Re: [lojban] Question about bridi/selbri

[Jorge "Llambías" <jjllambias2000@yahoo.com.ar>]

--- ªL­õ¥Á(Lin Zhemin) <ljm@ljm.idv.tw> wrote:
> In "The Complete Lojban Language" chapter 2, a schema is drew:
> 
> {......bridi(predicate)......}
> John     is the father of Sam.
> {sumti}  {selbri        } {sumti}
> 
> Why is it not like this?
> 
> {.....bridi(proposition).....}
> John     is the father of    Sam.
> {sumti}  {selbri(predicate)} {sumti(argument)}

In English, one would say that "John" is the subject and
"is the father of Sam" is the predicate, i.e. what is 
said about the subject. "Sam" would be an argument of the
predicate.

In Lojban we don't distinguish the subject from the arguments
of the predicate. It is not very clear whether we should say
that every sumti is a subject, and that the selbri is the predicate,
i.e. what we say about the subjects, or whether we should say
that there is no subject, only a predicate, and every sumti 
is an argument of the predicate. With the first view, the selbri
is the predicate, with the second view, the bridi is the predicate.

mu'o mi'e xorxes


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