Table of Contents

Preface—lidne prosa...................................................................................... i
1. Sounds, names and a few attitudes ......................................................1
Vowels...................................................................................................1
Consonants ...........................................................................................2
Special Characters ...............................................................................2
Alphabet ...............................................................................................3
‘Correct’ pronunciation ......................................................................4
Lojban with attitude!...........................................................................4
Lojban Names (cmene) ........................................................................6
Lojban words as names.....................................................................10
Answers to Exercises.........................................................................10
2. Relationships and Places ......................................................................13
Names and relationships..................................................................13
Take your places... .............................................................................14
Determining place structure ............................................................17
gismu as sumti ......................................................................................19
Changing Places.................................................................................20
Summary.............................................................................................23
Answers to exercises .........................................................................23
3. Commands, Questions, and Possessives ...........................................28
Commands .........................................................................................28
Softening the blow.............................................................................30
Questions ............................................................................................30
Possessives..........................................................................................34
More Possessives ...............................................................................37
Summary.............................................................................................39
Answers to Exercises.........................................................................39
4. Numbers, and a few more articles ......................................................42
Basic numbers ....................................................................................42
Numbers and articles ........................................................................43
Proportions.........................................................................................47

iii
 Quantities ...........................................................................................49
Number Questions ............................................................................51
Summary.............................................................................................52
Answers to Exercises.........................................................................53
5. Times, days, dates (and abstractions).................................................56
What is the time? ...............................................................................56
Times and Events...............................................................................58
Times and Events, Improved: Conversion.....................................60
Times and Events, Improved #2: sumti tcita ...................................61
Days and Months...............................................................................62
Dates....................................................................................................65
Summary.............................................................................................67
Answers to Exercises.........................................................................69
6. Time and Space—basic Lojban ‘tenses’ .............................................73
Terminators ........................................................................................73
Tenses..................................................................................................76
Time with sumti ..................................................................................76
Time and selbri ...................................................................................80
Space....................................................................................................82
More negativity..................................................................................84
Summary.............................................................................................86
Answers to exercises .........................................................................88
7. Getting Personal: Pro-sumti and more abstractions .........................92
Referring back ....................................................................................92
Assigning pro-sumti ...........................................................................95
Acronyms ...........................................................................................97
Direct quotations ...............................................................................98
Indirect quotations ..........................................................................100
Some more personal pro-sumti.......................................................102
Summary...........................................................................................104
Answers to Exercises.......................................................................106
8. Swapping things round: conversion and simple lujvo ..................111
selbri conversions .............................................................................111
sumti conversions .............................................................................113

iv
 lujvo ....................................................................................................115
Negative lujvo ...................................................................................117
Reflexives and reciprocals ..............................................................120
Summary...........................................................................................121
Answers to Exercises.......................................................................122
9. Let me qualify that: internal sumti and relative clauses................125
Internal sumti ....................................................................................125
More internal sumti ..........................................................................126
Internal sumti tcita............................................................................129
Relative clauses................................................................................131
ke’a .....................................................................................................132
Restrictive and non-restrictive.......................................................135
Summary...........................................................................................136
Answers to Exercises.......................................................................138
10. Cause and Effect.................................................................................144
Physical causation ...........................................................................144
Motivation ........................................................................................145
Justification and Implication..........................................................147
Converting causes ...........................................................................148
Connecting sentences......................................................................150
Why?..................................................................................................153
Summary...........................................................................................154
Answers to Exercises.......................................................................156
11. Putting it together: Lojban connectives .........................................161
Types of logical connectives...........................................................162
Connecting sumti ..............................................................................165
Connectives in tanru ........................................................................167
Connecting bridi tails.......................................................................170
Asking about connectives...............................................................173
Summary...........................................................................................175
Answers to exercises .......................................................................176
12. Aspect, Vocatives, Loan Words, and Equalities ...........................181
Aspect................................................................................................181
More Aspects....................................................................................183

v
 Vocatives...........................................................................................185
Loan words.......................................................................................188
Equalities ..........................................................................................190
Summary...........................................................................................193
Answers to exercises .......................................................................194
13. Keeping it flowing: Textual cmavo..................................................200
Lojban with lots more attitude ......................................................201
My attitudinals! All mine! (And you?) .........................................203
Discursives .......................................................................................205
Erasure ..............................................................................................207
Bits and pieces..................................................................................209
Summary...........................................................................................211
Answers to exercises .......................................................................213
14. Why didn’t I think of that before? More connectives .................217
Forethought connectives ................................................................217
Non-logical connectives..................................................................220
tanru grouping..................................................................................223
Summary...........................................................................................226
Answers to exercises .......................................................................228
15. Singled out: Isolating specific places .............................................233
Indirect questions ............................................................................233
Properties..........................................................................................236
From sumti to abstraction: tu’a .......................................................242
Raising: jai ........................................................................................245
Summary...........................................................................................251
Answers to exercises .......................................................................253
A. Unsettled Business .............................................................................258
Embedded vo’a .................................................................................258
Unfilled places in ka-abstractions..................................................261
B. Vocabulary............................................................................................263

vi
Preface—lidne prosa
This document is an introductory course on Lojban, consisting of
fifteen lessons. It has been authored by Robin Turner and Nick
Nicholas, and gives a gentle introduction to the structure of the
language. Robin authored lessons 1–8 and 10–11 in 1999; Nick added
to the existing lessons, and authored lessons 9 and 12–15, in 2001.
The material covered in this course should be sufficient to allow the
learner to understand most of the Lojban they are likely to see in the
online Lojban discussion groups, or in the publications of the Logical
Language Group. For information on Lojban, please contact the
Logical Language Group:

Bob LeChevalier
The Logical Language Group, Inc.
2904 Beau Lane
Fairfax, VA 22031
U.S.A.
(+1 703) 385-0273
<[email protected]>
http://www.lojban.org

The document What is Lojban? (available online at

http://www.lojban.org/publications/level0.html) is a general
introduction to the language. It should be available from the same
place you obtained this document.
Lojban is likely to be very different to the kinds of languages you
are familiar with—which certainly include English. If a point of
grammar or logic seems inscrutable at first, don’t hesitate to move on,
and come back to it later. Likewise, some of the exercises are trickier
than others (particularly the translation exercises at the end of each
lesson.) If you can’t work out the answer to a particular question, feel
free to skip it—but do look at the answer to the question, as there are
often useful hints on Lojban usage in there. The answers to the
exercises are at the end of each lesson.

i
Preface—lidne prosa

Occasionally we use brackets to clarify the grammatical structure of

Lojban in our examples. These brackets are not part of official Lojban
orthography, and are included only for paedagogical purposes.
Robin is English (residing in Turkey), and Nick is Greek-Australian
(residing in the U.S.A.) So don’t be surprised if you see some
unfamiliar language usage in this text. We are particularly
unrepentant about using Commonwealth spelling.
Our thanks to the Lojbanists who have reviewed these lessons; in
particular, Pierre Abbat, John Clifford, John Cowan, Björn Gohla, Arnt
Richard Johansen, John Jorgensen, Nora Tansky LeChevalier, Jorge
Llambías, Robin Lee Powell, Adam Raizen, Anthony Roach, Tim
Smith, Rob Speer, Brion Vibber. Thanks also to Robin Lee Powell for
providing the infrastructure for publishing the course in progress, and
to Paul Reinerfelt for his help in producing the TeX version of the text.
ni’o le dei seltcidu cu te ctuca be loi co’a cilre bei fo la lojban. gi’e se
pagbu lo pamumei .i le go’i cu se finti la’o gy. Robin Turner gy. joi la’o gy.
Nick Nicholas gy. goi la nitcion. gi’e frili jai junri’a fo le stura be le bangu .i
la robin. finti le 1moi bi’i 8moi .e le 10moi bi’i 11moi pagbu ca la 1999nan .i
la nitcion. jmina fi le pu zasti pagbu gi’e finti le 9moi .e le 12moi bi’i 15moi
vau ca la 2001nan.
ni’o lei datni poi se cusku le dei te ctuca cu pe’i banzu lenu ka’enri’a le
cilre lenu jimpe piso’a loi lojbo poi lakne fa lenu tcidu ke’a vecu’u le
jondatnymu’e ke lojbo casnu girzu .a le se prigau be la lojbangirz. .i mu’i
tu’a loi tcila pe la lojban. ko te notci fo la lojbangirz. noi se judri zoi gy.

Bob LeChevalier
The Logical Language Group, Inc.
2904 Beau Lane
Fairfax, VA 22031
U.S.A.
(+1 703) 385-0273
<[email protected]>
http://www.lojban.org

gy. .i le seltcidu po’u la’e lu la lojban mo. li’u zi’enoi ka’e se cpacu fi le
jondatnymu’e tu’i zoi gy.
http://www.lojban.org/publications/level0.html gy. cu nalsteci cfari

ii
 Preface—lidne prosa

bo skicu le bangu .i ba’a ka’e cpacu le go’i tu’i le jaitu’i cpacu be le dei
seltcidu
ni’o la lojban. cu la’a mutce frica le bangu poi slabu do zi’epoi ju’o se
cmima le glico .i ko fau lo da’i nu lo nandu pe le gerna .a le logji cu simlu
loka to’e ke frili se jimpe co’a lenu tcidu cu zukte lenu rivbi tu’a le nandu
gi’e krefu troci tu’a ri baku .i pa’abo su’o cipra jufra cu zmadu su’o cipra
jufra leni tcica nandu .i go’i fa ra’u le nunfanva cipra jufra pe le fanmo be
ro te ctuca pagbu .i za’o lenu do na pu’i jdice le danfu be lo preti kei ko
co’u troci gi’e ku’i catlu le danfu be le cipra jufra .imu’ibo le danfu so’iroi
jarco lo plixau se stidi pe lenu pilno la lojban. .i le danfu be le cipra jufra cu
diklo le fanmo be ro te ctuca pagbu
ni’o mi so’iroi pilno lo girzu sinxa lerfu mu’i lenu ciksi le gerna stura be la
lojban. be’o pe le mi mupli seltcidu .i le girzu sinxa lerfu genai pagbu le se
zanru ke lojbo ke nunciska ciste gi se pilno fi le nu po’o ctuca
ni’o la robin. cu glico gi’e xabju le gugdrturkie .ije la nitcion. cu xelso
sralo gi’e xabju le merko .i seki’ubo ko na se spaji tu’a loi glibau selpli pe le
dei seltcidu zi’epoi na slabu do .i mi ra’u to’e xenru lenu pilno le glico se
jitro gugde bo girzu ke valsi lerfu se cuxna ciste
ni’o mi ckire le lojbo poi cipygau fi le kamdrani le dei te ctuca zi’eno’u la.
pier.abat. joi la biorn.golys. joi la djan.iorgensen. joi. la
.arnt.rikard.iuxansen. goi la tsali ge’u joi la xorxes.jambi,as. joi la
djan.kau,n. joi la djan.klifyrd. goi la pycyn. ge’u joi la
noras.tanskis.lecevaLIER. joi la rabin.lis.pau,el. joi la .adam.reizen. joi la
.antonis.routc. joi la tim.smit. joi la rab.spir. joi la braiyn.viber. .i ckire ji’a
la rabin.lis.pau,el. ce’e lenu sabji le jicmu be lenu gubgau le ve ctuca ca’o
lenu finti pe’eje la paul.rainerfelt. ce’e lenu sidju lenu cupra le seltcidu
peta’i la tex.

iii
Chapter 1. Sounds, names and a few
attitudes
The first thing you need to do when you learn a foreign language is to
become familiar with the sounds of the language and how they are
written, and the same goes for Lojban. Fortunately, Lojban sounds
(phonemes) are fairly straightforward.

Vowels
There are six vowels in Lojban.

a as in father (not as in hat)

e as in get
i as in machine or (Italian) vino (not as in hit)
o as in bold or more—not as in so (this should be a ‘pure’
sound.)
u as in cool (not as in but)

These are pretty much the same as vowels in Italian or Spanish. The
sixth vowel, y, is called a schwa in the language trade, and is
pronounced like the first and last A’s in America (that’s English
America, not Spanish.) It’s the sound that comes out when the mouth
is completely relaxed.
Two vowels together are pronounced as one sound (diphthong).
Some examples are:

ai as in high
au as in how
ei as in hey
oi as in boy
ia like German Ja
ie like yeah
iu like you
ua as in waah!, or French quoi

1
Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

ue as in question
uo as in quote
ui like we, or French oui

Double vowels are rare. The only examples are ii, which is
pronounced like English ye (as in “Oh come all ye faithful”) or
Chinese yi, and uu, pronounced like woo.

Consonants
Most Lojban consonants are the same as English, but there are some
exceptions:

g always g as in gum, never g as in gem

c sh, as in ship
j as in measure or French bonjour
x as in German Bach, Spanish Jose or Arabic Khaled

The English sounds ch and j are written as tc and dj.

Lojban doesn’t use the letters H, Q or W.

Special Characters
Lojban does not require any punctuation, but some special characters
(normally used in punctuation in other languages) affect the way
Lojban is pronounced.
The only one of these characters which is obligatory in Lojban is the
apostrophe; in fact the apostrophe is regarded as a proper letter of
Lojban. An apostrophe separates two vowels, preventing them from
being pronounced together (as a diphthong); it is itself pronounced
like an h. For example, ui is normally pronounced we, but u’i is oohee.
A full stop (period) is a short pause to stop words running into each
other. The rules of Lojban make it easier for one word to run into
another when the second word begins with a vowel; so any word
starting with a vowel conventionally has a full stop placed in front of
it.

2
 Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

Commas are rare in Lojban, but can be used to stop two vowels
blurring together when you don’t want to use an apostrophe (which
would put a h between them). No Lojban words have commas, but
they’re sometimes used in writing non-Lojban names, for example
pi,ER. (Pierre), as opposed to pier. (P-yerr), pi.ER. (Pee; Ehr), or pi’ER.
(Piherr).
Capital letters are not normally used in Lojban. We use them in non-
Lojban words (like Pierre) when the stress of a word is different from
the Lojban norm. The norm is to put the stress on the last-but-one
syllable; so, for example, kurmikce ‘nurse’ is kurMIKce, not KURmikce.
The name Juliette would be written DJUli,et. if pronounced in an
English way, but juLIET. if pronounced as in French.

Alphabet
In most language textbooks, you get the alphabet of the language
together with its sounds. Letters (lerfu) turn out to be even more
important than usual in Lojban, so we might as well go through their
names quickly.
Consonants are straightforward: the name of a consonant letter is
that letter, plus y. So the consonant letters of Lojban, b, c, d, f, g ..., are
called by., cy., dy., fy., gy.... in Lojban (using the full stop as we’ve
just described.)
Vowels would be called .ay, .ey, .iy, but that would be rather difficult
to pronounce. Instead, they are handled by following the vowel sound
with the word bu, which basically means ‘letter’. So the vowels of
Lojban are: .abu, .ebu, .ibu, .obu, .ubu, ybu.
The apostrophe is regarded as a proper letter in Lojban, and is called
.y’y.. To some people, this sounds like a cough; to other, like uh-huh
(when it means ‘Yes’ rather than ‘No’.)
Lojban has ways of refering to most letters you can think of; see The
Complete Lojban Language, Chapter 17 for details. If you have the urge
to spell out your name in Lojban and have an H, Q, or W to deal with,
you can use .y’y.bu, ky.bu and vy.bu. So Schwarzenegger is spelt in
Lojban as:

3
Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

sy. cy. .y’ybu vybu. .abu ry. zy. .ebu ny. .ebu gy. gy. .ebu ry.

And spelling that is a task the equal of anything the Terminator ever
did!

Tip: Whenhisatthebeginningofaname,youcannottransliterate
itwith’,sincethatletterneedstooccurbetweentwovowels.Inthat
case,youcaneitheruseanothersimilarsound,suchasxorf,orrun
thewordinwithitsprecedingword,sothatthe’remainsbetween
twovowels.Thus,JayHinkelmancangointoLojbanasdjeis.xinklmn.,
djeis.finklmn.,ordjei’inklmn.

Exercise 1
SpellyournameinLojban(oratleastsomethingcloseenoughtoittousethe
twenty-sixlettersofEnglishwehavelearned,andtheapostrophe.)Nopeeking
attheback—wedon’thavetheanswertothisexercisethere!

‘Correct’ pronunciation
You don’t have to be very precise about Lojban pronunciation,
because the phonemes are distributed so that it is hard to mistake one
sound for another. This means that rather than one ‘correct’
pronunciation, there is a range of acceptable pronunciation—the
general principle is that anything is OK so long as it doesn’t sound too
much like something else. For example, Lojban r can be pronounced
like the r in English, Scottish or French.
Two things to be careful of, though, are pronouncing Lojban i and u
like Standard British English hit and but (Northern English but is
fine!). This is because non-Lojban vowels, particularly these two, are
used to separate consonants by people who find them hard to say. For
example, if you have problems spitting out the zd in zdani (house), you
can say zɪdani—where the ɪ is very short, but the final i has to be long.

Lojban with attitude!

If you tried pronouncing the vowel combinations above, you’ve al-
ready said some Lojban words. Lojban has a class of words called atti-
tudinal indicators, which express how the speaker feels about some-

4
 Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

thing. The most basic ones consist of two vowels, sometimes with an
apostrophe in the middle. Here are some of the most useful ones.

.a’o hope
.au desire
.a’u interest
.ie agreement
.i’e approval
.ii fear (think of “Eeek!”)
.iu love
.oi complaint
.ua discovery, “Ah, I get it!”
.ue surprise
.u’e wonder, “Wow!”
.ui happiness
.u’i amusement
.u’u repentance, “I’m sorry!”
.uu pity, sympathy

Note: InEnglish,peoplehavestartedtoavoidthe
wordpity,becauseithascometohaveassociationsof
superiority..uuisjusttherawemotion:ifyouwanted
toexpresspityinthisrathercondescendingway,
you’dprobablysay.uuga’i—“pitycombinedwitha
senseofsuperiority,”or.uuvu’e—“pitycombinedwith
asenseofvirtue.”Thenagain,youwouldprobably
justkeepyourmouthshut.

You can make any of these into its opposite by adding nai, so .uinai
means “I’m unhappy”, .aunai is reluctance, .uanai is confusion (“I
don’t get it”,“Duh...”) and so on. You can also combine them. For
example, .iu.uinai would mean “I am unhappily in love.” In this way
you can even create words to express emotions which your native
language doesn’t have.
Attitudinal indicators are extremely useful, and it is well worth
making an effort to learn the most common ones. One of the biggest
problems people have when trying to speak in a foreign language is

5
Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

that, while they’ve learnt how to buy a kilo of olives or ask the way to
the post office, they can’t express feelings, because many languages do
this in a round-about way (outside group therapy, very few British
people would say outright that they were sad, for example!) In Lojban
you can be very direct, very briefly (there are ways of ‘softening’ these
emotions, which we’ll get to in a later lesson). In fact, these
attitudinals are so useful that some Lojbanists use them even when
they’re writing in English, rather like emoticons (those e-mail symbols
like ;-) :-( etc.).

Exercise 2
Usingtheattitudinalindicatorsabove(includingnegatives),whatmightyousay
inthefollowingsituations?

1. You’vejustrealisedwhereyouleftyourkeys.
2. Someonetreadsonyourtoes.
3. You’rewatchingaboringfilm.
4. Someone’sjusttoldyouafunnystory.
5. Youdisagreewithsomeone.
6. Someone’sjusttakenthelastcookieinthejar.
7. Youreallydon’tlikesomeone.
8. Youareservedacold,greasymeal.
9. Yourfriendhasjustfailedatest.
10. Thereisalargegreenbeetlecrawlingtowardsyou.

Lojban Names (cmene)

Watch any film where people don’t know each other’s language. They
start off saying things like “Me Tarzan,” which is as good a place to
start learning Lojban as any. So here we go.

mi’e robin.
I-am-named Robin
I’m Robin

mi’e is related to mi, which is ‘I’, ‘me’ and so on. It’s a good example of
the apostrophe separating two vowels, and sounds a bit like me heh.
I am lucky because my name goes directly into Lojban without any
changes. However, there are some rules for Lojban names which mean

6
 Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

that some names have to be ‘Lojbanised’. This may sound strange—

after all, a name is a name—but in fact all languages do this to some
extent. For example, English speakers tend to pronounce Jose
something like Hozay, and Margaret in Chinese is Magelita. Some
sounds just don’t exist in some languages, so the first thing you need
to do is rewrite the name so that it only contains Lojban sounds, and is
spelt in a Lojban way.

Note: Thecatchhereis,whatversionofthesoundswillyoubeusing?
ForEnglishinparticular,BritishandAmericanvowelscanbequite
different.TheBritishversionofRobinisreasonablyapproximatedby
robin.;buttheAmericanversionisclosertorabyn.orrab,n..And
withinAmericaandBritain,thereisalsoagooddealofvariation.So
youshouldtakethetransliterationsgivenbelowwithagrainofsalt.

Let’s take the English name Susan. The two s’s are pronounced
differently—the second one is actually a z—and the a is not really an a
sound, it’s the ‘schwa’ we just mentioned. So Susan comes out in
Lojban as suzyn..
You may have noticed the extra full stop (period) there. This is nec-
essary because if you didn’t pause, you might not know where the
name ended and the next word began. In addition, if a name begins
with a vowel, you need a full stop there as well. For example:

.an. Anne
.axmet. Ahmet
.eduard. Edward
.IBraxim. or .IBra’im. Ibrahim
.odin. Odin

You can also put a full stop in between a person’s first and last names
(though it’s not compulsory), so Jim Jones becomes djim.djonz..
An important rule for Lojbanising names is that the last letter of a
cmene (Lojban name) must be a consonant. Again, this is to prevent
confusion as to where a name ends, and what is and is not a name (all
other Lojban words end in a vowel). We usually use s for this; so in
Lojban, Mary becomes meris. , Joe becomes djos. and so on. An

7
Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

alternative is to leave out the last vowel, so Mary would become mer.
or meir..
A few combinations of letters are illegal in Lojbanised names,
because they can be confused with Lojban words: la, lai and doi. So
Alabama can’t be .alabamas. but needs to be .alybamas. , for example.
The final point is stress. As we’ve seen, Lojban words are stressed
on the penultimate syllable, and if a name has different stress, we use
capital letters. This means that the English and French names Robert
come out differently in Lojban: the English name is robyt. in UK
English, or rab,rt. in some American dialects, but the French is roBER. .
To give an idea of how all this works, here are some names of fa-
mous people in their own language and in Lojban.

English
Margaret Thatcher magryt.tatcys. (no th in Lojban because
most people around the world can’t say it!)
Mick Jagger mik.djagys.

French
Napoleon Bonaparte napole,ON.bonaPART.
Juliette Binoche juLIET.binOC.

Chinese
Laozi laudz.
Mao Zedong maudzyDYN. (Final ng is in Lojban
conventionally turned into n.)

Turkish
Mustafa Kemal MUStafas.keMAL.
Erkin Koray .erkin.korais.

German
Friedrich Nietzsche fridrix.nitcys.
Clara Schumann klaras.cuman.

Spanish
Isabel Allende .izaBEL.aiendes.

8
 Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

Che Guevara tcegevaras.

Exercise 3
Wherearetheseplaces?

1. nu,IORK.
2. romas.
3. xavanas.
4. kardif.
5. beidjin.
6. .ANkaras.
7. .ALbekerkis.
8. vankuver.
9. keiptaun.
10. taibeis.
11. bon.
12. delis.
13. nis.
14. .atinas.
15. lidz.
16. xelsinkis.

Exercise 4
Lojbanisethefollowingnames

1. John
2. Melissa
3. Amanda
4. Matthew
5. Michael
6. DavidBowie
7. JaneAusten
8. WilliamShakespeare
9. SigourneyWeaver
10. RichardNixon
11. Istanbul
12. Madrid
13. Tokyo
14. SanSalvador

9
Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

Lojban words as names

By now you should be able to Lojbanise your own name. However, if
you prefer, you can translate your name into Lojban (if you know
what it means, of course) or adopt a completely new Lojban identity.
Native Americans generally translate their name when speaking
English, partly because they have meaningful names, and partly
because they don’t expect the wasichu to be able to pronounce words
in Lakota, Cherokee or whatever!
All Lojban words (as opposed to cmene) end in a vowel, and
although you can use them as names as they stand, it’s common to
leave out the final vowel to make it absolutely clear that this is a name
and not something else (Lojban goes for overkill when it comes to
possible misunderstanding). So if your name or nickname is Cat
(Lojban mlatu), you can either add s like a normal cmene to make
mlatus., or just chop the end off and call yourself mlat. .
Here are a few examples:

• Fish – finpe – finp.

• Björn (Scandinavian = bear) – cribe – crib.
• Green – crino – crin.
• Mei Li (Chinese = beautiful) – melbi – melb.
• Ayhan (Turkish = Moon Lord) – lunra nobli (= lurnobli) – lurnoblis.

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 2
1. .ua
2. .oi
3. .u’inai
4. .u’i
5. .ienai
6. .oi,.i’enai,oreven.oi.i’enai
7. .iunai
8. Probably.a’unai.oi,unlessyoulikecoldgreasyfood,ofcourse.
9. .uu

10
 Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

10. Dependsonyourfeelingsaboutbeetles..iiifyouhaveaphobia,.a’unaiif
youaremerelyrepelledbyit,.a’uifyou’reanentomologist,andsoon.

Exercise 3
1. NewYork:USA
2. Rome:Italy
3. Havana:Cuba
4. Cardiff:Wales(TheWelshforCardiffisCaerdydd,whichwouldLojbanise
tosomethinglikekairdyd..)
5. Beijing:China
6. Ankara:Turkey
7. Albequerque:NewMexico,USA
8. Vancouver:Canada
9. CapeTown:SouthAfrica
10. Taipei:Taiwan(noteb,notp.Althoughactually,thebinPinyinis
pronouncedasap...Butthisisn’tmeanttobeacourseonMandarin!)
11. Bonn:Germany
12. Delhi:India(TheHindiforDelhiisDillî,whichwouldgivediliys.ordili’is..)
13. Nice:France
14. Athens:Greece(AthinainGreek)
15. Leeds:England
16. Helsinki:Finland

Exercise 4
Thereareusuallyalternativespellingsfornames,eitherbecausepeople
pronouncetheoriginalsdifferently,orbecausetheexactsounddoesn’texistin
Lojban,soyouneedtochoosebetweentwoLojbanletters.Thisdoesn’tmatter,
solongaseveryoneknowswhoorwhereyou’retalkingabout.

1. djon.(ordjan.withsomeaccents)
2. melisys.
3. .amandys.(again,dependingonyouraccent,thefinalymaybea,theinitial
amaybey,andthemiddleamaybee.)
4. matius.
5. maikyl.ormaik,l.,dependingonhowyousayit.
6. deivyd.bau,is.orbo,is.(butnotbu,is.—that’stheknife)
7. djein.ostin.
8. .uiliam.cekspir.
9. sigornis.uivyr.orsygornis.uivyr.
10. ritcyrd.niksyn.
11. .istanBUL.withEnglishstress,.IStanbulwithAmerican,.istanbul.with
Turkish.Lojbanistsgenerallyprefertobasecmeneonlocalpronunciation,
butthisisnotanabsoluterule.

11
Chapter 1. Sounds, names and attitudes

12. maDRID.
13. tokios.
14. san.salvaDOR.(withSpanishstress)

12
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places
Names and relationships
In Lesson 1 we looked at cmene, Lojban names. cmene are typically
understood to label one particular thing. Just as in English, if I say
Mary, I mean one particular person called Mary at a time, no matter
how many people there are in the world called Mary; so in Lojban,
meris. can only refer to one person. This means that cmene normally
do not stand for classes of things (like person, dog or computer) or for
relationships between things (like loves, gives or is inside).

Note: ThoseofyoualreadyadvancedinLojbanwisdomwillpoint
outthatmassnamesdon’tname‘oneparticularthing’.True;butif
youknowthatmuchLojban,youalsoknowwhattherealdistinction
betweenapredicateandanameisanyway,soyouknowwherethis
simplificationiscomingfrom.Therestofyou,er,carryon.

Relationships are the key to Lojban, and words describing a

relationship are said to act as selbri. A selbri is not a type of word (like a
‘verb’ in English); it is something that some types of words can do.
Various types of word can act as selbri, but cmene, as we’ve seen,
cannot.
The main type of word used as a selbri is a gismu, or root-word.
These are the building blocks of Lojban vocabulary. gismu are easy to
recognise, because they always have five letters, in the form

CVCCV—e.g. gismu, dunda, sumti

or

CCVCV—e.g. cmene, bridi, klama

(C=consonant; V=vowel).

Exercise 1
WhichofthefollowingLojbanwordsare:

13
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

a. gismu
b. cmene(remember,theyalwaysendinaconsonant)
c. neither?

Note:I’veleftoutthefullstopsinthecmene—thatwouldmakeittooeasy!

1. lojban
2. dunda
3. praxas
4. mi
5. cukta
6. prenu
7. blanu
8. ka’e
9. dublin
10. selbri

Take your places...

Now we can recognise a gismu, let’s see what we can make it do. dunda
means ‘give’, and as a selbri it describes a relationship between a
giver, something they give, and someone who receives it—in that
order. (Lojban insists on the order so you can tell which is which; but
that’s a convention of dunda, rather than something intrinsic in the act
of giving.)
Let’s say we have three people, Maria, Claudia and Julia, for
instance. If we say

la mari,as. dunda la .iulias. la klaudias.

we mean that Maria gives Julia to Claudia.

Note: Thelayouseeinfrontofeachcmeneisanarticle,likeaand
theinEnglish.Itsjobistosignaltothelistenerthatthewordcoming
upisaname,andnotsomeotherkindofword.

If, on the other hand, we say

la .iulias. dunda la mari,as. la klaudias.

we mean that Maria is who is being given away, and Julia is the one
who gives her to Claudia. How do we know this? English uses the

14
 Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

word to to indicate the receiver, and in some other languages (like

Latin or Turkish) the form of the words themselves change. In Lojban,
as in logic, we have what is called place structure.
Place-structure means that dunda doesn’t just mean give, it means

x1 gives x2 to x3

where x means someone or something. Even if we just say dunda on its

own, we still mean that someone gives something to someone; we just
aren’t interested in (or we already know) who or what.
We can say, then, that dunda has three ‘places’. We can think of
places as slots which we can, if we want, fill with people, objects,
events or whatever. These places are called sumti in Lojban (easy to
remember, as it sounds a bit like someone saying something and
chewing off the end of the word). Again, a sumti is not a type of word,
it is something a word does. The simplest Lojban sentence is a bridi, i.e.
a selbri and a bunch of sumti. In other words,

bridi = selbri + sumti

Note for logicians and computer programmers: Forselbri,logicians

canread‘predicate’or‘relation’,andprogrammerscanread
‘function’;forsumti,bothcanread‘argument’.

How many sumti can a selbri describe? The number depends on the
place structure of the word we use for the selbri. (There are ways of
tagging on extra sumti, which we’ll cover in later lessons). A gismu has
a set number of places; as we’ve just seen, dunda has three. The num-
ber of places varies from one to a staggering (and rare) five. Here are
some examples.

One place
ninmu x1 is a woman (any female humanoid person, not
necessarily adult)

Note: ToassumethatLojbanworkslikeEnglishin
generalisasinLojbanistsareeveronthealertfor.Itis
enoughofacommunityobsessionthattheLojban

15
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

wordforit—malglico‘damnedEnglish’—routinely
turnsupintheEnglishofLojbanists,evenwhen
they’renottalkingaboutLojban.Inthisinstance,itis
malglicotoasumethatninmureferstoanadult.

blabi x1 is white / very light-coloured

cmila x1 laughs [not necessarily at someone or something; to
include the object of the laughter you would use the
lujvo (compound word) mi’afra—x1 laughs at x2, a
slightly different concept]

Two places
cipni x1 is a bird/avian/fowl of species x2
vofli x1 flies [in air/atmosphere] using lifting/propulsion
means x2
jungo x1 reflects Chinese [Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, etc.]
culture/nationality/language in aspect x2
junri x1 (person) is serious/earnest/has gravity about x2
(event/state/activity)

Three places
xamgu x1 is good/beneficial/acceptable for x2 by standard x3
[This is very Lojbanic—the English word good on its own
is so vague as to be almost meaningless. It is also
slightly malglico to put a person in the x1 place, which is
normally filled by an object, state or event. For ‘morally
good’ you would usually use vrude ‘virtuous’]
pritu x1 is to the right of x2, where x2 is facing x3
[Remember all those times you have to ask “Is that my
right or your right?” in English]
cliva x1 leaves x2 via route x3
kabri x1 is a cup/glass/tumbler/mug/vessel/[bowl] containing
contents x2, and of material x3

Four places

16
 Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

vecnu x1 [seller] sells/vends x2 [goods/service/commodity] to

buyer x3 for amount/cost/expense x4
tivni x1 [broadcaster] televises programming x2 via
media/channel x3 to television receiver x4
bajra x1 runs on surface x2 using limbs x3 with gait x4

Five places
klama x1 goes/comes to x2 from x3 via x4 by means x5
cukta x1 is a book about subject/theme/story x2 by author x3 for
audience x4 preserved in medium x5
fanva x1 translates x2 to language x3 from language x4 with
translation-result x5

So for example you can say (trying desperately to match the grammar
to what you’ve been taught so far):

• la mari,as. ninmu
Maria is a woman.
• la tuitis. cipni la serinus.serinus.kanarias.
Tweety is a bird of species Serinus serinus canaria.
• la .iulias. pritu la mari,as. la klaudias.
Julia is to the right of Maria, facing Claudia.
• la pybysys. tivni la niksyn.in.tcainas. la kycy,ebutys. la telis.
PBS (the American Public Broadcasting Service) televises Nixon in
China (an opera) through KCET (the Los Angeles PBS affiliate) to
Telly (a pet name for a particular television) (!).
• la .iulias. klama la .uacintyn. la losandjeles. la cikagos. la .amtrak.
Julia travels to Washington from Los Angeles via Chicago on
Amtrak (the American inter-city train network.)

Determining place structure

If all these places sound a bit daunting, don’t worry—you don’t have
to memorise all of them (in fact nobody does). There are a few cases
where it’s worth learning the place structure to avoid

17
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

misunderstanding, but usually you can guess place structures using

context and a few rules of thumb.

