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The Shape Of Words To Come: Lojban Morphology - The Lojban Reference Grammar
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The Shape Of Words To Come: Lojban Morphology
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The Lojban Reference Grammar
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<h3><a id="s7" name="s7">7. fu'ivla</h3>
<p>The use of tanru or lujvo is not always appropriate for very
concrete or specific terms (e.g. ``brie'' or ``cobra''), or for
jargon words specialized to a narrow field (e.g. ``quark'',
``integral'', or ``iambic pentameter''). These words are in
effect names for concepts, and the names were invented by
speakers of another language. The vast majority of words
referring to plants, animals, foods, and scientific terminology
cannot be easily expressed as tanru. They thus must be borrowed
(actually ``copied'') into Lojban from the original
language.</p>
<p>There are four stages of borrowing in Lojban, as words
become more and more modified (but shorter and easier to use).
Stage 1 is the use of a foreign name quoted with the cmavo
``la'o'' (explained in full in <a href="../c19/s1.html">Chapter
19</a>):</p>
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d1" name="e7d1">7.1)</a> me la'o ly. spaghetti .ly.
</pre>
is a predicate with the place structure ``x1 is a quantity of
spaghetti''.
<p>Stage 2 involves changing the foreign name to a Lojbanized
name, as explained in <a href="s8.html">Section 8</a>:</p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d2" name="e7d2">7.2)</a> me la spagetis.
</pre>
<p>One of these expedients is often quite sufficient when you
need a word quickly in conversation. (This can make it easier
to get by when you do not yet have full command of the Lojban
vocabulary, provided you are talking to someone who will
recognize the borrowing.)</p>
<p>Where a little more universality is desired, the word to be
borrowed must be Lojbanized into one of several permitted
forms. A rafsi is then usually attached to the beginning of the
Lojbanized form, using a hyphen to ensure that the resulting
word doesn't fall apart.</p>
<p>The rafsi categorizes or limits the meaning of the fu'ivla;
otherwise a word having several different jargon meanings in
other languages would require the word-inventor to choose which
meaning should be assigned to the fu'ivla, since fu'ivla (like
other brivla) are not permitted to have more than one
definition. Such a Stage 3 borrowing is the most common kind of
fu'ivla.</p>
<p>Finally, Stage 4 fu'ivla do not have any rafsi classifier,
and are used where a fu'ivla has become so common or so
important that it must be made as short as possible. (See <a
href="s16.html">Section 16</a> for a proposal concerning Stage 4
fu'ivla.)</p>
<p>The form of a fu'ivla reliably distinguishes it from both
the gismu and the cmavo. Like cultural gismu, fu'ivla are
generally based on a word from a single non-Lojban language.
The word is ``borrowed'' (actually ``copied'', hence the Lojban
tanru ``fukpi valsi'') from the other language and Lojbanized
--- the phonemes are converted to their closest Lojban
equivalent and modifications are made as necessary to make the
word a legitimate Lojban fu'ivla-form word. All fu'ivla:</p>
<p></p>
<dl>
<dt>1)</dt>
<dd>must contain a consonant cluster in the first five
letters of the word; if this consonant cluster is at the
beginning, it must either be a permissible initial consonant
pair, or a longer cluster such that each pair of adjacent
consonants in the cluster is a permissible initial consonant
pair: ``spraile'' is acceptable, but not ``ktraile'' or
``trkaile'';</dd>
<dt>2)</dt>
<dd>must end in one or more vowels;</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>3)</dt>
<dd>must not be gismu or lujvo, or any combination of cmavo,
gismu, and lujvo; furthermore, a fu'ivla with a CV cmavo
joined to the front of it must not have the form of a lujvo
(the so-called ``slinku'i test'');</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>4)</dt>
<dd>cannot contain ``y'', although they may contain syllabic
pronunciations of Lojban consonants;</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>5)</dt>
<dd>like other brivla, are stressed on the penultimate
syllable.</dd>
</dl>
Note that consonant triples or larger clusters that are not at
the beginning of a fu'ivla can be quite flexible, as long as
all consonant pairs are permissible. There is no need to
restrict fu'ivla clusters to permissible initial pairs except
at the beginning.
<p>This is a fairly liberal definition and allows quite a lot
of possibilities within ``fu'ivla space''. Stage 3 fu'ivla can
be made easily on the fly, as lujvo can, because the procedure
for forming them always guarantees a word that cannot violate
any of the rules. Stage 4 fu'ivla require running tests that
are not simple to characterize or perform, and should be made
only after deliberation and by someone knowledgeable about all
the considerations that apply.</p>
<p>Here is a simple and reliable procedure for making a
non-Lojban word into a valid Stage 3 fu'ivla:</p>
<dl>
<dt>1)</dt>
<dd>Eliminate all double consonants and silent letters.</dd>
<dt>2)</dt>
<dd>Convert all sounds to their closest Lojban equivalents.
