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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
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<title>Chapter 5</title>
</head>
<body>
<br>
<h1><small>５章
</small></h1>
<h1><small>
＜可愛い小さい女子の学校＞ロジバンのセルブリの構造
<p>``Pretty Little Girls' School'': The Structure Of Lojban selbri</p>
</small></h1>
<h2>
1. ロジバンの内容語 ブリヴラ
<p>1. Lojban content words: brivla</p>
</h2>
すべてのロジバンのブリディ（命題）はひとつ以上のセルブリから成り立つ。<br>
ブリディは事物間の関係を表現する。セルブリはその関係を特定する。<br>
<p>At the center, logically and often physically, of every Lojban
bridi is one or more words which constitute the selbri. A bridi
expresses a relationship between things: the selbri specifies which
relationship is referred to. The difference between:</p>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1.1) do mamta mi</span>
あなたは私の母です。<br>
と、<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1.2) do patfu mi</span>
あなたは私の父です。
<br>
<br>
は、セルブリの違いである。<br>
<br>
<p>1.1)do mamta mi<br>
You are-a-mother-of me.<br>
You are my mother.<br>
and<br>
1.2)do patfu mi<br>
You are-a-father-of me.<br>
You are my father.<br>
lies in the different selbri.<br>
</p>
もっとも簡単なセルブリは一個の内容語であるブリヴラである。<br>
ブリヴラには、ギスムとルジヴォ（合成語）とフヒヴラ（借用語）の３種ある。<br>
ブリヴラと同じ働きをするシマヴォが少しある。
<p>The simplest kind of selbri is a single Lojban content word:a
brivla.<br>
There are three different varieties of brivla: those which are built<br>
into the language (the gismu), those which are derived from<br>
combinations of the gismu (the lujvo), and those which are<br>
taken(usually in a modified form) from other languages (the fu'ivla). <br>
In addition, there are a few cmavo that can act like brivla; <br>
these are mentioned in Section 9, and discussed in full in Chapter 7.<br>
For the purposes of this chapter, however, all brivla are alike. For
example,<br>
</p>
<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1.3) ta bloti
</span> それはボートである。
<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1.4) ta brablo
</span> それは船である。
<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1.5) ta blotrskunri
</span> それはスクーナー船である。<br>
<p>
1.3) ta bloti<br>
That is-a-boat.<br>
That is a boat.<br>
<br>
1.4) ta brablo<br>
that is-a-large-boat.<br>
That is a ship.<br>
<br>
1.5) ta blotrskunri<br>
That is-a-(boat)-schooner.<br>
That is a schooner.<br>
</p>
<br>
各文は、３種のブリヴラ（ギスム、ルジヴォ、フヒヴラ）を表している。<br>
本章では、ブリヴラの例としてほとんどギスムを使うが、他のブリヴラと交換可能である。<br>
<br>
<p> illustrate the three types of brivla (gismu, lujvo, and
fu'ivla respectively), but in each case the selbri is composed of a
single word
whose meaning can be learned independent of its origins.<br>
The remainder of this chapter will mostly use gismu as example brivla,
because they are short. However, it is important to keep in mind that
wherever a gismu appears, it could be replaced by any other kind of
brivla.<br>
</p>
2. 簡単なタンル<br>
<p>2. Simple tanru</p>
<br>
セルブリが複数のブリヴラから成る場合をタンルという。<br>
タンルは、英語の名詞の結合に似ている。<br>
例えば<span style="font-weight: bold;">lemon
tree</span>だが、これを正確に解釈することはできない。<br>
レモンが実る木とも、レモン色した木とも解釈されうる。<br>
<br>
Beyond the single brivla, a selbri may consist of two brivla placed
together. When a selbri is built in this way from more than one brivla,
it is called a tanru, a word with no single English equivalent. The
nearest analogue to tanru in English are combinations of two nouns such
as ``lemon tree''. There is no way to tell just by looking at the
phrase ``lemon tree'' exactly what it refers to, even if you know the
meanings of ``lemon'' and ``tree'' by themselves. As English-speakers,
we must simply know that it refers to ``a tree which bears lemons as
fruits''. A person who didn't know English very well might think of it
as analogous to ``brown tree'' and wonder, ``What kind of tree is
lemon-colored?''<br>
<br>
タンルは、 <span style="font-weight: bold;">big boy</span>やq<span style="font-weight: bold;">uickly run</span>のように<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>形容詞－名詞や副詞－動詞と同様の目的で使わ
れる。<br>
しかし、ロジバンには、名詞、動詞、形容詞、副詞といったカテゴリーはない。<br>
ロジバンにおいては、それらは単にブリヴラというカテゴリーとなる。<br>
<br>
タンルの例をあげてみる。<br>
<p>
In Lojban, tanru are also used for the same purposes as English
adjective- noun combinations like ``big boy'' and adverb-verb
combinations like ``quickly run''. This is a consequence of Lojban not
having any such categories as ``noun'', ``verb'', ``adjective'', or
``adverb''. English words belonging to any of these categories are
translated by simple brivla in Lojban. Here are some examples of tanru:<br>
</p>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2.1)tu
pelnimre tricu</span> それは、レモンの木である。<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2.2)la djan.