1. The first place is often the person or thing who does something or
is something (in Lojban there is no grammatical difference
between ‘doing’ and ‘being’).
2. If someone or something has something done to them, he/she/it is
usually in the second place.
3. to places (destinations) nearly always come before from places
(origins).
4. Less-used places come towards the end. These tend to be things
like ‘by standard’, ‘by means’ or ‘made of’.

The general idea is that the places which are most likely to be filled
come first. You don’t have to use all the available places, and any
unfilled places at the end are simply missed out.

Exercise 2
Trytoguesstheplacestructureofthefollowinggismu.Youprobablywon’tget
themall,butyoushouldbeabletoguessthemostimportantones.Thinkof
whatneedstobeinthesentenceforittomakesense,thenaddanythingyou
thinkwouldbeuseful.Forexample,withklama,youneedtoknowwho’s
comingandgoing,andalthoughyoucouldintheorysay“Juliegoes,”itwould
beprettymeaninglessifyoudidn’taddwhereshegoesto.Whereshestartsher
journey,therouteshetakesandwhattransportsheusesareprogressivelyless
important,sotheyoccupythethird,fourthandfifthplaces.

1. karce–car
2. nelci–like,isfondof
3. cmene–name
4. sutra–fast,quick
5. crino–green
6. sisti–stop,cease
7. prenu–person
8. cmima–member,belongsto
9. barda–big
10. cusku–say,express
11. tavla–talk,chat

Note: Whattheplacestructureforgismushouldbeisoftenenoughan
involvedphilosophicalissue.Placestructuresweredebated

18
 Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

exhaustivelyintheearly’90s,andthecurrentplacestructures
(finalisedin1994)arenotreallyopenfornegotiationanymore.

gismu as sumti
So far we’ve seen how a gismu can express a relationship between two
or more cmene, so we can say things like

la bil. nelci la meilis.

Bill likes Mei Li

But cmene can only go so far (as the examples above must have
proven!) Most things and people in world won’t have names—or at
least, not any names we are aware of. So if we don’t happen to know
Mei Li’s name, how can we say “Bill likes the woman”? If we say la
bil. nelci la ninmu, we mean that Bill likes someone whose name is
Woman, which is not what we want. What we say, in fact, is

la bil. nelci le ninmu

What does le mean here? We have translated it into English as ‘the’,

and like the and la, it is an article; but ‘the’ isn’t quite what it means.
The best way to think of it is ‘the thing(s) I call’. la + cmene is like a
permanent label (Bill is always Bill). le + gismu is more like a
temporary label—I have something in mind, and choose to call it
‘woman’. Probably she really is a woman, but with le this doesn’t
have to be so—we could be talking about a transvestite or a stone that
looks a bit like a woman. There are other articles which can show that
it’s a real woman, or a typical woman or whatever, but we’ll leave
those alone for the time being.
One more word is sometimes necessary when using gismu as sumti—
namely, cu. This doesn’t carry any meaning, but separates the selbri
from whatever comes before it. It’s not necessary with cmene, because
they can’t run over into anything else. For the same reason, you don’t
need cu after mi (I/me/we), do (you, the person(s) I’m talking to) or any
words like this (‘pro-sumti’, in Lojban jargon). But le ninmu klama does
not mean “The woman goes”. Two gismu next to each other form a
compound selbri (or tanru), which means that ninmu and klama do get

19
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

run together. The result is that that le ninmu klama means “The
woman-type-of goer” (maybe a female traveller). What we say
instead, to avoid this, is

le ninmu cu klama

Warning
cudoesnotmean‘is’(asin“Thewomanisgoing”).Infactitdoesn’t
meananything—it’sjusttheretoindicatethatthere’saselbricoming
up.

Exercise 3
AddcutothefollowingLojbansentenceswherenecessary,thenworkoutwhat
theymean.Forexample,forle klama ninmutomakesenseasasentence,you
needtoaddcu:le klama cu ninmu.

1. la klaudias. dunda le cukta la bil.

2. le karce sutra
3. la kamIL. cukta
4. mi fanva la kaMIL. la lojban
5. le prenu sisti
6. le ninmu cliva
7. la .istanbul. barda
8. mi tavla la mari,as.
9. la meiris. pritu la meilis. mi
10. le cipni vofli
11. crino
12. ninmu

Changing Places
We’ve seen that if we don’t need all the places (and we rarely do),
then we can miss out the unnecessary ones at the end of the bridi. We
can also miss out the first place if it is obvious (just as in Spanish).
However, it sometimes happens that we want places at the end, but
not all the ones in the middle. There are a number of ways to get
round this problem.
One way is to fill the unnecessary places with zo’e, which means
‘something not important’. So la suzyn. klama la paris. la berlin. zo’e le
karce tells us that Susan goes to Paris from Berlin by car, but we’re not

20
 Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

interested in the route she takes. In fact zo’e is always implied, even if
we don’t say it. If someone says klama, what they actually mean is

zo’e klama zo’e zo’e zo’e zo’e

but it would be pretty silly to say all that.

Note: Abridicontainingonlyaselbri,andnosumti,hasaspecialkind
ofroleinLojban.Suchbridiarecalledobservatives,andtheirjobisto
makeasimpleobservationthatsomethingisthereorisgoingon,
withoutgoingintothedetailsofwhoorwhatisinvolved.Sofagri
meansjust“Fire!”,not“Myhouseisonfire”or“Thesalmonwas
poachedoveragentlylappingcampfire.”Similarly,karcemeans
“Car!”,andnot“Thisisanaturalgaspowered2001sedanHyundai
car,featuringfuzzydiceanda‘FreeBrobdignag!’bumpersticker”.
Observativesareassimpleasbabytalk—whichisnosurprise,since
that’swhattheyweremodelledon.Notethatobservativesarestill
normalLojbanselbri;inparticular,theydon’tmakeanydistinction
betweenverbandnoun.Soklamameansnot“Go!”(we’llfindout
howtosaythatnextlesson),but“Goes!”or“Goer!”—more
idiomatically,“Look!Someone’sgoing!”Andthereisnoreal
differencebetweenklama“Look!Someone’sgoing!”andkarce“Look!
Acar!”

Most people don’t want more than one zo’e in a sentence (though
there’s nothing to stop you using as many as you like). A more
popular way to play around with places is to use the place tags fa, fe,
fi, fo and fu. These mark a sumti as being associated with a certain
place of the selbri, no matter where it comes in the sentence: fa
introduces what would normally be the first place, fe the second
place, and so on. For example, in

la suzyn. klama fu le karce

Susan goes in the car / Susan goes by car

fu marks le karce as the fifth place of klama (the means of transport).

Without fu, the sentence would mean “Susan goes to the car.”
After a place introduced with a place tag, any trailing places follow
it in numbering. So in

la suzyn. klama fo la .uacintyn. le karce

21
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

Susan goes via Washington by car

la .uacintyn. is the fourth place of klama, and le karce is understood as

the place following the fourth place—i.e. the fifth place.
With place tags you can also swap places around. For example,

fe le cukta cu dunda fi la klaudias.

The book was given to Claudia.

(The book—le cukta—is the second place of dunda, what is given;

Claudia—la klaudias.—is the third place of dunda, the recipient.)
Again, you probably don’t want to overdo place tags, or you’ll end
up counting on your fingers (although they’re very popular in Lojban
poetry—place tags, that is, not fingers.)
A final way to change places is conversion, which actually swaps
the places round in the selbri—but we’ll leave that for another lesson.
There are no rules for which method you use, and you can use them
in any way you want, so long as the person you’re talking to
understands.

Vocabulary
glico x1isEnglish/pertainstoEnglish-speakingcultureinaspectx2
rokci x1isaquantityof/ismadeof/containsrock/stoneof
type/compositionx2fromlocationx3
rupnu x1ismeasuredinmajor-money-units(dollar/yuan/ruble)asx2
(quantity),monetarysystemx3

Exercise 4
ReorderthesumtiwithplacetagsintheseLojbansentencessothatnoplacetags
arenecessary,andthesumtiappearintheirexpectedplaces.Insertzo’ewhere
necessary.Forexample:fi la .iulias. cu pritu fa le karce→le karce cu pritu zo’e la
.iulias.

1. fo le cukta cu cusku fe le glico fi le prenu

2. fi mi vecnu fa do le karce
3. fu la .Odisis. cu fanva fi le glico fa la fits.djerald.
4. mi vecnu fo le rupnu
5. fi le rokci cu kabri

22
 Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

6. fi la lojban. fo la lojban. tavla fa do

Summary
In this lesson we’ve covered the following points:

• The basic bridi structure.

• The difference between cmene and gismu, and the articles la and le.
• The place structure of gismu.
• cu to separate selbri from sumti.
• zo’e to fill missing sumti places.
• Changing places with place-tags.

Although there is a lot more to Lojban sentences than this, you now
have the basics of Lojban grammar; the rest is just a matter of adding
things on to it—different articles, tags, times, numbers and so on.

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1
1.

lojban cmene

2.

dunda gismu(give)

3.

praxas. cmene(Prague—PrahainCzech—thecapitaloftheCzech
Republic)

4.

mi Neither:it’satypeofcmavo(structureword)calleda‘pro-
sumti’,awordthatstandsinforasumti,likeanEnglishpro-
nounstandsinforanoun

5.

23
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

cukta gismu(book)

6.

prenu gismu(person)

7.

blanu gismu(blue)

8.

ka’e Neither,it’sacmavoorstructureword,meaning‘can’

9.

dublin. cmene(thecapitalofIreland)

10.

selbri Neither,it’salujvoorcompoundword

Exercise 2
1.

karce x1isacar/automobile/truck/van[awheeledmotorvehicle]
forcarryingx2,propelledbyx3

(Acarpropelledbynaturalgasisadifferentkindofthingtoadieseltruck.)
2.

nelci x1isfondof/likes/hasatasteforx2(object/state)

3.

cmene x1(quotedword(s))isa/thename/title/tagofx2to/used-by
namer/name-userx3(person)

(Differentpeoplehavedifferentnamesforthings.)
4.

sutra x1isfast/swift/quick/hastes/rapidatdoing/being/bringing
aboutx2(event/state)

24
 Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

5.

crino x1isgreen

6.

sisti x1ceases/stops/haltsactivity/process/statex2[notnecessarily
completingit]

7.

prenu x1isaperson/people(noun)[notnecessarilyhuman]

8.

cmima x1isamember/elementofsetx2;x1belongstogroupx2;x1is
amid/among/amongstgroupx2

9.

barda x1isbig/largeinproperty/dimension(s)x2ascomparedwith
standard/normx3

(IstheTajMahalbig?Yes,comparedtome;no,comparedtoJupiter.)
10.

cusku x1expresses/saysx2foraudiencex3viaexpressivemediumx4

11.

tavla x1talks/speakstox2aboutsubjectx3inlanguagex4

Notethedifferentplacestructuresofcuskuandtavla.Withcuskuthe
emphasisisoncommunication;whatiscommunicatedismoreimportant
thanwhoitiscommunicatedto.Quotesine-mailsfrequentlystartwith“do
cusku di’e”(di’emeans‘thefollowing’)astheLojbanequivalentof“You
wrote”.(ciska‘write’placesmoreemphasisonthephysicalactofwriting.)
Withtavlatheemphasisisrathermoreonthesocialactoftalking:youcan
tavlaaboutnothinginparticular.

Exercise 3
1. la klaudias. dunda le cukta la bil.
Claudiagivesthebook(s)toBill.

25
Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

2. le karce cu sutra
Thecar(s)is/arefast.
3. la kamIL. cukta
Camilleisabook.
4. mi fanva la kaMIL. la lojban
ItranslateCamilleintoLojban.
5. le prenu cu sisti
Theperson(s)stop(s)(whateveritwastheyweredoing)
6. le ninmu cu cliva
Thewoman/womenleave(s)
7. la .istanbul. barda
Istanbulisbig.(Anunderstatement—ithasapopulationofovertenmillion)
8. mi tavla la mari,as.
ItalktoMaria.
9. la meiris. pritu la meilis. mi
MaryisontherightofMeiLi,ifyou’refacingme.
10. le cipni cu vofli
Thebird(s)flies/fly
11. crino
It’s/they’regreen.
12. ninmu
She’sawoman/They’rewomen/There’sawoman/Therearesome
women

Insentences1,3,4,7,8and9,cuispossiblebutnotnecessary.Inthelasttwo
sentences,cuisimpossible,sinceithastoseparatetheselbrifromthesumtithat
comesbeforeit,andtherearenosumtiheretoseparate.Thoselasttwo
sentencesareobservatives,asdiscussedinChangingPlaces.
NotethatIhavetranslatedthesesentencesinthepresenttense(sincein
Englishyouhavetochooseatense)buttheycouldbeinanytense;sole cipni cu
voflicouldalsomean“Thebirdflew”,forexample.We’lllookathowLojban
expressestenseinlaterlessons;justrememberthatyoudon’tactuallyneedit—
normallyit’sobviouswhetheranactiontakesplaceinthepast,presentor
future.
Exercise 4
1. zo’e cusku le glico le prenu le cukta
SomeoneexpressestheEnglishthingfortheperson(s)throughabook
ThebookisamediumforEnglishtopeople
2. do vecnu le karce mi zo’e
Yousellmethecarforsomeamount
Iamsoldthecarbyyou(Noticehowle karceisassignedx2,sinceitfollows
anx1placeimmediately.)
3. la fits.djerald. fanva zo’e le glico zo’e la .Odisis

26
 Chapter 2. Relationships and Places

FitzgeraldtranslatessomethingintoEnglishfromsomelanguageasThe
Odyssey
TheOdysseyisatranslationintoEnglishbyFitzgerald
4. mi vecnu zo’e zo’e le rupnu
Isellsomethingtosomeoneforthedollar
Isell(it)foradollar
5. zo’e kabri zo’e le rokci
Somethingisacup,containingsomething,madeofstone
Stoneissomethingcupsaremadeof
6. do tavla zo’e la lojban. la lojban.
YoutalktosomeoneaboutLojbaninLojban
YoutalkaboutLojbaninLojban

Note: Asyoucansee,youcanhavemorethanonesumtiinfront
oftheselbri.ThisisunlikeEnglish,whereyouusuallyhaveonly
thesubjectbeforetheverb.Thiscanhappenwithorwithout
placetags;forinstance,do zo’e la lojban. tavla la lojban.means
thesamethingasdo tavla zo’e la lojban. la lojban.

27
Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, and
Possessives
Commands
So far we’ve looked at simple propositions, sentences that say that
something is true. You can, in theory, say anything you want with
propositions, but it’s pretty inconvenient. For example, if I want you
to run, I could say just that:

I want you to run

but I’d probably just say:

Run!

How do we do this in Lojban? We can’t copy English grammar and

just say bajra, since, as we’ve seen, this means “Look!
Someone/something runs”. Instead we say

ko bajra

ko means ‘you, the person I’m talking to’, but only in commands. (In
normal sentences it’s do). Normally it comes in the first place of the
bridi, since normally you’re asking people to do something or be
something, not to have something done to them. However, you can
put it elsewhere, e.g.

nelci ko

This means something like “Act so that [someone unspecified] likes

you”, and sounds pretty odd in English, but you could use it in the
sense of “Try to make a good impression.” Another example is:

28
 Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

mi dunda le cifnu ko

or “Act so that I give the baby to you,” with the possible meaning
“Get up and put your cigarette out—I’m going to pass you the baby.”
You can even have ko in two places in a bridi, for example,

ko kurji ko
[Act so that] you take care of you

or in other words, “Take care of yourself.” In fact, as alluded to in the

last exercise of the previous lesson, we can put the selbri anywhere
other than the beginning of the sentence. (We can’t just put the selbri
at the very beginning of the sentence, without fa before the x1 sumti,
because this would imply ‘someone/something’ for the first place: the
selbri would become an observative.) Because of this freedom with
sumti position, we can (and do) say

ko ko kurji

Vocabulary
catra x1(agent)kills/slaughters/murdersx2byaction/methodx3
ciska x1inscribes/writesx2ondisplay/storagemediumx3withwriting
implementx4;x1isascribe
finti x1invents/creates/composes/authorsx2forfunction/purposex3
fromexistingelements/ideasx4
nelci x1isfondof/likes/hasatasteforx2(object/state)
nenri x1isin/inside/withinx2;x1isontheinside/interiorofx2[totally
withintheboundsofx2]
prami x1loves/feelsstrongaffectionatedevotiontowardsx2(object/state)
sutra x1isfast/swift/quick/hastes/rapidatdoing/being/bringingaboutx2
(event/state)

Exercise 1
Imaginethatsomeonesaysthesethingstoyou.Whatisitthattheywantyouto
do?

1. ko klama mi
2. ko dunda le cukta mi

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Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

3. la .izaBEL. nelci ko
4. ko sutra
5. ko ko nelci

Softening the blow...

So far we’ve looked at simple commands. However, outside the army,
we don’t normally use these very much—normally we ask people
politely. Foreigners in England often make the mistake of thinking
that putting please in front of a command makes it into a polite
request, which it doesn’t (in English we usually have to make it into a
question e.g. Could you open the window?) Fortunately, in Lojban,
‘please’ really is the magic word. Putting the word .e’o before a
sentence with ko changes it into a request; e.g.

.e’o ko dunda le cukta mi

is literally “Please give me the book,” but is actually more like “Could
you give me the book, please?” (Of course, norms of politeness in
English do not necessarily translate into other languages, so it is better
in such cases to be safe than sorry.)

Questions
In English, we make a yes/no question by changing the order of the
words (e.g. You are ... → Are you ...) or putting some form of do at the
beginning (e.g. Does she smoke?). This seems perfectly natural to
someone whose native language is English (or German), but is
actually unnecessarily complicated (as any speaker of Chinese or
Turkish will tell you). In Lojban we can turn any proposition into a
yes/no question by simply putting xu somewhere in the sentence
(usually at the beginning.) Some examples:

xu do nelci la bil.
Do you like Bill?

xu mi klama

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 Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

Am I coming?

xu crino
Is it green?

There are two ways to answer these questions. Lojban, like some other
languages, does not have words that mean ‘yes’ or ‘no’. One way to
answer “yes” is to repeat the selbri e.g.

• xu do nelci la bil.
• nelci

We can also use go’i, which repeats the last bridi (without the question)

Note: However,ifyousay“YoulikeBill”,andIthensay“Youlike
Bill”,Iamrepeatingyourwords,butnotyourmeaning.Todothat,I
wouldneedtosay“IlikeBill”instead.Itismuchmoreusefulforgo’i
torepeatthemeaningthanthewordsofthebridi;sogo’iafterxu do
nelci la bil.meansnotdo nelci la bil.,butmi nelci la bil..Inother
words,inananswertoa“Doyou?”typeofyes/noquestion,go’i
means“Yes(Ido)”,asyou’dexpect.

What about negative answers? Any bridi can be made negative by

using na. This negates the whole of the bridi, so you can put it
anywhere you want, with a little extra grammar. But the simplest
place to put it grammatically is right before the selbri. So mi cu na nelci
la bil. means “It is not true that I like Bill,” or in other words, “I don’t
like Bill.”

Tip: Bydefault,naisfollowedbyaselbri.Sincecuhasthejobof
indicatingthataselbriiscomingup,namakesitsuperfluous.Soyou
cansimplysaymi na nelci la bil.

As an answer to a question, we do the same thing, so we just say na

nelci or na go’i.

Logical note: Negativesarealotmorecomplicatedthantheylook,in

bothEnglishandLojban.Strictlyspeaking,mi na nelci la bil.istrue
evenifI’veneverheardofBill(sinceit’sprettyhardtolikesomeone
youknownothingabout.)We’lllookatsomeothernegativeslater,
butforthetimebeingnawilldofine.JustasinEnglish,ifyouask

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Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

someoneiftheylikeBill,andtheyreply“No”becausetheyhaven’t
methim,they’rebeingamazinglyunhelpful—butnotreallylying.

English also has a number of wh- questions—who, what etc. In Lojban

we use one word for all of these: ma. This is like an instruction to fill in
the missing place. For example:

• do klama ma
• la london.

• “Where are you going?”

• “London.”

• ma klama la london.
• la klaudias.

• “Who’s going to London?”

• “Claudia.”

• mi dunda ma do
• le cukta

• “I give what to you?” (probably meaning “What was it I was

supposed to be giving you?”)
• “The book.”

Finally we have mo. This is like ma, but questions a selbri, not a sumti—
it’s like English “What does x do?” or “What is x?” (remember, being
and doing are the same in Lojban!) More logically, we can see mo as
asking someone to describe the relationship between the sumti in the
question. For example:

do mo la klaudias.
You ??? Claudia
What are you to Claudia?

The answer depends on the context. Possible answers to this question

are:

• nelci: “I like her.”

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 Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

• pendo: “I am her friend”

• prami: “I adore/am in love with her.”
• xebni: “I hate her.”
• fengu: “I’m angry with her.”
• cinba: “I kissed her”

Note that the time is not important here: just as cinba can mean ‘kiss’,
‘kissed’, ‘will kiss’ and so on, mo does not ask a question about any
particular time. There are ways to specify time in Lojban, but it’s not
necessary to use them. (Just to satisfy your curiosity though, “I kissed
Claudia” is mi pu cinba la klaudias.)
We’ve said that mo can also be a “What is ...” type of question. The
simplest example is ti mo—“What is this?” You could also ask la
meilis. mo, which could mean “Who is Mei Li?”, “What is Mei Li?”,
“What is Mei Li doing?” and so on. Again, the answer depends on the
context. For example:

• ninmu: “She’s a woman.”

• jungo: “She’s Chinese.”
• pulji: “She’s a policewoman.”
• sanga: “She’s a singer” or “She’s singing.”
• melbi: “She’s beautiful.” (possibly a pun, since this is what meili
means in Chinese!)

There are ways to be more specific, but these normally involve a ma

question; for example la meilis. gasnu ma (“Mei Li does what?”).
There are more question words in Lojban, but xu, ma and mo are
enough for most of what you might want to ask. Three other
important questions, xo (“How many?”) ca ma (“When?”) and pei
(“How do you feel about it?”) will come in the lessons on numbers,
time and attitudes.

Exercise 2: Lojban general knowledge quiz

Answerthefollowingquestions(inLojban,ofcourse).Mostoftheanswersare
veryeasy;thetrickistounderstandthequestion!Forexample,cynyny. mo
“WhatisCNN?”—tivni“Broadcaster”

33
Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

1. la brutus. mo la .iulius.
2. ma prami la djuliet.
3. xu la paris. nenri la .iunaited.steits.
4. ma finti la .anas.kaREninas.
5. xu la porc. sutra
6. la lis.xarvis.azuald. catra ma
7. xu la djorj.eliot. ninmu
8. la sakiamunis. mo
9. la cekspir. mo la xamlet.
10. la das.kapiTAL. cukta fi ma
11. xu la xardis. fengu la lorel.

Possessives
The sumti we have seen so far—names, and le + gismu combinations—
do an OK job in describing things. They don’t do as good a job in
narrowing things down. For example, you may be fortunate enough
to know two people who own Porsches. Your friends will (normally)
have different names, which you can use to tell them apart. But if
you’re discussing their cars, how do you tell them apart?
Or take the following sentence:

mi nelci le tamne
I like the cousin

Not as informative a sentence as it might be: the question that you

should be hollering at this instant is, “Whose cousin?” Is it my cousin?
Your cousin? Frederick II’s cousin? When we talk about things and
people, we are expected to give enough information, so that the
listener knows who or what on Earth we are talking about. In these
examples, saying “the Porsche” or “the cousin” is clearly not enough
information.
One of the simplest way to narrow things down is by answering the
question ‘whose?’ It doesn’t work in all cases, but it will here: “Mary’s
Porsche”, “Fred’s Porsche”, “Tim’s cousin”, “my cousin”. So, how do
we say that in Lojban? Well, there’s two ways. Or four. Or seven. Or
thirteen. Or more—because this is Lojban, and in Lojban you can be as
precise, or as imprecise, as you want to. We’ll give you the simple
answer first, and then work our way up.

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 Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

The simplest way of all is to add, after the sumti you’re talking
about, pe followed by the person (or thing) you associate it with. So:

• la porc. pe la meiris.
Mary’s Porsche
• le tamne pe la tim.
Tim’s cousin
• le nenri pe le karce
The inside of the car
• le cmima pe la lojbangirz.
The member of the Logical Language Group

Easy as pie, so far.

You’ll notice that the order is in some instances the other way
around from English: la porc. pe la meiris. looks more like “the Porsche
of Mary”. Now, English uses both ’s and of for this kind of association.
The choice between the two is complicated, but basically depends on
whether the ‘possessor’ is a person or not—which is why the Porsche of
Mary sounds odd, as does English’s verbs.
Lojban doesn’t have those restrictions: if you can do something with
one sumti, you can do it with any sumti. And you can put Mary in front
of her Porsche. One way to do it is to tuck the pe-phrase in between
the article and the rest of your sumti: for instance, le pe la tim. tamne.
This is literally “The of Tim cousin”. But this construction is kind of
odd, and since it’s not how most languages do things, you won’t be
surprised that it’s not commonly used.
There is a similar way of saying it, though, which is quite common.
That is to wedge the ‘possessor’ sumti between the article and the
name or gismu, without the pe. This gives you le la tim. tamne, which
should be instantly recognisable as “Tim’s cousin.” When the
‘possessor’ is a single-word sumti, this is the most popular way of
expressing things: le mi tamne is how you would normally say “my
cousin”. So you can now say:

• le la lojbangirz. cmima
The member of the Logical Language Group
• le la meiris. karce

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Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

Mary’s car
• le la toi,otas. nenri
The inside of the Toyota
• le do cukta
Your book

Tip: Youcan’tsayla la meiris. porc.:strictlyspeaking,youcan’ttell

whenonenamestartsandanotherends,sincenamescancontain
multiplepauses.IfIsaidla la meiris. mersedez. benz.,didImean
Mary’sMercedez-Benz,orMaryMercedez’sBenz,orMary
Mercedez-Benz’ssomething-else?Forthesamereason,youcan’t
reallysayla pe la meiris. porc.,either.
Forle+gismuasapossessor,thingsareevenworse.ThewayLojban
grammarworks,thesumtiyouinsertbetweenleandabrivla,to
indicatea‘possessor’,hastobekeptfairlysimple.Fornow,infact,
nestonlynamesandsingle-wordsumtiinsidele+gismu-typesumti;
that’swhateveryoneendsupdoinganyway.
Toseewhythingscangowrong,considerhowyouwouldsayle
tamne pe le ninmu klama‘thewomantraveller’scousin’withthiskind
ofnesting.Youcouldflipitaroundasle le ninmu klama tamne—but
then,howcanyoutellwherethe‘possessor’endsandwherethe
‘possessee’begins?Thatphrasecouldjustaseasilybe‘thewoman’s
travellingcousin.’Asituationbestavoided,inotherwords.Thereisa
wayyoucanmakethiswork,though—whichwe’llcoverinacouple
oflessons.

Exercise 3
Foreachofthefollowing,switchthetwosumtiaround,sothatyouconvertape
possessiveintoanestedpossessive,andviceversa.Onlydothiswhere
grammaticallyallowed.Forexample,le la .iulias. kabri→le kabri pe la .iulias..

1. le cifnu pe la meiris.
2. le la meiris. cukta
3. le cukta pe mi
4. le cukta pe le ninmu
5. ma pe mi
6. le zo’e karce
7. le la tim. rokci
8. la meiris. pe la tim.
9. le cukta pe ma
10. le cmene pe la roz.

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 Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

More Possessives

Warning
Thisissomewhatadvanced,andyoumightwanttoskipitonafirst
reading.

What pe is actually doing is saying that there is a relationship between

the two sumti. What that relationship is is left as open as possible:
we’ve used the term ‘possessor’, but the relationship need not involve
ownership in Lojban any more than in English. (That also holds when
you leave the pe out.) For instance, if I say “Danny’s desk” (le
gunjubme pe la danis. or le la danis. gunjubme) at an office, I probably
don’t mean that Danny owns the desk (in all likelihood the company
does), but simply that he sits there all the time and keeps his stuff
there.
You can get more specific if you want—though Lojbanists tend not
to. If you want to say there is actual ownership involved, or any other
association in which someone is uniquely associated with what you’re
talking about, you can use po instead of pe. le gunjubme po la danis., for
instance, means that this is the desk Danny is uniquely associated
with. This can be because he actually paid money for at a store. In that
case, like anything he owns, he can sell it, or give it away, in which
case it stops being his. Or it may be the desk assigned to him, and him
alone, at work; but if the desk (or Danny) is reassigned, the desk stops
being his. Moreover, if there is a crisis in office space, and Danny is
sharing the desk with Wilfred, then you can’t speak of the desk as
being either le gunjubme po la danis. or le gunjubme po la .uilfred.,
because it’s unique to the pair of them, not to any one of them. You
can still, however, speak of it as le gunjubme pe la danis., which does
not insist on uniqueness.

Tip: ThereisawaytosaythedeskisuniquetothepairofDannyand
Wilfred:le gunjubme po la danis. joi la .uilfred.You’llbemeetingjoi
hereandthereinthecominglessons,butyou’llbeformally
introducedtoitinLesson11.

Some other examples:

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Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

• le cukta po mi
My book
• le cipni po la meilis.
Mei Li’s bird
• la kokakolys. po do
Your Coca-Cola

There are some things which you have which are unique to you, but
which also never stop being yours, by definition. Your hand, for
example, remains your hand, even if you saw it off (apologies for
gruesomeness): you’d have to enter the high-stakes world of
international organ transplants before you could say that your hand
becomes someone else’s hand. Your parents also are not something
you can give away or transfer (much though you might be tempted to
on occasion!) Whatever happens, they remain, by definition, your
parents. Many languages distinguish between this kind of having, and
the here-today-gone-tomorrow kind of having. Lojban is one such
language, and for your parents or your arm, you would say po’e
instead of po:

• le rirni po’e la .iulias.

Julia’s parents
• le birka po’e la klaudias.
Claudia’s arm

Note: Asithappens,Englishisnotoneofthoselanguagesthat
distinguishesbetweenthesetwonotions(alienableandinalienable
possessionarethejargonterms,incaseyou’reeverbrowsinga
grammarofaSouthPacificlanguage.)Sothedistinctionhasn’tbeen
exploitedmuchtodateinLojban.Moregenerally,themuchvaguer
associationsignalledbypeisusuallyenoughtonarrowdownwhat
exactlyyoumean,anyway;andfornow,mostLojbanistsarecontent
toleaveitatthat.Youprobablywilltoo.

Oh, and one more thing. We’ve been answering the question
“whose?” through this section, but we haven’t said how you ask
“whose?” You’ve probably already guessed, though. The word whose?
just means who’s?, or of whom? And who? is ma. So if “Tim’s cousin” is
le tamne pe la tim. or le la tim. tamne, then we just follow the same fill-

38
 Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

in-the-slot approach as we did earlier on, with ma substituting for la

tim.: “whose cousin?” is le tamne pe ma or le ma tamne. (You would
have already found this out in the preceding exercise—if you were
good, of course!)

Exercise 4 (Advanced)
Foreachofthefollowing,specifywhethertheyinvolvepo,po’e,orjustpe.

1. Mycar
2. Mylanguage
3. Mygenes
4. Myjeans
5. Myfault
6. Myself
7. Mypresent(thatIgot)
8. Mypresent(thatIgave)

Summary
In this chapter, we have seen how to

• give commands in Lojban;

• soften commands with attitudinals;
• ask questions and give answers about sumti;
• ask questions and give answers about selbri;
• express association between two sumti, using pe and nesting;
• express association between two sumti more precisely, as alienable
or inalienable possession.

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1
1. Cometome.
2. Givemethebook.
3. ActsothatIsabellikesyou.(or“ButterupIsabel”perhaps.)
4. Befast(“Hurryup!”)
5. Likeyourself.(Notethatchangingthewordorderdoesn’tchangethe
meaninghere.)

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Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

Exercise 2
1. catra(assumingit’sJuliusCaesarwe’retalkingabout.)
2. la romios.(assumingit’sthatJuliet.)
3. na nenriorna go’i,unlesswe’retalkingaboutParis,Texas.
4. la tolstois.
5. Trickquestion.lacannameaspecificPorsche,notPorschesingeneral,and
aspecificPorschemightgofastornot(e.g.itcouldhavejustbrokendown
andnotgoatall.)Ingeneral,la porc.meansjustwhatIsayitmeans,butas
anameitisnotusedingeneraltorefertoallPorsches,ortothetypical
Porsche.(Lojbanhasotherwaysofdoingthat.)
6. la KEnedis.
7. ninmuorgo’i(Despitethepen-name,GeorgeEliotwasawoman.)
8. Notmuchwecansaywiththevocabularywehaveatthemomentother
thanprenu(maybeemphasisingthatSakyamuni—theBuddha—wasa
person,notaGodorsomesuch).Otherpossibleanswerswouldbexindo
‘Indian’,orpavbudjo‘firstBuddhist’.
9. finti—notciska!Lojbanseparatesthebusinessofputtingpentopaperfrom
theactofcreatingaworkofart.IfShakespearehaddictatedHamletto
FrancisBacon,Baconwouldhavebeentheciska(‘writer’),butShakespeare
wouldhaveremainedthefinti(‘creator’).
10. la karl.marks.
11. fenguorgo’i—we’retalkingaboutLaurelandHardyhere.

Exercise 3
1. le la meiris. cifnu(Mary’schild)
2. le cukta pe la meiris.(Mary’sbook)
3. le mi cukta(Mybook)
4. Youcan’tdothis(fornow):le le ninmu cuktaisambiguous.(Thewoman’s
book)
5. Youcan’tdothis:thereisnoarticleinmaformitofollow.TheLojban
literallymeans‘mywhat?’,butitcanbeusedmoreflexibly.do nelci ma pe
mi,forexample,means“Whatdoyoulikeaboutme?”
6. le karce pe zo’e([Someone’s]car)
7. le rokci pe la tim.(Tim’srock)
8. Youcan’tdothis:la la tim. meiris.wouldbeconfusing.(Tim’sMary—for
example,hissister,orhispartner.Notethat,aswediscussinthenext
section,thisisnotnecessarilyademeaningthingtosay:pedoesnotimply
ownership,butonlyassociation.)
9. le ma cukta(Whosebook?)
10. le la roz. cmene(Rose’sname;not‘Thenameoftherose’,whichwould
involvethegismufor‘rose’,rozgu.)

