (I've got a pet peeve about mabla - I often seen "mal" used when I'd
> rather see "xla".)

For example? {xlali} is something detrimental, harmful, pernicious,
prejudicial to someone, the opposite of {xamgu} = beneficial. {mabla}
is more general, low quality, worthless, distasteful.

mu'o mi'e xorxes