barda nanla</span> ジャンは大きな少年である。<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2.3); mi sutra
bajra</span> 私は速く走る。<br>
<br>
<p>
2.1) tu pelnimre tricu<br>
that-yonder is-a-(lemon tree).<br>
That is a lemon tree.<br>
<br>
2.2) la djan. barda nanla<br>
John is-a-big boy.<br>
John is a big boy.<br>
<br>
2.3) mi sutra bajra<br>
I quick run.<br>
I quickly run/I run quickly.<br>
</p>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">pelnimre</span>は、<span style="font-weight: bold;">pelxu</span>（黄色）と<span style="font-weight: bold;">nimre</span>（柑橘類）から成る＜レモン＞の意
味のルジヴォである。
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">sutra</span>は、文脈によって
＜速い＞にも＜速く＞にもなる。
<p>Note that ``pelnimre'' is a lujvo for ``lemon''; it is derived
from the gismu ``pelxu'', yellow, and ``nimre'', citrus. Note also that
``sutra'' can mean ``fast/quick'' or ``quickly'' depending on its use:<br>
</p>
<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2.4)mi sutra </span>私
は速い。<br>
<br>
;例文2.3）は、＜私は速いランナーである＞と訳すことも可能である。
タンルの要素に対して特別の用語がある。最初の要素は、セルタウseltauと言い、
後の要素は、テルタウtertauと言う。
タンルを解釈するときに、最も重要な規則は、テルタウが基本的な意味を担うということである。
pelnimre tricuでは、第一義的には木であり、
二義的にそれがある点においてレモンに結びついているということである。
2.4) mi sutra<br>
I am-fast/quick.<br>
shows ``sutra'' used to translate an adjective, whereas in Example 2.3
it is translating an adverb. (Another correct translation of Example
2.3, however, would be ``I am a quick runner''.)<br>
There are special Lojban terms for the two components of a tanru,
derived from the place structure of the word ``tanru''. The first
component is called the ``seltau'', and the second component is called
the ``tertau''.<br>
<br>
The most important rule for use in interpreting tanru is that the
tertau carries the primary meaning. A ``pelnimre tricu'' is primarily a
tree, and only secondarily is it connected with lemons in some way. For
this reason, an alternative translation of Example 2.1 would be:<br>
<br>
2.5) That is a lemon type of tree.<br>
This ``type of'' relationship between the components of a tanru is
fundamental to the tanru concept.<br>
<br>
We may also say that the seltau modifies the meaning of the tertau:<br>
<br>
2.6) That is a tree which is lemon-ish<br>
(in the way appropriate to trees)<br>
would be another possible translation of Example 2.1. In the same way,
a more explicit translation of Example 2.2 might be:<br>
2.7) John is a boy who is big in the way that boys are big.<br>
This ``way that boys are big'' would be quite different from the way in
which elephants are big; big-for-a-boy is small-for-an-elephant.<br>
<br>
All tanru are ambiguous semantically. Possible translations of:<br>
<br>
2.8) ta klama jubme<br>
That is-a-goer type-of-table.<br>
include:<br>
That is a table which goes (a wheeled table, perhaps). That is a table
owned by one who goes. That is a table used by those who go (a sports
doctor's table?). That is a table when it goes (otherwise it is a
chair?).<br>
In each case the object referred to is a ``goer type of table'', but
the ambiguous ``type of'' relationship can mean one of many things. A
speaker who uses tanru (and pragmatically all speakers must) takes the
risk of being misunderstood. Using tanru is convenient because they are
short and expressive; the circumlocution required to squeeze out all
ambiguity can require too much effort.<br>
No general theory covering the meaning of all possible tanru exists;
probably no such theory can exist. However, some regularities obviously
do exist:<br>
<br>
2.9) do barda prenu<br>
You are-a-large person.<br>
<br>
2.10) do cmalu prenu<br>
You are-a-small person.<br>
are parallel tanru, in the sense that the relationship between
``barda'' and ``prenu'' is the same as that between ``cmalu'' and
``prenu''. Section 14 and Section 15 contain a partial listing of some
types of tanru, with examples.<br>
3. Three-part tanru grouping with ``bo''<br>
<br>
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:<br>
<br>
bo BO closest scope grouping<br>
Consider the English sentence:<br>
3.1) That's a little girls' school.<br>
What does it mean? Two possible readings are:<br>
<br>
3.2) That's a little school for girls.<br>
<br>
3.3) That's a school for little girls.<br>
This ambiguity is quite different from the simple tanru ambiguity
described in Section 2. We understand that ``girls' school'' means ``a
school where girls are the students'', and not ``a school where girls
are the teachers'' or ``a school which is a girl'' (!). Likewise, we
understand that ``little girl'' means ``girl who is small''. This is an
ambiguity of grouping. Is ``girls' school'' to be taken as a unit, with
``little'' specifying the type of girls' school? Or is ``little girl''
to be taken as a unit, specifying the type of school? In English
speech, different tones of voice, or exaggerated speech rhythm showing
the grouping, are used to make the distinction; English writing usually
leaves it unrepresented.<br>
Lojban makes no use of tones of voice for any purpose; explicit words
are used to do the work. The cmavo ``bo'' (which belongs to selma'o BO)
may be placed between the two brivla which are most closely associated.
