[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [lojban] Alice essay




On Sat, Dec 7, 2013 at 5:04 AM, Wuzzy <almikes@aol.com> wrote:
  [Felipe Gonçalves Assis:]
> Similarly, the existence of many lujvo not defined in the dictionary
> suggests a need on dictionary work, not a problem with the text,
> which, putting the word to real usage, is already a precious
> contribution. It is exciting that we have the opportunity to
> collaborate with the author and document the definitions for the new
> words, resolving its details.
I think it would be better to first write the definition of a new word
and then to use it. If you don’t want a definition, you can fall back
to tanru or “za'e”. If you do it the other way round, like you suggest
now, there is a risk of creating multiple definitions for the same
lujvo, which would go against the purpose of lujvo.
That’s just my position in brief. I have written it in detail to a
response to gleki.
I take it back to call it a “mistake” outright but call it “bad
practice” instead.

  I'm glad you changed your mind on calling it a "mistake".  I agree with you that people ought to write definitions in jbovlaste when they create some new lujvo coinages (that are intended for more than nonce usage (and much more strongly so for fu'ivla/zi'evla (which reminds me: Pierre, add your definition of "klamburi"!!))), but it certainly isn't the way that most dictionaries of natural languages work.  Someone uses a word in a medium, and, if necessary, defines it.  And eventually, with enough usage, dictionaries pick it up and include it.  But words that are derived from existing words or morphemes with an obvious use in context (one recent example from the newspaper -- "teflonification") do not need to be so defined or marked.  And pretty much every lujvo should be in that category.  Do you expect an advertiser who claims his new laundry detergent to be "cleanerrific" to put an asterisk there and say "*'cleanerrific', a term not found in dictionaries and coined by the Brand X company, is used to imply that their product cleans terrifically"?  I hope not.

  That being said, the danger of using a lujvo (especially in  the x3+ places) inconsistently, with uncommon constructions (i.e. not "-tce", "-rai" "-gau", "-bi'o", "-tci", "tol-" "nun-", etc families) is certainly a valid concern.

 </soapbox>
                       --gejyspa



--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "lojban" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to lojban+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to lojban@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/lojban.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.