Re: Questions ...

["Pablo Stafforini" <cancrians@iname.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: C.D.Wright@solipsys.compulink.co.uk
> [mailto:C.D.Wright@solipsys.compulink.co.uk]
> Sent: Monday, March 29, 1999 2:12 PM
> To: lojban@onelist.com
> Subject: [lojban] Questions ...
>
>
> From: C.D.Wright@solipsys.compulink.co.uk
>
>
> I was going to say all this in lojban, but it
> is becoming clear that while my reading skils
> are improving rapidly, my synthesis skills are
> woeful.
>
> At work we have a "chat" system, and one of my
> colleagues and I are starting to use lojban on
> it as practice.  I have been teaching Neil as
> best I can, but there are things we both want
> to say that we just can't work out how.  Some
> things are easy ...
>
>   xu do djica lo tcati
>   mi caca'a klama do
>   mi bazi litru fi le relxilma'e
>
> and so on.  However, how about:
>
>   He made three CDs (le zgike cukla)
>

coi. sidirait.

In Lojban you don't have an exact word for the pronouns "he/she". Instead,
you have several different options. You can use the {ko'a} series. For
example:

{ko'a pu zbasu ci le zgike cukla}

It-1 made three CDs.

That, however, would be very vague, because {ko'a} can work both as "he" and
"she", and even "it"! The solution is to "assign" the pronoun, i.e. you
state to which element do you want {ko'a} to refer. For example, assuming
"he" represented your friend Neil:


la neil goi ko'a cu pendo mi .i ko'a pu zbasu ci le zgike cukla

Neil, also known as it-1, is my friend. It-1 made three CDs.

There are other ways also, but this the one lojbanists would use more
frequently (I suppose!). Check chapter 7 of the "Complete Lojban Language",
esp pp 150-151 (it's available online, on case you don't have it).


> or even,
>
>   Where I work we have a "chat" system.
>

{le briju pe mi gunka ke'a cu ponse le samta'a ciste}

The office where I work has a computer-talking system

or, to be more precise

{le briju pe mi gunka ke'a cu ponse le samta'a ciste pe mi'o}

In case you wanted to state that the "chat" system can be accessed by a
certain group of people.

{pe} is a relative clause that specifies association. For example, to say
"your book":

{le cukta pe do}

After {pe} you can have also a bridi-type structure, as in the original
phrase:

{le briju pe mi gunka ke'a}

{ke'a} represents the sumti which the relative phrase modifies (le briju).

There are more specific types of cmavo. {po} specifies possession, {po'e}
restrictive possession, and so on. {pe} is the most vague one, and therefore
can be used wherever the others appear (for instance, in the example I could
have used {le cukta po do}. This section of the grammar is explained in
chapter 8.

The lujbo for "chat" is not very good, but I think that was not the point of
your question.


I'm by no means an expert, anyway, so be prepared to find mistakes ;)

co'o mi'e. pablov.