Lojban ``y'', however, may not be used in any fu'ivla.</dd>
<dt>3)</dt>
<dd>If the last letter is not a vowel, modify the ending so
that the word ends in a vowel, either by removing a final
consonant or by adding a suggestively chosen final
vowel.</dd>
<dt>4)</dt>
<dd>If the first letter is not a consonant, modify the
beginning so that the word begins with a consonant, either by
removing an initial vowel or adding a suggestively chosen
initial consonant.</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>5)</dt>
<dd>Prefix the result of steps 1-5 with a 4-letter rafsi that
categorizes the fu'ivla into a ``topic area''. It is only
safe to use a 4-letter rafsi; short rafsi sometimes produce
invalid fu'ivla. Hyphenate the rafsi to the rest of the
fu'ivla with an ``r''-hyphen; if that would produce a double
``r'', use an ``n''-hyphen instead; if the rafsi ends in
``r'' and the rest of the fu'ivla begins with ``n'' (or vice
versa) use an ``l''-hyphen. (This is the only use of
``l''-hyphen in Lojban.)</dd>
<dt></dt>
<dd>Alternatively, if a CVC-form short rafsi is available it
can be used instead of the long rafsi.</dd>
<dt>6)</dt>
<dd>Remember that the stress necessarily appears on the
penultimate (next-to-the-last) syllable.</dd>
</dl>
In this section, the hyphen is set off with commas in the
examples, but these commas are not required in writing, and the
hyphen need not be pronounced as a separate syllable.
<p>Here are a few examples:</p>
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d3" name="e7d3">7.3)</a> spaghetti (from English or Italian)
spageti (Lojbanize)
cidj,r,spageti (prefix long rafsi)
dja,r,spageti (prefix short rafsi)
</pre>
where ``cidj-'' is the 4-letter rafsi for ``cidja'', the Lojban
gismu for ``food'', thus categorizing ``cidjrspageti'' as a
kind of food. The form with the short rafsi happens to work,
but such good fortune cannot be relied on: in any event, it
means the same thing.
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d4" name="e7d4">7.4)</a> Acer (the scientific name of maple trees)
acer (Lojbanize)
xaceru (add initial consonant and final vowel)
tric,r,xaceru (prefix rafsi)
ric,r,xaceru (prefix short rafsi)
</pre>
where ``tric-'' and ``ric-'' are rafsi for ``tricu'', the gismu
for ``tree''. Note that by the same principles, ``maple sugar''
could get the fu'ivla ``saktrxaceru'', or could be represented
by the tanru ``tricrxaceru sakta''. Technically, ``ricrxaceru''
and ``tricrxaceru'' are distinct fu'ivla, but they would surely
be given the same meanings if both happened to be in use.
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d5" name="e7d5">7.5)</a> brie (from French)
bri (Lojbanize)
cirl,r,bri (prefix rafsi)
</pre>
where ``cirl-'' represents ``cirla'' (``cheese'').
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d6" name="e7d6">7.6)</a> cobra
kobra (Lojbanize)
sinc,r,kobra (prefix rafsi)
</pre>
where ``sinc-'' represents ``since'' (``snake'').
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d7" name="e7d7">7.7)</a> quark
kuark (Lojbanize)
kuarka (add final vowel)
sask,r,kuarka (prefix rafsi)
</pre>
where ``sask-'' represents ``saske'' (``science''). Note the
extra vowel ``a'' added to the end of the word, and the
diphthong ``ua'', which never appears in gismu or lujvo, but
may appear in fu'ivla.
<p>The use of the prefix helps distinguish among the many
possible meanings of the borrowed word, depending on the field.
As it happens, ``spageti'' and ``kuarka'' are valid Stage 4
fu'ivla, but ``xaceru'' looks like a compound cmavo, and
``kobra'' like a gismu.</p>
<p>For another example, ``integral'' has a specific meaning to
a mathematician. But the Lojban fu'ivla ``integrale'', which is
a valid Stage 4 fu'ivla, does not convey that mathematical
sense to a non-mathematical listener, even one with an
English-speaking background; its source --- the English word
``integral'' --- has various other specialized meanings in
other fields.</p>
<p>Left uncontrolled, ``integrale'' almost certainly would
eventually come to mean the same collection of loosely related
concepts that English associates with ``integral'', with only
the context to indicate (possibly) that the mathematical term
is meant.</p>
<p>The prefix method would render the mathematical concept as
``cmacrntegrale'', if the ``i'' of ``integrale'' is removed, or
something like ``cmacrnintegrale'', if a new consonant is added
to the beginning; ``cmac-'' is the rafsi for ``cmaci''
(``mathematics''). The architectural sense of ``integral''
might be conveyed with ``djinrnintegrale'' or
``tarmrnintegrale'', where ``dinju'' and ``tarmi'' mean
``building'' and ``form'' respectively.</p>
<p>Here are some fu'ivla representing cultures and related
things, shown with more than one rafsi prefix:</p>
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e7d8" name="e7d8">7.8)</a> bang,r,blgaria
Bulgarian (in language)
<a id="e7d9" name="e7d9">7.9)</a> kuln,r,blgaria
Bulgarian (in culture)
<a id="e7d10" name="e7d10">7.10)</a> gugd,r,blgaria
Bulgaria (the country)
</pre>
<pre>
<a id="e7d11" name="e7d11">7.11)</a> bang,r,kore,a
Korean (the language)
<a id="e7d12" name="e7d12">7.12)</a> kuln,r,kore,a
Korean (the culture)
</pre>
Note the commas in <a href="#e7d11">Examples 7.11</a> and <a
href="#e7d12">7.12</a>, used because ``ea'' is not a valid
diphthong in Lojban. Arguably, some form of the native name
``Chosen'' should have been used instead of the internationally
known ``Korea''; this is a recurring problem in all borrowings.
In general, it is better to use the native name unless using it
will severely impede understanding: ``Navajo'' is far more
widely known than ``Dine'e''.
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