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 Chapter 3. Commands, Questions, Possessives

Exercise 4
1. po:Youownit,soit’suniquelyassociatedwithyou(bydefault.)
2. pe:Youdon’townit,andyoucanchangeit,soneitherkindsof
‘possession’apply.
3. po’e:Yourgeneticfingerprintmakesyourgenesinseparablyyours.
4. Thoughyoumightconsideryourselfinseparablefromyourjeans,too,they
areofcoursepo.
5. po:There’snorealsenseof‘possession’involvedhere;butthisisstilla
uniqueassociation.
6. po’e:Ifthere’sonethingthat’sinseparablefromyou—it’syou.
7. po:Imaynothavepaidanymoneyforit,butagiftismyproperty
nonetheless,soit’suniquelyassociatedwithme.
8. po:SinceI’vegiventhegiftaway,Idonotownitinanyrealsense.Butthe
giftisstilluniquelyassociatedwithme,sinceitwasmethatgaveitaway.

41
Chapter 4. Numbers, and a few more
articles
One of the first things you learn in a new language is how to count,
and this course is no exception. However, in Lojban, numbers include
much more than just counting; for example, in Lojban, some, most and
too many are numbers.

Basic numbers
The numbers from one to nine are as follows:

1. pa
2. re
3. ci
4. vo
5. mu
6. xa
7. ze
8. bi
9. so

This leaves zero, which is no (think “yes, we have no bananas”). You

may have noticed that the numbers repeat the vowels AEIOU. Since you
can’t get by without memorising numbers, try to think of mnemonics
for the unfamiliar ones. For example, although the sound is different,
xa has the x of six, and I remembered so by thinking of the proverb “A
stitch in time saves nine,” which is about sewing (.oi).
Numbers from 10 onwards are made by putting the digits together,
just like you’d say a telephone number. For example:

pano 10
zebi 78
xanoci 603
vomusore 4,592

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 Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

4,592 has a comma in it (or a full stop in some languages, just to make
things confusing). We can’t use a comma in Lojban, because that
means “separate these two syllables” (as we saw in Lesson 1 with
Lojbanised names like zo,is. for Zoe). What we say instead is ki’o. We
don’t have to use ki’o, but it can make things clearer. So 4,592 can also
be read as vo ki’o musore. ki’o also has the advantage that if the
following digits are all zeroes, we don’t need to say them, so 3,000 is ci
ki’o. You can remember ki’o easily if you think of kilo—a thousand.
(The similarity is not coincidental.)
Just as we have a word for a comma, we also have one for a decimal
point: pi. So 5.3 is mupici. In fact, pi is not always decimal; it’s the point
for whatever number base you’re using. But that’s a more advanced
topic.

Tip: Don’tgetthismixedupwiththenumberpi(π): 3.14159..., which

has its own word in Lojban: pai—oddly enough.

When you want to talk about numbers as sumti—that is to say, as

things in and of themselves—you need to put an article in front of
them. But that article cannot be la, and for reasons which hopefully
will become clear soon, it cannot be le either. In front of numbers,
Lojban uses the article li. So li pareci means ‘the number one hundred
and twenty three’. ‘One, two, three’, on the other hand, would be li pa
li re li ci: each li introduces a brand new number.

Exercise 1
What are the following numbers in Lojban? (don’t forget li!)

1. 35
2. 4,802
3. 6,000
4. 7.54
5. 6,891,573.905

Numbers and articles

So far, we’ve looked at three articles: la, for cmene, le, for sumti, and li for
numbers. So li bi is ‘the number eight.’ Actually, outside mathematics,

43
Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

li is not used very much. What we usually want to say is things like
‘three people,’ or ‘the two women.’

Note for mathematicians: Lojban has a number of words to deal with

basic mathematics, and also an incredible number of words to deal with
just about any mathematical expression you can think of, in a separate
subset of the language (The Complete Lojban Language, Chapter 18.) But
you can’t expect everything in a beginners’ course.

We can use numbers either before or after le. For example,

ci le gerku

means ‘three of the dogs’, while

le ci gerku

means ‘the three dogs.’

What do we do, though, if we just want to say “three dogs”? For this
we need another article, lo. The logic of lo is pretty complicated, but it
basically means ‘something which really is,’ which nine times out of
ten is the same as English a or some. (Translating Lojban grammar into
English like this is a mortal sin—damned under the name of malglico;
but even so, this is the best thing to do with lo at this stage!)

Note for logicians: lo prenu cu klama expresses the proposition “There

exists at least one person, such that that person goes.”
By contrast, the cannot mean the same thing as lo. In English, the dog
doesn’t mean just ‘something which really is a dog’, but more like
‘something which really is a dog, and which I already have in mind.’
(That’s how “A dog came in. A dog was black” and “A dog came in. The
dog was black” are different.) Lojban sidesteps this problem by using le
gerku ‘something which I’m going to call a dog’. It’s up to the audience to
put together what the speaker had in mind when they called it le gerku, just
as it is the audience’s job in English to work out what dog the speaker had
in mind.

So ci lo gerku means ‘three of those which really are dogs’, or in plain

words, ‘three dogs’. lo ci gerku, however, means that we are talking
about [one or more of] the only three dogs in the world, which is not
something you’d really want to say. (Mathematicians and logicians

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 Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

can look up the relevant parts of The Complete Lojban Language if they
want clarification on this issue—or for that matter on the differences
between lo and le.)
Now consider the English sentence Three men carried a piano. This
sentence has two potential meanings, as does any sentence involving a
plural in English. You could be saying that the sentence holds true for
each individual of the group. If the men involved are Andy, Barry,
and Chris, you might be saying that Andy carried the piano, and
Barry carried the piano, and Chris carried the piano. Alternatively,
you could be saying that the sentence holds for the group as a unit: no
one carried the piano individually, but all three men carried it
together.
Natural languages typically leave it up to context and plausibility to
determine which of the two interpretations holds. But Lojban is a
logical language, and so does not tolerate this confusion! le and lo
force the individual interpretation. That is, if I say

ci lo nanmu cu bevri le pipno

I mean that each of the three men (nanmu) carried (bevri) the piano
(pipno). And if I say

ci lo gerku cu batci mi

I just mean that three dogs bite me. Maybe one dog bit me in the
morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night, or maybe I mean that
I have been bitten by a dog three times in my life. There is nothing to
say that the three dogs have anything to do with each other.
But if you want those dogs, or those men, to be considered as a unit,
you’d say

lu’o ci lo nanmu cu bevri le pipno

lu’o ci lo gerku cu batci mi

lu’o means ‘the mass composed of’, and in effect converts a bunch of
individuals into a coherent unit. In the case of the dogs, for example, it
makes them a pack. If you’re a fan of computer strategy games, think
of lu’o as like the ‘group’ command for units (there’s also an ‘ungroup’

45
Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

command, lu’a). Moreover, since the dogs act as a pack, it is not

necessarily true that each of them individually bit you: it is actually
enough that one of them bit you, for the pack to have bitten you.
With le things are simpler. While le pano ninmu means ‘the ten
women’, lu’o le pano ninmu means ‘the ten women treated as a group or
mass’. Let’s imagine that ten women I have in mind kiss me on ten
separate occasions. (Hey, I do get to write these lessons for my own
amusement, after all...) I could then say

le pano ninmu cu cinba mi

in which case I’d consider myself quite fortunate. However, if I say

lu’o le pano ninmu cu cinba mi, I mean that the ten women kiss me en
masse, in which case I would consider myself either blessed or
harrassed (maybe I’m a rock star or something.) It does not necessarily
mean that each and every woman kisses me; simply that I was
mobbed by a group of ten women and kissed by one or (probably)
more in the process.
lu’o le and lu’o lo are very useful concepts, even without explicit
numbers, and there are shorter ways of saying each when no number
comes between them: lei and loi respectively. So the three men
carrying the piano could be expressed as loi nanmu cu bevri le pipno, and
the throng of women kissing me (!) as lei pano ninmu cu cinba mi.

For advanced students only: Once you have been involved with Lojban
for a while, you will notice that you will see loi a lot, and lu’o lo hardly
ever. In fact, by default the expression loi nanmu cu bevri le pipno, without a
number, implies that all of mankind was somehow involved in carrying the
piano. Strictly speaking, that’s true (if three men carried the piano, then
Man carried the piano.) But it’s not really the most specific way of
expressing what’s going on.
So how do you get the number ‘three’ back into an expression like loi
nanmu cu bevri le pipno? You cannot say loi ci nanmu cu bevri le pipno, because
that means that there are only three men that exist in the universe. You
cannot say ci loi nanmu cu bevri le pipno, because the three men act as one
mass, and not as three masses. As it turns out (by extension of a little-
known mechanism documented in The Complete Lojban Language, pp.
132–133), the way to do it is loi ci lo nanmu cu bevri le pipno: “The mass of
three out of [all] men carries the piano.”

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 Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

Exercise 2
In the following English sentences, are the emphasised nouns individuals (prefixed in
Lojban with le or lo) or masses (prefixed in Lojban with lei or loi)?

1. The students listened to the radio.

2. The students built a radio.
3. I bought sugar.
4. I bought radios.
5. Elephants live to an old age.
6. Elephants have flat ears.
7. The students liked talking about elephants.

Proportions

Warning
This section gets into even more tricky logical stuff. Skip it if you’re not
interested.

If le ci prenu means “the three people,” and re le prenu means “two of the
people,” how do you say “two of the three people”?
You probably got this one pretty easily: re le ci prenu. If, however, we
use lo, the meaning changes. We can’t say re lo ci prenu to mean two out
of any three people (i.e. two thirds of the population). This is because
while le ci prenu means the three people that I have in mind, lo ci prenu,
by the same logic, means the three people that actually exist—i.e. that
there are only three people in the universe. (That’s also why, as the
astute reader may have noted, you can’t say loi ci nanmu cu bevri le pipno.)
You would therefore only use the number+lo+number formula if you
knew the actual numbers rather than just the proportions, e.g.

re lo ci mensi pe mi cu nelci la rikis.martin.

Two of my three sisters like Ricky Martin.

This states two facts. First, that I have three sisters (though it is not
actually true in my case!) Second, that two of them like Ricky Martin
(it doesn’t actually state that my third sister hates him—she may be
indifferent to him, or never have heard of him). If I use le in the same
sentence, it isn’t actually wrong, but it allows the possibility that I

47
Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

have, say, five sisters, but I’m only talking about three of them! This is
one of the few areas where le and lo are not like the and a/some.
But with people in general, rather than a specific group of people I
know, I would have to say something in the order of

vo ki’o nocize ki’o pasovo ki’o rexare lo xa ki’o cipare ki’o pamubi ki’o
nosoci remna cu nelci la rikis.martin.
4,037,194,262 out of the 6,312,158,093 (existing) humans like
Ricky Martin

meaning, I would have to give the real counts for all humans, and for
all humans who suffer from that particular affliction. Which obviously
is not terribly practical. (The real counts, I mean, not the affliction.
Though on second thought...)
One way out of this problem is to use fi’u, which is like the Lojban
slash sign. So “two out of every three people” is really “2/3 of people”,
or refi’uci loi prenu. Of course, this is actually a fraction, and fractions
have decimal equivalents; you could also say pixaxaxa loi prenu, and not
be that far off—even if your use of decimals might have some people
laughing in the aisles...
Yes, that’s our new friend loi in that sentence. If I had said refi’uci lo
prenu, that would have to be understood in the same way as re lo prenu
or ci lo prenu (i.e. as a count of individuals), and I would have ended up
talking about two thirds of a person. In most cultures, chopping up
persons into thirds is not considered acceptable behaviour even for
pollsters or advertisers. On the other hand, chopping up populations
into thirds is perfectly acceptable; and that’s what loi prenu is. (A
population, I mean, not an acceptable. Though on second thought...)
Here are some more proportions:

• mi tcica pimu lei prenu

I fooled half of the people (treating the people as a mass, or
population)
• mi tcica pafi’ure lei prenu
I fooled one out of two people (which means exactly the same thing)
• mi tcica pa le re mlatu
I fooled one out of the two cats (treating the cats as individuals)

48
 Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

• mi se slabu vopano lo pacivore gismu

I am familiar with 410 out of the 1342 (existing) gismu

Quantities
I’ve said that words like most and many are numbers in Lojban, which
is pretty logical if you think about it. The following ‘numbers’ are
particularly useful:

no none (we’ve already seen this as ‘zero’)

ro each / all

du’e too many

so’a almost all
so’e most
so’i many / a lot of
so’o several
so’u few

su’e at most
su’o at least

Some examples:

• no le ninmu cu nelci la bil.

None of the women like Bill.
• no lo ninmu cu nelci la bil.
No women like Bill.
(because lo ninmu potentially includes all women that exist)
• coi rodo
Hi, everyone
• mi nelci ro lo mlatu
I like all cats.
• mi na nelci ro lo gerku
It’s not true that I like all dogs.
(This is not the same as “I don’t like any dogs”, which
would be mi nelci no lo gerku. There are other ways of saying
this, but we haven’t got enough grammar under our belt yet.)

49
Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

• so’i lo merko cu nelci la nirvanas.

Many Americans like Nirvana
(The group, not the mystical state. Although on second
thought...)

Note: Yes,namesareambiguousinLojban,because
they’reusedHumpty-Dumptystyle:theymeanwhatthe
speakermeans.

• so’u lo jungo cu nelci la nirvanas.

Few Chinese people like Nirvana.
• su’e mu le muno prenu cu cmila
No more than five out of the fifty people laugh(ed)
(Let’s say a comedian told a bad joke).
• su’o pa lo prenu cu prami do
At least one person loves you.

This last sentence is logically the same as lo prenu cu prami do, which
means “there exists at least one person such that that person loves
you,” but it makes the meaning clearer and more emphatic. In fact, all
articles in Lojban have such default numbers associated with them; lo
by default means su’o pa lo ro “at least one out of all...”.

Vocabulary
batci x1bites/pinchesx2on/atspecificlocusx3withx4
cifnu x1isaninfant/baby[helplessthroughyouth/incomplete
development]ofspeciesx2
cinba x1(agent)kisses/bussesx2atlocusx3
citka x1eats/ingests/consumes(transitiveverb)x2
gerku x1isadog/canine/[bitch]ofspecies/breedx2
melbi x1isbeautiful/pleasanttox2inaspectx3(ka)byaestheticstandard
x4
mlatu x1isacat/[puss/pussy/kitten][felineanimal]ofspecies/breedx2;
(adjective:)x1isfeline
nanmu x1isaman/men;x1isamalehumanoidperson[notnecessarily
adult]
rectu x1isaquantityof/containsmeat/fleshfromsource/animalx2

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 Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

Exercise 3
Translatethefollowingsentences.

1. Allbabiesarebeautiful.
2. Thepackofthreecatsbitethedog.
3. Whatasurprise!MeiLilovestwomen.(useanattitudinalindicator)
4. Mostmenloveatleastonewoman.
5. Itisnottruethatallmenloveatleastonewoman.
6. ThegroupoffourwomenkissRickyMartin.
7. It’sashamethatno-onelikesBill.(useanattitudinalindicator)
8. Rosemary’sbabybitestwopeople(separately).
9. OneinthreewomenlikeDavidBowie.
10. Nomorethan15%ofBuddhistseatmeat.(‘Buddhist’isbudjo,asyoumay
rememberfromLesson3).
11. Nineoutoftencatslike‘Whiskas.’(useacmene)

Number Questions
All question words in Lojban are requests to fill in an unknown value:
ma asks for an unknown sumti, and mo for an unknown selbri. In
Lojban xo is the question word for numbers. So, remembering the
sentence re lo mi ci mensi cu nelci la rikis.martin., how would I answer
the following question?

xo le mensi cu nelci la rikis.martin.

The answer, of course, is re. (But not all questions that can be
answered with a number have to take xo, as we’ll see in the next
lesson).

Tip: xoisalsousedinmathematics,asin

li ci su’i vo du li xo
3+4=?

A few more examples:

• xo le botpi cu kunti
How many of the bottles are empty?
• xo lo prenu cu klama ti
How many people come here?

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Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

• do viska xo lo sonci
How many soldiers do you see?

Note: Itisnotactuallynecessarytoincludetheloafterxo.Infact,it
isn’tnecessaryafteranynumber—forexampleci lo gerkucouldbe
simplyci gerku,ifyouprefer.However,someLojbanistsprefertokeep
theloforthesakeofclarity.

A final question
Lojbanhasnodifferencebetweensingularandplural:thedogandthedogscan
bothbele gerku.Butsupposeyouwantedtomakeadistinctionbetweenthe
two;howwouldyoudoit?

Summary
In addition to numbers (and their associated questions), this lesson
has entered the dangerous waters of Lojban articles. Lojban articles
may seem difficult at first, but they are perfectly logical. In fact it’s
probably because they are logical that people have problems with them
to start off with—you have to learn to think in a slightly different way.
For the curious, here are the main articles and article-like words:

la that named
le that described
lo that which really is
li the number

(lu is not an article, it’s a quotation mark!)

la’e the referent of (not really an article, as it takes a full

sumti or pro-sumti, as in la’edi’u, what the last sentence
refers to, as opposed to di’u, the actual words of the last
sentence.)
le’e the stereotypical
lo’e the typical

52
 Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

lai the mass named

lei the mass described
loi the mass which really is

la’i the set named

le’i the set described
lo’i the set which really is

(Sets turn out to be pretty useful in Lojban, as we’ll see towards the
end of this course.)
We also looked briefly at lu’o, which turns a set into a mass, and lu’a,
which turns a mass into a set of individuals (‘group’ and ‘ungroup’).
Strictly speaking, these aren’t articles, though.
If all this looks terribly complicated, don’t be discouraged! As you
can see, these articles are all really variants on la, le and lo, which are
normally all you will need. My personal advice (not official Lojban
policy!) is when in doubt, use le. This is because the only time le is
completely wrong is with a cmene (which needs la, of course). If you
use le where another article would be more appropriate, you may not
express yourself as clearly as you wanted, but at least you will not be
talking ungrammatical nonsense, like you would if you said der Frau
in German, or the two womans in English.

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1
1. 35:li cimu
2. 4,802:li vobinoreorli vo ki’o binore(thespacesareoptional)
3. 6,000:li xa ki’oorli xanonono
4. 7.54:li ze pimuvo(again,thespaceisoptional)
5. 6,891,573.905:li xa ki’o bisopa ki’o muzeci pisonomu(ifthatlookslong,try
writingitasawordinEnglish!)

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Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

Exercise 2
1. Individual.Thestudentsmighthavebeeninagroupwhilelisteningtothe
radio,butlisteningtotheradioissomethingapersoniscapableofdoing
ontheirown.
2. Mass.Thestudentsworkedtogethertomaketheradio,soyoucannotsayof
anyonestudentthattheymadetheradioontheirown.
3. Mass.Infact,sugarisamassnouneveninEnglish,becauseitisveryhard
tothinkofitasindividualentities.(Evenwhenwedosay“threesugars”in
English,we’rethinkingofteaspoons,orkindsofsugar,notindividual
grains;soinfact,we’retalkingabouttwoormoredistinctmassesofsugar.)
That’swhysugardoesnotnormallytakeanarticleinEnglish.
4. Individual.Radiosareeasytothinkofasindividualunits.ButLojbandoes
allowyoutotreattheradiosyou’vepurchasedasamass,ifthat’susefulto
you(particularlyifyou’rebuyinginbulk.)
5. Mass.Thestatementisnotnecessarilytrueofindividualelephants,butitis
trueofelephantsasawhole.(Tostressthatelephantsnormallylivetoan
oldage,youwouldhavetoattributelonglife,nottothemassofelephants,
buttothetypicalelephant:lo’e xanto,ratherthanloi xanto.)
6. Individual.Allelephantsbydefinition(asitwere)haveflatears;sothe
claimistrueofeachindividualelephant.Onceagain,however,itmakes
perfectsenseinLojbantomakethatclaimofthemassofelephants,aswell.
7. Individual.Talkingmaybeagroupactivity,butlikingissomethingyoudo
individually,andthestudentsarebeingdescribedaslikersfirst,andas
talkerssecond.

Exercise 3
1. ro lo cifnu cu melbi
2. lei ci mlatu cu batci le gerku(or:lu’o ci le mlatu cu batci le gerku.Ifyouhave
lu’o le ci mlatu cu batci le gerku,you’reimplyingthatthethreecatsarethe
onlythreecatsyouhaveinmind,whereaslu’o ci le mlatuleavesitopen
thatthereareothercatsaround.)
3. .ue la meilis. prami re lo nanmu
4. so’e lo nanmu cu prami su’o pa lo ninmu
5. ro lo nanmu na prami su’o pa lo ninmu
6. lu’o vo lo ninmu cu cinba la rikis.martin. (Giveyourselfapatonthebackif
yougotthatoneright!Ifyousaidloi vo lo ninmu,giveyourselfawhole
backrub!Thoughyoumayneedhelpwiththat...)
7. .uinai[or.uu]no lo prenu cu prami la bil.orsu’o pa lo prenu na prami la bil.
(LojbannaissomewhatoddtoEnglish-speakers,sinceitbehavesexactly
likelogical“itisnotthecase”;thesentenceliterallymeans“Itisnotthe
casethatatleastonepersonlikesBill”(i.e.“Itisnotthecasethatevenone
personlikesBill.”)Buttheinteractionofnegationandquantifiersisbeyond

54
 Chapter 4. Numbers and more articles

thescopeoftheselessons;formore,seeTheCompleteLojbanLanguage,
Chapter16.9.)
8. le la ROZmeris. cifnu cu batci re lo prenu(or:le cifnu pe la ROZmeris. ...)
9. pafi’uci loi ninmu cu nelci la deivyd.bo,is.(or:pafi’uci lu’o lo ninmu cu nelci la
deivyd.bo,is.)
10. su’e pipamu loi budjo cu citka lo rectu(or:su’e pipamu lu’o lo budjo cu citka lo
rectu)
11. sofi’upano loi mlatu cu nelci la .uiskas.(aCommonwealthsloganforabrand
ofcatfood)(or:sofi’upano lu’o lo mlatu cu nelci la .uiskas.)

A final question
‘Thedog’wouldbele pa gerku.Normally,wewouldn’tbotherwiththepa
though,unlesswewantedtomakeitquiteclearthatweonlyhaveonedogin
mind.‘Thedogs’wouldbele su’o re gerku(orlei su’o re gerku,ifwe’rethinking
ofthemasagroup)—‘theatleasttwodogs’.However,itishardtothinkof
manysituationswhereyouwouldneedtosaythis.Likesomeotherlanguages
(e.g.Chinese),Lojbannormallyleavesnumberuptocontext.Youguessedit—
you’vejustspentallthistimelearningtosayhowmanypeople,dogsetc.there
are,andpiso’eofthetime,youdon’tneedto!But,likemanyfeaturesofLojban,
itcanbeveryusefulwhenyouwantit,sopleasedon’tfeeltricked.
Oh,whatdoespiso’emean?That,Iwillleaveasanexercisetothereader...

55
Chapter 5. Times, days, dates (and
abstractions)
What is the time?
One way to ask the question “What is the time?” is ma tcika ti. We
know that ma is the sumti question word (‘what’), so tcika must be a
selbri meaning ‘is the time’. The place structure of tcika is

x1 (hours, minutes, seconds) is the time of state/event x2 on

day/date x3, at location x4, by calendar x5

So in Lojban, times do not exist in the abstract: times are always the
times of something. So we ask what the time is of ti, meaning ‘this
event/thing’, or, in other words ‘now’.

Note: Well,wedon’treally;staytunedfornextlesson,wherewe’ll
fillthisinalittlemore.

A full answer would obviously be very long-winded, but

remembering the Lojban convention that you miss out all the places
after the last one you really need, a typical exchange would be:

• ma tcika ti
• li papa

• What’s the time?

• Eleven

Note the li, since we are talking about a number here. li papa is short
for li papa cu tcika ti—“the number eleven is the time of this (event)”.
If we want to be a bit more precise, we need to use pi’e. This
introduces fractional parts of numbers like pi, but unlike pi it doesn’t
need to indicate decimal fractions in a number. In fact, the kind of
fractional part it does indicate can vary within the same number. In
normal counting, pi is a decimal point, in hexadecimal it’s a

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 Chapter 5. Times, dates, abstractions

hexadecimal point and so on, but the kind of fraction it indicates

never changes its value. But pi’e doesn’t have that restriction; so we
can use it to separate hours from minutes (which are sixtieths of
hours), or, as we will see below, days from hours (which are twenty-
fourths of days). pi’e, in other words, means ‘part’, not ‘decimal
point’. So an alternative answer to the question could be

li papa pi’e mu
11:05 (Five past eleven)
(The number eleven, and five parts)

or if you want to be particularly precise,

li papa pi’e mu pi’e pabi

Five minutes and eighteen seconds past eleven
(The number eleven, and five parts, and eighteen parts of parts)

Let’s imagine, though, that the time is not five past eleven, but five to
eleven. We can say li pano pi’e mumu (10:55), but we can also say li papa
pi’e ni’u mu, where ni’u is the Lojban minus sign (for negative
numbers, not for subtraction)—what we are saying is ‘11:−5’.
For ‘half past eleven’ you can also use pi and say li papa pimu ‘11.5’. I
don’t particularly like this method, but it is perfectly good Lojban. If
we are using numbers for times, it is normal to use the 24-hour
system, so 6 PM is li pabi (18:00).
If you want to use twelve-hour time instead, you need some way of
distinguishing between AM and PM. The conventional way in Lojban
is to use cmene for hours (so we can add supplementary information
like that later on, as part of the cmene.) So ‘four o’clock’ is la vocac.,
‘five o’clock’ is la mucac. and so on (from cacra ‘hour’). For 11 and 12
we need extra numbers. Fortunately Lojban has these and more; the
number system actually goes up to 16 (hexadecimal), so we have the
extra numbers

dau 10
fei 11
gai 12

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Chapter 5. Times, dates, abstractions

jau 13
rei 14
vai 15

Obviously for anything other than talking about computer

programming, the numbers 13–15 are useless, but we can use 10–12
for hours. ‘Ten o’clock’ under this scheme is la daucac., ‘eleven o’clock’
is la feicac., and ‘twelve o’clock’ is la gaicac. . For ‘morning’ and
‘evening’ we can then add lir. and lec., meaning ‘early’ and ‘late’
(from clira and lerci). So la mucac. lir. is five in the morning.
As you can see, things start to get a little messy with the 12-hour
system (how do you say 9:22 AM?), so the 24-hour system is preferred
by popular acclamation.

Exercise 1
WhatarethefollowingtimesinLojban?

1. Nineo’clock
2. Eleveno’clockinthemorning
3. Twointheafternoon
4. Aquartertotwelve
5. Midnight
6. 9:25
7. 12:15
8. 14:30
9. 17:03
10. 20:00:03
11. 21:54:16.71

Times and Events

If we want to give the time of an event, rather than just tell the time,
we need to fill in some more places. The second place of tcika is
‘state/event’: people don’t have times—events have times. So we need
some way to show that the sumti in this position is a state or an event,
and not a thing. But

la daucac. tcika le mi klama

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 Chapter 5. Times, dates, abstractions

won’t work; it does not mean “Ten o’clock is the time that I go” (or
come!), but “Ten o’clock is the time of my goer,” which is
meaningless.
We get round this problem with the word nu, which means—you
guessed it—‘state/event’. This is called an abstraction descriptor (or
abstractor for short), other common descriptors being ka (quality or
property), ni (amount) and so on (for a complete list, see The Complete
Lojban Language, p. 269). What nu does here is allow us to put a whole
bridi into a selbri place, and by extension (if we put an article in front
of it) a sumti place. The sequence goes a little like this:

la robin. salci
Robin celebrates

la jbonunsalci cu nu la robin. salci

Logfest is an event such that Robin celebrates—Logfest is Robin’s
celebration/celebrating

mi nelci le nu la robin salci.

I like the event such that Robin celebrates—I like Robin’s
celebration/Robin celebrating

When used to introduce a sumti, nu is usually written together with the

article (le or lo), but is actually a separate word. So what we want is

la daucac. tcika lenu mi klama

(note that there is no cu here, since la daucac. is a cmene)

Exercise 2
WhatdotheseLojbansentencesmean?

1. li pamu pi’e reno tcika lenu mi dunda le cukta do

2. li ze tcika lenu tivni la SEsamis.strit.
3. li pa tcika lenu mi ciska
4. la klaudias. nelci lenu zo’e vecnu loi kabri la .iulias.
5. la tim. nelci lenu li paso tcika lenu la meiris. cliva

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Times and Events, Improved: Conversion

If “Ten o’clock is the time that I go” sounds backwards, there are two
ways you can switch it round. One is using se, which swaps the first
and second places of any bridi.

le nu mi klama cu se tcika la daucac.

means exactly the same thing as la daucac. tcika lenu mi klama. se

coincidentally is pretty much the same as Spanish se, but is actually
part of a series along with te, ve and xe, which switch around the first
and third, first and fourth, and first and fifth places of a selbri. (This
kind of swapping is known as conversion.) te, ve and xe aren’t used
so much in sentences as se, but are often used in making lujvo
(compound words), as we’ll see later in the course.
This conversion business, of course, doesn’t apply just to sentences
with abstractions in them, but to any bridi. You may want to change
things around for different emphasis (people tend to mention the
more important things in a sentence first), or as above, to work
around the complexity of Lojban grammar (cu is a very powerful tool.)
So the following pairs mean the same thing:

• mi viska do
I see you
do se viska mi
You are seen by me
• le nanmu cu klama lo barja
The man goes to a bar
lo barja cu se klama le nanmu
A bar is gone to by the man
• la spot. mlatu la .abisinian.
Spot is a feline of the breed Abyssinian
la .abisinian. se mlatu la spot.
Abyssinian is the breed of cat Spot is
• lenu mi cilre fi la lojban. cu xamgu mi
My learning Lojban is good for me
mi se xamgu lenu mi cilre fi la lojban

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I am benefitted by my learning Lojban

Exercise 3
RearrangetheseLojbansentencessothatthemainselbriineachsentenceis
convertedtohavingse.Don’tforgettousecuifyouneedto!Forexample,mi
viska do→do se viska mi

1. mi prami la meilis.
2. le mlatu cu catra le jipci
3. la mari,as. vecnu le mlatu
4. la mari,as. dunda la .iulias. la klaudias.
5. la mari,as. vecnu zo’e la tim.
6. la fits.djerald. fanva fi le glico
7. klama la bast,n. fu le karce
8. li ze tcika lenu tivni la SEsamis.strit.(Leavethebridiwithtivnialone.)
9. la klaudias. nelci lenu zo’e vecnu loi kabri la .iulias.(Convertthebridiwith
vecnuaswellasthebridiwithnelci.)
10. la tim. nelci lenu li paso tcika lenu la meiris. cliva(Convertallthreeselbri.)

Times and Events, Improved #2: sumti tcita

With conversion and se, you have a new and powerful tool to use in
your Lojban. But you might still find lenu mi klama cu se tcika la daucac.
too long and clumsy. In that case, get ready for more Lojban tricks.
It would be really nice if klama had a place for the time of
going/coming, but it doesn’t. (After all, you wouldn’t really want to
have to learn a six-place selbri!) To get round this problem of missing
places in selbri, Lojban has a series of cmavo (structure words) which
add extra places to the selbri. The one we want here is ti’u, meaning
‘occurring at the time of day...’. So we can now say

mi klama ti’u la daucac.

I am going at 10:00

klama now expresses a relationship between six things: a goer, a

destination, a source, a route, a vehicle, and a time at which this all
takes place.
So why, you may ask, didn’t I just say that in the first place? I could
have done, but then you wouldn’t have found out about nu and se!
There is more to this lesson than meets the eye.

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Note: Differenttypesofcmavobelongtodifferentclasses(se cmavoor

selma’o).Forexample,allarticles(apartfromthosespecifictocmene,
likela)belongtothesameclass,andallofthemcanappearinthe
sameplaceinasentence.Thisselma’oiscalledLE,afterthemost
widelyusedcmavointheclass,le.Likewise,thecmavothatintroduce
newsumtiintoabridibelongtotheclassBAI—sonamedfrombai,the
cmavomeaning‘forcedby’.(Thistypeofcmavoisalsocalledsumti
tcita‘sumtilabels’.)Wewillbeseeingmoreofthesecmavointhe
lessonsahead.

Days and Months

The days of the week are also cmene built from numbers, this time
adding djed., from djedi, meaning ‘day’. There is at present some dis-
agreement about which day should be day one, though. The original
convention was to follow the Judaeo-Christian convention of taking
Sunday as the first day, giving

Sunday la padjed.
Monday la redjed.
Tuesday la cidjed.

... and so on. (Conveniently for one of your authors, this matches
Greek for Monday through to Thursday.) However, in a Logical
Language Group meeting in 1992 it was agreed that Monday be day 1,
and Sunday be either 7 (la zedjed.) or zero (la nodjed.) according to
taste (much to at least one of your author’s inconvenience.)
Eventually, though, people will use whichever system they prefer
until one becomes universally accepted.
This may sound chaotic, but I have gone into this point as a good
example of how in Lojban a large part of the language is “left to
usage”—meaning that ultimately the language depends on the way
people choose to use it in practice. People are also free to work out
alternative conventions for cultures which do not use a seven-day
week, possibly adding to the name to make it clear; e.g. la padjedjung.
could be the first day of the Chinese ten-day week. (Remember, jungo
means ‘Chinese’.)

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Note: Fortheselessons,ofcourse,wedohavetoteachsomething—
andthat‘something’willbethatMondayisDay1.That,ofcourse,is
alreadygettinginthewayofusage,butit’sunavoidable.

Tip: Youwillalsoseedaysinfulllujvoform(meaninginpracticeone
extraconsonantafterthenumber),lookinglikethis:

no(n)djed.ornondei 0-day
pa(v)djed.orpavdei 1-day
re(l)djed.orreldei 2-day
ci(b)djed.orcibdei 3-day
vo(n)djed.orvondei 4-day
mu(m)djed.ormumdei 5-day
xa(v)djed.orxavdei 6-day
ze(l)djed.orzeldei 7-day(=0-day)

Months also use numbered cmene, adding mast. (from masti ‘month’),
so January is la pamast. and so on. Again, since there are twelve
months, we use the extra numbers, so October is la daumast. .