Therefore, a Lojban translation of Example 3.2 would be:<br>
<br>
3.4) ta cmalu nixli bo ckule<br>
That is-a-small girl -- school.<br>
Example 3.3 might be translated:<br>
3.5) ta cmalu bo nixli ckule<br>
That is-a-small -- girl school.<br>
The ``bo'' is represented in the literal translation by a hyphen
because in written English a hyphen is sometimes used for the same
purpose: ``a big dog-catcher'' would be quite different from a
``big-dog catcher'' (presumably someone who catches only big dogs).<br>
<br>
Analysis of Example 3.4 and Example 3.5 reveals a tanru nested within a
tanru. In Example 3.4, the main tanru has a seltau of ``cmalu'' and a
tertau of ``nixli bo ckule''; the tertau is itself a tanru with
``nixli'' as the seltau and ``ckule'' as the tertau. In Example 3.5, on
the other hand, the seltau is ``cmalu bo nixli'' (itself a tanru),
whereas the tertau is ``ckule''. This structure of tanru nested within
tanru forms the basis for all the more complex types of selbri that
will be explained below.<br>
<br>
What about Example 3.6? What does it mean?<br>
<br>
3.6) ta cmalu nixli ckule<br>
That is-a-small girl school.<br>
The rules of Lojban do not leave this sentence ambiguous, as the rules
of English do with Example 3.1. The choice made by the language
designers is to say that Example 3.6 means the same as Example 3.5.
This is true no matter what three brivla are used: the leftmost two are
always grouped together. This rule is called the ``left-grouping
rule''. Left-grouping in seemingly ambiguous structures is quite common
--- though not universal --- in other contexts in Lojban.<br>
Another way to express the English meaning of Example 3.4 and Example
3.5, using parentheses to mark grouping, is:<br>
<br>
3.7) ta cmalu nixli bo ckule<br>
That is-a-small type-of (girl type-of
school).<br>
<br>
3.8) ta cmalu bo nixli ckule<br>
That is-a-(small type-of girl) type-of
school.<br>
Because ``type-of'' is implicit in the Lojban tanru form, it has no
Lojban equivalent.<br>
<br>
Note: It is perfectly legal, though pointless, to insert ``bo'' into a
simple tanru:<br>
<br>
3.9) ta klama bo jubme<br>
That is-a goer -- table<br>
is a legal Lojban bridi that means exactly the same thing as Example
2.8, and is ambiguous in exactly the same ways. The cmavo ``bo'' serves
only to resolve grouping ambiguity: it says nothing about the more
basic ambiguity present in all tanru.<br>
4. Complex tanru grouping<br>
<br>
If one element of a tanru can be another tanru, why not both elements?<br>
<br>
4.1) do mutce bo barda gerku bo kavbu<br>
You are-a-(very type-of large) (dog
type-of capturer).<br>
You are a very large dog-catcher.<br>
In Example 4.1, the selbri is a tanru with seltau ``mutce bo barda''
and tertau ``gerku bo kavbu''. It is worth emphasizing once again that
this tanru has the same fundamental ambiguity as all other Lojban
tanru: the sense in which the ``dog type-of capturer'' is said to be
``very type-of large'' is not precisely specified. Presumably it is his
body which is large, but theoretically it could be one of his other
properties.<br>
<br>
We will now justify the title of this chapter by exploring the
ramifications of the phrase ``pretty little girls' school'', an
expansion of the tanru used in Section 3 to four brivla. (Although this
example has been used in the Loglan Project almost since the beginning
--- it first appeared in Quine's book Word and Object (1960) --- it is
actually a mediocre example because of the ambiguity of English
``pretty''; it can mean ``beautiful'', the sense intended here, or it
can mean ``very''. Lojban ``melbi'' is not subject to this ambiguity:
it means only ``beautiful''.) Here are four ways to group this phrase:<br>
<br>
4.2) ta melbi cmalu<br>
nixli ckule<br>
That is-a-((pretty type-of little)<br>
type-of girl) type-of school.<br>
That is a school for girls who are
beautifully small.<br>
<br>
4.3) ta melbi cmalu nixli bo ckule<br>
That is-a-(pretty type-of little) (girl
type-of school).<br>
That is a girls' school which is
beautifully small.<br>
<br>
4.4) ta melbi cmalu bo nixli<br>
ckule<br>
That is-a-(pretty type-of (little
type-of girl))<br>
type-of school.<br>
That is a school for small girls who are
beautiful.<br>
<br>
4.5) ta melbi cmalu bo<br>
nixli bo ckule<br>
That is-a-pretty type-of (little type-of<br>
(girl type-of school)).<br>
That is a small school for girls which
is beautiful.<br>
Example 4.5 uses a construction which has not been seen before: ``cmalu
bo nixli bo ckule'', with two consecutive uses of ``bo'' between
brivla. The rule for multiple ``bo'' constructions is the opposite of
the rule when no ``bo'' is present at all: the last two are grouped
together. Not surprisingly, this is called the ``right-grouping rule'',
and it is associated with every use of ``bo'' in the language.
