From lojbab@lojban.org Wed Oct 31 11:05:29 2001 Return-Path: X-Sender: lojbab@lojban.org X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 31 Oct 2001 19:05:29 -0000 Received: (qmail 88329 invoked from network); 31 Oct 2001 19:05:27 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by l9.egroups.com with QMQP; 31 Oct 2001 19:05:27 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO stmpy-3.cais.net) (205.252.14.73) by mta2 with SMTP; 31 Oct 2001 19:05:24 -0000 Received: from bob.lojban.org (209-8-89-79.dynamic.cais.com [209.8.89.79]) by stmpy-3.cais.net (8.11.1/8.11.1) with ESMTP id f9VJ5MC57753 for ; Wed, 31 Oct 2001 14:05:22 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <4.3.2.7.2.20011030174113.00e53d10@pop.cais.com> X-Sender: vir1036@pop.cais.com X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 4.3.2 Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 17:49:37 -0500 To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [lojban] Moss and lichen In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed From: "Bob LeChevalier (lojbab)" At 01:43 PM 10/30/01 -0500, pycyn@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 10/29/2001 8:29:09 PM Central Standard Time, >phma@oltronics.net writes: >>There is a gismu {clika} which is glossed as moss or lichen. Which is it? >>The >>two are completely different and are not even in the same kingdom. voc gives > >I suppose it is hopeless at this point to remind you that Lojban is an >ordinary, not a scientific, language at its base, so it tends to groups >things as ordinary people do, not as scientists do: molds (except >mushrooms, toadstools, and yeast), lichens, and moss (and maybe even a few >ferns) all go into the same pot in folk speech. Indeed, the bottom line is that clika is that green stuff growing on a rock or tree. Use tanru or lujvo to make serious distinctions; everyday people are not going to use taxonomic classifications, because everyday people don't know them. If they see green stuff on a rock, they will say "clika" regardless of what kingdom or phyla that the scientists would classify it as. Just as they will tend to call a dolphin le finpe even if scientists call it lo mabru. This problem also affects the various real-world referents of latna. Presumably they all got the name "lotus" even though they were unrelated taxonomically because people for some reason associated them with lo si'o lijda spati or lo ranmi spati poi se cmene la'o gy. lotus. gy lojbab -- lojbab lojbab@lojban.org Bob LeChevalier, President, The Logical Language Group, Inc. 2904 Beau Lane, Fairfax VA 22031-1303 USA 703-385-0273 Artificial language Loglan/Lojban: http://www.lojban.org