Note: Youwillalsoseemonthsinfulllujvoform—thecatchbeing
thathexadecimaldigitshavenotbeenassignedrafsi(combining
forms.)So:

pa(v)mast. orpavma’i
 1-month

re(l)mast. orrelma’i
 2-month

ci(b)mast. orcibma’i
 3-month

vo(n)mast. orvonma’i
 4-month

mu(my)mast.ormumyma’i
 5-month

xa(v)mast. orxavma’i
 6-month

ze(l)mast. orzelma’i
 7-month

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Chapter 5. Times, dates, abstractions

bi(v)mast. orbivma’i
 8-month

so(z)mast. orsozma’i
 9-month

daumast. orpavnonmast. orpavnonma’i

 10-month

feimast. orpavypavmast.orpavypavma’i
 11-month

gaimast. orpavrelmast. orpavrelma’i

 12-month

Just in case you’re interested, the words for seasons are:

vensa Spring
crisa Summer
critu Autumn
dunra Winter

(For full definitions of these words, see the gismu list.) If the seasons
where you live don’t match this pattern, then you can easily create
new words. For example, the rainy season or monsoon could be carvy-
citsi (from carvi, rain, and citsi, season) or simply la carv. . Here are
some I made up for fun to give a better idea of the weather in the UK:

la lekcarv. ‘the cold rain’—Spring

la mliglacarv. ‘the warm (mildly-hot) rain’—Summer
la bifcarv. ‘the windy rain’—Autumn
la dujycarv. ‘the freezing rain’—Winter

Joking aside, this shows two features of word-building in Lojban:

making cmene by losing the final vowel (which we saw in Lesson 1)
and creating lujvo, or compound words. (For the same reason, you’ll
also see pavdjed., relmast., ...) You actually need a pretty good
knowledge of Lojban to make up lujvo on the spot, but we’ll learn how
to make some simple lujvo later on in this course.

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Exercise 4
WhatarethesedaysandmonthsinLojban?

1. Saturday
2. Thursday
3. March
4. August
5. November
6. December

Dates
The gismu for dates is detri:

x1 is the date (day, week, month, year) of state/event x2, at

location x3, by calendar x4

Phew! Like tcika, though, most places of detri can be left out. The
location is only important if we’re talking about radically different
timezones, or different planets, and the calendar is normally assumed
to be the standard Western one—if you want to use, for example, the
Arabic or Chinese calendars, you can put le xrabo or le jungo in the
fourth place. (As always, context is important—in a discussion of
Islamic history we would probably assume that the Arabic calendar
was being used.)
The tricky bit is the number in x1. Normally we don’t want to
specify the day, week, month and year! To prevent confusion, the
following conventions are used:

• If there is only one number, it is the day e.g. li pano is ‘the 10th’.
• If there are two numbers, they are the day and month e.g. li pano pi’e
pare is 10/12, or ‘the 10th of December’.
• If there are three numbers, they are day, month, year (not month,
day, year, as in the American convention) e.g. li repa pi’e ze pi’e
pasoxaso is 21/7/69—the date of the first moon landing.

We can therefore say

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Chapter 5. Times, dates, abstractions

li repa pi’e ze pi’e pasoxaso cu detri lenu lo remna cu klama le lunra

21/7/1969 is-the-date-of the-event a human goes (to) the moon

Now, just as with tcika, we often want to put the event first—after all,
in most languages we would normally say “My birthday is on the
fifteenth of August” rather than “The fifteenth of August is the date of
my birthday.” We can manage this change by using place tags, e.g.

fe lenu mi jbena [kei] cu detri fa li pamu pi’e bi

the-event I am-born is-dated 15/8

but it is easier to use se, like this:

lenu mi jbena cu se detri li pamu pi’e bi

the-event I am-born is-dated 15/8

In both cases, putting the lenu phrase before the cu is convenient—and

a well-established Lojban trick of the trade: cu is powerful enough to
close off any structure in front of it, including lenu mi jbena.
As you have probably guessed, there is also a sumti tcita for ‘dated’:
de’i, which works like ti’u (notice how sumti tcita tend to be similar to
the selbri they suggest). So the other way I can tell you my birthday is:

mi jbena de’i li pamu pi’e bi

Question. If only one number is used with detri, it is the day. So how
do we say what year an event happened without giving the day and
month as well?
The gismu for ‘year’, nanca cannot be used instead of detri, since it has
the place-structure

x1 is x2 years in duration, by standard x3

i.e. it gives the length of an event in years, not the year when an event
happened. One way out is to use a cmene for the year, so the year I
(Robin) am writing this would be la pasososonanc. (And the year I
(Nick) am writing this would be la renonopananc..)

Tip: Youwillalsoseeyearnamesendinginnan:la renonopanan.

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Tip: Morerecentlytherehasbeenaproposaltomakesinglenumbers
referbydefaulttoyearratherthanday;thecontroversyonthishas
notsettleddownyet.

Vocabulary
cnino x1isnew/unfamiliar/noveltoobserverx2infeaturex3(ka)by
standardx4;x1isanovelty
dable’a conquer,sieze(‘war-take’)
facki x1discovers/findsoutx2(du’u)aboutsubject/objectx3;x1finds
(fi)x3(object)
gugde x1isthecountryofpeoplesx2withland/territoryx3;
(people/territoryrelationship)
fraso x1reflectsFrench/Gallicculture/nationality/languageinaspect
x2
guntrusi’o Communist(‘work-govern-idea’)
jecyga’ibai revolution(‘government-change-force’)
joi Joinstwosumtitogetherasamass.We’llhavemoretosay
aboutthislater.
selpeicku manifesto(‘thought-book’)

Exercise 5—history quiz

Givethedatestoanswerthesequestions,usingcmenefortheyears.Ifyoudon’t
happentoknowthem,that’sOK—they’regivenatthebottomoftheexercise.

1. lenu la kolombus. facki lo cnino gugde cu se detri ma

2. la mexmet. dable’a la konstantiNUpolis. de’i ma
3. lenu fraso jecyga’ibai cu se detri ma
4. la marks. joi la .engels. finti le guntrusi’o selpeicku ku de’i ma
5. la muxamed. klama la medinas. de’i ma

(1492;1453;1789;1848;622)

Summary
Apart from times and dates, this lesson has covered some important
points of Lojban grammar.

• Some simple lujvo.

• The abstractor for states and events, nu, and its terminator, kei.
• Conversion—swapping round places—with se.

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• The sumti tcita: ti’u (‘with time’) and de’i (‘with date’).

Vocabulary
barja x1isatavern/bar/pubservingx2toaudience/patronsx3
birje x1ismadeof/contains/isaamountofbeer/ale/brewbrewedfrom
x2
botpi x1isabottle/jar/urn/flask/closablecontainerforx2,madeof
materialx3withlidx4
briju x1isanoffice/bureau/work-placeofworkerx2atlocationx3
cpedu x1requests/asks/petitions/solicitsforx2of/fromx3inmanner/form
x4
denpa x1awaits/waits/pausesfor/untilx2atstatex3before
starting/continuingx4(activity/process)
djica x1desires/wants/wishesx2(event/state)forpurposex3
dotco x1reflectsGerman/Germanicculture/nationality/languagein
aspectx2
jimpe x1understands/comprehendsfact/truthx2(du’u)aboutsubjectx3;
x1understands(fi)x3
lerci x1(event)islatebystandardx2
nandu x1isdifficult/hard/challengingforx2underconditionsx3;x1
challenges(non-agentive)x2
penmi x1meets/encountersx2at/inlocationx3
pinxe x1(agent)drinks/imbibesbeverage/drink/liquidrefreshmentx2
from/out-ofcontainer/sourcex3
sruma x1assumes/supposesthatx2(du’u)istrueaboutsubjectx3
tcita x1isalabel/tagofx2showinginformationx3(asinsumti tcita)
viska x1sees/views/perceivesvisuallyx2underconditionsx3
xebni x1hates/despisesx2(object/abstraction);x1isfullofhateforx2;x2
isodioustox1
zvati x1(object/event)isat/attending/presentatx2(event/location)

Exercise 6
TranslatethefollowingfromLojban:

Note: Inthefollowing,therearesomeinstancesofnuwhichwould
properlybeexpressedusingdu’uinstead.Sinceyoudon’tknowwhat
du’uisyet,usenufornow,butstaytunedforLesson7.

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 Chapter 5. Times, dates, abstractions

Note: You’llnoticethateverynewsentencebeginswith.i.Thatisin
factthedefaultforLojban,whichdoesnotrelyonpunctuationor
intonationforitsgrammaticalstructure:.iisusedconsistentlyto
separateonesentenceinrunningtextfromthenext.

1. .i la jan. cu zvati le barja(Thoughyoumightnotbeabletotell,thisisinfact

Zhang.RememberfromLesson1thatfinalnginnamesischangedton.)
2. .i la jan. denpa lenu la suzyn. zvati le barja
3. .i la jan. cpedu fi le dunda fe re birje
4. .i lenu pinxe loi dotco birje cu se nelci la jan.
5. .i .uu la suzyn. loi dotco birje cu xebni
6. .i la jan. djica lenu li reno pi mu tcika lenu la suzyn. klama
7. .i li repa tcika lenu la jan. djuno lenu la suzyn. na klama
8. .i pinxe pici le pa birje
9. .i la jan. cliva le barja

Exercise 7 (Advanced)
TranslateintoLojban(butonlyifyou’refeelingintrepid!):

1. Susangoestothebarat22:00fromtheoffice.
2. SusanassumesthatZhangknowsthatSusanislate.(Hint:actuallyeven
harderthanitlooks.Lookcarefullyatthedefinitionofthegismufor‘late’.)
3. Susanseesoneofthetwobottles.
4. ItisnotdifficultforSusantounderstandthatZhangleft.(Hint:tryitas“To
understandthatZhangleftisnotdifficultforSusan.”)
5. At22:15,SusanwantstomeetJyotiat22:45.

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1
1. la socac.orli so
2. la feicac. lir.
3. la recac. lec.
4. li papa pi’e ni’u pamuorli pare pi’e vomu.(Youcanalsousethehexadecimal
digits,ifyoulike,thoughthiswillprobablybelesscommon:li gai pi’e ni’u
pamu,li fei pi’e vomu.)
5. la nocac.orla gaicac. lir.(ifyoufollowtheconventionthatmidnightis12
AM)
6. li so pi’e remu
7. li pare pi’e pamu
8. li pavo pi’e cinoorli pavopimu
9. li paze pi’e ci

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Chapter 5. Times, dates, abstractions

10. li reno pi’e no pi’e ci

11. li repa pi’e muvo pi’e paxa pi zepa(Thelastcomponentisjustanordindary
decimalpoint.)

Exercise 2
1. 15:20isthetimethatIgavethebooktoyou.
2. 7:00isthetimethat[someone]broadcastsSesame Street;7:00isthetime
thatSesame Streetisbroadcast.
3. 1:00isthetimethatIwrite[something]
4. Claudialikesthat[someone]sellscupstoJulia;ClaudialikesJuliabuying
cups.
5. Timlikesthat19:00isthetimethatMaryleaves;TimlikesitthatMary
leavesat19:00.

Exercise 3
1. la meilis. se prami mi(“MeiLiislovedbyme.”)
2. le jipci cu se catra le mlatu(“Thebirdiskilledbythecat.”)
3. le mlatu cu se vecnu la mari,as.(“ThecatissoldbyMaria.”Younowneed
cu,topreventmlatuandse vecnurunningtogetherintotheonetanru.)
4. la .iulias. se dunda la mari,as. la klaudias.(“JuliaisgivenbyMariato
Claudia.”Asthethirdplace,la klaudias.isunaffectedbytheconversion,
andstayswhereitis.)
5. zo’e se vecnu la mari,as. la tim.(“SomethingissoldbyMariatoTim.”The
sameholdsforthethirdplacehereasintheprevioussentence.)
6. [zo’e] se fanva la fits.djerald. le glico(“[Something]istranslatedbyFitzgerald
intoEnglish.”Theoriginalsentencehasanemptyx2place;sothereis
nothingtheretoswapwithx1.Butofcourse,whenasumtiisleftout,you
canassumeitsvaluetobezo’e—whichyoucanstillleaveoutevenafter
conversion.Andnowthatthereisanexplicitx2placethere,youdon’tneed
fianymoretointroducethex3place.)
7. la bast,n. se klama fu le karce(“Bostonisgonetobycar.”)
8. lenu tivni la SEsamis.strit. cu se tcika li ze (“ThebroadcastingofSesame
Streetisatthetime7:00.”Thecuisactuallynecessary,here,eventhoughit
followsacmene;canyouworkoutwhy?)
9. lenu loi kabri cu se vecnu zo’e la .iulias. cu se nelci la klaudias. (“Thatcupsare
soldbysomeonetoJuliaislikedbyClaudia;cupsbeingsoldtoJuliais
somethingClaudialikes.”.)
10. lenu lenu se cliva la meiris. [cu] se tcika li paso cu se nelci la tim.(“Thefact
that[something]beingleftbyMaryisatthetime19:00islikedbyTim;[the
place]beingleftbyMaryat19:00issomethingTimlikes.”Yes,Iknowit’s
horrible.)

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Exercise 4
1. la xadjed.orla xavdjed.orla xavdei
2. la vodjed.orla vondjed.orla vondei
3. la cimast.orla cibmast.orla cibma’i
4. la bimast.orla bivmast.orla bivma’i
5. la feimast.orla pavypavmast.orla pavypavma’i
6. la gaimast.orla pavrelmast.orla pavrelma’i

Exercise 5
1. la pavosorenanc.
2. la pavomucinanc.
3. la pazebisonanc.
4. la pabivobinanc.
5. la xarerenanc.(orla pananc.,ifyou’reusingtheMuslimcalendar)

Exercise 6
1. Zhangisatthebar.
2. ZhangwaitsforSusantobeatthebar.
3. Zhangasksthegiverfortwobeers(andno,that’snotnecessarilywhat
you’dcallawaiter,butthatisnonethelessalegitimateiflaconic
descriptionofwhatwaitersdo.Lojbangrammartendstobepedantic,but
Lojbandescriptionscanberathersparse.)
4. DrinkingGermanbeerislikedbyZhang
5. Alas,SusanhatesGermanbeer.
6. Zhangwants20:30tobethetimeSusanwillcome.(Zhangisusingthe
fractionpimu,unlikeme.)
7. 21:00isthetimeZhangknowsthatSusanisnotcoming
8. Look!He’sdrinking0.3ofonebeer.(Anybridiwithitsx1missingis
consideredanobservative.)
9. Zhangleavesthebar.

Exercise 7
1. .i la suzyn. klama le barja ti’u li rere le briju(Becausethetimeofdayhasits
ownsumti tcitaalready,itdoesn’treallymatterwhereinthesentenceyou
placeit.So.i la suzyn. ti’u li rere klama le barja le brijumeansexactlythe
samething.)
2. .i la suzyn. sruma {lenu la jan. djuno {lenu lerci fa {lenu la suzyn. klama}}}
(Lojbaninsistsondistinguishingbetweeneventsandentities;youcan’tsay
thatsomeoneislateinLojban,butonlythatsomeone’sactionislate.There

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arewaysinLojbanforworkingaroundthis,buttheyareconsidered
‘advancedLojban’(seeLesson15.)
Andyes,that’saratherdeeplynestedsentence.Lojbantends,forbetter
orworse,tomakethingsmoreexplicit,andthusmorecomplex,thanis
usualfornaturallanguages.Thenormalwordorderversionisevenworse:
.i la suzyn. sruma {lenu la jan. djuno {lenu {lenu la suzyn. klama} cu lerci}}.)
3. .i la suzyn. viska pa le re botpi
4. .i {lenu jimpe {lenu la jan. cliva}} na nandu la suzyn.
5. ti’u li rere pi’e pamu la suzyn. djica {lenu penmi la djiotis. ti’u li rere pi’e vomu}
(Extracreditifyouworkedthroughthatone!)

Note: AsnotedintheIntroduction,thosebracketsaretherefor
clarificationonly;youwon’tnormallyseetheminLojbantext.
Thewholepointofhavingasyntacticallyunambiguous
language,afterall,isthatyoushouldn’thavetousebracketsin
thefirstplace!

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Chapter 6. Time and Space—basic Lojban
‘tenses’
Terminators
Before we go on any further, we’ve left a little unfinished business
from the previous lesson. This opens up a whole new set of issues,
which is why we’ve held it over for this lesson.
Remember that when we speak of dates in Lojban, we also need to
specify the place on the globe where the date was calculated. The
instant Neil Armstrong made that small step for (a) man, for instance,
it wasn’t the 21st of July everywhere on Earth. In Tokyo, it was closer
to the 22nd. So if we want to point out that it was the 21st, Houston
time, we need to specify the x3 place of detri. That means we can
simply say:

li repa pi’e ze pi’e pasoxaso cu detri lenu lo remna cu klama le lunra

la xustyn.

right?
Actually, no. Look at that sentence again. How would we say that
the 21st was the day Armstrong went to the moon [going] from
Houston? You guessed it—

li repa pi’e ze pi’e pasoxaso cu detri lenu lo remna cu klama le lunra

la xustyn.

So now (Houston), we have a problem. Which selbri does la xustyn.

belong to in this sentence? klama, or detri?
This kind of ambiguity is nothing new to natural languages, which
tend to resolve problems like these with tricks like well-positioned
pauses in speech, and punctuation in writing. (Consider for instance
the English sentence 21/7/69 was the date a man went to the moon, from
Houston. With that comma, you can only read that as “according to
Houston.”)

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Chapter 6. Time and Space

The trick Lojban uses instead, however, turns out to be one of its
major ‘selling points’. Lojban uses words called terminators. No, they
aren’t killer androids with difficult-to-spell surnames, but little words
used to indicate when groups of words, such as phrases, end. You can
think of them like the brackets used in mathematics, and they serve
pretty much the same purpose. So in Lojban, whenever a structure
begins whose length is not known in advance, a terminator goes at the
end of the structure. This is what makes Lojban syntactically
unambiguous:

• Every time an article like le or loi starts a sumti, ku ends it.

• Every time a string of numbers starts, boi ends it.
• Every time a series of sumti follows a selbri, vau ends it.
• And every time nu starts an abstraction—a bridi nested inside
another bridi—kei ends it.

This means that our sentence about the moon landing is fully
elaborated like this (putting in some braces to make things clearer,
and sneaking in the terminator lo’o corresponding to li):

[{li [repa pi’e ze pi’e pasoxaso boi] lo’o} cu detri [le{nu [{lo remna
ku} cu klama {le lunra ku} vau] kei} ku] la xustyn. vau]

The kei goes before la xustyn. . This means that as a sumti, la xustyn.
cannot belong to klama: kei has cordoned off the places of klama from
the rest of the sentence (and the places of detri.) So la xustyn. can only
be a sumti of the main selbri, detri.
The reader may well be wondering at this point how come they’ve
never seen one of these terminators before. The reason is that Lojban
is still meant to be spoken by humans, and keeping track of every
single structure used in a sentence is more work than is reasonable to
expect of any human. So when the sequence of words has an
unambiguous structure, the terminators can be dropped out.
For example, if we see cu in a sentence, we know that what is
coming up is a selbri; so the sumti before it must now be over. So we
can drop the ku. (In fact, that’s why cu exists in the first place: the
beginning of a verb is a much more important structural break in

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natural languages than the end of a noun.) If a new sentence is

beginning—as signalled by perhaps the most distinctively Lojbanic
word, the ‘audible punctuation’ .i—then there can be no more sumti
from the old sentence; so we drop the vau. In fact, it is only in
situations of potential ambiguity, like the sentence we’ve been looking
at, that you’ll get terminators appearing in normal Lojban usage at all.
So our two possible interpretations of the sentence with Neil
Armstrong would normally appear as:

li repa pi’e ze pi’e pasoxaso cu detri {lenu lo remna cu klama le

lunra la xustyn.} (date for going to the moon from Houston)

li repa pi’e ze pi’e pasoxaso cu detri {lenu lo remna cu klama le

lunra kei} la xustyn. (date for going to the moon according to
Houston)

Note: RememberthosepeskypossessiveconstructionsfromLesson3,
whenyoucouldn’tfliple tamne pe le ninmu klamatheotherway
around,becauseitwasambiguous?Allyouneediskutoresolvethat
ambiguity:le le ninmu klama ku tamnemeans‘thewomantraveller’s
cousin’,andle le ninmu ku klama tamnemeans‘thewoman’straveller
cousin.’
Still,mostLojbaniststhinktheflip-aroundisnotworththehassleof
insertingthatbothersomeku,soyourarelyseeitusedwhenthe
‘possessor’sumtiisnotaone-wordsumti.

Vocabulary
cadzu x1walks/strides/pacesonsurfacex2usinglimbsx3
skicu x1tellsabout/describesx2(object/event/state)toaudiencex3with
descriptionx4(property)
xabju x1dwells/lives/resides/abidesat/inhabits/isaresidentof
location/habitat/nest/home/abodex2
zutse x1sits[assumessittingposition]onsurfacex2

Exercise 1
WhatdothefollowingLojbansentencesmeanwhenthehighlightedterminators
arepresent,andwhatdotheymeanwhentheyareabsent?

1. mi skicu li re boi re lo pendo

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Chapter 6. Time and Space

2. li pa pi’e cino tcika lenu mi prami kei la mumdjed.

3. le nanmu cu zgana le mlatu vau
4. le mamta pe le cifnu ku litru
5. mi cpedu lenu la mari,as. tavla kei la klaudias.

Tenses
By this time, you may be wondering what has happened to all the
tenses. After all, a large part of learning a language is learning tenses,
and figuring out which one you ought to be using. English, for
example, has about a dozen tenses (depending on what you count as a
tense) and some languages have more. Use the wrong one and you’re,
well, wrong. In addition, there are a load of words and phrases like
before, in a while, some time ago and so on.
Lojban deals with time quite differently. Like some other languages
(e.g. Chinese), tense is not compulsory. All the bridi we’ve looked at so
far have had no particular time attached to them, and this is perfectly
acceptable; in fact it is normal. Saying mi klama ti de’i la padjed. is good
Lojban, even if out of context we don’t know if it means I’m coming
here next Monday, or I came here last Monday. In most cases,
sentences don’t happen out of context, and the context is usually
enough to tell us if we’re talking about the past, present or future.
Putting a past tense in just because the same sentence in English
would be in the past tense can be rather malglico.

Time with sumti

There are times, though, when you want to say things about time, and
Lojban has more than enough cmavo for this. Let’s say that Zhang left
the bar at 10 o’clock and Susan arrived at 11 (thus missing her date).
The most precise way is to use times, as in the last lesson:

la jan. cliva le barja ti’u la jaucac. .i la la suzyn. klama le barja ti’u

la feicac.

Tip: Asmentionedjustabove,.iisusedinLojbantoseparate
sentencesfromeachother.Youcanthinkofitasaspokenversionof
thefullstop(period)attheendofasentence.

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However, if the actual times are not important, we can say:

ba lenu la jan. cliva kei la suzyn. klama le barja

After Zhang left, Susan came into the bar.

or:

pu lenu la suzyn. klama le barja kei la jan. cliva

Before Susan came into the bar, Zhang left.

which translates more naturally as:

When Susan came into the bar, Zhang had already left.

(This, by the way, is another case of context meaning you don’t have
to put everything in—we haven’t said that the place Zhang leaves is
the bar, we just understand it from the context.)
What are these ba’s, pu’s and kei’s? Well, the kei’s you hopefully
remember from the section above: they close off the phrase opened by
the nu. As you probably guessed, ba is ‘after’ (from the gismu for
‘future’ or ‘later’, balvi) and pu is ‘before’ (from the gismu for ‘past’ or
‘earlier’, purci).
Whenever we use ba and pu like this, we are situating the time of
one event relative to the time of another. The time we will most
frequently want to use as a reference point is the speaker’s here-and-
now. If we want to situate the event in the main bridi relative to the
here-and-now, we can leave out the sumti, and just use the tense cmavo
on its own. So if we want to say that Susan came to the bar some time
after right now, and not after Zhang’s leaving, we can say:

baku la suzyn. klama le barja

baku here is not a city in Azerbaijan; it means ‘afterwards’ or ‘later’.

The ku is necessary to separate ba from la suzyn. (you can also say it as
two separate words, ba ku—it makes no difference). Similarly, “Zhang
left earlier (than now)” would be:

puku la jan. cliva

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Note: What’sactuallygoingonisthatbastartsasumti,andkuends
thesumti—butthesumtiitselfhasbeenleftout,likewesaid.Soba ku
meansba ... ku:‘after[something].’Ifwedidn’thavethekuinplace,
thebawouldswallowupanysumtifollowingit.Soba la jan. cliva
meansnot“afterwardsZhangleft”,but“afterZhang,(she)left.”

Let’s imagine that Susan is not so unlucky, and arrives just as Zhang is
leaving. We can then say:

ca lenu la jan. cliva le barja kei la suzyn. klama le barja

At the moment when Zhang was leaving the bar, Susan came
to the bar.

ca also comes from a gismu, in this case cabna, which means

‘simultaneous with’, so another way to say the same thing would be

lenu la jan. cliva le barja cu cabna lenu la suzyn. klama le barja

The event of Zhang leaving the bar is simultaneous with the
event of Susan coming to the bar.

Note: Thereisadifferencebetweenkuandkeiinthesesentences:ku
separatesthecafromtherestofthesentence,whilekeiterminatesan
event.Wecouldhavesaidca lenu la jan. cliva le barja ku kei ku
instead:thefirstkumatchesle barja,thekeimatchesnu la jan. cliva le
barja,andthesecondkumatcheslenu la jan. cliva le barja.Because
thesyntaxisunambiguous,wecouldevenhavesaidlenu la jan. cliva
le barja ku ku—thoughwemightbethoughtslightlycuckootosayit
likethat.)

If you leave out the sumti following ca, the resulting phrase caku is
interpreted as ‘simultaneous with the speaker’s here-and-now’. If
something is simultaneous with the here-and-now, then of course that
means it is happening now; so caku itself just means ‘now’:

caku la suzyn. klama le barja

Now, Susan goes to the bar.

Tip: Bytheway,caku ma tcikawouldbeamoreusualwaytosay

“Whattimeisit?”

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We now have three ‘time words’: pu (before), ca (at, while) and ba

(after). We can modify these with another three, zi, za and zu (series of
cmavo often take an -i, -a, -u pattern, if they don’t follow the AEIOU
sequence). These mean a short, medium and long time distance. So
puzi is ‘a short time ago,’ puza is ‘a while ago’ and puzu is ‘a long time
ago’. How long ‘long’ is depends on what we’re talking about—if the
subject is archaeology, puzu could be thousands of years; if you’ve
missed your train it could be a matter of minutes.
Let’s say this time the unlucky Susan missed Zhang by only a few
minutes. We could then say:

bazi lenu la jan. cliva kei la suzyn. klama le barja

And if you’re in the unfortunate position of having to tell Susan that

she’s just missed Zhang, you would say:

puziku la jan. cliva le barja

Vocabulary
badri x1issad/depressed/dejected/[unhappy/feelssorrow/grief]aboutx2
(abstraction)
gleki x1ishappy/gay/merry/glad/gleefulaboutx2(event/state)
ku’i but,however(Thisisanattitudinal,justlike.uuand.ei)
kumfa x1isaroomof/instructurex2surroundedby
partitions/walls/ceiling/floorx3(mass/jo’u)
tcidu x1[agent]readsx2[text]fromsurface/document/readingmaterial
x3;x1isareader

Exercise 2
Translatethefollowing.Don’tforgetyournu’sandkei’s!

1. JuliettewenttoParisawhileago.
2. Alongtimeago,IreadCamille.
3. Ivanjustlefttheroom.
4. YoshikokissedJorgejustafterPierrecameintotheroom.
5. Tracywassadjustaminuteago.ButMikeishappynow.

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Time and selbri

What we’ve looked at so far is similar to (but not quite the same as)
English words like before, after and so on. However, we can use exactly
the same cmavo with selbri to give effects which are similar (but not
identical) to English tenses. Actually this is easier, but I left it till later
to avoid the danger of malglico!
Basically, any time cmavo (or sequence of cmavo) can go before a
selbri and put the whole bridi into that time. This is precisely the same
thing the time cmavo would be doing if followed immediately by ku,
with an empty sumti in between. So

la jan. pu cliva le barja

and

puku la jan. cliva le barja

both mean “Zhang before the here-and-now leaves the bar,” or

“Zhang left the bar.” We can do the same thing with zi/za/zu, so la jan.
puza cliva le barja, just like puzaku la jan. cliva le barja, means “Zhang
left the bar a while ago.”

Tip: Bytheway,ma ca tcikawouldbeanevenmoreusualwaytosay

“Whattimeisit?”

Another group of cmavo which can be used here is ze’i/ze’a/ze’u. Just

as zi/ze/zu indicate a short, medium or long time from the present (or
whatever other time we happen to be talking about), these cmavo
indicate short, medium or long durations for the action or state we are
talking about. So mi ze’u bajra means “I run for a long time.” (Not “I
am a bar for a long time”—that’s barja! Lojban does tend to keep you
on your toes like that.) Again, we can put these together, so mi
puzaze’u bajra means “A while ago, I ran for a long time.” A few more
examples ...

• .oi.uinai le mi zdani puzi se lindi

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Oh no! My house has just been struck by lightning! (Every language

course has to have a few of these ridiculously artificial examples!)

Note: Ifyouhaveatensebeforetheselbriyoudon’tneedcu—le
zdanicannotrunintopuzitoformasinglesumti.

• la bil. ze’u pinxe loi birje

Bill drinks beer for a long time.

Tip: Remember:youdon’tdrinksomethingwhichisabeer,but
rathersomethingwhichissomebeer.Asdiscussedwaybackin
Lesson4,thatmeansamassratherthananindividual—thoughasit
happenslo birjealsomakessense,as‘a(fixed)quantityofbeer’.

• mi bazize’a xabju la djakartas.

Pretty soon I’m going to live in Jakarta for a while.
• lo la natos. vinji baze’u gunta la BE,ograd.
NATO aircraft will attack Belgrade for a long time.

Note: ThisdoesnotmeanthatNATOisnotattackingBelgrade
now(itisatthetimeI[Robin]amwritingthis).InLojban,ifwesay
thatsomethingistrueataparticulartime,itdoesn’tmeanthatitis
nottrueatanyothertime.TherearewaystosaythatNATOwill
continuetoattack,butthatcomeslater.(Sorry,IknowIkeep
sayingthatthingswillcomelater,butyouwouldn’treallywantto
havetolearneverythingatonce—itwouldbelikeanEnglish
courseteachingwillgoandwillhavebeengoinginthesame
lesson).

A complete explanation of time cmavo can be found in Chapter 10 of

The Complete Lojban Language.

Exercise 3
Translatethefollowing,placingthetensewordsbeforetheselbri.

1. Iwillworkforashortwhile.
2. Iwillworkverysoon.
3. Iwasworkingforamediumamountoftime,alongtimeago.
4. Iworksometimearoundrightnow.
5. Rightnow,I’vebeenworkingforsometime.

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Space
This is where things start getting strange. In Lojban, space can be a
‘tense’ just as much as time. This is because there is no difference in
Lojban between what traditional grammar calls ‘prepositions’ and
tenses. As we’ve seen, English, like many languages, treats a word like
earlier and the past tense ending -ed as two totally separate things,
while in Lojban they’re the same: they both locate an event in time.
Space words like in or near are prepositions in English, and can never
be tenses; but in Lojban we treat them just like time words: they locate
events in space. If you prefer, you can also say that Lojban treats time
as a dimension, as is (conventionally) done in Einstein’s physics.
Remember the word ti? This is part of a series ti, ta, tu, meaning
roughly ‘this’, ‘that’ and ‘that over there.’ If we’re talking about places
rather than things, we say vi, va, vu, meaning roughly ‘here’, ‘there’
and ‘yonder’ or ‘way over there’. Again, this is determined by the
thing you’re talking about. If you’re telling a doctor where you feel
pain, ti might be the end of your toe, while if you’re talking about
astronomy, ti could be the solar system. We can therefore say

viku mi gunka
Here, I work.

or, more naturally, “I work here.”

We’ve seen that puku means ‘before the here-and-now’. Similarly,
viku means ‘in the immediate vicinity of the here-and-now’, i.e. ‘here’.
If we don’t want to make the location relative to the speaker, but
relative to something else, we can fill in the empty sumti value, in the
same way, to say what the event is in the immediate vicinity of. This,
of course, makes vi, va, vu acts as sumti tcita, just like de’i and ti’u: they
add new sumti to the bridi. For example

vi la paris. mi gunka
In Paris, I work.

vu le mi zdani mi gunka

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A long way from my home, I work

va lenu la KEnedis. se catra kei mi gunka

A medium distance from where Kennedy was killed, I work

Note: Ifkeiinthelastsentencewasn’tthere,miwouldbeasumtiof
catraratherthangunka,sothelistenermightstartinterpretingthe
sentenceas“AmediumdistancefromwhereKennedywaskilledby
me...”

If we want to emphasise that something is at exactly the same location

as something else (something which holds true not as often as you
might think), you would use bu’u ‘coinciding with’:

mi sanli bu’u lenu la KEnedis. se catra

I’m standing in the very spot where Kennedy was killed (i.e.
I’ve made a visit to the Texas Book Depository—or if you
prefer, the Grassy Knoll...)

Just like the time cmavo, place cmavo can be attatched to selbri. For
example, instead of saying viku mi gunka, you can say mi vi gunka—“I
here-work.” Again, this sounds odd in English, but one of the
purposes of Lojban is to encourage you to say things in different
ways, which may lead to being able to say different things. Lojban
expands the mind (warning: unproven Lojban propaganda!).
If we combine place vi etc. with words like ri’u, they become more
productive. ri’u is a place cmavo meaning ‘to the right of’, so ri’u vi ku is
‘in the immediate vicinity of the right of the here-and-now’. What
you’re doing is, you’re still saying where something is happening
relative to you, but now you are saying in what direction to look for it.
For example:

la bil. sanli ri’u vi ku

la bil. ri’u vi sanli
Bill stands just to the right.

And just like vi and bu’u, you can use these cmavo with an explicit
sumti, to say where things are happening relative to something else:

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Chapter 6. Time and Space

la bil. sanli ri’u vi la meiris.

Bill stands just to the right of Mary.

There is a whole class of cmavo that work like ri’u, and they are called
FAhA-type cmavo, so named after a (somewhat non-representative)
member of their class, fa’a (in the direction of). These include to’o
(away from), zu’a (to the left of), ne’a (next to), ne’i (within) and so on.
(Again, all the space cmavo are explained in Chapter 10 of The Complete
Lojban Language).

Note: FAhAcmavoindicatedirection,butnotmotiontowardthat
direction.Thereisaseparatecmavoforthat;seeLesson7.