Therefore,<br>
4.6) ta cmalu bo nixli bo ckule<br>
That is-a-little type-of (girl type-of
school).<br>
means the same as Example 3.4, not Example 3.5. This rule may seem
peculiar at first, but one of its consequences is that ``bo'' is never
necessary between the first two elements of any of the complex tanru
presented so far: all of Examples 4.2 through 4.5 could have ``bo''
inserted between ``melbi'' and ``cmalu'' with no change in meaning.<br>
5. Complex tanru with ``ke'' and ``ke'e''<br>
<br>
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:<br>
<br>
ke KE start grouping<br>
ke'e
KEhE end grouping<br>
There is, in fact, a fifth grouping of ``pretty little girls' school''
that cannot be expressed with the resources explained so far. To handle
it, we must introduce the grouping parentheses cmavo, ``ke'' and
``ke'e'' (belonging to selma'o KE and KEhE respectively). Any portion
of a selbri sandwiched between these two cmavo is taken to be a single
tanru component, independently of what is adjacent to it. Thus, Example
4.2 can be rewritten in any of the following ways:<br>
5.1) ta ke melbi cmalu ke'e nixli ckule<br>
That is-a-( pretty little ) girl school.<br>
<br>
5.2) ta ke ke melbi cmalu ke'e nixli ke'e ckule<br>
That is-a-( ( pretty little ) girl )
school.<br>
<br>
5.3) ta ke ke ke melbi cmalu ke'e nixli ke'e ckule
ke'e<br>
That is-a-( ( ( pretty little ) girl )
school ).<br>
Even more versions could be created simply by placing any number of
``ke'' cmavo at the beginning of the selbri, and a like number of
``ke'e'' cmavo at its end. Obviously, all of these are a waste of
breath once the left-grouping rule has been grasped. However, the
following is equivalent to Example 4.4 and may be easier to understand:<br>
<br>
5.4) ta melbi ke cmalu nixli ke'e<br>
ckule<br>
That is-a-(pretty type-of ( little
type-of girl ))<br>
type-of school.<br>
Likewise, a ``ke'' and ``ke'e'' version of Example 4.3 would be:<br>
<br>
5.5) ta melbi cmalu<br>
ke nixli ckule [ke'e]<br>
That is-a-(pretty type-of little)<br>
( girl type-of school ).<br>
The final ``ke'e'' is given in square brackets here to indicate that it
can be elided. It is always possible to elide ``ke'e'' at the end of
the selbri, making Example 5.5 as terse as Example 4.3.<br>
<br>
Now how about that fifth grouping? It is<br>
<br>
5.6) ta melbi<br>
ke cmalu nixli ckule [ke'e]<br>
That is-a-pretty type-of<br>
( (little type-of girl) type-of school )<br>
That is a beautiful school for small
girls.<br>
Example 5.6 is distinctly different in meaning from any of Examples 4.2
through 4.5. Note that within the ``ke ... ke'e'' parentheses, the
left-grouping rule is applied to ``cmalu nixli ckule''.<br>
It is perfectly all right to mix ``bo'' and ``ke ... ke'e'' in a single
selbri. For instance, Example 4.5, which in pure ``ke ... ke'e'' form is<br>
<br>
5.7) ta melbi<br>
ke cmalu ke nixli ckule [ke'e] [ke'e]<br>
That is-a-pretty type-of<br>
( little type-of ( girl type-of school ) ).<br>
can equivalently be expressed as:<br>
5.8) ta melbi<br>
ke cmalu nixli bo ckule [ke'e]<br>
That is-a-pretty<br>
type-of ( little type-of (girl type-of school) ).<br>
and in many other different forms as well.<br>
6. Logical connection within tanru<br>
<br>
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:<br>
<br>
je JA tanru logical ``and''<br>
ja JA tanru logical
``or''<br>
joi JOI mixed mass ``and''<br>
gu'e
GUhA tanru forethought logical ``and''<br>
gi GI forethought
connection separator<br>
Consider the English phrase ``big red dog''. How shall this be rendered
as a Lojban tanru? The naive attempt:<br>
6.1) barda xunre gerku<br>
(big type-of red) type-of dog<br>
will not do, as it means a dog whose redness is big, in whatever way
redness might be described as ``big''. Nor is<br>
6.2) barda xunre bo gerku<br>
big type-of (red type-of dog)<br>
much better. After all, the straightforward understanding of the
English phrase is that the dog is big as compared with other dogs, not
merely as compared with other red dogs. In fact, the bigness and
redness are independent properties of the dog, and only obscure rules
of English adjective ordering prevent us from saying ``red big dog''.<br>
The Lojban approach to this problem is to introduce the cmavo ``je'',
which is one of the many equivalents of English ``and''. A big red dog
is one that is both big and red, and we can say:<br>
<br>
6.3) barda je xunre gerku<br>
(big and red) type-of dog<br>
Of course,<br>
<br>
6.4) xunre je barda gerku<br>
(red and big) type-of dog<br>
is equally satisfactory and means the same thing. As these examples
indicate, joining two brivla with ``je'' makes them a unit for tanru
purposes. However, explicit grouping with ``bo'' or ``ke ... ke'e''
associates brivla more closely than ``je'' does:<br>
6.5) barda je pelxu bo xunre gerku<br>
barda je ke pelxu xunre ke'e gerku<br>
(big and (yellow type-of red)) dog<br>
big yellowish-red dog<br>
With no grouping indicators, we get:<br>
<br>
6.6) barda je pelxu xunre gerku<br>
((big and yellow) type-of red) type-of
dog<br>
biggish- and yellowish-red dog<br>
which again raises the question of Example 6.1: what is does
``biggish-red'' mean?<br>
Unlike ``bo'' and ``ke ... ke'e'', ``je'' is useful as well as merely
legal within simple tanru. It may be used to partly resolve the
ambiguity of simple tanru:<br>
<br>
6.7) ta blanu je zdani<br>
that is-blue and is-a-house<br>
definitely refers to something which is both blue and is a house, and
not to any of the other possible interpretations of simple ``blanu
zdani''. Furthermore, ``blanu zdani'' refers to something which is blue
in the way that houses are blue; ``blanu je zdani'' has no such
implication --- the blueness of a ``blanu je zdani'' is independent of
its houseness.<br>
With the addition of ``je'', many more versions of ``pretty little
girls' school'' are made possible: see Section 16 for a complete list.<br>
<br>
A subtle point in the semantics of tanru like Example 6.3 needs special
elucidation. There are at least two possible interpretations of:<br>
<br>
6.8) ta melbi je nixli ckule<br>
That is-a-(beautiful and girl) type-of
school.<br>
It can be understood as:<br>
<br>
6.9) That is a girls' school and a beautiful school.<br>
or as:<br>
6.10) That is a school for things<br>
which are both girls and beautiful.<br>
The interpretation specified by Example 6.9 treats the tanru as a sort
of abbreviation for:<br>
6.11) ta ke melbi ckule ke'e<br>
je ke nixli ckule [ke'e]<br>
That is-a-( beautiful type-of school )<br>
and ( girl type-of school )<br>
whereas the interpretation specified by Example 6.10 does not. This is
a kind of semantic ambiguity for which Lojban does not compel a firm
resolution. The way in which the school is said to be of type
``beautiful and girl'' may entail that it is separately a beautiful
school and a girls' school; but the alternative interpretation, that
the members of the school are beautiful and girls, is also possible.
