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[lojban] Re: semantic primes
Thanks for the list. Mine came out a bit
different, largely because of different readings
(apparently) of either the NSM list or of the
Lojban. The NSM list, since the words are
primes, does not get a lot of explanation,
although the issue of Theoretical Linguistics on
NSM (v. 29, #3) does clarify a few by giving
unambiguous (well, much less ambiguous) frames
taken as decisive. The Lojban-Lojban section of
jbovlaste is a step in the right direction,
lacking mainly a definitive list of primes and of
normative contexts for definitions. And, of
course, covering more words.
--- Jorge Llambías <jjllambias@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 3/17/06, MorphemeAddict@wmconnect.com
> <MorphemeAddict@wmconnect.com> wrote:
> > I'd like to see definitions of Lojban words
> in Anna Wierzbicka's Natural
> > Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) terms, as well as
> definitions of Lojban words in
> > the Lojban version of NSM.
>
> You can find something along that direction in
> the Lojban-Lojban section
> of jbovlaste.
>
> Here are Wierzbicka's proposed semantic primes
> in English (as of 2002),
> taken from
>
<http://www.une.edu.au/arts/LCL/disciplines/linguistics/nsmpage1.htm#model>
> and how they might go into Lojban:
>
> Substantives:
> I, YOU, SOMEONE, PEOPLE, SOMETHING/THING, BODY
>
> I: mi
> YOU: do
> SOMEONE: lo pa prenu
> PEOPLE: lo prenu
> SOMETHING/THING: lo pa dacti
> BODY: lo pa xadni
>
> It is not clear to me whether SOMETHING/THING
> is meant to be
> as restricted as {lo pa dacti} or as general as
> {da/de/di}.
>
> Determiners:
> THIS, THE SAME, OTHER
>
> THIS: Nothing strictly equivalent, but {vi} as
> in {lo vi broda} comes closest.
> THE SAME: {mintu} (but not really a determiner)
> OTHER: {drata} (but not really a determiner)
>
> Quantifiers:
> ONE, TWO, SOME, ALL, MANY/MUCH
>
> ONE: pa
> TWO: re
> SOME: su'o
> ALL: ro
> MANY/MUCH: so'i / pi so'i
>
> Evaluators:
> GOOD, BAD
>
> GOOD: xamgu (zabna)
> BAD: xlali (mabla)
>
> ( I think zabna/mabla should be the primes in
> Lojban, but xamgu/xlali
> are the direct translations.)
>
> Descriptors:
> BIG, SMALL
>
> BIG: barda
> SMALL: cmalu
>
> Intensifier:
> VERY: mutce
>
> Mental predicates:
> THINK, KNOW, WANT, FEEL, SEE, HEAR
>
> THINK: pensi/jinvi
> KNOW: djuno/se slabu
> WANT: djica
> FEEL: cinmo/ganse
> SEE: viska
> HEAR: tirna
>
> (It's hard to decide without context which one
> she sees as the prime
> meaning in the cases of THINK, KNOW and FEEL.)
>
> Speech:
> SAY, WORDS, TRUE
>
> SAY: cusku
> WORDS: valsi
> TRUE: jetnu
>
> Actions, events, movement, contact:
> DO, HAPPEN, MOVE, TOUCH
>
> DO: zukte
> HAPPEN: fasnu
> MOVE: muvdu
> TOUCH: pencu
>
> (although {muvdu} only works for change in
> location, not for movement
> in general)
>
> Existence and possession:
> THERE IS / EXIST, HAVE
>
> These don't have any accurate Lojban
> equivalents.
> It depends too much on the context.
>
> Life and death:
> LIVE, DIE
>
> LIVE: jmive
> DIE: mrobi'o
>
> (Notice that DIE is not a primitive in Lojban.)
>
> Time:
> WHEN/TIME, NOW, BEFORE, AFTER, A LONG TIME, A
> SHORT TIME,
> FOR SOME TIME, MOMENT
>
> WHEN/TIME: ca
> NOW: nau/ca ({nau} includes "here", {ca} is
> more general)
> BEFORE: pu
> AFTER: ba
> A LONG TIME: ze'u/zu (depending on whether it's
> a duration or a displacement)
> A SHORT TIME: ze'i/zi
> FOR SOME TIME: ze'a
> MOMENT: mokca (more or less)
>
> Space:
> WHERE/PLACE, HERE, ABOVE, BELOW; FAR, NEAR;
> SIDE, INSIDE; TOUCHING
>
> WHERE/PLACE: bu'u (although many Lojbanists use
> {vi})
> HERE: nau (Also {ti}, {vi} depending on
> context.)
> ABOVE: ga'u
> BELOW: na'i
> FAR: vu
> NEAR: vi
> SIDE: te'e/ze'o/ne'a
> INSIDE: ne'i
> TOUCHING: re'o
>
> "Logical" concepts:
> NOT, MAYBE, CAN, BECAUSE, IF
>
> NOT: na
> MAYBE: ju'o cu'i
> CAN: ka'e / kakne
> BECAUSE: ki'u / ri'a / mu'i / ni'i
> IF: ganai... gi..., but with lots of warnings
>
> Augmentor:
> VERY, MORE
>
> VERY: mutce
> MORE: zmadu
>
> Taxonomy, partonomy:
> KIND OF, PART OF
>
> KIND OF: klesi
> PART OF: pagbu
>
> Similarity:
> LIKE: simsa
>
> mu'o mi'e xorxes
>
>
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>
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