We can also combine time and space. For example, mi vipuzu gunka
means “I here-past-long-time-distance work”, or “I used to work here
a long time ago.” A common expression with ku is puzuvuku, meaning
‘long ago and far away’—a standard way to begin a fairy tale or
legend!
Getting back to daily speech, these time and space cmavo are very
useful for questions. ca ma is ‘simultaneous with what?’, or in other
words, ‘when?’ (a simpler alternative to ti’u or di’e). Similarly, vi ma
means ‘at the location of what?’, or ‘where?’

Exercise 4
Translatethefollowing.

1. zdani do vi ma
2. la bil. puzavi zutse
3. le cipni puzine’ava vofli
4. la tcarlz.daruin. puva xabju
5. mi ba tavla ne’i le barja

More negativity
We have already seen na used to turn bridi into negative statements, of
the type “it is not true that.” And we saw that this sometimes leads to
slightly unexpected effects compared to English not. For instance, in
Lesson 4 we saw that mi na nelci ro gerku means “it is not true that I

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like all dogs” (or “I don’t like all dogs”). It does not mean “I don’t like
any dogs.”
na says not only that the sumti aren’t connected by that particular
selbri, but that they aren’t necessarily connected by any selbri at all. So

mi na tavla la suzyn.
It is not true that I talk to Susan.

is just as valid a thing to say if Susan is a rock formation in the Pamir

Mountains, as it is if she is a human being I know. Often, however, we
need our negation to be a little less powerful. In particular, it is useful
to be able to say, not that the whole bridi is false, but only the selbri.
This means that there is some relationship between the sumti—but this
selbri isn’t it.
The word used to negate just the selbri, and not the entire bridi, is
na’e. So if we say mi na nelci ro gerku, that could be true even if I have
no feelings at all about the canine species. But with

mi na’e nelci ro gerku

I other-than-like all dogs

on the other hand, there is something that can be said about me and
all dogs; but it’s not that I like them. It isn’t necessarily that I hate
them: I might write poems about them, or prescribe medicine for
them, or imitate them in polite company. But like them, I don’t.
If you do want to say you feel the opposite of ‘like’ for all dogs, you
can say

mi to’e nelci ro gerku

I un-like (= dislike) all dogs.

to’e turns a selbri into its opposite: to’e nelci is pretty much the same
thing as xebni ‘hate’. And if you’re indifferent, you can say

mi no’e nelci ro gerku

I am neutral-as-to-liking all dogs.

no’e indicates that you’re neutral on the scale the selbri indicates.

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Chapter 6. Time and Space

Like time and space, Lojban places negation on a kind of scale, from
lesser to greater extent. This ‘shades of grey’ approach pervades the
language; you will see it time and again in the grammar. It makes for
an interesting contrast with the theoretical basis for the language,
classical logic—which is very much a ‘black and white’ domain.

Exercise 5
Nowthatyouhavethreenewnegativewords,let’sseeifyoucanusethem.
GiveLojbanequivalentsforthefollowingEnglishwords,giventheirLojban
‘opposites’andthecmavowe’vejustlearned.

1. disinterested(cinri:interested)
2. uninterested(cinri:interested)
3. bored(cinri:interested)
4. unborn(jbena:born)
5. uncover(gairgau:cover)
6. undead(morsi:dead)
7. non-Lojban(lojbo:Lojban(ic))
8. un-Lojbanic(lojbo:Lojban(ic))
9. plain(melbi:beautiful)
10. imaginary(fatci:factual,real)

Summary
In this lesson we have covered the following:

1. The uses and usefulness of terminators.

2. Time cmavo: pu, ca, and ba.
3. Time intervals: zi, za and zu.
4. Duration: ze’i, ze’a and ze’u.
5. Location: vi, va, vu and bu’u.
6. Direction: fa’a, to’o, zu’a (and so on).
7. Negation: na’e, no’e and to’e.

There are many more cmavo to describe time and space (and a couple
more for negation, for that matter), but they are only there if you need
them. In fact, unless you want to be specific about time or space, you
don’t even need the ones in this lesson. Remember the golden rule of

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Lojban grammar: If you don’t need it, don’t use it! Lojban grammar is
your servant, not your master.

Vocabulary
bevri x1carries/hauls/bears/transportscargox2tox3fromx4overpath
x5;x1isacarrier/[porter]
culno x1isfull/completelyfilledwithx2
kunti x1[container]isempty/vacantofx2[material];x1ishollow
lebna x1takes/gets/gains/obtains/seizes/[removes]x2(object/property)
fromx3(possessor)
pendo x1is/actsasafriendof/tox2(experiencer);x2befriendsx1
vanju x1ismadeof/contains/isaquantityofwinefromfruit/grapesx2
zgana x1observes/[notices]/watches/beholdsx2usingsenses/meansx3
underconditionsx4

Exercise 6
Translationexercisesarenotyourmaster,either,buttheyareyourbusiness!
TranslatefromLojban;assumethestoryishappeninginthehere-and-now:

1. .i baza lenu la jan. cliva kei la suzyn. sanli ne’i vi le barja

2. .i caziku la suzyn. denpa lenu baziku la jan. viska la suzyn.
3. .i la suzyn. viska re lo kabri
4. .i go’i pa lo pu culno .i go’i pa lo ca culno
5. .i le puzi culno ca kunti ba lenu la jan. pinxe loi birje kei .i’enai vau .ua
6. .i lenu pinxe loi dotco birje kei ku na se nelci ro lo prenu
7. .i la suzyn. ze’i tavla le bevri
8. “.i ko lebna ta .i ko dunda lo cnino vanju botpi mi”
9. “.i .ei na dotco”

Exercise 7
TranslateintoLojbanthese(hopefullymuchlessbrain-squelchingthanthe
previouslesson’s)sentences:

1. Alongtimeago,SusanbrieflylivedatZhang’s.
2. NowSusanlivessomewayawayfromZhang.
3. WhenSusangoestothehouse,shegoesalittletotheleftofthebar.
4. EveryThursdaySusangoestothebar,notfarfromtheoffice.
5. AtthebarSusanmeetsSusan’slong-timefriends.
6. SusannoticesthatthebeerisGermanbyseeingthebottlelabel.(Hint:look
carefullyattheplacestructureofzgana.)

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Chapter 6. Time and Space

7. SusansitsawayfromtheGermanbeer.

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1
1. Withterminator:Idescribedthenumbertwototwofriends.Without
terminator:Idescribedthenumbertwenty-twotoafriend.
2. Withterminator:1:30wasthetimewhenIloved,onFriday.(la mumdjed.is
thex3oftcika)Withoutterminator:1:30wasthetimewhenIlovedFriday.
(la mumdjed.isthex2ofprami)
3. Withterminator:Themanobservesthecat.Withoutterminator:Theman
observesthecat.(Yep,trickquestion.Foranisolatedsentence,the
presenceorabsenceofvauseldommakesanydifference.)
4. Withterminator:Themotheroftheinfanttravels.(Sincekuindicatesthe
sumtiisover,theselbricannowbegin.)Withoutterminator:Themotherof
theinfanttraveller.
5. Withterminator:IrequestofClaudiathatMariaspeaks.(Claudiaisthex3of
cpedu,thepersontowhomarequestismade.)Withoutterminator:Irequest
thatMariaspeakstoClaudia.

Exercise 2
1. puzaku la juLIET. klama la paris.
2. puzuku mi tcidu la kaMIL.
3. puziku la .iVAN. cliva le kumfa
4. bazi lenu la pi,ER. klama le kumfa kei la .iocikos. cinba la xorxes.
5. puziku la treisis. badri .i ku’i caku la maik. gleki

Exercise 3
1. mi baze’i gunka
2. mi bazi gunka
3. mi puzuze’a gunka
4. mi caza gunka(Thatwasatrickyone...)
5. mi cazize’a gunka(Youcouldalsoargueformi puzize’a gunka.What’s
actuallybeingconveyedbyI’vebeenworkingissomethingwe’llbe
lookingatmorecloselyinLesson12.)

Exercise 4
1. Whereisyourhouse?(Literally“[something]isthehouseofyouatwhat?”)

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2. Billwassittinghereawhileago.
3. Thebirdwasjustflyingsomedistancebyme.(Literally“thebirdflewa
shorttimeagolocatednexttohereatamediumdistance.”Thisisnot
sayinganythingaboutthedirectioninwhichthebirdwasflying:FAhAon
itsownidentifieslocation,notmotion.)
4. CharlesDarwinlivednearhere.(Notethatwedon’tneedzutospecifythat
helivednearherealongtimeago:weassumethatthepersonwe’retalking
toknowswhoDarwinwas,andtherforeknowsthathelivedoveracentury
ago.Infact,youcouldevenmissoutthepu,butIleftitintoavoid
confusion—maybemyfriendthinksI’mtalkingaboutadifferentperson
withthesamename,orthatI’msomehowspeakingmetaphoricallyabout
thespiritofDarwin.)
5. Iwillspeakinthebar.(Asyouwillhavesurmised,youdon’tneedtofollow
FAhAwordswithcmavolikevi.)

Exercise 5
1. disinterested:no’e cinri
2. uninterested:na’e cinri(Thedistinctionbetweendisinterestedand
uninterestedinEnglishinslowlydyingout—whichmakestheworda
pedant’sdelight!)
3. bored:to’e cinri
4. unborn:na’e jbena(no’e jbenawouldbesomeoneinatwilight-zone
betweenbeingbornandnotbeingborn—perhapsthebabyatthemoment
itemergesfromthewomb.to’e jbenaistheoppositeofbeingborn;what
thatmaymean,uptoandincludingcrawlingbackintothewomb,or
dying,isprettymuchuptoyou.TheEnglishexpressionisactuallymore
like‘notyetborn’,andwewillfindouthowtosaythisinafewlessons’
time.)
5. uncover:to’e gairgau(na’e gairgaumeanssimply‘nottocover’,andno’e
gairgau‘toleaveajar’.)
6. undead:no’e morsi(na’e morsiissomeonealive,notazombie.Butdon’t
worrytoomuchaboutthephenomenologyoftheoccult;justbe
comfortableintheknowledgethatLojbanallowsyoutomakethese
distinctions,ifyouwantto.)
7. non-Lojban:na’e lojbo(na’eisfrequentlyglossedas‘otherthan’;this
examplemayshowyouwhy.)
8. un-Lojbanic:to’e lojbo(Thereisoftensomethingsubjectiveabouthow
thingsareoppositestoeachother;usinganexpressionlikethis,youmay
wellbeaskedtoexplainexactlyhowsomethingcanbetheoppositeof
Lojban.)
9. plain:no’e melbi(to’e melbiwouldbe‘ugly’,ofcourse.)

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10. imaginary:na’e facti(Youcanquibbleaboutwhetherit’snotmoreliketo’e

factiorno’e facti.That’swhyit’sjustaswell‘imaginary’hasitsowngismu:
xanri.)

Exercise 6
1. AwhileafterZhangleft,Susanisstandinginthebar.
2. Rightnow,SusanexpectsthatZhangwillsoonafterwardsseeSusan.
3. Susanseestwocups.
4. [Shesees]onepreviouslyfullone.[Shesees]onecurrentlyfullone.
(It’samazingwhatcanbetuckedawayinexercises.Yes,sumticanhave
tensesinLojban.There’snoreasontheycan’t:thoughthere’sanarticlein
frontofthegismuinle kabri,thatgismuisstillaselbri,andsoitstill
expressesarelationship.Thismeansthatsumtihaveallthecharacteristics
ofselbri:theyhavesumtioftheirown(aswe’llseelateron);durations;
locations;andtenses.ThisisanimportantwayLojbanisdifferentfrom
many(thoughnotall)naturallanguages:ithasnoessentialgrammatical
differencebetweenits‘nouns’and‘verbs’.)
5. Theonefulljustalittletimeagoisnowempty(aha!)afterZhangdrankthe
beer(pah!).
(There’ssomemischiefwithterminatorsandattitudinalshere.Attitudinals
applytothestructurethatprecedesthem.Iftheyfollowasumti,theyapply
tothatsumti.Iftheyfollowaselbri,theyapplytothatselbri.Iftheyareat
thestartofabridi,ontheotherhand,theyapplytothewholebridi.
Now,.i’enai‘disapproval;Pah!’followskei,soitappliestothephrase
closedoffbythatkei:thatis,lenu la jan. pinxe loi birje kei.But.uafollows
vau,soitappliestothewholephraseclosedoffbyvau:namely,theentire
bridi,le puzi culno ca kunti ba lenu la jan. pinxe loi birje.)
6. DrinkingGermanbeerisnotlikedbyallpeople.(Theterminatorsarethe
normalimpliedterminatorsforthatparticularstructure.Ofcourse,it’s
mucheasiertosay.i lenu pinxe loi dotco birje na se nelci ro lo prenu,without
thekei ku;thenaactslikecu,toblockofftheselbrifromitspreceding
sumti.)
7. Susanbrieflytalkstothecarrier.(See?Abetterwordforwaiteralready.
Notice,too,thatyoucanspecifyadurationwithoutspecifyingatense.)
8. “Takethataway.Givemeanewwinebottle.”
9. “ItshouldnotbeGerman.”

Exercise 7
1. .i puzuku la suzyn. ze’i xabju le la jan. zdani(Youcan’tjustsayxabju la jan.—
youhavetofillintheblankof“Zhang’s___.”)
2. .i la suzyn. ca xabju va la jan.

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3. ca lenu la suzyn. klama le zdani kei la suzyn. klama zu’a vizi le barja(Wedon’t
reallyhaveawayforsayingshe—asyou’reprobablypainfullyawareofby
now.Takeheart—reliefiscominginthenextlesson!
NotethatSusan’srouteisawayfromthebar,butnotexplicitlymovingto
orfromit;sowedon’thavetoindicatemotionalongwithdirection.Not
thatwecanrightnow,anyway.)
4. .i ca ro la vodjed. la suzyn. klama le barja va le briju
5. vi le barja la suzyn. penmi le la suzyn. ze’u pendo(Remember,sumtitake
tensesanddurations,too.)
6. .i la suzyn. zgana lenu le birje cu dotco kei lenu viska le botpi tcita(or:le tcita
pe le botpi,orle le botpi ku tcita—youcanfeelreallysmugifyoucameup
withthat!)
7. .i la suzyn. zutse to’o le dotco birje

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Chapter 7. Getting Personal: Pro-sumti
and more abstractions
Referring back
So far we’ve been referring to everybody by name, which can get very
repetitive if you want to tell a story, or even string two sentences
together (as you will have seen in the last few exercises.) Consider the
following:

la suzyn. klama le barja .i la suzyn ze’a pinxe loi vanju .i la suzyn.

zgana lo nanmu .i le nanmu cu melbi .i le nanmu cu zgana la suzyn.
Susan goes to the bar. Susan drinks some wine for a while.
Susan notices [sees, observes] a man. The man is beautiful. The
man notices Susan.

Note: Noticetheuseofmelbi—inEnglishweusuallydescribemenas
‘handsome’ratherthan‘beautiful’,butthisrathersexistdistinction
doesn’tapplyinLojban.However,ifyoureallywantedaLojban
wordfor‘handsome’(beautiful–kind-of–man)youcouldsaymelnau
(melbi+nanmu).

It is pretty tedious to have to keep repeating Susan and man. English

gets round this problem by using pronouns, like she or he. This works
OK in this case, because we have one female and one male in the story
so far, but it can get confusing when more characters enter the scene.
(It’s even more confusing with languages that only have one word for
he, she and it, like Turkish or spoken Chinese.) Lojban, for its part, has
pro-sumti, which are like pronouns—sort of.
In fact, we’ve already met some pro-sumti: mi and do, and the ti/ta/tu
group; but we still don’t have he/she/it, which are a bit more
complicated. One way of dealing with this is a group of cmavo which
refer back to something we’ve just said. In fact we have met one of
these in a different context: go’i. Just as go’i on its own repeats the
previous bridi, le go’i repeats the first sumti of the previous bridi. (In
this, it is behaving no differently to any other selbri with an article in

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front of it: le + selbri refers to the x1 of that selbri.) So we can rewrite

the first three sentences as

la suzyn. klama le barja .i le go’i ze’a pinxe loi vanju .i le go’i cu

zgana lo nanmu

The system breaks down here, though, since nanmu is not in the first,
but the second place of the previous bridi. English doesn’t bother with
precision here—he just means ‘some male person mentioned earlier.’
This works in the example here, because there is only one man in the
story, but what about

Bill saw Rick. He hit him.

Did Bill hit Rick, or did Rick hit Bill? We don’t know. Lojban does
have other tricks up its sleeve, and as you might just have already
guessed, le se go’i will do the trick. But counting sumti from the
preceding bridi isn’t really a general solution.
Coming back to the man Susan saw, we can refer to him as ri, which
means ‘the most recent sumti.’ So we can say

.i le go’i cu zgana lo nanmu .i ri melbi

ri is one of a series, ri/ra/ru, meaning ‘the most recent/fairly

recent/distant sumti’; but as far as I’ve noticed, ra and ru aren’t very
popular in Lojbanistan at the moment. (Put it down to ideological
reasons: they are deliberately vague, like their natural language
counterparts, so they are regarded as somehow ‘un-Lojbanic’.) ri, on
the other hand, is used a lot, since it’s very common for the last thing
in one sentence to be the subject of the next sentence.

Tip: sumtiarecountedfromtheirbeginnings.Soinasentencelike

lenu lo nanmu cu dotco kei cu se djuno ri

rireferstolo nanmuandnotlenu lo nanmu cu dotco:thestartoflo

nanmuisclosertorithanthestartoflenu lo nanmu cu dotco.

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Tip: ricannotrefertoasumtiifitisalreadysmackinthemiddleof
thatsumti.Forexample,in

la suzyn. pinxe le ri vanju

riobviouslyreferstola suzyn.,andnottole vanju.

Another pro-sumti is da, which means ‘someone/something.’ You may

remember zo’e, which means also means ‘someone/something,’ but
with zo’e the something is unimportant—it’s just a way of filling a
sumti place. da, on the other hand, is important: it introduces
something or someone we are directly talking about.

Note for logicians: daisthe‘existentialx’,asin“Thereexistssomex

suchthatxis...”

Coming back to our story, we could start by saying da klama le barja—

“Someone came to the bar.” Unlike the other pro-sumti we’ve been
looking at, da does not point back to a sumti we’ve necessarily already
seen. It does, however, point back to the same thing as any other da in
any sentences conjoined with logical connectives, or more informally
anywhere in the same paragraph. (No, we haven’t done Lojban logical
connectives or paragraphs yet... Just keep this in mind for future
reference.) So if I say da nanmu .i da klama le barja, you can typically
assume I’m referring to the same man in both sentences.
Because they are all tied up with predicate logic, da and its
companions de and di are used a lot for talking about language—you
see them frequently on the Lojban e-mail list, for example. By the way,
there are no do and du in this series, because these already have other
meanings: ‘you’ and ‘is the same thing as.’

Exercise 1
ThetwohighlightedsumtiineachofthefollowingLojbansentencesrefertothe
samethingorperson.Foreach,checkwhetherthepro-sumtiyouhave
learned—lego’i, ri, ra—canreplacethesecondsumti.

1. .i la suzyn. nelci loi vanju .i la suzyn. na nelci loi birje

2. .i la suzyn. viska lo nanmu .i le nanmu cu dotco
3. .i la suzyn. nelci lenu la suzyn. klama le barja
4. .i la suzyn. nelci le la suzyn. pendo

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5. .i lenu la suzyn. badri cu nandu .i la suzyn. gleki

6. .i lenu la suzyn. badri cu nandu .i lenu la suzyn. badri na se zgana

Assigning pro-sumti
If we’re telling a story in English, the meaning of, say, she keeps
changing. At the moment, it means ‘Susan’, but if Susan’s friend Jyoti
walks into the bar, she could very well mean start meaning ‘Jyoti’. In
Lojban, we can keep on using le go’i, ri and their relatives, but there is
an easier way of dealing with a larger cast of characters.
What we do is assign pro-sumti as and when we need them, using
the cmavo goi (which is like the Latin word sive, or the English also
known as (aka)). The sumti assigned by goi are a series called KOhA,
consisting of ko’a, ko’e, ko’i ... you get the idea?

Note for lawyers (and frustrated non-lawyers): Theequivalentin

legaldocumentsofgoiis“henceforthreferredtoas,”andko’ais
somethinglike“thepartyofthefirstpart.”Lojbanhasinfactbeen
proposedastheideallanguageforlaw,whereprecisionisofutmost
importance.Itwouldalsoallownon-lawyerstounderstandlegal
documents,whichwouldbesomethingofamiracle.

OK, let’s go back to Susan’s story. We start by saying

la suzyn. goi ko’a klama le barja

This means that from now on, every time we use ko’a, we mean
‘Susan’. The man she sees can then be ko’e, so we say

.i ko’a zgana lo nanmu goi ko’e

Now every time we use ko’e, it means that particular man, so the full
story so far reads:

la suzyn. goi ko’a klama le barja .i ko’a ze’a pinxe loi vanju .i ko’a
zgana lo nanmu goi ko’e .i ko’e melbi .i caku ko’e zgana ko’a

(Note how the cus have disappeared: ko’a, like mi, doesn’t need them,
since it can’t join with a selbri to form a new selbri).

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Assigning ko’e to lo nanmu is actually better than starting the next

sentence with le nanmu. This is because le nanmu simply means “the
thing I have in mind which I call ‘man’,” which is not exactly the same
as “the man” (it could, in theory, be something totally different). Some
Lojbanists might even say that using le like this is a bit malglico. (Or at
least malrarbau ‘damned natural languages’: lots of languages have
definite articles, and Lojban le is no definite article.)

Tip: Ifyoucombineko’a/e/i/o/uwithri/ra/ru,don’tcountko’a-type
pro-sumtiwhenyou’recountingback.Forexample

la suzyn. rinsa ko’e .i ri cisma

doesn’tmeanthatko’e(theman,inthiscontext)smiles,butthatSusan
smiles.Why?Becauseitispointlesstohaveareplacingword
(anaphor),likeri,replaceanotherreplacingword,likeko’e.Ifyou
wantedthex1ofcismatobeko’e,youwouldhavesimplysaid.i ko’e
cisma,not.i ri cisma.Itworksoutsimplertokeepri/ra/ruinreserve
formoreimportantthings.

Let’s continue by introducing Susan’s friend Jyoti (if people are

wondering where I get all these unusual names from, Jyoti is an old
Gujarati friend of mine). We continue ....

la djiotis. goi ko’i mo’ine’i klama .i ko’i rinsa ko’e

Jyoti (henceforth #3), goes into. #3 greets #2.
Jyoti comes in and says hello to the guy.

mo’ine’i is another space ‘tense’. mo’i indicates movement; ne’i means

‘inside’ (from the gismu, nenri). So mo’ine’i corresponds to the English
preposition into (while ne’i on its own corresponds to inside or in.) The
way Lojban grammar works, mo’ine’i on its own is treated as mo’ine’i
ku: a sumti tcita with an omitted sumti. (Remember caku, which is
exactly the same. Just as baku means ‘afterwards’ (relative to the here-
and-now), mo’ine’i [ku] means something like ‘in(to)wards’—but is
nowhere near as weird in Lojban as it is in English.)
mo’i is extremely useful, as it allows you to distinguish between
location and motion. For example, I ran behind the bar in English is
properly speaking ambiguous: are you running while behind the bar,

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or are you running with your final destination behind the bar? Lojban
does not allow that ambiguity: mi bajra ti’a le barja means the former,
while mi bajra mo’i ti’a le barja means the latter. In the example given
above, ne’i klama would mean not that Jyoti comes in (from outside),
but that she is going from somewhere to somewhere else, while
inside. This kind of ambiguity may pass unnoticed by native English
speakers, but speakers of languages which are more precise about
direction find it extremely vague (Turkish, for example, has at least
three words to translate ‘here’).

Vocabulary
catlu x1looksat/examines/views/inspects/regards/watches/gazesatx2
[comparewithzgani]
.e and(individuals,asopposedtojoi.)Staytunedforaproper
explanationofthesewordsinacoupleoflessons.
rinsa x1(agent)greets/hails/[welcomes/sayshelloto]/respondstoarrival
ofx2inmannerx3(action)
xanka x1isnervous/anxiousaboutx2(abstraction)underconditionsx3

Exercise 2
Translatethefollowing.Assumethesamevaluesforko’a/e/ithatwehavebeen
usingsofar(i.e.ko’aisSusan,andsoon).

1. .i ko’a ca rinsa ko’i

2. .i ko’a .e ko’i xanka cmila
3. .i caku le go’i cu catlu ko’e
4. .i ko’e cadzu mo’i zu’a ko’i
5. .i ko’e djica lenu djuno fi le ko’a cmene

Acronyms
Now there are plenty of KOhA sumti to go around. In fact, if you’ve
run out of words by getting to ko’u, you can start over again with fo’a,
fo’e ... fo’u. There is a problem, though: you have to remember (a)
which sumti was assigned to which KOhA word, and (b) to assign the
sumti in the first place. There’s nothing to say that this will not become
commonplace in future Lojban usage. Right now, however, there is a
feeling that this is a little too calculated to work spontaneously. And

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Lojban cannot readily use the little hints natural languages pepper
their grammar with (like gender and number), to keep track of who is
who.
As a result, yet another strategy has been introduced to refer back to
sumti. This strategy dates back from ‘Institute’ Loglan, before Lojban
arose in its modern form. (Yes, Lojban has a history and a prehistory.
No, we don’t really have the time to go into them here.) The strategy
involves acronyms. Simply put, if you see a Lojban letter being used
as a sumti, you take it as referring to the last sumti whose selbri starts
with that letter. So in

la suzyn. cusku lu coi li’u lo nanmu .i ny. cisma

Susan says “Hello” to a man. The man smiles

ny. stands for nanmu. There is no need to explicitly assign ny. with goi;
but you can, and indeed if you assign it to a sumti which doesn’t start
with that letter, then that assignment will be the one that counts (“A
certain Lojbanist, let’s call him N, dislikes KOhA cmavo...”). Some
Lojbanists dislike this usage because it, too, seems a little calculated
(and initials and acronyms have decidedly non-literary associations in
most natural languages!) Only time will tell which of the two usages
will become more commonplace.

Direct quotations
You may have noticed two other new words in the previous Lojban
sentence. lu and li’u are like ‘quote’ and ‘unquote’—they put
something someone says into a sumti. li’u is one of the few terminators
that can almost never be missed out, since that would make
everything else that follows part of the quotation. You can also nest
quotations, e.g.

la ranjit. pu cusku lu la djiotis. pu cusku lu coi li’u mi li’u

Ranjeet said “Jyoti said ‘Hello’ to me.”

which is similar to

la ranjit. pu cusku lu la djiotis. pu rinsa mi li’u

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Ranjeet said “Jyoti greeted me.”

Being a logical language, Lojban is very careful to distinguish between

words for things, and the things themselves. So you can’t speak about
the phrase le munje ‘the universe’ in the same way you speak about the
universe itself. To give a silly example, the phrase le munje is small,
but the universe itself is not. To distinguish between the two in
Lojban, you need to use quotation:

lu le munje li’u cu cmalu

‘The universe’ is small
le munje na cmalu
The universe is not small

Tip: lu...li’uisintendedtoquotegrammaticalpiecesofLojban—
ideally,entiresentences,ratherthanindividualwords.Forsmaller
chunksofLojban,whichdonotnecessarymakesenseinisolation,
theproperquotationwordsareinsteadlo’u...le’u,the‘errorquotes’.
Forexample,ro le mi pendo cu klamamakessenseinLojbanasa
sentence,andcanbeenclosedinlu...li’u.Butifyouwanttosaywhat
goesbeforependointhesentence,ro le midoesnotmakethatmuch
senseonitsown.Soyouwouldquotethatsentencefragment,notas
lu ro le mi li’u,butaslo’u ro le mi le’u.

Vocabulary
fengu x1isangry/madatx2forx3(action/state/property)

Exercise 3
Translatethefollowing.Continuetoassumethesamevaluesforko’a/e/ithatwe
havebeenusingsofar.

Note: doiisusedtoshowwhoyou’retalkingto(withoutdoi,the
cmenemightbecomethefirstsumtiofthebridi).It’sabitlikeEnglish
O(asin“Oyeoflittlefaith”)ortheLatinvocative(asinEttu,Brute.)

1. .i ko’e cusku lu doi djiotis. ma cmene le do pendo li’u

2. .i ko’i cusku lu lu suzyn. li’u li’u
3. .i ko’e cusku lu .ui ro lo do pendo cu pendo mi li’u
4. .i ko’i fengu cusku lu djica ma li’u ko’i

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Indirect quotations
A phrase like “Ranjeet said ‘Jyoti said “Hello” to me.’” can also be
expressed in a rather more subtle way:

la ranjit. pu cusku le sedu’u la djiotis. pu rinsa ry.

Ranjeet past-express the-predicate Jyoti past-greet R
Ranjeet said that Jyoti greeted him.

What is this sedu’u? Well, to explain that, we have to go via du’u.

du’u is a tricky but very useful cmavo meaning, in logical terms, ‘the
proposition.’ What this means in ordinary language is something like
“the notion that x is true.” Sorry, that wasn’t really ordinary language.
The closest equivalent in English is that, as in “Ranjeet knows that ...”,
or “Ranjeet thinks that ...”. Here’s an example of du’u used on its own:

la suzyn. na djuno le du’u la jan. cinynei ra

Susan doesn’t know that Zhang fancies (‘sexually-likes’) her.

du’u belongs to selma’o (= se cmavo) NU, just like nu itself. This means
you can use it grammatically wherever you use nu. In fact, du’u and nu
are the two major kinds of abstractions in Lojban. Lojban can
distinguish between abstractions pretty finely, but the main
distinction is between things that can happen (events), which take nu,
and things you can know (facts), which take du’u. The gismu definition
usually tells you which abstraction type is normal for the word.

Note: Bytheway,mostoftheinstancesofnuinthefinalexercisesof
Lesson5and6shouldhavebeendu’u.Sorryabouttheover-
simplification—andpleasedon’trepeatitinyourownLojbanfrom
nowon!

OK, but why is what Ranjeet said introduced with sedu’u rather than
du’u? Basically, because Lojban is a stickler for details. What you know
or remember or believe is a fact: something you hold inside your
brain. What you say, however, is not something you hold inside your
brain; instead, it is sounds which mean what you hold inside your
brain. The distinction is subtle, but it is the kind of distinction Lojban

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insists on. (That’s why it’s a logical language, after all.) When you
want to refer to something you say rather than something you think,
Lojban uses sedu’u rather than du’u.

Note: Theseinsedu’uiswhatyouthinkitis.I’llexplainwhatit’s
doingtherenextlesson.

Note: AjargonwordyouwilloccasionallyseeintalkaboutLojbanis
reification.Don’tbescaredoff:thispieceofjargonactuallyhelps!
ReificationisLatinfortakingsomething,andturningitintoanobject,
athing.It’swhatitturnsoutbothdu’uandsedu’udo.Thesewords
takewhatwasanevent,anoccurrenceinthephysicalworld,and
turnsitintoasingleobject,athing,whichyoucanthink,whichyou
candiscover,orwhichyoucanuseinlogic.(Or,inthecaseof
sedu’u,whichyoucansay.)

So Lojban has different words for that..., depending on what sort of

thing is meant.

• If that introduces something that happened, use nu. (Events can be

subdivided more finely yet, but for now let’s not complicate matters
even more than necessary.)
• If that introduces something that you think, use du’u.
• If that introduces something that you say, use sedu’u
• —unless it is a literal quote, in which case you use lu ... li’u.

Tip: Thisinsistenceondetail—whichcangetevenmoreinvolvedfor
NUcmavo—isquiteuseful;butitseemstocontradictwhatthe
previouslessonclaimed,thatLojbangrammarisyourservant,not
yourmaster.Itisanerrortosaynuwhenyoumeandu’u—thoughyou
willfinditisaratherfrequenterror.ButLojbandoesallowyouto
embedbridiinsideotherbridiasabstractions,withoutspecifying
whethertheyareevents,facts,utterances,qualities,orwhatever.The
magiccmavotouseinthatcaseissu’u.Soyoucancorrectlysayall
threeof:

• mi nelci lesu’u mi dotco

• mi djuno lesu’u mi dotco
• mi cusku lesu’u mi dotco

Admittedly,su’uhasnotbeenmuchusedtodate;itisafairlylate
additiontothelanguage(asisdu’u!),andpeoplehaven’tgotusedtoit

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yet.Butifyoucan’tbebotheredspecifyingwhatkindofabstraction
you’reusing,that’sthewordtouse.

Exercise 4
Whichofnu,du’uorsedu’uwouldyouusetotranslatethatinthefolowing
sentences?

1. IclaimedthatLojbaniseasy.
2. IamfrustratedthatLojbaniseasy.
3. IagreethatLojbaniseasy.
4. ItisconfusingthatLojbaniseasy.
5. ItwasdecidedthatLojbanshouldbeeasy.

Some more personal pro-sumti

We’ve already seen two personal pro-sumti, mi and do, meaning ‘I’ (or
‘me’) and ‘you’. However, you in English can mean four different
things:

1. The one person I’m talking to.

2. A number of people I’m talking to.
3. The person or people I’m talking to and some other person or
people.
4. Anyone (as in “Money can’t buy you love.”)

Lojban gets round the confusion between (1) and (2) by using
numbers. The most common way to express (2) is rodo, ‘all of you’ (or
Southern U.S. Y’all) and, as we’ve seen, coi rodo is “Hello all”—a
common way to start an e-mail to a list. You can also use specific
numbers: redo would mean ‘two of you’ or ‘you two’ (for example, I
start e-mails to my parents with coi redo.)

Tip: Tosay“thetwoofyou”,Lojbandoesactuallyletyousayle re
do.Butyouneedthenumeraltobetherealready,inordertoputan
articleinfrontofapro-sumti:youcan’tsayle dotomean‘you’.