Still another interpretation is:<br>
6.12) That is a school for beautiful
things<br>
and also for girls.<br>
so while the logical connectives help to resolve the meaning of tanru,
they by no means compel a single meaning in and of themselves.<br>
In general, logical connectives within tanru cannot undergo the formal
manipulations that are possible with the related logical connectives
that exist outside tanru; see Chapter 14 for further details.<br>
<br>
The logical connective ``je'' is only one of the fourteen logical
connectives that Lojban provides. Here are a few examples of some of
the others:<br>
<br>
6.13) le bajra cu jinga ja te jinga<br>
the runner(s) is/are winner(s) or
loser(s).<br>
<br>
6.14) blanu naja lenku skapi<br>
(blue only-if cold) skin<br>
skin which is blue only if it is cold<br>
<br>
6.15) xamgu jo cortu nuntavla<br>
(good if-and-only-if short) speech<br>
speech which is good if (and only if) it
is short<br>
<br>
6.16) vajni ju pluka nuntavla<br>
(important whether-or-not pleasing)
event-of-talking<br>
speech which is important, whether or
not it is pleasing<br>
In Example 6.13, ``ja'' is grammatically equivalent to ``je'' but means
``or'' (more precisely, ``and/or''). Likewise, ``naja'' means ``only
if'' in Example 6.14, ``jo'' means ``if and only if'' in Example 6.15,
and ``ju'' means ``whether or not'' in Example 6.16.<br>
<br>
Now consider the following example:<br>
<br>
6.17) ricfu je blanu jabo crino<br>
rich and (blue or green)<br>
which illustrates a new grammatical feature: the use of both ``ja'' and
``bo'' between tanru components. The two cmavo combine to form a
compound whose meaning is that of ``ja'' but which groups more closely;
``jabo'' is to ``ja'' as plain ``bo'' is to no cmavo at all. However,
both ``ja'' and ``jabo'' group less closely than ``bo'' does:<br>
6.18) ricfu je blanu jabo crino bo blanu<br>
rich and (blue or green -- blue)<br>
rich and (blue or greenish-blue)<br>
An alternative form of Example 6.17 is:<br>
<br>
6.19) ricfu je ke blanu ja crino [ke'e]<br>
rich and ( blue or green )<br>
In addition to the logical connectives, there are also a variety of
non-logical connectives, grammatically equivalent to the logical ones.
The only one with a well-understood meaning in tanru contexts is
``joi'', which is the kind of ``and'' that denotes a mixture:<br>
6.20) ti blanu joi xunre bolci<br>
This is-a-(blue and red) ball.<br>
The ball described is neither solely red nor solely blue, but probably
striped or in some other way exhibiting a combination of the two
colors. Example 6.20 is distinct from:<br>
<br>
6.21) ti blanu xunre bolci<br>
This is a bluish-red ball<br>
which would be a ball whose color is some sort of purple tending toward
red, since ``xunre'' is the more important of the two components. On
the other hand,<br>
6.22) ti blanu je xunre bolci<br>
This is a (blue and red) ball<br>
is probably self-contradictory, seeming to claim that the ball is
independently both blu and red at the same time, although some sensible
interpretation may exist.<br>
Finally, just as English ``and'' has the variant form ``both ... and'',
so ``je'' between tanru components has the variant form ``gu'e ...
