Subject: Re: [lojban] Self Segregation

From: John Cowan <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 17:28:53 -0400 (EDT)

mcslason scripsit:

> What I don't understand at this point is how the language 
> disambiguates longer brivla which start with a cmavo-look-alike 
> followed immediately by a legal initial consonant cluster.

The rules are that if a cmavo could fall off a lujvo and leave a gismu
or another lujvo, then that lujvo is illegal. But if what is left
would be a fu'ivla, then the lujvo is valid and the fu'ivla is illegal.
These rules are called the tosmabru and slinku'i rules respectively,
for historical reasons (don't try to analyze the words).

> Pulled from the current lujvo list, consider:
> 
> [1] (brivla) backemselRERkru ?= (cmavo) ba + (brivla) ckemselRERkru

"Ckemselrerkru" can't be a lujvo (it would break up as "cke-mse-lre-r-kru"
which is impossible), so it would have to be a fu'ivla, and is banned
by the slinku'i rule. Consequently, "backemselrerku" is a valid lujvo.

All the others are valid for the same reason.

-- 
John Cowan <[email-masked]> http://www.reutershealth.com
I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
han mathon ne chae, a han noston ne 'wilith. --Galadriel, _LOTR:FOTR_