You can also use numbers with ko, e.g. ro ko klama ti “All of you, get
over here.”
Case (3) is expressed by do’o ‘you and someone else’. Case (4) is
completely different: it’s normally expressed by roda ‘all x’ or, more

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specifically ro le prenu ‘all persons’, but often you can just miss it out
altogether.
English we is almost as confusing, as it can mean the speaker and the
listener(s), the speaker and some other people, or the speaker and the
listener and some other people. Not surprisingly, Lojban has four dis-
tinct pro-sumti for we:

mi’o you and I (but no-one else)

mi’a I and another/others (but not you)
ma’a you and I and another/others

(Once again, Lojban follows the lead of languages other than English
in differentiating between these different kinds of we.)
The fourth pro-sumti? Oddly enough, it’s mi! Lojban makes no
distinction bewteen singular and plural; so if several people are
speaking all together, mi (which refers to the one or more speakers) is
perfectly correct for we. In practice, you’ll usually get mi used like that
when one person is presuming to speak (or more often, to write) on
behalf of others.
Some examples:

mi prami do
I love you.

mi’a penmi do ti’u la cicac.

We’ll meet you at three o’clock.

ma’a remna
We are all human.

mi djica lenu do cliva

We want you to go away.

Exercise 5
Iswe/usinthefollowingmi’o,mi’a,ma’a,ormi?

1. Weneedtostartseeingotherpeople.
2. Wethepeopleholdthesetruthstobeself-evident.
3. Wedecidedtoexpelyoufromtheassociation.

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4. Youcan’ttalktousthatway!
5. We’reinafinemess,allofus,aren’twe?
6. Theytoldusweshouldgetmarried,andyousaid“OK.”
7. Theytoldusweshouldgetmarried,andhesaid“OK.”

Summary
In this chapter, we have covered the following topics:

• How to refer back to previous sumti, using the previous bridi (le
go’i), counting sumti (ri, ra, ru), assigning pro-sumti (ko’a–ko’u, fo’a–
fo’u), and using acronyms (Lojban letters).
• How to refer to existential x (‘something, someone’) (da, de, di).
• Referring to motion in Lojban (mo’i).
• How to give direct quotations (lu ... li’u).
• How to give indirect quotations (se du’u).
• How to refer to facts (du’u) as distinct from events (nu).
• Lojban’s complement of first and second person pro-sumti (do’o,
mi’o, mi’a, ma’a).

Vocabulary
bebna x1isfoolish/sillyinevent/action/property[folly](ka)x2;x1isa
boob
burna x1isembarrassed/disconcerted/flustered/ill-at-easeabout/under
conditionsx2(abstraction)
cinri x1(abstraction)interests/isinterestingtox2;x2isinterestedinx1
dansydi’u disco[dansu(dance)+dinju(building)]
.e’u ‘Isuggest’(attitudinal)
mutce x1ismuch/extremeinpropertyx2(ka),towardsx3
extreme/direction;x1is,inx2,veryx3
ni’a down,below(space‘tense’)
ninpe’i meetforthefirsttime[cnino(new)+penmi(meet)]
pe’i ‘Ithink’(opinionattitudinal)
penmi x1meets/encountersx2at/inlocationx3
simlu x1seems/appearstohaveproperty(ies)x2toobserverx3under
conditionsx4
simxu x1(set)hasmemberswhomutually/reciprocallyx2
.y. ‘er’(hesitation)

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Exercise 6
Thestoryisnowoninearnest!Foreachofthehighlightedpro-sumti,saywhoor
whattheymean.(Oh,andtranslatethesentences,too.)

Note: kaislikenu,butwhilenudescribesastateorevent,ka
describesapropertyorquality.
soi vo’ameans‘andviceversa’.simxudoesprettymuchthesame
thing,asagismu.We’llbelookingatbothnextlesson.

1. .i ko’a burna
2. .i ko’a catlu le la cardoNES. kabri
3. .i lenu zgana ra cu simlu leka cinri ko’a
4. .i ko’e cinba ko’i soi vo’a
5. .i ko’i cusku lu pe’i redo puzi simxu ninpe’i li’u
6. .i le vanju pe ni’a cu simlu leka mutce cinri
7. .i ko’a sutra pinxe le go’i
8. .i ko’e cusku lu .y. na go’i
9. .i mi puze’a na penmi ti soi vo’a li’u
10. .i baziku ko’a cmila
11. .i ko’a cusku lu .u’i redo bebna
12. .i .e’u ma’a klama lo dansydi’u

Vocabulary
bilga x1isbound/obligedto/hasthedutytodo/bex2in/by
standard/agreementx3;x1mustdox2
cismyfra x1reacts/responds/answersbysmilingtostimulusx2under
conditionsx3[cisma(smile)+frati(react)]
dunku x1isanguished/distressed/emotionallywrought/stressedbyx2
gusta x1isarestaurant/cafe/dinerservingtype-of-foodx2toaudiencex3
jinvi x1thinks/opinesx2[opinion](du’u)istrueaboutsubject/issuex3
ongroundsx4
kansa x1iswith/accompanies/isacompanionofx2,in
state/condition/enterprisex3(event/state)
morji x1remembers/recalls/recollectsfact(s)/memoryx2(du’u)about
subjectx3
preti x1(quotedtext)isaquestion/queryaboutsubjectx2byquestioner
x3toaudiencex4
spuda x1answers/repliesto/respondsto
person/object/event/situation/stimulusx2withresponsex3
xumske chemistry[xukmi(chemical)+saske(science)]

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Exercise 7
TranslateintoLojban.UseLojbanletters(acronyms)forthecharacterstoreferto
eachother.Donotuseli’utoclosequotationsopenedwithluattheendofeach
sentence,butonlywhenthespeakeractuallystopsspeaking.

1. JyotiaskedSusan,“Where’sZhang?”(Hint:justusepreti.)
2. Susananswered“Hesaidthathewouldwaitformetocome.”(Hint:just
usespuda,andskipx2.)
3. Jyotisaid,“I’mnotthatworriedabouthimleaving.Ithinkthathe’llmeetus
atthedisco.”(Useagismuinsteadofanattitudinalfor‘Ithink.’)
4. “Hehastoreadforawhile.”
5. “He’sforgottenalotofchemistryinthesummer.”(Hint:he’sactually
forgottenmanythingsaboutchemistry.)
6. “We’regoingtoarestaurantbeforegoingtothedisco.”
7. “Doyouwanttoaccompanyus?”
8. “Sure,”saidSusan,asshesmiledatRanjeet.(Hint:as=atthesametime
as.)

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1
1. le go’i:Yes.ri:No.(riwouldbeloi vanju.)ra:Yes.
2. le go’i:No.ri:Yes.ra:No.(Strictlyspeaking,ifriisnotusedinasentence,
racanrefertotheimmediatelyprecedingsumti;butthatwouldbe
needlesslymisleading.)
3. le go’i:No.(go’irefersbacktotheprevioussentence—whichiswhyitcan
answerayes/no-question—andnottoabridiinthesamesentence.)ri:Yes.
ra:No.
4. le go’i:No.(Onceagain,there’snoprevioussentenceforittoreferto.)ri:
Yes.(ricountsonlycompletedsumti,andle ri pendoisnotyetcomplete
whenyoucountbackfromritotheleimmediatelyinfrontofit.)ra:No.
5. le go’i:No.(Thex1oftheprecedingsentenceisnotla suzyn.butlenu la
suzyn. badri.)ri:Yes.(Seediscussion.)ra:No.
6. le go’i:Yes.ri:No.ra:Yes.(lenu la suzyn. badriisthesecondsumticounting
backwardsfromthestartofthesentence.)

Exercise 2
1. SusangreetsJyoti.
2. Theylaughnervously.

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3. Now,theylookattheman.(le go’imeansthatthepeopledoingthe
laughingarethesameasthepeopledoingthelooking—bothofthem.)
4. HewalkstowardstheleftofJyoti.(Withoutthemo’i,thiswouldmean“He
walksattheleftofJyoti”.)
5. Hewantstoknow(about)hername.(That’sSusan’sname,notJyoti’s—
thoughinEnglishyou’dassumeJyoti,sincesheisthemostrecentlynamed
female.Pro-sumtilikeko’aaren’taffectedbywhatcandidatereferenthas
beenmentionedmostrecently:theyhaveauniquereferentthatstays
constant.)

InordertogetthisintounderstandableEnglish,we’vehadtochangesomeof
thepro-sumtibackintonames.Wecouldalsomakethetranslationsoundmore
naturalbychangingthewordorderabitmore,andmaybeputtingthewhole
thingintothepasttense.

Exercise 3
1. Hesays“Jyoti,whatisthenameofyourfriend?”(Thisisactuallythe
simplestwayofsaying“Who’syourfriend?”;le do pendo cu moiscloserto
“What’syourfriend?”,asin“Whatdoesyourfrienddo?”or“Whatisyour
friendlike?”)
2. Shesays“‘Susan.’”(Notethecharacteristic,Lewis-CarrollesqueLojban
pedantryhere.Susan,theyoungwomanwithanirrationalfearofGerman
alcoholicbeverages,isnotSusan’sname.Theword‘Susan’isSusan’s
name.SoJyoticannotanswerla suzyn.,meaningla suzyn. cu cmene le mi
pendo,butlu suzyn. li’u,meaninglu suzyn. li’u cu cmene le mi pendo.Since
we’reputtingeverythingJyotisaysinsideourownquotes,thismakesher
answerbelu lu suzyn. li’u li’u.)
3. Hesays“Delighted—anyfriendofyoursisafriendofmine.”(Remember,
Lojbanselbricanbeusedinbothbridiandsumti:pendomeansboth‘a
friend’,withanarticleinfrontofit,and‘isafriend’,asanindependent
selbri.)
4. Jyotisaystoherselfangrily“Whatdoeshewant?”(Becauseitisindirect
quotation,thequestionisJyoti’s,notthenarrator’s,obviously:thisdoesnot
mean“WhatwasitthatJyotisaidtoherselfhewanted?”)

Exercise 4
1. sedu’u,intheusualusageofclaimas‘makeastatement’.Lojbangivesdu’u
forxusra‘assert,claim’,butthatpointstothemorelogic-specificsenseof
‘claimthatsomethingistrue’.
2. nu.Itiseventsintheworld,ratherthanconcepts,whichusuallyprovoke
emotionalresponses.Ifdu’urepresentssomethingyouholdinyourbrain,
thennu,notdu’u,isnecessaryafter‘frustrated’:youremotionalresponseis

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toomuchofareflexactionforyourperceptiontohavethetimetobecome
somethingyouholdinyourbrain!
3. du’u:agreementisaresponseyouhavetoaconcept;thisconcepthasnot
necessarilybeenputinwords,norareyounecessarilyputtingitinwords
yourself.
4. nu.Confusionisanemotionalresponse,justlikefrustration,andprimarily
involveseventsintheworld,ratherthanrationalfacts.(Ifthey’reconfusing,
ofcourse,they’reprobablynotallthatrationalinthefirstplace.)
5. du’u:decisionsarethingsyouholdinyourbrain,beforeyoueitherput
themintowords,orintoaction.

Exercise 5
1. mi’o
2. mi(Classiccaseofsomeonespeakingonbehalfofthemany,bytheway.)
3. mi’a,althoughthiscouldbemiiftheexpellerisspeakinginstitutionally,on
behalfoftheassociation.
4. mi’a
5. ma’a
6. mi’o
7. mi’a

Exercise 6
pro-sumti
ra le la cardoNES. kabri(Itcan’tbelenu zgana ri kei,becausethelenu-
sumtiisn’tfinishedyet—andthatinterpretationwouldbeas
weirdlyself-referentialasanyEscherdrawing.NotthatLojban
isn’tperfectlycapableofsuchmischief!
Butwecouldn’treferbacktole la cardoNES. kabriwithri,either:
thewaysumtiarecountedbytheirbeginnings,theimmediately
previoussumtiisnotle la cardoNES. kabri—it’sthela cardoNES.
insidethephrasele la cardoNES. kabri!Thiskindofannoyance
maygiveyouahintaboutwhyriisnotaspopularasyoumight
think...)
redo la suzyn. .e la ranjit.:“Youtwo.”
le go’i le vanju
go’i la suzyn. ce la ranjit. puzi simxu ninpe’i.Don’tworryabouthow
yousaid“SusanandRanjeet”—it’snotlikewe’vecoveredce
anyway!(Fortherecord,itmakesasetoutofSusanandRanjeet,
sinceasetiswhatsimxulooksfor.SeeLesson14.)
go’ihererefersbacknottotheprevioussentenceinthestory,but
totheprevioussentenceintheconversation.ObviouslyRanjeet
wouldn’tbereferringbacktosentenceswrittenbythenarrator.

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He’snotmeanttorealisehe’sfictional,afterall.
mi la ranjit.(Justcheckingifyou’reawake...)
ti la suzyn.(Byelimination;butstrictlyspeakingticouldbeanyone
oranythingRanjeethappenstobepointingto.)
ma’a la suzyn. .e la ranjit. .e la djiotis.

Translation
1. Susanfeltembarrassed.
2. Shelookedatthechardonnayglass.(AsspecifiedinLesson3,le la
cardoNES. kabridoesnotmeanthattheChardonnayownstheglass—merely
thatitisassociatedwithit:itcorrespondstole kabri pe la cardoNES.)
3. Sheseemstofindobservingitveryinteresting.(InLojban,thingsand
peoplearen’tinterestingbythemselves;onlytheirpropertiesoractivities
canbeinteresting.Thereisaworkaround,whichissomethinglike“some
propertyabouttheglassIwon’tbotherspecifyingisinteresting.”We’ll
coverthistowardstheendofthecourse.)
4. RanjeetandJyotikissedeachother.(Literally,“RanjeetkissedJyotiandvice
versa.”)
5. “Ithinkyoutwohavejust[mutually]met,”shesaid.(InLojban,youcan’t
say“twopeoplemeet”.Youcanonlysay“PersonAmeetspersonB”,and,
optionally,“viceversa”—soi vo’a.Butyoucanusesimxu‘mutually’toget
thetwosumtiinvolvedintotheonesumtiplace.)

Note: SeasonedLojbanistswillhavenoticedthatthissentenceis
notstrictlycorrect,andthatitwouldhavebeenratherbetteras
lu’i redo puzi ninpe’i simxu,orlu’i redo puzi simxu leka ce’u ninpe’i
ce’u.SeasonedLojbanistswillalsocutmesomeslackfornot
tryingtointroduceeverythingatonce...

6. Thewinebelowseemedtobeincrediblyinteresting.(Literally,“Thewine
associatedwithbelow...”.Strictlyspeaking,thisdoesnotmeanthewine
belowSusan,butthewinebelowthespeaker;butwewon’tinsistonthat
pointfornow.)
7. Shedrankitquickly.
8. “Errr,no,”saidRanjeet.
9. “We’venevermet[eachother].”(Literally“I’venevermetthisperson,and
viceversa,”whichsoundsevenmoreawkward.)
10. Alittlelater,Susanlaughed.
11. “Comeon,you’rebothbeingsilly,”shesaid.
12. “Let’sgotothedisco.”

Exercise 7
YounowknowenoughLojbanthatyourtranslationscanvarytosomeextent.
Don’tbetooconcernedaboutmatchingthesetranslationstotheletter.

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1. .i lu jy. zvati ma li’u preti fi la djiotis. la suzyn.or.i lu jy. zvati ma li’u preti
zo’e la djiotis. la suzyn.
2. .i la suzyn. spuda fi lu jy. cusku lesedu’u jy. denpa lenu mi klama li’u(Andno,
it’sunlikelythatSusanwouldrefertoherselfassy.!)
3. .i la djiotis. cusku lu mi no’e dunku lenu jy. cliva .i mi jinvi ledu’u jy. penmi
ma’a vi le dansydi’u (Wetranslateusasma’aratherthanmi’o,because
presumablyitreferstoRanjeetaswellasJyotiandSusan.)
4. .i jy. bilga lenu ze’a tcidu
5. .i jy. to’e morji so’e da le xumske ca le crisa(Youcouldalsosayso’e lo fatci
insteadofso’e da.)
6. .i mi’a klama lo gusta pu lenu klama le dansydi’u
7. .i xu do djica lenu do kansa mi’a li’u(Weputli’uhere,becausethisiswhere
Jyoti’squotationends.)
8. .i la suzyn. cusku lu go’i li’u ca lenu sy. cismyfra la ranjit.(or:ra cismyfraor
ko’a cismyfra.Notri cismyfra,though:rihereislu go’i li’u!Infuriatingbut
true...)

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Chapter 8. Swapping things round:
conversion and simple lujvo
selbri conversions
Conversion is swapping the places of a bridi around. We have already
encountered one case of conversion: the cmavo, se, which changes
round the first and second places of a bridi. For example

la djiotis. cinba la ranjit.

Jyoti kisses Ranjeet.

is the same as

la ranjit. se cinba la djiotis.

Ranjeet is kissed by Jyoti.

se is part of a series of cmavo which go, in alphabetical order, se, te, ve,
xe. Like a lot of these series, the first one is used a lot more than the
others, but sometimes the others are useful.
Just as se changes round the first and second places, te changes
round the first and third places, ve, the first and fourth, and xe, the
first and fifth.

ti bakfu loi tirse grana loi skori

This is-a-bundle-of iron rods held together with string.

loi skori cu te bakfu loi tirse grana ti

String holds the bundle of iron rods together (literally, “with
string are bundled iron rods.”)

The ti has now moved to a less conspicuous place in the sentence, and
so can now be dropped out without being missed. In fact place
conversion is often used when we want to get rid of places like this.

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mi’a tugni do zo’e le dinske

mi’a tugni do fo le dinske
We agree with you [that something is true] about economics.

le dinske cu ve tugni
As regards economics [we] agree [with you].

le prenu cu klama zo’e zo’e zo’e lo trene

le prenu cu klama fu lo trene
The person goes somewhere, from somewhere, via
somewhere, by train.

lo trene cu xe klama
[Someone] goes by train. (literally “By a train is gone”)
A train is a vehicle.

As I’ve said, the more extreme conversions like ve and xe are rarely
used, partly because most gismu only have two or three places, and
partly because even with four- or five-place gismu, the less-used places
are what come towards the end.

Vocabulary
gugde x1isthecountryofpeoplesx2withland/territoryx3;
(people/territoryrelationship)
jamna x1(person/mass)warsagainstx2overterritory/matterx3;x1isat
warwithx2
jdini x1ismoney/currencyissuedbyx2;(adjective:)x1is
financial/monetary/pecuniary/fiscal
xatra x1isaletter/missive/[note]tointendedaudiencex2from
author/originatorx3withcontentx4
xlura x1(agent)influences/lures/temptsx2intoaction/statex3by
influence/threat/lurex4

Exercise 1
Convertthefollowingsentencessothatthehighlightedsumticomesfirst.Miss
outanyunimportantplaces.

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1. zo’e fengu lenu jamna

2. ti xatra mi la jan.
3. zo’e xlura mi lenu cliva le gugde kei loi jdini
4. lo prenu cu tavla zo’e zo’e la lojban.
5. lo prenu cu dunda le cukta mi

sumti conversions
Another thing we can do is to use conversion cmavo to make sumti. We
saw how Lojban articles turn selbri into sumti, so that, for example, lo
mlatu means “something(s) which could fit in the first place of
mlatu”—in other words, lo changes ‘is-a-cat’ to ‘a cat’. The same is true
for le mlatu except that, as we’ve seen, it is something which the
speaker has in mind as occupying x1 of mlatu—in other words, ‘the cat.’
This works fine if the only place we want to access and turn into a
sumti is x1; but with other gismu we may want to make sumti out of
other places. Let’s look at the last example from the previous exercise:

lo prenu cu dunda le cukta mi

lo prenu can also be le dunda ‘the giver’; but what about the sumti
describing mi and le cukta? Well, you probably guessed. The answer
you gave to the exercise was (I hope)

mi te dunda le cukta

This means that mi can be le te dunda ‘the recipient’. In the same way,
le cukta can be le se dunda ‘the gift’ or ‘the thing given’. So if we want
to make a really obvious sentence, we can say

le dunda cu dunda le se dunda le te dunda

The giver gives the given-thing to the person-to-whom-it-is-
given
The donor gives the gift to the recipient.

Note: ‘gift’hereisanythinggivenwithoutpaymentorexchange—it
doesn’tneedtohavethe‘specialpresent’associationsoftheEnglish
word.)

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These conversions apply not only to gismu, but to any word acting as a
selbri. Remember go’i, for example, which stands in for the preceding
sentence’s bridi. Just as we did with dunda, we can construct a bridi like

le go’i cu go’i le se go’i le te go’i le ve go’i le xe go’i

On its own, this sentence doesn’t mean terribly much; it just repeats
the previous sentence. But the trick is, this version of the sentence
repeats the previous sentence, with its sumti appearing explicitly. This
is how we can refer back to sumti in the previous sentence in general.
For example,

.i la suzyn. zgana lo nanmu goi ko’a .i ko’a melbi

can also be expressed as

.i la suzyn. zgana lo nanmu .i le se go’i cu melbi

That’s because le se go’i refers to the second place (x2) of the preceding
bridi, which is lo nanmu. (There are even ways to refer back to sumti
introduced by sumti tcita; but that’s an advanced topic.)
Even some abstraction cmavo can be modified by se. For example,
du’u, which can be used to form a selbri, has two sumti: x1, the thought
described, and x2, the words used to express it:

le la jan. se pensi cu {du’u ri nelci la suzyn. kei} lu do dirba mi li’u

Zhang’s thing-thought (= what Zhang thought) is {the thought
that he likes Susan}, put into the words “You are dear to me.”

That’s why le se du’u refers to words rather than thoughts.

Exercise 2
Comeupwithsumtiforthefollowingconcepts,usingthefollowinggismu:
ciska
cmene
cpedu
fanva
klama
penmi
skicu

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spuda

1. thedestination
2. theroute
3. thenamer
4. thetranslation
5. thetranslator
6. therequest
7. themeetingplace
8. thewritingimplement
9. thedescription
10. theresponse

lujvo
We’ve already seen quite a few lujvo, or compound words, in the
exercises; but we haven’t actually made any of our own yet. Lojban
has strict rules for making lujvo; you can’t just crunch words together
like English brunch or edutainment, because this might result in a word
which sounds like something else, falls apart or makes intelligent
computers repeat “Does not compute” in a tinny voice and blow up in
a cloud of blue smoke. However, one safe way of making acceptable
lujvo is by using the conversion cmavo we’ve just looked at.
se dunda, as we’ve seen, means ‘is given (by someone, to someone)’.
We can turn this into a lujvo simply adding l to the se, to give seldunda.
The new word comes complete with its own place-structure—which
is, of course, the same as that of se dunda:

x1 is a gift from x2 to x3

If we want to say ‘the gift’, le seldunda is not really an improvement on

le se dunda. However, most gismu have short combining forms (rafsi).
These are never used on their own, only in lujvo. As it happens, dunda
has two short forms: dud and du’a. We can’t use dud, because that
would give us a word ending in a consonant, and, as we know, only
cmene can end in a consonant. (Some cmene do in fact use them for
that reason.) The only candidate, then, is du’a, so ‘the gift’ is le seldu’a.
(seldu’a has exactly the same place structure as seldunda.)

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The same is true for the other conversion cmavo, though their corre-
sponding rafsi don’t all follow the same pattern:

se sel-
te ter-
ve vel-
xe xel-

So ‘the recipient’ is le terdu’a.

Note: Youmightwonderwhetherstela‘lock’wasreallyimportant
enoughtohavewrestedtherafsitel-awayfromte—giventhatxel-,
afterall,wassuccessfullywrestedawayfromxelso‘Greek’.The
answeris,probablynot;butaftertheGreatrafsiReallocationof1993,
it’sreallytoolatetodoanythingaboutitnow.Consideritan
endearingquirkofthelanguage...

In this way you can expand on the gismu list dramatically, to give
equivalents of common English words which are not included and,
more interestingly, words which don’t have equivalents in English. A
lot of these are words you would probably never want to say, like
terna’e ‘x1 is the rule/logic by which proposition x2 contra-
dicts/denies/refutes/negates proposition x3.’ However, you sometimes
find interesting and/or useful words which don’t exist as single words
in English. Here are a few of my own creations:

lo tertcu a purpose/activity for which something is needed

(from nitcu ‘need’)
lo ternu’e a person to whom a promise is made (from nupre
‘promise’)
lo selvu’e a moral standard (from vrude ‘be virtuous’)
lo selte’a a scary thing (from terpa ‘fear’)
lo selcta something/someone that is looked at (from catlu
‘look, examine’)
lo selta’i something which wears you out (from tatpi ‘be
tired/fatigued’)
lo veltu’i an area of agreement (from tugni ‘agree with’)
lo selzi’e something you are free to do (from zifre ‘be free’)

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 Chapter 8. Swapping things round

lo selxei an object of hate (from xebni ‘hate’)

lo selpa’i an object of devotion (from prami ‘love, be devoted
to’)

Warning
Thismethodwillalwaysgiveyouanacceptablelujvo—exceptinone
case.Lojbandoesnotallowdoubleconsonants,becausetheyare
difficulttopronounce,andcanbeheardincorrectlyasone
consonant.Thismeansthatwecan’thavelujvolikevellu’i(‘cleansing
agent’,fromthex4oflumci‘wash’).Thewayoutofthisproblemisto
putybetweenthetwols,givingusvelylu’i.
Infact,ifyouseeyinaLojbanword,itcannotbeagismuora
cmavo(withtwoexceptionswe’vealreadyseen:.y.‘er...’andletters
ofthealphabetlike.y’y.anddy.)Suchawordcanonlybeeithera
lujvooraname(cmene).ywaspurposefullyavoidedin‘normal’Lo-
jbanwords.

Negative lujvo
Just as se has the combining form sel, the negative na’e has the
combining form nal, and we can use this to make lujvo in exactly the
same way.

Note: nahasitsownrafsi,nar;butna’eismoreusefulincreatingnew
words.na’einaselbristillindicatesanexistingkindofrelationship,
whichyouwouldwanttodescribewithasinglelujvo;whilenacould
meananything,includingnon-existence—makingittoobroada
conceptformostuses.

For example, jdice means ‘decide’ and has the short combining form
jdi. naljdi therefore means ‘not decide’ or ‘be indecisive’. Some other
examples:

lo naljmi one who does not understand (from jimpe ‘under-

stand’)
lo naljvi a non-competitor (from jivna ‘compete’)
lo nalkri a non-believer/skeptic (from krici ‘believe’)
lo nalyla’e an unlikely event (from lakne ‘be likely’)
lo nalre’a a non-human (from remna ‘be human’)

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We can see that nal is like the English non-, but we need to remember
that non- sometimes has other meanings or associations that nal does
not have. lo naljvi is simply someone who is not taking part in a
competition, not a ‘non-contender’ in the sense of someone who
competes but doesn’t stand a chance of winning. Similarly lo nalre’a is
someone who is not a member of the species homo sapiens (e.g. a
chimpanzee or Klingon), and cannot be applied to someone who is
inhumane or perceived as subhuman in some way.
We can also use nal with sel and its relatives; for example,

lo naltertcu not a purpose/activity for which something is

needed; something which has no requirements
(from nitcu ‘x1 needs/requires/is dependent
on/[wants] necessity x2 for purpose/action/stage
of process x3’)
lo nalveltu’i an area of disagreement; a controversial issue
(from tugni ‘x1 [person] agrees with per-
son(s)/position/side x2 that x3 (du’u) is true about
matter x4’)
lo nalselzi’e something you are not free to do (from zifre ‘x1 is
free/at liberty to do/be x2 (event/state) under con-
ditions x3’)
lo nalselsanji something you are unaware of (from sanji ‘x1 is
conscious/aware of x2 (object/abstract); x1 dis-
cerns/recognizes x2 (object/abstract)’; this gismu
has no suitable short combining form)
lo nalselse’i someone who lacks a self/ego; an enlightened
person according to Hindu/Buddhist philosophy
(from sevzi ‘x1 is a self/ego/id/identity-image of
x2’)

As you’ll have guessed, the companions of na’e, namely to’e and no’e,
have rafsi of their own: tol- and nor-, respectively. So ‘disinterested’,

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‘uninterested’ and ‘bored’ in Lojban are norselci’i, nalselci’i and

tolselci’i.
lujvo can be much more interesting than this; interesting enough, in
fact, that we won’t be covering them any further here. You can make
lujvo out of pretty much any tanru you can devise; this is the main way
to introduce ‘new words’ into Lojban. But to make the lujvo you come
up with work, you need some background knowledge:

• how to make sure rafsi in a word stick together unambiguously in

Lojban grammar (The Complete Lojban Language, Chapter 4.5–4.6,
4.10–4.12.)
• how to make sure the gismu inside your tanru group together
properly (The Complete Lojban Language, Chapter 5.)
• how to derive the place structure of the lujvo from the place
structures of the gismu that make it up (The Complete Lojban
Language, Chapter 12.)

It’s worth your while to look into these issues if you’ll be using the
language seriously, and especially if you’ll be writing in it. (lujvo are
easier to deal with while writing than while speaking, because you
have the time to reflect on how you’ll be creating your new word.) At
this stage, though, you don’t need to go into all that just yet.

Exercise 3
Ifyouhaveaccesstoagismulist,useittolookupgismuandmakelujvomeaning
thefollowing,usingshortcombiningformswherepossibleandnal-where
necessary.

1. atelevision
2. asubjectofconversation
3. someonewhoisdeceivedorcheated
4. animmoraloramoral(notvirtuous)person
5. arailroad
6. aninsignificantevent
7. somethingunseen
8. somethingaboutwhichyouhavenofeelings/emotions

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Reflexives and reciprocals

Let’s now look at a slightly embellished version of the plot-advancing
example sentence from Lesson 7, involving Zhang and Susan:

la suzyn. na djuno fi vo’a fe le du’u la jan. cinynei sy.

Susan doesn’t know about herself that Zhang fancies (‘sexually-
likes’) her.

We have snuck into the sentence a new pro-sumti: vo’a. This means
‘the first sumti of this bridi’, and like the others, comes in a series—vo’e
refers to the second sumti, vo’i to the third and so on. In practice, vo’a is
used quite a lot, while the others are rarer; but that could be because
people still tend to think in terms of natural languages, where only the
equivalent of vo’a is usual. Those equivalents are reflexives—words
like herself, itself, and so on; and vo’a is very handy for expressing
them. As people start thinking more in Lojban, the others could get
used more.
Here are some more straightforward examples of its use:

la meilis. pensi vo’a

Mei Li thinks about herself.

le gerku cu batci vo’a

The dog bites itself.

You can also say

mi nelci vo’a
I like myself.

but this is the same as mi nelci mi, which is simpler.

Now for something clever—which will also look slightly familiar.

la suzyn. zgana la djiotis. soi vo’a vo’e

Susan notices Jyoti and vice versa.

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 Chapter 8. Swapping things round

Susan and Jyoti notice each other.

soi is a cmavo meaning something like “you can change these sumti
round and the bridi will still be true.” If there is only one sumti after
the soi, the other one is taken to be the one immediately before soi. So
we can say the same thing more briefly as la suzyn. zgana la djiotis. soi
vo’a, or even just ko’a zgana ko’i soi vo’a. That is why you were able to
use soi vo’a as ‘and vice versa’ in the previous lesson’s exercises.

Note: vo’aisfixedinwhatitrefersbacktoand,unlikeri,canpoint
backtoko’a—thoughyoucanalsorepeatko’aifyouprefer.

Tip: Thereisagismuthatdoesthesamejob,simxu:“x1(set)has
memberswhomutually/reciprocallyx2.”Yousawasneakpreviewof
this,too,inthepreviouslesson.Itismostlyusedincompoundselbri
(tanru),andfromthere,inlujvo(sim-, -si’u).Wehaven’tcovered
enoughgrammartouseitproperlyyet,butyou’llbeseeingitagain
towardstheendofthelessons.

Summary
This lesson has introduced the following:

• Converting sentences (swapping round sumti) using se and its

relatives;
• Making sumti from places other than x1 by the same method;
• Making lujvo using sel-, vel- etc. and short combining forms (rafsi);
• Making negative lujvo using nal-.
• Expressing reflexives and reciprocals using vo’a and soi.

Vocabulary
berti x1istothenorth/northernside[right-hand-rulepole]ofx2
accordingtoframeofreferencex3
cinta x1[material]isapaintofpigment/activesubstancex2,inabaseof
x3
cpina x1ispungent/piquant/peppery/spicy/irritatingtosensex2
ctebi x1isa/thelip[body-part]/rimoforificex2ofbodyx3;(adjective:)
x1islabial

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Chapter 8. Swapping things round

fanza x1(event)annoys/irritates/bothers/distractsx2
jarbu x1isasuburbanareaofcity/metropolisx2
jmina x1adds/combinesx2to/withx3,withresultx4;x1augmentsx2by
amountx3
jukpa x1cooks/preparesfood-for-eatingx2byrecipe/methodx3(process)
kisto x1reflectsPakistani/Pashtoculture/nationality/languageinaspect
x2
klaji x1isastreet/avenue/lane/drive/cul-de-sac/way/alley/[road]atx2
accessingx3
minra x1reflects/mirrors/echoesx2[object/radiation]toobserver/pointx3
asx4;x2bouncesonx1
nitcu x1needs/requires/isdependenton/[wants]necessityx2for
purpose/action/stageofprocessx3
snanu x1istothesouth/southernsideofx2accordingtoframeof
referencex3

Exercise 4
TranslatefromLojban;someoftheplacesusedherearecontortedintoquite
non-Englishforms,buttryandbeasidiomaticaspossible.

1. .i le la djiotis. karce cu xe klama le gusta fu la djiotis .e la ranjit .e la suzyn.

2. .i la suzyn. catlu le vo’a ve minra
3. .i le go’i cu jmina fi le vo’a ctebi cinta
4. .i ca lenu go’i kei la suzyn. te minra la ranjit. soi vo’a
5. .i la suzyn. te preti fo la djiotis. fi lu .i ma te klaji fi ti li’u
6. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i le kisto jarbu
7. .i le vu se jukpa cu mutce cpina li’u
8. .i la djiotis. se fanza cusku lu .i ma’a doi ranjit. klama lo berti lo snanu soi vo’e
vo’i
9. .i pe’i le ve klama pe le gusta na te djuno fi do li’u

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1
1. lenu jamna cu se fengu
2. la jan. te xatra [mi ti](Whetherornotyouincludethemiandtidependson
whethertheyareimportantinthiscontext—probablytheyareobviousand
canbemissedout.)
3. loi jdini cu ve xlura mi lenu cliva le gugde(“Moneyisaninducementformeto
emigrate.”)