gi'', where ``gu'e'' is placed before the components and ``gi'' between
them:<br>
<br>
6.23) gu'e barda gi xunre gerku<br>
(both big and red) type-of dog<br>
is equivalent in meaning to Example 6.3. For each logical connective
related to ``je'', there is a corresponding connective related to
``gu'e ... gi'' in a systematic way.<br>
The portion of a ``gu'e ... gi'' construction before the ``gi'' is a
full selbri, and may use any of the selbri resources including ``je''
logical connections. After the ``gi'', logical connections are taken to
be wider in scope than the ``gu'e ... gi'', which has in effect the
same scope as ``bo'':<br>
<br>
6.23) gu'e barda je xunre gi gerku ja
mlatu<br>
(both (big and red) and dog) or cat<br>
something which is either big, red, and
a dog,<br>
or else a cat<br>
leaves ``mlatu'' outside the ``gu'e--gi'' construction. The scope of
the ``gi'' arm extends only to a single brivla or to two or more brivla
connected with ``bo'' or ``ke--ke'e''.<br>
7. Linked sumti: ``be--bei--be'o''<br>
<br>
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:<br>
<br>
be BE linked sumti marker<br>
bei BEI linked sumti separator<br>
be'o
BEhO linked sumti terminator<br>
The question of the place structures of selbri has been glossed over so
far. This chapter does not attempt to treat place structure issues in
detail; they are discussed in Chapter 9. One grammatical structure
related to places belongs here, however. In simple sentences such as
Example 1.1, the place structure of the selbri is simply the defined
place structure of the gismu ``mamta''. What about more complex selbri?<br>
<br>
For tanru, the place structure rule is simple: the place structure of a
tanru is always the place structure of its tertau. Thus, the place
structure of ``blanu zdani'' is that of ``zdani'': the x1 place is a
house or nest, and the x2 place is its occupants.<br>
<br>
What about the places of ``blanu''? Is there any way to get them into
the act? In fact, ``blanu'' has only one place, and this is merged, as
it were, with the x1 place of ``zdani''. It is whatever is in the x1
place that is being characterized as blue-for-a-house. But if we
replace ``blanu'' with ``xamgu'', we get:<br>
<br>
7.1) ti xamgu zdani<br>
this is-a-good house.<br>
This is a good (for someone, by some
standard) house.<br>
Since ``xamgu'' has three places (x1, the good thing; x2, the person
for whom it is good; and x3, the standard of goodness), Example 7.1
necessarily omits information about the last two: there is no room for
them. Room can be made, however!<br>
<br>
7.2) ti xamgu be do bei mi [be'o] zdani<br>
this is-a-good ( for you by-standard me
) house.<br>
This is a house that is good for you by
my standards.<br>
Here, the gismu ``xamgu'' has been followed by the cmavo ``be'' (of
selma'o BE), which signals that one or more sumti follows. These sumti
are not part of the overall bridi place structure, but fill the places
of the brivla they are attached to, starting with x2. If there is more
than one sumti, they are separated by the cmavo ``bei'' (of selma'o
BEI), and the list of sumti is terminated by the elidable terminator
``be'o'' (of selma'o BEhO).<br>
Grammatically, a brivla with sumti linked to it in this fashion plays
the same role in tanru as a simple brivla. To illustrate, here is a
fully fleshed-out version of Example 3.4, with all places filled in:<br>
<br>
7.3) ti cmalu be le ka canlu<br>
bei lo'e ckule be'o<br>
nixli be li mu<br>
bei lo merko be'o bo<br>
ckule la bryklyn. loi pemci<br>
le mela nu,IORK. prenu<br>
le jecta<br>
This is a small (in-dimension the
property-of volume<br>
by-standard the-typical school)<br>
(girl (of-years the-number five<br>
by-standard some American-thing)<br>
school) in-Brooklyn with-subject poems<br>
for-audience New-York persons<br>
with-operator the state.<br>
This is a school, small in volume
compared to the<br>
typical school, pertaining to five-year-old<br>
girls (by American standards), in Brooklyn,<br>
teaching poetry to the New York community<br>
and operated by the state.<br>
Here the three places of ``cmalu'', the three of ``nixli'', and the
four of ``ckule'' are fully specified. Since the places of ``ckule''
are the places of the bridi as a whole, it was not necessary to link
the sumti which follow ``ckule''. It would have been legal to do so,
however:<br>
<br>
7.4) mi klama be le zarci bei le zdani [be'o]<br>
I go (to-the market from-the house).<br>
means the same as<br>
7.5) mi klama le zarci le zdani<br>
I go to-the market from-the house.<br>
No matter how complex a tanru gets, the last brivla always dictates the
place structure: the place structure of<br>
7.6) melbi je cmalu nixli bo ckule<br>
a (pretty and little) (girl school)<br>
a school for girls which is both
beautiful and small<br>
is simply that of ``ckule''. (The sole exception to this rule is
discussed in Section 8.)<br>
It is possible to precede linked sumti by the place structure ordering
tags ``fe'', ``fi'', ``fo'', and ``fu'' (of selma'o FA, discussed
further in Chapter 9), which serve to explicitly specify the x2, x3,
x4, and x5 places respectively. Normally, the place following the
``be'' is the x2 place and the other places follow in order. If it
seems convenient to change the order, however, it can be accomplished
as follows:<br>
<br>
7.7) ti xamgu be fi mi bei fe do [be'o] zdani<br>
this is-a-good ( by-standard me for you
) house<br>
which is equivalent in meaning to Example 7.2. Note that the order of
