[lojban-beginners] Re: basic lojban

[Robin Lee Powell <rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org>]

On Sat, Dec 17, 2005 at 05:43:01PM +0100, Sunnan wrote:
> The wikipedia template for "This user is able to contribute with a basic
> level of lojban" currently reads:
> ti poi prenu cu jicmu plika'e la lojban

Ewww.

> Several things initially struck me as wrong with this sentence,
> but maybe I'm the one who misunderstood it (I didn't write it).
>
> 1. Can jicmu be used that way? I thought it was foundation like in
> foundation of a house.

It can be like how algebra is the foundation of calculus, too.  But
it's certainly not "basic" in that sense.

> 2. Does plika'e take a cmene or does it have to me a fact or
> event?

        Word: {plika'e}
        Type: lujvo
  Gloss Word: {can use}
  Definition: x1 is able to use x2 for purpose x3 under conditions x4

Which is poorly defined in that it doesn't mark which places came
from which gismu.  In this case, though, it's pretty obvious that
the x2 comes from pilno2.

So I don't see how the x2 could be a fact or an event.

> 3. Is there a better way to phrase this?

Several, I'm sure.

My first suggestion is:

ti poi prenu cu ka'e cusku lo sampu bau la .lojban.

-Robin

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