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4. la lojban. ve tavla fo lo prenu(“ThereisaconversationinLojban.”Wedon’t

needlo prenu,though,sincewecanassumethatitispeoplechattingin
Lojbanandnot,say,chimpanzees.)
5. mi te dunda le cukta lo prenu

Exercise 2
1. le se klama
2. le ve klama
3. le te cmene
4. le xe fanva
5. le fanva(Hopeyouweren’tfooled!)
6. le ve cpedu(le se cpeduiswhatyouaskfor,notyourrequest)
7. le te penmi
8. le ve ciska
9. le ve skicu
10. le te spuda

Exercise 3
1. lo veltivni
2. lo terta’a
3. lo seltcica
4. lo nalvu’e
5. lo teryre’e
6. lo nalvai
7. lo nalselvi’a
8. lo naltercni

Exercise 4
1. Jyoti’scaristhemeansbywhichJyoti,RanjeetandSusangettothe
restaurant.
2. Susanlooksatherreflection.(ThisisthemoreLojbanicversionof“looksat
herselfinthemirror.”Thereareotherwaystosaythis,butwehaven’t
coveredtherequisitegrammaryet.)
3. Sheputsonmorelipstick.(Literally,“Sheaddstoherlippaint.)”
4. Whenthisishappening,SusanandRanjeetseeeachother’sreflection.
5. SusanasksJyoti,“Wheredoesthisstreetgoto?”
6. Ranjeetsays,“ThePakistanisuburb.”
7. “Thecuisinethereisveryspicy.”

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Chapter 8. Swapping things round

8. Jyotiirritatedlysays,“We,Ranjeet,havebeengoingfromsouthtonorth
andback”(i.e.fromsouthtonorthandfromnorthtosouth.Thisis
probablyoneofthefewtimesyou’llseesoi vo’einsteadofsoi vo’a.)
9. “Ithinkthewayof(=to)therestaurantisunknowntoyou.”

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that: internal
sumti and relative clauses
Internal sumti
The business of a selbri (as you hopefully remember from Lesson 2) is
to point out a relationship between one or more things (its sumti.) So
when you say dunda, you mean that there’s a giver, a receiver, and a
gift involved. When you say klama, you mean that there’s a traveller, a
destination, an origin, a route, and a means of transportation
involved. When you say mensi, you mean that there’s someone who is
a sister, and someone that she’s a sister of. And so on.
Now, when we put an article in front of a selbri, we turn it into a
sumti. But the selbri within a sumti remains a selbri: it still indicates that
there’s a relationship between some sumti of its own. If you say le
dunda, you still mean that there is something the ‘donor’ is giving, and
someone they are giving it to. If you say lo xe klama, you still mean
that there is someone going in the ‘vehicle’, somewhere they are going
to, somewhere they are coming from, and some route they are taking.
And as we’ve already hinted, it is meaningless just to say le mensi, just
as we don’t say the sister in English: a sister is always a sister of
someone.
Previously, we have used pe to attach sumti to other sumti, in order
to narrow things down. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that what
follows pe is a sumti of what comes before it. So if I describe my sister
as le mensi pe mi ‘my sister’, for example, that might be the same as
saying zo’e (= my sister) mensi mi. But if I say le jdini pe mi ‘my money’,
I certainly do not mean zo’e jdini mi—that I am the mint which issued
the money! Obviously pe won’t do as a general solution to filling in
the selbri you might need.
If you have a selbri contained inside a sumti, the way to give it a
sumti of its own (an internal sumti) is to add it in with be. You’ll
remember (we hope!) that, when a selbri gets an article, its meaning is

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

the x1 place of that selbri. By default, be fills in the x2 place of the sumti.
So:

la renas. mensi mi
Rena is my sister
le mensi be mi
My sister

la renas. te dunda le cukta

Rena is given the book
le te dunda be le cukta
The recipient of the book

la renas. klama la sidnis.

Rena is going to Sydney
le klama be la sidnis.
The one going to Sydney

As you can see, be can translate—often but not always—to English of.
In fact, it covers surprisingly many of the functions of of. And because
it is tied to a specific place of the sumti, its relation to the main sumti is
unambiguous (another one of Lojban’s ‘selling points’!)

Exercise 1
WhatdothesesumtimeaninEnglish?

1. le vecnu be le cukta
2. le cliva be la sanfransiskos.
3. le xe klama be la sanfransiskos.
4. le se xabju be la renas.
5. le detri be lenu mi cliva
6. le pendo be le penmi be la ranjit.

More internal sumti

If you want to add a sumti to a place other than x2, you can use a FA
tag. So:

la renas. klama fi la melbn.

Rena is going from Melbourne

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 Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

le klama be fi la melbn.
The one going from Melbourne

ti xatra fo lei dinske

This is a letter about economics
le xatra be fo lei dinske
The letter about economics

If you want to be really thorough, you can add more than one sumti to
the selbri in your sumti. The extra sumti are added in with bei, not be.
This (like many things in Lojban) is to avoid ambiguity: if we just used
be again, the new sumti would be considered a sumti of the sumti you
just added, rather than the original sumti!
OK, that wasn’t terribly clear. Let me illustrate:

la renas. klama {le jarbu be la melbn.}

Rena is going to a suburb of Melbourne
le klama {be le jarbu be la melbn.}
The one going to a suburb of Melbourne

la renas. klama {le jarbu} {la melbn.}

Rena is going to a suburb, from Melbourne
le klama {be le jarbu} {bei la melbn.}
The one going to a suburb, from Melbourne

This means, by the way, that you can nest sumti inside sumti inside
sumti, up to and including the point where you fry your brain. To hold
off on frying your brain just a little, you need to be able to say “this is
where the list of nested sumti stops”—at least at the current level of
nesting. That means a terminator, of course, and the terminator
corresponding to be is be’o. Armed with this little word, you can come
up with phrases like these:

le xatra be la jan. bei la suzyn.

The letter to Zhang from Susan
la djiotis. mrilu ti la ranjit.
Jyoti mails this to Ranjeet
la djiotis. mrilu le xatra be la jan. bei la suzyn. la ranjit.
Jyoti mails {Susan’s letter to Zhang} to Ranjeet

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

le mrilu be le xatra be la jan. bei la suzyn. be’o bei la ranjit.

The one who mails {Susan’s letter to Zhang} to Ranjeet
le mrilu be le xatra be la jan. bei la suzyn. ____ bei la ranjit.
The one who mails {Susan’s letter to Zhang about Ranjeet}

Tip: Justbecauseyoucaninflictsuchuntoldmiseryontheworldas
theexamplesabove,doesn’tmeanyouhaveto,ofcourse.Infact,like
kuandvau(andunlikekei),be’oisnotawordyou’llseethatmuchof.
Thisisbecause,whenanestedsumtigetsfollowedbyanormalsumti,
andisnotprecededbybeorbei,it’sprettyobviousthatthenewsumti
isnotnestedaswell,butratherbelongstothemainselbri.Sobe’o
isn’tnormallyneededtocloseoffthelistofnestedsumti—aslongas
thelistisnotallthatcomplicated.(Anditusuallywon’tbe.)
Forexample:

mi penmi {le pendo be la ranjit. [be’o]} le barja

ImetRanjeet’sfriendinthebar

Insuchaphrase,thebe’ocan(andwill)beleftout.

Vocabulary
cidjrkari curry.Yes,thisisaveryodd-lookingword;we’llexplainwhyina
littlewhile.
ctuca x1teachesaudiencex2ideas/methods/lorex3(du’u)about
subject(s)x4bymethodx5(event)

Exercise 2
Convertthefollowingselbritosumti,bysubstitutingtiwithle.Usebe,beiand
be’oasneededtolinktheexistingsumtiintothenewsumti.Ifyoufeeluptoit,
translatethesumtiintoascolloquialEnglishasyoucanmanage.

1. ti fanza la suzyn.
2. ti te jukpa loi cidjrkari
3. ti klaji le barja le gusta
4. ti se nitcu fi loinu jukpa loi cidjrkari
5. ti se nitcu la ranjit. loinu jukpa loi cidjrkari
6. ti preti lei xumske la jan. le ctuca
7. ti kansa le ctuca be la ranjit.
8. ti kansa le ctuca be la ranjit. lenu pinxe loi birje(Hint:becarefulaboutthis
one!)

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 Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

Internal sumti tcita

Using be, you can attach the default places of a selbri to it when it acts
as a sumti. But default places aren’t the only places a selbri can have.
We have seen in Lesson 5 that sumti tcita and tense cmavo can be used
to add new sumti to a selbri. You can add these kinds of places as
internal sumti, as well. This can often be useful. For example, if I
wanted to say

This letter, dated the 4th, was mailed on the 7th

I could try

le vi xatra de’i li vo cu se mrilu de’i li ze

But this would not work at all. A date tagged with de’i applies to the
whole bridi, and can appear anywhere in that bridi. So there’s no actual
way of telling that either date applies to the letter specifically. (Mere
position is not enough to do it in Lojban.) What we want to say is that
the former date applies just to the letter, and the latter date applies to
the mailing of the letter. This means that the 4th, as a date, applies
only to the sumti, le xatra, and not to the entire bridi. So it is an internal
sumti:

le vi xatra be de’i li vo cu se mrilu de’i li ze

Much better. Still not usable everywhere, though. In particular, you

won’t be able to attach a sumti to something like a cmene, because it
won’t contain a selbri. In that case, you would use pe rather than be in
front of the sumti tcita.
Huh? Well, let’s try it slower. Take fi’e: a sumti tcita meaning
‘authored by’ (from finti.) Now, fi’e, like by in English, tends to apply
only to specific things, and not to events: you say “a book by Dickens”
or “a sonata by Mozart”, not “Jim went to the zoo, by Norman
Mailer.” (OK, you can say “Jim Went To The Zoo, by Norman Mailer” if
Jim Went To The Zoo is the name of a book. But then by Norman Mailer
is still attached to a thing, and not to an event.) So fi’e is almost
always used as an internal sumti. This means you can say

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

le cukta be fi’e la dikens.

Tip: Asithappens,that’sthesameassayingle cukta be fi la dikens..

Thegoodthingaboutsumti tcitais,youcanusethemwhenyou’ve
forgottenthedefaultplacesofyourselbri.Whichyouwill.

So how do I say “Oliver Twist by Dickens is very good”? I could say

la .Oliver.tuist. be fi’e la dikens. cu mutce xamgu

But that looks kind of odd: .Oliver.tuist is not really a selbri, so it is

strange to say that it actually has sumti places of its own. (As it turns
out, in fact, this is considered ungrammatical in Lojban.) But if you
say

la .Oliver.tuist. pe fi’e la dikens. cu mutce xamgu

you aren’t really committing to .Oliver.tuist being a selbri; you’re

merely saying that the phrase “authored by Dickens” is closely
associated with the thing you’re calling la .Oliver.tuist.

Vocabulary
kakne x1isabletodo/be/capableofdoing/beingx2(event/state)under
conditionsx3(event/state)
lidne x1precedes/leadsx2insequencex3;x1is
former/preceding/previous;x2islatter/following
pluja x1iscomplex/complicated/involvedinaspect/propertyx2(ka)by
standardx3

Exercise 3
TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoLojban.Thehighlightedtermsaretobe
attachedintothesentencewithsumti tcita;wegiveyouthesumti tcitayouneed
foreachsentence.You’llhavetoworkoutwhetherthehighlightedtermisan
internalsumti(inwhichcaseusebeorpetolinkitin),oranormalsumti.

1. ImailyouinLojban(bau:inlanguage...,frombangu‘language’)
2. IgiveyouabookinLojban(bau:inlanguage...,frombangu‘language’)
3. AccordingtoJyoti,Ranjeetisfoolish(cu’u:assaidby...,fromcusku
‘express’)

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 Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

4. SonamedbySusan,‘ChemistryIrritant’drinksGermanbeer(te me’e:asa
nameusedby...,fromte cmene‘name’)
5. NamesinLojbanareprecededby‘la’(se pa’u:asapartof...,fromse pagbu
‘haveasapart’.There’satricktothequotationhere(andyoudoneedto
useaquotation);checkLesson7again...)
6. Cityroadsareverycomplicated;forexample,Ranjeetcannotgotothe
Pakistanirestaurant(mu’u:exemplifiedby...,frommupli‘example’)

Relative clauses
Nesting sumti within sumti goes a long way towards pinning down
what exactly we mean; but it’s not always going to work. If for
example, I have two sisters, I can point out that they are mensi be mi
until I’m blue in the face; but that won’t go any further towards
distinguishing one from the other. What I’d want to do instead is
introduce a new bridi into the mix: the sister I’m talking about is the
one who doesn’t like Ricky Martin, say, or the one you saw at the
restaurant last night. Similarly, if I’m talking about two different
Pakistani restaurants, pointing out that the type of food they serve is
Pakistani (gusta be loi kisto) doesn’t go very far in differentiating them;
pointing out the one which is north of town, or the one I eat curry at,
does.
What I want, in other words, are relative clauses. In fact, they are
what I’ve just used in English: phrases like who doesn’t like Ricky
Martin; [which] I eat curry at; and so on. These clauses contain a verb
and nouns in English: they correspond to Lojban bridi, though they
might be missing a word or two. What we need in Lojban is some way
of connecting a bridi like this to a sumti—without necessarily the
peculiarities of words like who and that.
Lojban allows this: you connect a relative clause—a bridi narrowing
down what a sumti means—by using poi. And just as with nu and its
relatives (those other words which nest bridi inside bridi in Lojban),
you want a terminator to say “the relative clause is over, the rest of
these words belong to the main bridi now.” That terminator is ku’o.
So let’s try this out. How would we say “You talked to my sister—
the one who doesn’t like Ricky Martin—about economics”? Let’s take
it by steps:

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

do pu tavla le mi mensi loi dinske

You talked to my sister about economics
le mi mensi na nelci la rikis.martin.
My sister does not like Ricky Martin
do pu tavla le mi mensi {poi le mi mensi na nelci la rikis.martin.
ku’o} loi dinske
You talked to my sister who doesn’t like Ricky Martin about
economics

Notice that you needed the ku’o there, to keep the relative clause out
of the hair of the main bridi. Otherwise, loi dinske would be a sumti of
nelci and not tavla—which is not really what you want. Just as with nu
and kei, though, Lojbanists will normally make sure they don’t have to
use ku’o, by little tricks like making sure the relative clause comes just
before cu—which shuts every open clause down.
Here’s another example:

mi klama le gusta be loi kisto

I go to the Pakistani restaurant
le gusta be loi kisto cu berti le tcadu
The Pakistani restaurant is north of town
mi klama lo gusta be loi kisto be’o {poi ra berti le tcadu}
I go to the Pakistani restaurant which is north of town

ke’a
We’re almost there; but you’ll notice we’ve repeated le mi mensi twice.
We might have tried using ri to refer back to le mi mensi. But you’ll
remember from the exercises to Lesson 7 the acute pain associated
with using ri: we should be avoiding it where possible. (In this
instance, in fact, we can’t use it properly anyway, because a sumti
includes its relative clause; so ri would not be referring back to a
completed sumti, like it’s supposed to: the risk of insane recursion is
just too great.) A similar problem arises with ra referring back to le
gusta be loi kisto: ra isn’t particularly precise, so if at all possible we’d
like to use a less ambiguous sumti in its place.
Fortunately, we can avoid ri and ra after all: relative clauses in
Lojban have a special pro-sumti, ke’a, which like who and which in

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English points back to the sumti you’ve been talking about. So now,
we can make a stab at all four relative clauses in our example:

le mi mensi poi ke’a na nelci la rikis.martin.

My sister, such that she doesn’t like Ricky Martin
My sister who doesn’t like Ricky Martin

le mi mensi poi do viska ke’a ca le purlamcte

My sister, such that you saw her at the restaurant during the
immediately-preceding-night
My sister whom you saw at the restaurant last night

{le gusta be loi kisto be’o} poi ke’a berti le tcadu

The restaurant of Pakistani things such that it is north of the
city
The Pakistani restaurant which is north of town
(The be’o is needed, because what you’re describing as being
north is the restaurant, not the Pakistani cuisine it serves.)

le gusta be loi kisto be’o poi mi citka loi cidjrkari ne’i ke’a
The restaurant of Pakistani things, such that I eat curry in it
The Pakistani restaurant [that] I eat curry in
The Pakistani restaurant where I eat curry

To make things somewhat more succinct, there exists a convention

that, when a relative clause is missing its ke’a, you fill it in at the first
available empty place. Which means, if the bridi after poi has nothing
in its x1 place, that’s where the ke’a goes. If it has an x1 place but no x2
place, then that’s where ke’a goes. (This way, poi-clauses look a little
more like most languages’ relative clauses, as they don’t use a distinct
word for ke’a and poi.) So our example phrases become:

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

le mi mensi poi na nelci la rikis.martin.

le mi mensi poi do viska ca le purlamcte

le gusta be loi kisto be’o poi berti le tcadu

le gusta be loi kisto be’o poi mi citka loi cidjrkari ne’i ke’a

The last sentence hasn’t changed: the convention does not apply to
non-default places (like sumti tcita and spatial ‘tense’ places), since
they don’t follow a predictable order.

Note: Thismeansthat(asyou’llhavealreadyseenseveraltimesby
now)Lojban,like‘normal’languages,hasusageandconventions,
overandaboveitsnotionsofgrammaticalityandlogic.Strictly
speaking,thereisnothingwrongwithsayinglemi mensi poi tavlaand
actuallymeaningle mensi poi tavla ke’a“mysisterwhoistalkedto”
insteadofle mensi poi ke’a tavla“mysisterwhotalks”:Thisismerely
anomittedplace,afterall,andthevaluethatfitstheomittedplaceis
theoreticallyopen.AndLojbanisbyitsnatureasticklerforthe‘Letter
oftheLaw’.Yetyouwillstillfindthat,likeanylanguageactuallyused
byacommunity,therearemoreandlessusualwaysofsayingthings
inLojban.

Tip: Ifyoueverwanttohangtworelativeclausesoffthesamesumti,
usezi’etoconnectthem.ThiscorrespondstoEnglishand,sinceboth
clausesaresupposedtobetrue.(MoreonthisinLesson11.)For
example,

le mi mensi poi na nelci la rikis.martin. zi’e poi do viska ca le purlamcte

Mysisterwhodoesn’tlikeRickyMartinandwhomyousawlast
night.

Exercise 4
Combinethefollowingpairsofsentencesintosinglesentences.Ineachcase,
makethesecondsentencearelativeclausemodifyingthehighlightedsumtiin
thefirstsentence.Thehighlightedsumtiinthesecondsentenceisthesameas
thatinthefirst,andwillturnintoke’a;leaveke’aout,wheretheconvention
allowsit.Alsoleaveoutku’owherethiswouldnotresultinambiguity.For
example:

.i mi viska le botpi .i le botpi cu culno→

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 Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

.i mi viska le botpi poi culno

Watchoutforanyterminatorsyoumayhavetoinsert!

1. .i le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu le nanmu .i le nanmu cu citka loi cidjrkari

2. .i le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu le nanmu .i le cifnu cu kakne lenu citka
3. .i le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu le nanmu .i mi pu viska le ninmu vi le barja
4. .i le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu le nanmu .i lenu mi viska le ninmu cu nandu
5. .i mi viska va le barja le ninmu .i mi klama le barja le briju
6. .i ca lenu mi klama le barja le briju kei mi penmi le nanmu .i le barja cu snanu
le briju
7. .i mi viska le kansa be le ninmu .i le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu le kansa be le
ninmu
8. .i mi kakne lenu citka loi cidjrkari .i lenu citka loi cidjrkari cu nandu

Restrictive and non-restrictive

We’ve learnt how to use relative clauses to narrow things down. But
not all relative clauses are used for that purpose. Sometimes they are
used just to supply extra information about someone or something
whose identity we’ve already worked out. For example, if I say

Lojban, which is descended from (Institute) Loglan, has a

public domain grammar

I’m hardly saying that Lojban is descended from Institute Loglan, in

order to distinguish it from the scores of Lojbans not descended from
Loglan! Instead, I’m providing extra, incidental information, to fill in
the listener or reader.
This means that there are two kinds of relative clause: restrictive,
like we’ve been discussing until now, and non-restrictive, like what
we’ve just seen. The grammar of these kinds of relative clause is
different in many languages. In American English, for example, style
guides recommend that you keep who and which for non-restrictives,
and use that for restrictives. (“The Lojban that I learned in 1993 is
somewhat different from contemporary Lojban.”) Furthermore, non-
restrictive relative clauses in English usually have a comma in front of
them, in writing, and a little pause in front of them, in speaking: this
kind of clause is pretty much a parenthetical remark, and is marked
out like one.

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

Lojban distinguishes between the two kinds of relative clause by the

word that introduces them: non-restrictive relative clauses start with
noi, rather than poi. Otherwise, their grammar is identical:

la lojban. noi [ke’a] se dzena la loglan. pe le ckule cu se gerna lo

gubni
Lojban, which (non-restrictive) [it] has-the-ancestor Loglan-of-
the-institute, has-as-its-grammar something-public

(Yes, that’s the old “cu closing off everything in its wake” trick in
action.)

Note: Therestrictive/non-restrictivedividealsoappliestoawordwe
sawbackinLesson3:pe.Thiswordisinfactaspecialcaseofa
relativeclause(introducingasumtiratherthanacompletebridi.)Since
itisarelativeclauseinaway,ittoocanhaveanon-restrictive
version:ne.

Exercise 5
AretherelativeclausesinthefollowingEnglishsentencesrestrictiveornon-
restrictive?We’veleftoffanypunctuationhintslikecommasorchoiceof
correctrelativisers,sosomesentenceswillsoundalittleodd.

1. Thisisthewaythattheworldends.
2. IsawthesamewaiterthatIsawlastnight.
3. ThisismyfriendZhangthatIalreadytoldyouabout.
4. ThencameafulltrainthatIwasn’tgoingtobotherboarding.
5. I’mdoingthebestthatIcan.
6. Radiophonesthataregenerallyknownasradiosareprevalentatthe
majorityofworkplaces.
7. Idon’tlikewhathashappened.
8. Iliveinthecitycentrewheretherentismoreexpensive.

Summary
In this lesson, we have covered the following:

• Internal sumti (be, bei, be’o);

• Internal sumti attached with sumti tcita (pe, fi’e);
• Restrictive relative clauses (poi, ku’o, ke’a)
• Non-restrictive relative clauses (noi, ne)

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 Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

Vocabulary
bartu x1isontheoutsideofx2;x1isexteriortox2
cacra x1isx2hoursinduration(defaultis1hour)bystandardx3
fonxa x1isatelephonetransceiver/modemattachedto
system/networkx2
janco x1isa/theshoulder/hip/joint[body-part]attaching
limb/extremityx2tobodyx3
jgari x1grasps/holds/clutches/seizes/grips/[hugs]x2withx3(partof
x1)atlocusx4(partofx2)
jgita x1isaguitar/violin/fiddle/harp[stringedmusicalinstrument]
withactuator/plectrum/bowx2
jgitrviolino x1isaviolin
jundi x1isattentivetowards/attends/tends/paysattentionto
object/affairx2
kanla x1isa/theeye[body-part]ofx2;[metaphor:sensory
apparatus];(adjective:)x1isocular
kerfa x1isa/thehair/fur[body-part]ofx2atbodylocationx3
mintu x1isthesame/identicalthingasx2bystandardx3;(x1andx2
interchangeable)
moi convertnumbertoordinalselbri;x1is(n)thmemberofsetx2
orderedbyrulex3
nenri x1isin/inside/withinx2;x1isontheinside/interiorofx2
[totallywithintheboundsofx2]
simsa x1issimilar/paralleltox2inproperty/quantityx3(ka/ni);x1
looks/appearslikex2
sazri x1operates/drives/runsx2[apparatus/machine]with
goal/objective/use/end/functionx3
secau sumti tcita:without...(fromse claxu‘lacked’)
zgike x1ismusicperformed/producedbyx2(event)

Exercise 6
TranslatefromLojban:

1. .i bazi lo cacra be li pimu le karce cu zvati le kisto gusta

2. .i la djiotis. noi sazri le karce cu fengu la ranjit. lenu na jundi le ve klama
3. .i la ranjit. jundi la suzyn. soi vo’a
4. .i la ranjit. ca tavla la suzyn. loi zgike pe fi’e la .ioxan.sebastian.bax
5. .i la suzyn. na se cinri lenu jundi loi zgike pe la bax. noi ke’a dotco
6. .i ku’i la suzyn. mutce se cinri lenu jundi le kanla be la ranjit.

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Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

7. .i la suzyn. nelci lenu zgana le kerfa be la ranjit. bei le ctebi be’o noi zo’e pe la
lex.va,uensas. cu simsa
8. .i la djiotis. noi denpa vi le bartu be le gusta cu sazri lo se bevri fonxa ne la
nokias.
9. .i cusku lu .i coi jan. mi’e djiotis.
10. .i ko penmi mi’a vi le dansydi’u pe vi la re moi klaji ba lo cacra be li re li’u

Exercise 7
TranslateintoLojban:

1. WhenJyotigoestotheinterioroftherestaurant,Susanasksher“Where
wereyou?”
2. Jyotisays“IwastalkingtoafriendIforgottotalktoearlier.”
3. Susansays“RanjeetwastellingmethatBach’smusicislikePakistanimusic
initscomplexity.”
4. Jyotisays“Susan,youthinkanythingwithoutaguitariscomplex.”
5. Ranjeetsays“Theviolinisidenticaltotheguitaronecarriesonthe
shoulder.”
6. Jyotisays“Ranjeetisidenticaltooneunabletogotoarestaurantnorthof
town.”
7. “Whatwillyoubeeating?”
8. SusanandRanjeetstareateachother.
9. Jyoti,whoisboredbythestaring,asksforthecarrier(=waiter)toherleftto
come.

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1
1. Thesellerofthebook.
2. TheoneleavingfromSanFrancisco.
3. ThevehiclegoingtoSanFrancisco.(mi klama la sanfransiskos. fu le karce→
le karce cu xe klama la sanfransiskos. fu mi)
4. ThedwellingofRena.(la renas. xabju le zdani→le zdani cu se xabju la
renas.)
5. Thedateofmyleaving;thedateofmydeparture.
6. ThefriendoftheonemeetingRanjeet;thefriendofthe‘meet-er’ofRanjeet.
(Yesindeed,internalsumticannest.Somehow,Idon’tthinkyou’rereally
allthatsurprised...)

Exercise 2
1. le fanza be la suzyn.:Susan’sannoyance,whatannoyedSusan

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2. le te jukpa be loi cidjrkari:therecipeforcurry

3. le klaji be le barja bei le gusta:theroadat(orfrom)thebartotherestaurant
4. le se nitcu be fi loinu jukpa loi cidjrkari:therequirementsforcookingcurry.
(loi cidjrkariissafelytuckedawayinsidetheloinu jukpaabstraction,so
there’snoreasonthatbeneedbeworriedaboutit.)
5. le se nitcu be la ranjit. bei loinu jukpa loi cidjrkari:Ranjeet’srequirementsfor
cookingcurry
6. le preti be lei xumske bei la jan. bei le ctuca:Zhang’squestionabout
chemistrytotheteacher
7. le kansa be le ctuca be la ranjit.:theonewithRanjeet’steacher,Ranjeet’s
teacher’spartner
8. le kansa be le ctuca be la ranjit. be’o bei lenu pinxe loi birje:Ranjeet’s
teacher’spartnerindrinkingbeer.

Note: Youabsolutelymusthavethatbe’othere;otherwise,lenu
pinxe loi birjewouldbethex3sumtinotofkansa(the
collaborativeeffort),butofctuca(thesubjecttaught).The
meaningwouldthenbe“ThepartnerofRanjeet’steacherabout
drinkingbeer.”Remember,Lojbanwordsattachtothewords
closesttothem,unlessaterminatorintervenes.)
Ofcourse,youwouldneversayle ctuca be la ranjit. bei le nu
pinxe loi birje,becauseyou’venoticedthatthex3ofctucaisafact
(du’u)andnotanevent(nu)—andyouwouldnevergetthetwo
confused.Right?

Exercise 3
1. mi mrilu fi do bau la lojban.
2. mi dunda lo cukta be bau la lojban. do(ThebookisinLojban;thegivingis
not.)
3. cu’u la djiotis. la ranjit. bebna(SinceJyotisaidthewholebridi,thesumti
appliestothewholebridi—soitcannotbe‘internal’.)
4. la xumske fanza ku pe te me’e la suzyn. pinxe loi dotco birje(Yes,trick
question.DespitewheresonamedbySusansitsinthesentence,itapplies
onlytothestudiouspersonofZhang,andnottohispreferencesinalcohol.)

Tip: Theneedforkuinthesentenceaboveisverydeepvoodoo,
sothere’snoneedforyoutobeparticularlyconcernedaboutit
(yet).AsTheCompleteLojbanLanguage,Chapter8.6pointsout,
withoutthekuanyqualifyingphrasebecomespartofthename.
Toillustratethis,considertheoldparlortrickofcallingsomeone
Nobody.ThisisadeviceasoldasHomer,andisusedtoworkin
jokeslike“Nobodyhurtme!”Lojbandisallowsthiskindof
ambiguity(considerwhy),sothiskindofjokeisimpossibleinthe

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language.(ThenotoriousWho’sonFirst?sketchbyAbbott&
Costelloisun-Lojbanisableforthesamereason.)Butyou’llstill
wanttotalkaboutpeoplecalledNobody.
Sosupposeyou’retalkingabouttheGreekNobody(Homer’s
Oútis),andcomparinghimtotheLatinNobody(JulesVerne’s
CaptainNemo).AndinapiqueofLojbanpurism,youdecideto
refertobothwithLojbanisednames—la nomei.Ifnowyouwant
tosay“TheGreekNobody”,youcan’tsayla nomei poi xelso.That
wouldmeanthatOdysseusidentifiedhimselftotheCyclopsnot
asNobody,butasNobodyWhoIsGreek(somethinglikeOútis
HòsAkhaiósinGreek.)Youwanttomakesurethatthecmeneis
overbeforetherelativeclausebegins.Sincethiscmenecontains
aselbri,itisterminatedwithku:la nomei ku poi xelso.Ifyou’d
stuckwithla .utis.,thepausewouldhavebeensignalenough
thatthecmeneisover,sotheissuewouldnotarise.
No,ofcourseyouweren’tmeanttoknowallthat.Butaren’tyou
happyyouknowitnow?

5. loi cmene be se pa’u la lojban. [cu] se lidne lo’u la le’u(Hopeyou

rememberedtoputlainsidetheLojban‘error’quoteslo’u ... le’u!Youcan’t
uselu ... li’u,becauselabyitselfdoesn’tmakesenseasafragmentof
Lojban.)
6. loi tcadu klaji cu mutce pluja mu’u lenu la ranjit na kakne lenu klama le kisto
gusta(Ranjeet’snavigationaldifficultiesareanillustrationofthecomplexity
ofcitystreets—notofthestreetsthemselves.)

Exercise 4
1. .i le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu le nanmu poi citka loi cidjrkari“Thewomangives
thebabytothemanwhoeatscurry”
2. .i le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu poi kakne lenu citka ku’o le nanmu“Thewoman
givesthebabywhocaneattotheman”(Ifyoudidnotinsertku’o,you
wouldbeclaimingthattheinfantcaneattheman!)
3. .i le ninmu poi mi pu viska vi le barja cu dunda le cifnu le nanmu“ThewomanI
sawatthebargivesthebabytotheman”(Despitethepresenceofvi le
barja,ke’acanbedroppedoff,sinceitoccupiesthefirstavailabledefault
placeinitsbridi.)
4. .i le ninmu poi lenu mi viska ke’a cu nandu cu dunda le cifnu le nanmu“The
womanthatitisdifficultformetoseegivesthebabytotheman”(ke’a
cannotbedroppedoff,sinceitdoesn’toccupyadefaultplaceofthe
relativeclausebridi,butratheranestedplaceinsideanabstractionwithin
thebridi.)
5. .i mi viska va le barja poi mi klama fi le briju ku’o le ninmu“Isaw,someway
awayfromthebarthatIgotofromwork,thewoman”(Thex2placeof

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 Chapter 9. Let me qualify that

klamaisleftemptyastheplacewhereke’abelongs;sonowyouhaveto
insertfitomakesurele brijuistheorigin,notthedestination.Youalso
needtoinsertku’o;otherwisele ninmubecomesasumtiofklamainsteadof
viska:thewomanbecomesnotwhoyousee,buttherouteyoutaketothe
bar(!).)
6. .i ca lenu mi klama le barja poi snanu le briju ku’o le briju kei mi penmi le
nanmu“Whilegoingtothebar[whichis]southoftheofficefromtheoffice,
Imeettheman”(Again,ku’oneedstobeinserted,topreventle brijubeing
incorporatedintosnanu:“goingtothebarsouthoftheofficefromthe
office’sperspective,”ratherthan“goingfromtheofficetothebarsouthof
theoffice.”
7. .i mi viska le kansa be le ninmu be’o poi le ninmu cu dunda le cifnu“Iseethe
woman’scompanion,whothewomangavethebabyto”(Youmustinsert
be’o,sothattherelativeclauseappliestotheentiresumti,le kansa be le
ninmu.Otherwise,itwillapplyonlytothesumtiitisrightnextto,le ninmu:
“Iseethecompanionofthewomanthewomangavethebabyto.”)
8. .i mi kakne lenu citka loi cidjrkari kei poi nandu“Icaneatcurry,whichis
difficult”(Again,youmustinsertkei,sothattherelativeclauseappliesto
theentireabstraction.Otherwise,whatisdifficultisnoteatingthecurry,
butthecurryitself.)

Exercise 5
1. Restrictive:thewayisprettymeaninglessunlessyousaywhatitistheway
of.
2. Restrictive:again,thesamewaiterisbeinguniquelyidentifiedbythe
relativeclause,andisotherwiseprettyopaque.
3. Non-restrictive:normally,thedescriptionmyfriendZhangshouldbedoing
agoodjobofidentifyingwhoisbeingtalkedabout.
4. Non-restrictive:althoughthisisanindefinitenounphraseinEnglish,the
relativeclausegivendoesn’tmakeitanymoredefinite:I’dbesayingthe
sameaboutanyfulltrain.
5. Restrictive:thebestismeaninglesswithoutthefollowingrelativeclause.
6. Non-restrictive:obviously,thisismerelyprovidinganalternativenamefor
thesamething.
7. Restrictive:infact,thisiswhatiscalledinEnglishaheadlessrelativiser—
notbecausetherelativeclauseisaboutdecapitatedhorsemenin
WashingtonIrvingshortstories,butbecausethereisnonoun(‘head’)there
fortherelativeclausetonarrowdownatall!Sotherelativeclauseendsup
supplyingalltheinformationonwhatisbeingtalkedabout.That’sas
restrictiveasitgets.Lojbanwoulduseafairlyempty‘head’totranslate
this—somethinglikeda.
8. Non-restrictive—unlessyouliveinacitywithmultiplecitycentres.In
whichcaseI’dmoveaway,ifIwereyou:thetrafficmustbemurder...