``be'', ``bei'', and ``be'o'' does not change; only the inserted ``fi''
tells us that ``mi'' is the x3 place (and correspondingly, the inserted
``fe'' tells us that ``do'' is the x2 place). Changing the order of
sumti is often done to match the order of another language, or for
emphasis or rhythm.<br>
Of course, using FA cmavo makes it easy to specify one place while
omitting a previous place:<br>
<br>
7.8) ti xamgu be fi mi [be'o] zdani<br>
this is-a-good (by-standard me) house<br>
This is a good house by my standards.<br>
Similarly, sumti labeled by modal or tense tags can be inserted into
strings of linked sumti just as they can into bridi:<br>
7.9) ta blanu be ga'a mi [be'o] zdani<br>
That is-a-blue ( to-observer me ) house.<br>
That is a blue, as I see it, house.<br>
The meaning of Example 7.9 is slightly different from:<br>
<br>
7.10) ta blanu zdani ga'a mi<br>
That is-a-blue house to-observer me.<br>
That is a blue house, as I see it.<br>
See discussions in Chapter 9 of modals and in Chapter 10 of tenses for
more explanations.<br>
<br>
The terminator ``be'o'' is almost always elidable: however, if the
selbri belongs to a description, then a relative clause following it
will attach to the last linked sumti unless ``be'o'' is used, in which
case it will attach to the outer description:<br>
<br>
7.11) le xamgu be do noi barda cu zdani<br>
The good-thing for you (who are-large)
is-a-house.<br>
<br>
7.12) le xamgu be do be'o noi barda cu zdani<br>
The (good-thing for you) (which
is-large) is-a-house<br>
(Relative clauses are explained in Chapter 8.)<br>
In other cases, however, ``be'o'' cannot be elided if ``ku'' has also
been elided:<br>
<br>
7.13) le xamgu be le ctuca [ku] be'o zdani<br>
the good (for the teacher ) house<br>
requires either ``ku'' or ``be'o'', and since there is only one
occurrence of ``be'', the ``be'o'' must match it, whereas it may be
confusing which occurrence of ``le'' the ``ku'' terminates (in fact the
second one is correct).<br>
8. Inversion of tanru: ``co''<br>
<br>
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:<br>
<br>
co CO tanru inversion marker<br>
The standard order of Lojban tanru, whereby the modifier precedes what
it modifies, is very natural to English-speakers: we talk of ``blue
houses'', not of ``houses blue''. In other languages, however, such
matters are differently arranged, and Lojban supports this reverse
order (tertau before seltau) by inserting the particle ``co''. Example
8.1 and Example 8.2 mean exactly the same thing:<br>
8.1) ta blanu zdani<br>
That is-a-blue type-of-house.<br>
That is a blue house.<br>
<br>
8.2) ta zdani co blanu<br>
That is-a-house of-type blue.<br>
That is a blue house.<br>
This change is called ``tanru inversion''. In tanru inversion, the
element before ``co'' (``zdani'' in Example 8.2) is the tertau, and the
element following ``co'' (``blanu'') in Example 8.2) is the seltau.<br>
The meaning, and more specifically, the place structure, of a tanru is
not affected by inversion: the place structure of ``zdani co blanu'' is
still that of ``zdani''. However, the existence of inversion in a
selbri has a very special effect on any sumti which follow that selbri.
Instead of being interpreted as filling places of the selbri, they
actually fill the places (starting with x2) of the seltau. In Section
7, we saw how to fill interior places with ``be ... bei ... be'o'', and
in fact Example 8.3 and Example 8.4 have the same meaning:<br>
<br>
8.3) mi klama be le zarci bei le zdani be'o<br>
troci<br>
I am-a-(goer to the market from the
house)<br>
type-of trier.<br>
I try to go to the market from the house.<br>
<br>
8.4) mi troci co klama le zarci le zdani<br>
I am-a-trier<br>
of-type (goer to-the market from-the house).<br>
I try to go to the market from the house.<br>
Example 8.4 is a less deeply nested construction, requiring fewer
cmavo. As a result it is probably easier to understand.<br>
Note that in Lojban ``trying to go'' is expressed using ``troci'' as
the tertau. The reason is that ``trying to go'' is a ``going type of
trying'', not a ``trying type of going''. The trying is more
fundamental than the going --- if the attempt fails, we may not have a
going at all.<br>
<br>
Any sumti which precede a selbri with an inverted tanru fill the places
of the selbri (i.e., the places of the tertau) in the ordinary way. In
Example 8.4, ``mi'' fills the x1 place of ``troci co klama'', which is
the x1 place of ``troci''. The other places of the selbri remain
unfilled. The trailing sumti ``le zarci'' and ``le zdani'' do not
occupy selbri places, despite appearances.<br>
<br>
As a result, the regular mechanisms (involving selma'o VOhA and GOhI,
explained in Chapter 7) for referring to individual sumti of a bridi
cannot refer to any of the trailing places of Example 8.4, because they
are not really ``sumti of the bridi'' at all.<br>
<br>
When inverting a more complex tanru, it is possible to invert it only
at the most general modifier-modified pair. The only possible inversion
of Example 3.4, for instance, is:<br>
<br>
8.5) ta nixli [bo] ckule co cmalu<br>
that (is-a-girl type-of school) of-type
little.<br>
That's a girls' school which is small.<br>
Note that the ``bo'' of Example 3.4 is optional in Example 8.5, because
``co'' groups more loosely than any other cmavo used in tanru,
including none at all. Not even ``ke ... ke'e'' parentheses can
encompass a ``co'':<br>
8.6) ta cmalu ke nixli ckule [ke'e]<br>
co melbi<br>
that is-a-(little type-of (girl type-of
school))<br>
