[lojban] Re: Language creation

["Philip Newton" <lojban-out@lojban.org>]

On 3 Nov 2003 at 16:08, Mr Ekted wrote:

> It seems that lojban actually consists of a relatively small core of
> base words, and that the rest are "manufactured" by forming compounds
> (kind of like German). Is this really true?

Pretty much; there are 1342 (if I count correctly) gismu (basic 
"content words", as opposed to "structure words").

However, besides compounding there's also borrowing from other 
languages (fu'ivla), and you can also put gismu next to one another to 
modify one another (creating a tanru) without compounding (which would 
create a lujvo).

lujvo have only one meaning, whereas the meaning of a tanru is derived 
from that of its components but can't be pinpointed; an analogy might 
be "courthouse" (which is where judges work) vs "court house" (which 
could be a house next to a court, or perhaps one belonging to a palace, 
or in some other way connected to a court).

> Like maybe there's no word for computer, just some compound word like
> box-with-buttons-and-lights. 

Probably more like "calculating-machine". Though Lojban does have a 
gismu for "computer": {skami}.

mu'o mi'i .filip.
-- 
filip.niutyn. <pnewton@gmx.de>