From rmcivor@macsrule.com Thu Jun 29 11:22:16 2000 Return-Path: Received: (qmail 18287 invoked from network); 29 Jun 2000 18:22:15 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by m2.onelist.org with QMQP; 29 Jun 2000 18:22:15 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO granger.mail.mindspring.net) (207.69.200.148) by mta1 with SMTP; 29 Jun 2000 18:22:14 -0000 Received: from [206.175.104.218] (hil-qbu-pth-vty218.as.wcom.net [206.175.104.218]) by granger.mail.mindspring.net (8.9.3/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA09917; Thu, 29 Jun 2000 14:22:08 -0400 (EDT) X-Sender: rmcivor@m3.sprynet.com Message-Id: In-Reply-To: <4.2.2.20000628210547.00aecce0@127.0.0.1> References: <20000629003956.79887.qmail@hotmail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 14:21:55 -0400 To: "Bob LeChevalier (lojbab)" , lojban@egroups.com Subject: Re: [lojban] bacrynandu drata From: "Robert A. McIvor" At 21:20 -0400 28/6/00, Bob LeChevalier (lojbab) wrote: >At 05:39 PM 06/28/2000 -0700, michael helsem wrote: >> >From: Taral >> li'o >> > > ko tcidu le mupli pe li bipi'epa zi'e petu'i le somoi >> > > cuktypau (See example 8.1 in the 9th chapter of the Book.) >> > >> >Very good, but shouldn't that be "ckupau"? >> >>vlina (Either/or.) > >To clarify, all combinations of rafsi for the same tanru, when properly >formed and connected, represent the same word with identical meaning. Thus >ckupau = cuktypau = cuktypagbu = ckupagbu. Usually the shortest form is >the preferred form, but oftentimes the fully expanded form will be seen, >especially when beginners are talking or listening, because it requires no >knowledge of the short rafsi. .... >A major thing we wanted to avoid was having the same tanru being used to >make several different words having different meanings. JCB and TLI took >the approach that the dictionary-makers would choose one correct form to be >used by all; I chose instead to say that all forms were valid and >synonymous. The last sentence is misleading. JCB, while having a strong preference for the shorter form, for the reason you cite always agreed that all forms were valid and synonymous. The dictionary creates a canonical form, based on a point-rating system he devised, but this can be (and is, occasionally) overridden for reasons of euphony. In these cases, the dictionary program generates the algorithmic form as well, with a 'See ....' reference to the overriding form. One reason for this is that dictionary users can enter the constituent predicates when looking for a (or proposing a new) word to determine the algorithmic form.