of-type pretty.<br>
That's a small school for girls which is
beautiful.<br>
In Example 8.6, the ``ke'e'' is automatically inserted before the
``co'' rather than at its usual place at the end of the selbri. As a
result, there is a simple and mechanical rule for removing ``co'' from
any selbri: change ``A co B'' to ``ke B ke'e A''. (At the same time,
any sumti following the selbri must be transformed into ``be ... bei
... be'o'' form and attached following B.) Therefore,<br>
8.7) ckule co melbi nixli<br>
school of-type pretty girl<br>
school for beautiful girls<br>
means the same as:<br>
8.8) ke melbi nixli ke'e ckule<br>
( pretty girl ) school<br>
Multiple ``co'' cmavo can appear within a selbri, indicating multiple
inversions: a right-grouping rule is employed, as for ``bo''. The above
rule can be applied to interpret such selbri, but all ``co'' cmavo must
be removed simultaneously:<br>
8.9) ckule co nixli co cmalu<br>
school of-type (girl of-type little)<br>
becomes formally<br>
8.10) ke ke cmalu ke'e nixli ke'e ckule<br>
( ( little ) girl ) school<br>
which by the left-grouping rule is simply<br>
8.11) cmalu nixli ckule<br>
little girl school<br>
school for little girls<br>
As stated above, the selbri places, other than the first, of<br>
<br>
8.12) mi klama co sutra<br>
I am-a-goer of-type quick<br>
I go quickly<br>
cannot be filled by placing sumti after the selbri, because any sumti
in that position fill the places of ``sutra'', the seltau. However, the
tertau places (which means in effect the selbri places) can be filled
with ``be'':<br>
8.13) mi klama be le zarci co sutra<br>
I am-a-goer (to the store) of-type quick.<br>
I go to the store quickly.<br>
9. Other kinds of simple selbri<br>
<br>
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:<br>
<br>
go'i
GOhA repeats the previous bridi<br>
du
GOhA equality<br>
nu'a
NUhA math operator to selbri<br>
moi MOI changes number to ordinal selbri<br>
mei MOI changes number to cardinal selbri<br>
nu NU event
abstraction<br>
kei KEI terminator for ``nu''<br>
So far we have only discussed brivla and tanru built up from brivla as
possible selbri. In fact, there are a few other constructions in Lojban
which are grammatically equivalent to brivla: they can be used either
directly as selbri, or as components in tanru. Some of these types of
simple selbri are discussed at length in Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and
Chapter 18; but for completeness these types are mentioned here with a
brief explanation and an example of their use in selbri.<br>
The cmavo of selma'o GOhA (with one exception) serve as pro-bridi,
providing a reference to the content of other bridi; none of them has a
fixed meaning. The most commonly used member of GOhA is probably
``go'i'', which amounts to a repetition of the previous bridi, or part
of it. If I say:<br>
<br>
9.1) la djan. klama le zarci<br>
John goes-to the market.<br>
you may retort:<br>
9.2) la djan. go'i troci<br>
John [repeat last] are-a-tryer<br>
John tries to.<br>
Example 9.2 is short for:<br>
9.3) la djan. klama be le zarci be'o troci<br>
John is-a-goer (to the market) type-of
trier.<br>
because the whole bridi of Example 9.1 has been packaged up into the
single word ``go'i'' and inserted into Example 9.2.<br>
The exceptional member of GOhA is ``du'', which represents the relation
of identity. Its place structure is:<br>
<br>
x1 is identical with x2, x3, ...<br>
for as many places as are given. More information on selma'o GOhA is
available in Chapter 7.<br>
Lojban mathematical expressions (mekso) can be incorporated into selbri
in two different ways. Mathematical operators such as ``su'i'', meaning
``plus'', can be transformed into selbri by prefixing them with
``nu'a'' (of selma'o NUhA). The resulting place structure is:<br>
<br>
x1 is the result of applying (the operator) to arguments x2, x3, etc.<br>
for as many arguments as are required. (The result goes in the x1 place
because the number of following places may be indefinite.) For example:<br>
9.4) li vo nu'a su'i li re li re<br>
The-number 4 is-the-sum-of the-number 2
and-the-number 2.<br>
A possible tanru example might be:<br>
<br>
9.5) mi jimpe tu'a nu'a su'i nabmi<br>
I understand something-about the-mass-of
is-the-sum-of problems.<br>
I understand addition problems.<br>
More usefully, it is possible to combine a mathematical expression with
a cmavo of selma'o MOI to create one of various numerical selbri.
Details are available in Chapter 18. Here are a few tanru:<br>
9.6) la prim. palvr. pamoi cusku<br>
Preem Palver is-the-1-th speaker.<br>
Preem Palver is the first speaker.<br>
9.7) la an,iis. joi la .asun. bruna remei<br>
Anyi massed-with Asun are-a-brother
type-of-twosome.<br>
Anyi and Asun are two brothers.<br>
Finally, an important type of simple selbri which is not a brivla is
the abstraction. Grammatically, abstractions are simple: a cmavo of
selma'o NU, followed by a bridi, followed by the elidable terminator
``kei'' of selma'o KEI. Semantically, abstractions are an extremely
subtle and powerful feature of Lojban whose full ramifications are
documented in Chapter 11. A few examples:<br>
9.8) ti nu zdile kei kumfa<br>
This is-an-event-of amusement room.<br>
This is an amusement room.<br>
Example 9.8 is quite distinct in meaning from:<br>
9.9) ti zdile kumfa<br>
This is-an-amuser room.<br>
which suggests the meaning ``a room that amuses someone''.<br>
10. selbri based on sumti: ``me''<br>
<br>
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:<br>
<br>