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``Pretty Little Girls' School'': The Structure Of Lojban selbri - The Lojban Reference Grammar
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``Pretty Little Girls' School'': The Structure Of Lojban selbri
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The Lojban Reference Grammar
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<h3><a id="s9" name="s9">9. Other kinds of simple selbri</h3>
<p>The following cmavo are discussed in this section:</p>
<pre>
go'i GOhA repeats the previous bridi
du GOhA equality
nu'a NUhA math operator to selbri
moi MOI changes number to ordinal selbri
mei MOI changes number to cardinal selbri
nu NU event abstraction
kei KEI terminator for NU
</pre>
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 <a href="../c7/s1.html">Chapter 7</a>, <a
href="../c11/s1.html">Chapter 11</a>, and <a
href="../c18/s1.html">Chapter 18</a>; but for completeness these
types are mentioned here with a brief explanation and an
example of their use in selbri.
<p>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:</p>
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e9d1" name="e9d1">9.1)</a> la djan. klama le zarci
John goes-to the market.
</pre>
you may retort:
<pre>
<a id="e9d2" name="e9d2">9.2)</a> la djan. go'i troci
John [repeat last] are-a-tryer
John tries to.
</pre>
<a href="#e9d2">Example 9.2</a> is short for:
<pre>
<a id="e9d3" name="e9d3">9.3)</a> la djan. klama be le zarci be'o troci
John is-a-goer (to the market) type-of trier.
</pre>
because the whole bridi of <a href="#e9d1">Example 9.1</a> has
been packaged up into the single word ``go'i'' and inserted
into <a href="#e9d2">Example 9.2</a>.
<p>The exceptional member of GOhA is ``du'', which represents
the relation of identity. Its place structure is:</p>
<dl>
<dt></dt>
<dd>x1 is identical with x2, x3, ...</dd>
</dl>
for as many places as are given. More information on selma'o
GOhA is available in <a href="../c7/s1.html">Chapter 7</a>.
<p>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:</p>
<dl>
<dt></dt>
<dd>x1 is the result of applying (the operator) to arguments
x2, x3, etc.</dd>
</dl>
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:
<pre>
<a id="e9d4" name="e9d4">9.4)</a> li vo nu'a su'i li re li re
The-number 4 is-the-sum-of the-number 2 and-the-number 2.
</pre>
<p>A possible tanru example might be:</p>
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e9d5" name="e9d5">9.5)</a> mi jimpe tu'a nu'a su'i nabmi
I understand something-about the-mass-of is-the-sum-of problems.
I understand addition problems.
</pre>
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 <a
href="../c18/s1.html">Chapter 18</a>. Here are a few tanru:
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e9d6" name="e9d6">9.6)</a> la prim. palvr. pamoi cusku
Preem Palver is-the-1-th speaker.
Preem Palver is the first speaker.
</pre>
<pre>
<a id="e9d7" name="e9d7">9.7)</a> la an,iis. joi la .asun. bruna remei
Anyi massed-with Asun are-a-brother type-of-twosome.
Anyi and Asun are two brothers.
</pre>
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 <a
href="../c11/s1.html">Chapter 11</a>. A few examples:
<p></p>
<pre>
<a id="e9d8" name="e9d8">9.8)</a> ti nu zdile kei kumfa
This is-an-event-of amusement room.
This is an amusement room.
</pre>
<a href="#e9d8">Example 9.8</a> is quite distinct in meaning
from:
<pre>
<a id="e9d9" name="e9d9">9.9)</a> ti zdile kumfa
This is-an-amuser room.
</pre>
which suggests the meaning ``a room that amuses someone''.
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Inversion of tanru: ``co''
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``Pretty Little Girls' School'': The Structure Of Lojban selbri
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The Lojban Reference Grammar
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selbri based on sumti: ``me''
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) is private.
