[lojban] Re: How many possible gismu?

[Pierre Abbat <phma@phma.optus.nu>]

On Thursday 24 September 2009 20:28:14 Arran wrote:
> IMHO valsi referring to other cultures, geography, ect should be fu'ivla
> with rafsi. (If there can be such a thing.) What disappoints me is the lack
> of taxonomy for plants and animals is the gismu..

There is such a thing. The Book has an experimental proposal of a finite set 
of rafsi fu'ivla. Both xorxes and I have worked out how to make an infinite 
class of rafsi fu'ivla, using "y" instead of the last vowel (my proposal) or 
adding "'y" after the last vowel (xorxes' proposal) to join them. As far as 
the proposal in the Book goes, if a word like "mraigo" (Welsh) is preceded by 
a rafsi, the Book allows words like "sicybermraigo", but to allow an infinite 
number of rafsi fu'ivla, such words have to have "y" inserted regardless of 
phonotactics: "sicyberymraigo".

As to taxonomy: there are two gismu for birds in Anseriformes and two for 
birds in Galliformes, but the rest of the birds, including the by far largest 
order Passeriformes, are deserted. There are two gismu for rodents, but mice 
and rats are fairly close within the rodents, so it's not clear which gismu 
to use for other kinds of rodents. And there are no gismu at all for kinds of 
fish, just the general "finpe".

In plants, "xruba" and "guzme" denote families, "rozgu" denotes a genus, 
and "latna" doesn't denote a taxon. I'm not sure if "cunmi" is taxonomically 
sound.

Pierre


To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to lojban-list-request@lojban.org
with the subject unsubscribe, or go to http://www.lojban.org/lsg2/, or if
you're really stuck, send mail to secretary@lojban.org for help.