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Exercise 6
1. Alittleafterhalfanhour,thecarisatthePakistanirestaurant.

Note: Thatoddexpressionlo cacra be li pimuisinfacthowyou’d

normallysay‘halfanhour.’Ingeneral,whenLojbanmeasures
things,itdoesn’tdividethemupintonindividualunits,but
rathersaysthatxmeasuresnunits.So“Readingthislessontook
metwohours”wouldbeinLojbanlenu mi tcidu le vi ve cilre cu
cacra li re.
We’vealsospecifiedadistanceafterthehalfanhour,throughzi.
Logically,ba lo cacra be li pimuwillbetrueifIshowupafterhalf
anhour,orafterthreehours:inbothcases,you’veshownup
‘after’halfanhour.Byaddingzi,you’remakingsurethatyou’re
notallowingthatkindoflatitude:theeventhappensinthe
immediatevicinityofhalfanhourlater.Thisisbeingpedantic,of
course;butofsuchpedantryisLojbanmade.

2. Jyoti,whowasdrivingthecar,isangryatRanjeetfornotpayingattention
totheroute.(Literally,“Jyoti,whowasoperatingthecar.”Lojbantendsto
keepitsgismufairlyvague:thereisnoessentialdifference,asfarasit’s
concerned,betweenwhatyoudowithacar,acomputer,oranespresso
machine.)
3. RanjeetandSusanhavebeenpayingattentiontoeachother.
4. RanjeetisnowtalkingtoSusanaboutmusicbyJohannSebastianBach.
5. SusanisnotinterestedinpayingattentiontomusicbyBach—whois
German.(Bach,notthemusic!Although,onsecondthought...)
6. ButSusanisveryinterestedinpayingattentiontoRanjeet’seyes.
7. SusanlikesobservingRanjeet’sliphair(=moustache),whichLech
Wałesa’s looks like. (You need the be’o, otherwise it will be Ranjeet’s lip that
Wałesa’s moustache resembles.)
8. Jyoti, who is waiting at the outside of the restaurant (= outside the restaurant), is
operating a Nokia mobile phone. (Since this is presumably Jyoti’s only mobile
phone, we do not need to use pe: the brand is only incidental information, and we
don’t need it to narrow down which phone is being ‘operated’. So ne is the word
to use.)
9. She says “Hello Zhang. This is Jyoti.” (Hope you remembered coi from Lesson
7!)
10. “Meet us at the disco at Second Street after (= in) two hours.” (Sorry about
springing that ordinal on you. All Lojban ordinals—pamoi ‘first’, bimoi ‘eighth’,
nomoi ‘zeroth’, romoi ‘allth = last’—are formed in the same way.)

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Exercise 7
1. .i ca lenu la djiotis. klama le nenri be le gusta kei la suzyn. te preti fo dy. fi lu .i
do zvati ma li’u (or: te preti lu .i do zvati ma li’u la djiotis.)
2. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i mi pu tavla lo pendo poi mi to’e morji lenu mi tavla ke’a
puku li’u (You have to insert the ke’a.)
3. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i la ranjit pu tavla mi lesedu’u le zgike be fi’e la bax. cu
simsa le kisto zgike le ka pluja li’u (We tucked away ka in an earlier lesson; nu or
su’u would be just as fine. You could also have said the less specific le zgike pe
la bax. or le la bax. zgike; this could mean the music Bach played or owned,
rather than wrote, but in context it’s clear enough.)
4. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i doi suzyn. do jinvi ledu’u ro da pe secau lo jgita cu pluja
li’u (Lojban does not distinguish between ‘anything’, ‘everything’ and ‘all
things’.)
5. .i la ranjit cusku lu .i le jgitrviolino cu mintu le jgita poi zo’e bevri vi le janco
li’u

Note: Two things. First, Lojban doesn’t encourage you to say that
one sumti ‘is’ another sumti; there is a word, du, that sort of does that,
but you should think of it as being more like an equals sign (see
Lesson 12.) If you want to say that a violin is a guitar, it is better to
say either that they are identical (le jgitrviolino cu mintu le jgita), or
to turn one of the two sumti into a selbri (lo jgitrviolino cu jgita).
Since we need a relative clause here, we have gone with the former.
The other thing is that Ranjeet (much to Jyoti’s annoyance) is correct
in his Lojban usage. In order to have as broad a coverage as possible,
gismu tend to be inclusive rather than narrow in their definitions; we
already saw that with Jyoti ‘operating’ her car. So while the Lojban
wordlists list jgita under guitar, the gismu is actually used to refer to
any stringed instrument. Jyoti should have specified Susan’s
instrument of choice as jgitrgitara (a ‘guitar guitar’), or even dikca
jgitrgitara ‘electric guitar’.
Those funny-looking words are loan words into Lojban (fu’ivla), and
we will also be covering them in Lesson 12.

6. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i la ranjit. mintu da poi na kakne lenu klama lo gusta poi
berti le tcadu (or: la ranjit mintu lo na kakne be lenu klama lo gusta poi berti le
tcadu)
7. .i do ba citka ma li’u (You could specify that Jyoti means both of them by using
re do or ro do, but you wouldn’t normally bother unless it was somehow vital.)
8. .i la suzyn. catlu la ranjit. soi vo’a
9. .i la djiotis. noi to’e se cinri lenu catlu cu cpedu fi le bevri pe zu’a vo’a fe lenu
klama (or: cpedu le nu klama kei le bevri pe zu’a vo’a) (As you can see, vo’a is
more useful than you might have thought!)

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Most children go through a phase where every second sentence seems
to start with why? For example:

• Why is it raining?
• Why did Sally hit me?
• Why does Sally always get a star from the teacher?
• Why did Fluffy have to die?

To these, the frustrated parent may give a series of answers with

because:

• Because the clouds are crying.

• Because you pulled her hair.
• Because she works hard.
• Because Fluffy is a rabbit, and rabbits don’t live very long.

What neither the child nor his long-suffering parent are aware of is
that in these examples, the whys ask different questions and the
becauses give different kinds of answers. In some languages, in fact, we
would use different words for them: Turkish has three words for why,
and until recently even English had two (the other being wherefore, as
in “wherefore art thou Romeo?”) We would expect, then, that Lojban
would have at least four words for why, but in fact it doesn’t, since all
such questions are handled with ma. What Lojban does have is four
words for because.

Physical causation
Going back to the first question, “Why does it rain?”, the child is
asking for a physical explanation, and this is what he gets. If we
express the rather unlikely explanation in Lojban, we get

lenu lei dilnu cu klaku cu rinka lenu carvi

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the-event the-mass-of cloud weep physically-cause the-event

rain
The clouds’ crying is making it rain.

rinka means ‘cause’ in a physical or mechanical sense:

x1 (event/state) effects/physically causes effect x2 (event/state)

under conditions x3

To change this ‘cause’ to a ‘because’, we can use ri’a. This is a sumti

tcita derived from rinka, in the same way that we saw de’i derived
from detri in Lesson 5. So it adds a new place to the bridi it sits in: just
as de’i means ‘with date’, ri’a means ‘with physical cause’. This means
we can now say

carvi ri’a lenu lei dilnu cu klaku

which is much more elegant. (Note that Lojban does not need the
empty it in It’s raining.)
The reason I have emphasised that rinka and ri’a only deal with
physical causes is that it cannot apply in many cases where an English-
speaker would use because. Consider the second example. If we say

la salis. darxi do ri’a lenu do lacpu lei kerfa

Sally hits you with-physical-cause you pull the-mass-of hair

this is nonsense, since it means that little Joey pulling Sally’s hair
physically caused her to hit him, which would only be true if Joey had
pulled her hair so hard that she had fallen on top of him, perhaps.

Motivation
In the hair-pulling case, what we have is not two events which are
physically connected, like clouds and rain, but three events:

1. Joey pulls Sally’s hair.

2. Sally decides, as a result of this, to hit Joey.
3. Sally hits Joey.

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For the sake of convenience, English misses out the second event and
says “Sally hit Joey because he pulled her hair.” However, this is not
only vague but, some would say, psychologically dangerous. People
do not generally react to stimuli automatically, but as a result of
motivation, and confusing complex responses with simple physical
causation may lead us to believe that we have no control over our
emotions or even our actions. Whether or not we believe in free will at
a metaphysical level, it is useful to distinguish between physical
reactions and responses which have a cognitive/emotional element.
Not surprisingly, then, Lojban has a separate gismu for motivation:
mukti. The full definition of mukti is

x1 (action/event/state) motivates/is a motive/incentive for

action/event x2, per volition of x3

We can therefore say

lenu do lacpu lei kerfa [pe la salis.] cu mukti lenu la salis. darxi do
[kei la salis]
the-event you pull the-mass hair [related-to Sally] motivates
the-event Sally hit you [through the volition of Sally]
Your pulling Sally’s hair motivated her to hit you.

As we can see, the third place is nearly always unnecessary, since we

can assume that the agent of the second event is also the person who
decides to do it. Even so, this structure is a bit clumsy, so again we
would normally use a sumti tcita—in this case, mu’i. This gives us

la salis. darxi do mu’i lenu do lacpu lei kerfa

Sally hits you with-motive you pull the-mass hair

Exercise 1
Don’tbothertotranslatethesesentences,justdecidewhethertheyshoulduse
ri’aormu’i.

1. Thecanexplodedbecauseitwashot.
2. IfeltafraidbecauseIheardanoise.
3. Thepeoplerevoltedbecauseofthehightaxes.

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4. Thebreadismoldybecauseyouleftitintheplasticwrapper.
5. Priceshaverisenbecauseofexcessivewageclaims.

Justification and Implication

The difference between motivation and justification is not always
clear, but we can say that the latter involves some rule or standard
while the former does not require this. Going back to the example of
Sally and the teacher, it is possible to say

la salis. te dunda lo tartcita le ctuca mu’i lenu sy. tcetoi gunka

Sally is-given a star-label [by] the teacher with-motivation she
much-try work

However, this says only that Sally’s hard work motivated the teacher
to give her a star. It does not imply that it is the custom for teachers to
give stars (or ‘star-labels’, as I have rather pedantically translated it) as
a reward for good work. What we need here is ki’u, the sumti tcita
from krinu:

x1 (event/state) is a reason/justification/explanation
for/causing/permitting x2 (event/state)

We can therefore more accurately say

lenu la salis. tcetoi gunka cu krinu lenu le ctuca cu dunda lo tartcita

sy.

or, as in the earlier example,

la salis. te dunda lo tartcita le ctuca ki’u lenu sy. tcetoi gunka

Note: Don’tgetki’umixedupwithku’i‘but,however’!

ki’u appeals to more general considerations than mu’i, but it still deals
with human standards, not logical laws. Only a very naive student
would believe that if a student is given a star, it must logically imply
that that student has worked hard. In the tragic case of Fluffy,
however, the fact that Fluffy is a rabbit logically implies that he will

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not live long, given what we know about rabbits. Here we can
confidently use nibli

x1 logically necessitates/entails/implies action/event/state x2

under rules/logic system x3

The sentence

lenu la flufis. ractu cu nibli lenu fy. mrobi’o

the-event Fluffy is-a-rabbit implies the-event he dies

actually misses out a step (the information that rabbits are short-lived)
but it will do for practical purposes. If you want a textbook logic
example, you can say

la flufis. ractu .ije ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive .i la flufis. ni’i na ze’u
jmive

This expresses the following:

1. Fluffy is a rabbit and all rabbits are not long-lived.

2. Fluffy is therefore not long-lived.

Converting causes
The reason I have included this blindingly obvious piece of logic is
that it demonstrates how sentences can be joined, and how ‘because’
can be turned into ‘therefore’. We’ll deal with the second part first,
because there’s a few issues about connecting sentences we want to
leave till the next section. So for now, don’t worry about .ije. Do
worry, however, about ni’i.
What we have here is a proposition (Fluffy is a rabbit, and rabbits
don’t live long), and a conclusion (Fluffy doesn’t live long.) So what is
ni’i doing in front of the final selbri? Lojban treats sumti tcita the same
as tenses; so ni’i can go in front of the selbri, as if it was a tense. This
corresponds to an adverb like therefore in English; in terms of Lojban,
however, it means the same as if you’d said ni’i zo’e ‘because of
something obvious’ (in this case, the preceding two sentences). So in

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this construction, ni’i, used as a tense (or ni’i zo’e, using an ellipsed
sumti) correspond to therefore.
But in the following sentence, where ni’i is a sumti tcita introducing a
distinct sumti and not a ‘tense’, ni’i does not mean ‘therefore’. As we’d
expect, ni’i relates a sumti to its bridi through the gismu underlying ni’i,
namely nibli ‘logically necessitates.’. So ni’i means ‘logically because’:

la flufis. mrobi’o ni’i lenu ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive

Fluffy past die with-logical-necessity the-event all rabbits
other-than long-time-period live
Fluffy died because rabbits don’t live long.

But what is the sumti tcita for ‘therefore’? How do we say the
reverse—“Rabbits don’t live long; therefore Fluffy died”—in a single
sentence? As it turns out, we say it like this:

ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive seni’i lenu la flufis. mrobi’o

Rabbits don’t live long, with the logical consequence that Fluffy
died.

We have here a sumti tcita, seni’i, which means ‘with the logical
consequence that’, i.e. ‘therefore’. And this seni’i looks a lot like ni’i,
the sumti tcita meaning ‘logically because’.
Actually, you should have seen enough to work out the relation
between the two from Lesson 9. As you saw there, sumti tcita can be
modified with se, te, ve, xe, just like their underlying gismu. You know
by now that the sumti introduced by ni’i is le nibli ‘that which logically
necessitates, the logical cause.’ This means that se ni’i is a sumti tcita
introducing le se nibli—‘that which is logically necessitated; the logical
result.’ So we have a pair: ni’i ‘the logically necessitator, logically
because’, and seni’i ‘the logically necessitated, logically therefore’.
We can apply this principle to the other sumti tcita we’ve looked at.
Here are some examples:

le lante cu spoja ri’a lenu ri pu glare

the can explode with-physical-cause the-event it past is-hot

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The can exploded because it was hot.

le lante pu glare seri’a lenu ri spoja

the can past is-hot with-physical-result the-event it explode
The can was hot, so it exploded.

so’i prenu cu nelci la djiotis. mu’i lenu ri xajmi

many people like Jyoti with-motivation the-event she is-funny
Many people like Jyoti because she’s funny.

la djiotis. xajmi semu’i lenu so’i prenu cu nelci dy.

Jyoti is-funny with-motivated-result the-event many people
like her
Jyoti is funny, so many people like her.

Exercise 2
ThisisjustlikeExercise1,exceptthatnowwehaveeightchoices:ri’a, mu’i,
ki’u, ni’iandtheirseforms.Foreachsentence,choosethemostsuitablesumti
tcita.

1. AlienBloodbathwonanOscarbecauseofitsbrilliantspecialeffects.
2. IlikeQuine’sRabbitbecauseit’sgotanexcitingstory-line.
3. Hespiltmybeer,soIhithim.
4. Hewalkslikethatbecausehehasanartificialleg.
5. She’sAustralian,soshemustlikeVegemite.
6. Thatcomputercan’tgetavirusbecauseit’srunningLinux.
7. Youhavecommittedadultery,andthusshallburninHell.

Connecting sentences
Let’s revisit that piece of logic we were ruminating on earlier:

la flufis. ractu .ije ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive .i la flufis. ni’i na ze’u
jmive

We’ve seen how .i shows that a new sentence is starting; but we can
also tag things onto the .i. We’ve seen (in passing) that two sumti can
be joined with .e. In the same way, .ije joins two sentences with a
logical AND, i.e. it asserts that both sentences are true. Normally we
don’t need to do this, since we usually assume that what we say is

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true; but it is useful here, because it binds the first two sentences
together, so that when the ‘conclusion’ sentence comes, it ‘therefores’
both of them, not just the second. (This is called ‘left-grouping’ and
there are ways to override it, which we’ll come back to.)

Note: Again,thissentencemissesoutanumberoflogicalsteps,
includingthefactthatFluffyisarabbitandthathehadlivedouthis
rabbitlifenaturally,ratherthangettingeatenbyadog—butyouget
theidea,Ihope.

Now, lenu-abstractions can be treated as sentences: they contain

complete bridi, after all. So we can also phrase these sentences as
separate sentences, still using sumti tcita to connect them:

la flufis. mrobi’o ni’i lenu ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive

Fluffy died because rabbits don’t live long.
la flufis. mrobi’o .i ni’ibo ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive
Fluffy died. That’s because rabbits don’t live long.

ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive seni’i lenu la flufis. mrobi’o

Rabbits don’t live long, with the logical consequence that Fluffy
died.
ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive .iseni’ibo la flufis. mrobi’o
Rabbits don’t live long. Therefore, Fluffy died.

There’s a new cmavo in the last example, bo. Why? Well, a sumti tcita
can indeed be used to connect sentences to other sentences, just as it is
used to connect sumti into bridi (though there are only so many sumti
tcita this makes sense for—and this lesson contains most of them.)
However, left on its own, a sumti tcita always applies to the sumti after
it. So had I just said

.iseni’i la flufis. mrobi’o

that would have meant something like “With the logical result of
Fluffy, [something] dies.” I’m not quite sure what this means; maybe
the ‘something’ is some mythical creature that spontaneously
generates bunny rabbits as it expires. But of course, this doesn’t mean

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what we want. To make the sumti tcita apply to the entire sentence, we
follow it with the word bo.

Tip: Thisappliestootherkindofsumti tcita,bytheway,liketense

words.Forexample,.i ba bomeans‘afterwards,then’:thesentence
after.i ba boreferstosomethingthattookplacelaterthanwhattook
placeinthesentencebefore.i ba bo.

Note: Theveryastutereaderwillhavenotedthat‘afterwards’should
havebeen.i pu bo;theanalogywithba kuwonout,though.(SeeThe
CompleteLojbanLanguage,Chapter10.12.)Therestofyoumay
ponderwhatonEarthI’mtalkingabout,butneednotlosesleepover
it.

Vocabulary
catke x1[agent]shoves/pushesx2atlocusx3
cnita x1isdirectly/verticallybeneath/below/under/underneath/down
fromx2inframeofreferencex3
crane x1isanterior/ahead/forward/(in/on)thefrontofx2whichfaces/in-
frame-of-referencex3
ganlo x1(portal/passage/entrance-way)isclosed/shut/notopen,
preventingpassage/accesstox2byx3
telgau x1(agent)makesx2bealock/sealof/on/forsealingx3with/by
lockingmechanismx4(stela‘lock’+gasnu‘do’)

Exercise 3
Wherenecessary,insertanyofje, seni’ibo, babo, seri’aboafterallbutthefirst.i
ineachofthefollowingtextfragments.Forexample:.i mi telgau fi le vorme .i
seni’ibo le vorme cu te telgau fi mi

1. .i mi telgau fi le vorme .i ___ do na klama le nenri

2. .i mi telgau fi le vorme .i ___ le vorme cu ganlo
3. .i mi telgau fi le vorme .i ___ mi cliva
4. .i mi viska do .i ___ do viska mi .i ___ mi rinsa do soi mi
5. .i do rinsa mi .i ___ do crane mi .i ___ do seni’i viska mi
6. .i la pantc. catke la djudis. .i ___ ri farlu .i ___ ri cnita

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Why?
With four types of because, we can now make four types of why,
simply by using ma. Our child’s questions from the beginning of the
lesson translate as follows:

• .i carvi ri’a ma
• .i la salis. darxi mi mu’i ma
• .i la salis. te dunda lo tartcita le ctuca ki’u ma
• .i la flufis. pu mrobi’o ni’i ma

Of course, the questions do not have to take these forms; if young Joey
is a religious type, he might say la flufis. pu mrobi’o ki’u ma, asking
with what justification God took his rabbit from him, whereas if he is
scientifically minded, he might ask la flufis. pu mrobi’o ri’a ma,
inquiring as to the physical cause of Fluffy’s death.
To an English-speaker, this looks back-to-front (“It rains. Why?”)
but there is really no reason why question-words have to come at the
beginning of a sentence. However, if you prefer to start with ma, you
can always use the full gismu, e.g.

ma rinka lenu carvi

what? physically-causes the-event rain

And since the position of sumti tcita in the bridi is fairly free, nothing is
preventing you from saying

ri’a ma carvi

Answers to why-questions are usually not a whole sentence but an

event abstraction-sumti, following Lojban’s fill-in-the-slot approach to
questions and answers; e.g.

• la salis. darxi mi mu’i ma

• lenu do lacpu lei kerfa

This is short for the long-winded la salis. darxi do mu’i lenu do lacpu lei
kerfa.

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Vocabulary
cevni x1isa/thegod/deityofpeople(s)/religionx2withdominionoverx3
[sphere];x1isdivine
cmoni x1uttersmoan/groan/howl/scream[non-linguisticutterance]x2
expressingx3(property)
danfu x1istheanswer/response/solution/[reply]toquestion/problemx2
manku x1isdark/lackinginillumination
palci x1isevil/depraved/wicked[morallybad]bystandardx2
spebi’o x1marriesx2;x1becomesaspouseofx2under
law/custom/tradition/system/conventionx3(speni‘spouse’+binxo
‘become’)

Exercise 4
Translatethefollowingquestions.

1. WhydidJimmarrySamantha?
2. Why’sthedogbarking?
3. Whyisitdarkinhere?
4. Whyistheanswer4.6?
5. WhydoesGodallowevil?

Summary
In this lesson we have looked at four gismu for cause and effect and
their corresponding sumti tcita:

ri’a physical cause (rinka)

mu’i motive (mukti)
ki’u justification (krinu)
ni’i implication (nibli)

We have also seen how sumti tcita can be converted with se and
looked briefly at connecting sentences (.ije, .iseni’ibo.) The next lesson
will look at connectives in more detail.

Vocabulary
ba’e forethoughtemphasisindicator;indicatesnextwordisespecially
emphasized

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carna x1turns/rotates/revolvesaroundaxisx2indirectionx3
ckasu x1ridicules/mocks/scoffsatx2aboutx3(property/event)bydoing
activityx4(event)
clite x1ispolite/courteous/civilinmatterx2accordingto
standard/customx3
jubme x1isatable/flatsoliduppersurfaceofmaterialx2,supportedby
legs/base/pedestalx3
lanli x1analyzes/examines-in-detailx2bymethod/technique/systemx3
[process/activity]
manci x1feelswonder/awe/marvelsaboutx2
pi’o usedby...(sumti tcitafrompilno‘use’)
sanmi x1(mass)isamealcomposedofdishesincludingx2
se ba’i insteadof...(sumti tcitafromse basti‘isreplaced’)
smaji x1(source)isquiet/silent/[still]atobservationpointx2bystandard
x3
tarti x1behaves/conductsoneselfas/in-mannerx2(event/property)
underconditionsx3
tirna x1hearsx2againstbackground/noisex3;x2isaudible;(adjective:)
x1isaural
voksa x1isavoice/speechsoundofindividualx2
vi’irku’a toilet(vikmi‘excrete’+kumfa‘room’)
xajmi x1isfunny/comicaltox2inproperty/aspectx3(nu/ka);x3iswhat
isfunnyaboutx1tox2

Exercise 5
TranslatefromLojban.

Note: Onoccasion,itisusefultogivebitsofnon-LojbaninaLojban
text,leavingitinitsoriginalspelling.Thiscouldbebecausewedon’t
wanttodistortanametoomuchby‘Lojbanising’it,orbecausewe’re
actuallyinsertingaphrasefromanotherlanguageintothetext.In
bothcases,wehavetogiveanunambiguoussignalwherethenon-
Lojbantextfinishes,andtheLojbanresumes.
Todothis,thenon-LojbanissurroundedoneithersidebyaLojban
word—anyword,aslongasitdoesn’toccurinsidethenon-Lojban
text.Themostpopularchoiceisgy.,standingforglico‘English’(since
that’swheremostnon-Lojbantextcomesfromthesedays.)
Ifthetextisaname,itisprecededbyla’oinsteadofla.Ifitisa
quotation,itisprecededbyzoiinsteadoflu ... li’u.

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1. .i la ranjit. smaji ca lenu la suzyn. cpedu le sanmi le bevri kei ki’u le nu ry. clite
kei .e le nu ry. nelci le voksa be la suzyn. kei
2. .i seri’a bo la djiotis. kakne lenu tirna lenu le’i zutse pe le ri’u jubme cu tavla
simxu
3. .i la djiotis. mu’i lenu go’i cu carna fi le ri’u jubme
4. .i ni’i ku la djiotis. na zgana lenu la ranjit. tarti lenu simsa dy. kei mu’i le nu
ckasu
5. .i la suzyn. cmila semu’i lenu la djiotis. carna fi sy.
6. .i cusku lu .i mo li’u
7. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i la ranjit. pu cusku lo xajmi pe la’o gy. Schönberg gy. .e.
la’o gy. Stravinsky gy. li’u
8. .i la djiotis. mu’i cmoni cusku zoi gy. chootio! gy.

Exercise 6
TranslateintoLojban.

1. Afterrequestingthemeal,Ranjeetleavestogotothebathroom,sohe
cannothearJyoti.
2. JyotitalkssothatsheislikeRanjeetincomplexity.
3. Shesays“Ishallnowanalysethe47thcreation(=composition)ofJimmy
BobBachwiththismirror—becauseIcan.”(Hint:usela’o.Youcancome
upwithawordfor‘with’;lookatthevocabularylistcarefully...)
4. Susanlaughs,sinceJyotiisasfunnyasRanjeet.(Hint:usemintu)
5. Jyotisays“Susan,whyareyoutalkingwithRanjeetaboutcrap?”(Hint:do
notusetheLojbanwordfor‘excrement’;themetaphorwon’tnecessarily
translate,andwouldbemalglico.Instead,use‘foolishness’.)
6. Susansays“Becausehehasawesomeeyes.”(Hint:don’tusetheLojbanfor
‘have’;theplacestructureof‘eye’willdothisforyou.)

Answers to Exercises

Exercise 1
1. ri’a,obviously.
2. mu’i.Evenifitisaclassic‘startleresponse’,myfearisnotadirectresultof
thenoise,buttheresultofsomekindofcognitiveinterpretation,however
low-level.
3. Eventhemostdogmaticdialecticalmaterialistwouldprobablygivemu’i
here.
4. ri’a,sincethemoldcannotreallybesaidtobemotivatedbytheplastic
wrapper,orindeedbyanything.

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5. Iwouldsaymu’i,sinceeconomicsisdeterminedbyhumanmotives,not
physicallaws.Notethatherethex3ofmuktiisnot‘prices’(jdima)butthose
whoincreasetheprices:manufacturers,retailersorthegovernment.

Note: Thisisactuallyaclassicexampleofthe‘invisiblehand’
phenomenasobelovedofeconomists:theresultisnotan
intendedresultofhumanactivities,butcomesaboutasaside-
effectofthem.Thebestsumti tcitaforthisisactuallyonewe
happennottohavecoveredhere:seja’e‘asaresultof’(from
jalge‘result’.)

Exercise 2
1. ki’u,becauseatleastsomebodythoughtthatitdeservedanOscar.
2. mu’i:theexcitingstorymotivatedmetolikethebook.
3. semu’i(anobscureexampleofBritishpubculture).
4. ri’a:theartificiallegphysicallycauseshimtowalkinaparticularway.
5. seni’i,eventhoughit’salogicalfallacy—justbecausealotofAustralians
likeVegemitedoesn’tmeanthatshehasto.

Cultural note: VegemiteistheAustralianequivalentofthe

BritishMarmite;bothareasaltypastethatyouspreadonbread.
Outsidethesetwocountries,nobodyseemstolikethestuff.Your
Australianco-authordidnotspendhisformativeyearsin‘God’s
OwnCountry’,soheneverreallydidgetatasteforit.)

6. Atrickyone.Youcouldsayri’a,meaningthatthefactthatthecomputeris
runningLinuxphysicallypreventsitfromgettingavirus,oryoucould
possiblysayni’i,implyingthatitisanessentialfeatureofLinuxcomputers
thattheyareimmunetoviruses.

Computer flamebait: OnecanarguethatMacintoshesare

immunetovirusesonlyki’utheirbeingMacs,andnotni’i:they
aren’tinherentlymoresecurethanPCs,theyjusthaven’tbeen
paidasmuchattentionbycrackers.Thiswouldofcoursebe
gettingintogeekwars;butwehaveasneakingsuspicionmanyof
youwillindeedbegeeks...

7. seki’u,whetherornotyouactuallybelieveinHellorthecriteriafor
enteringit.NotealsothatinEnglishandsometimeshasthesenseofso,
whichisnotthecaseinLojban:

do pu zergle .ije vi le daptutra do ba jelca

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Itistruethatyoucommittedadulteryanditisalsotruethatyouwill
burninHell
(literally:youpastcrime-copulateANDat-this-placethehellyou
futureburn)

Moreaboutthelogical(andnon-logical)connectivesfollowsinthenext
lesson.

Exercise 3
1. seri’abo:Thedoorisnotonlylogicallypreventingyoufromgoinginside;it
isphysicallypreventingyou.
2. seni’ibo:Itlogicallyfollowsfromthedefinitionof‘lock’that,ifyoulocka
door,thedooristhenclosed.
3. babo:thereisnorealcausalconnectionbetweenclosingadoorand
leaving.Youmaybeclosingthedoorbecauseyou’vefinishedyour
businessthere;butwho’stosaywhyyouclosedit,afterall...
4. Eitherje; babo,orbabo; babo.Theactionsdon’tfollowfromeachother
logicallyorphysically.(Iftheyfollowatall,theyfollowbysocial
convention;soyoumighthaveusedseki’ubo.)Withthefirstpair,you’reat
leastallowingthatyousawmeatthesametimeIsawyou.Withthesecond
pair,youdefinitelysawmeonlyafterIsawyou.
5. je;nothing.ThisisasyllogismliketheFluffysyllogismabove;itfollows
fromthetwofacts—yougreetingmeandyoubeinginfrontofme—that
youhaveseenme.(Well,itdoesn’treallyfollow,butthisisalessonon
Lojban,notlogic.)SoyouneedtojointhetwofactstogetherwithAND.
Ontheotherhand,the‘therefore’isalreadythere,asthe‘adverbial’
seni’i;soyoudon’tneedtoinsertitagainforthethirdsentence.Infact,as
wediscussedlateron,itwouldjointhewrongsentencestogetheranyway...
6. seri’abo; seni’ibo.Peoplefallasaphysicalresultofbeingpushed.The
definitionof‘fall’logicallyrequiresthatsomeonewhohasfallenislower
downthansomeonewhohasn’tfallen.(Youdon’tfallupwards.Zero-
gravitycounterexamples—andyou’llmakeagoodLojbanistifyoucameup
withone—arealreadyanticipatedinthex4placeoffarlu!)

Exercise 4
1. la djim. spebi’o la samantas. mu’i ma
2. le gerku ca cmoni mu’i ma(mu’iseemsthebestchoice,sincewecanassume
thatdogsbarkasaresponsetosomething,andarethusmotivatedrather
thanphysicallycausedtobark.Notethatcuispossiblehereinsteadofca;I
haveusedcasinceitseemsimportantthatthedogisbarkingnow.)
3. vi manku ri’a ma(Itisn’treallynecessarytotranslatethein,sincethespeaker
isprobablyinsideanyway.)

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4. li vopixa cu danfu ni’i ma(Giveyourselfapatonthebackifyougotthatone

right!Numbersandmathematicalproblemsbelongtotherealmoflogic,
notthephysicalworld.)
5. le cevni cu curmi lenu palci kei ki’u ma(ki’uisbesthere,sinceareligious
believerwouldprobablylookforsomejustificationfortheexistenceofevil,
ratherthanaphysicalcauseorpersonalmotivation.Sometheologians
mightpreferni’i,Isuppose!Thekeiisnecessarybecauseyou’reaskinga
questionabouttheallowing,notabouttheevilitself.)

Exercise 5
1. RanjeetissilentwhileSusanrequestsamealfromthecarrier(=waiter),
because(justification)heispoliteandbecausehelikesSusan’svoice.(Note
thekei:onlythefirstkeiisabsolutelynecessary,andbynowyoushouldbe
abletoworkoutwhy.)
2. Asa(physical)result,Jyoticanheartheonessittingatthetabletotheright
talkingtoeachother.(simxutakesasetasitsx1;moreonthisinLesson14.
le ri’u jubmemeans‘thetabletotheright’:selbricantakesumti tcitaand
locationsas‘tenses’,justliketheydotimetenses.)
3. Jyoti,because(motivation)ofthis,turnstowardsthetabletotheright.
4. Necessarily(=withsomethinglogicallycausingthis),Jyotidoesnotobserve
thatRanjeetbehavesasresemblingherinordertomock(i.e.Ranjeetis
imitatingher)(Thelogicalcauseinni’i kuhasbeenleftout,butis
presumablytheprevioussentence.Withoutthekei,themockingwouldbe
associatedwithsimsaratherthantarti—althoughthere’sultimatelyisn’tthat
muchdifferenceinmeaningbetweenthetwo.Unambiguitydoesn’talways
buyyouthatmuch.)
5. Susanlaughs,causing(motivating)Jyotitoturntoher.
6. (She)says“What?”
7. Susansays“RanjeetsaidsomethingfunnytodowithSchönbergand
Stravinsky.”
8. Jyotithus(motivation)groans“Chootio!”(Gujaratifor‘jerk’)(Likeanyother
sumti tcita,mu’icanalsobeusedasa‘tense’.)

Exercise 6
1. .i ba lenu cpedu le sanmi kei la ranjit. cliva mu’i lenu klama le vi’irku’a kei se
ri’a lenu ry. na kakne lenu tirna la djiotis.(or:ra na kakne)
2. .i la djiotis. tavla semu’i lenu ri simsa la ranjit. le ka pluja
3. .i dy./le go’i/la djiotis./ra cusku lu .i mi lanli le vozemoi se finti be la’o gy.
Jimmy Bob Bach gy. se pi’o le vi minra mu’i lenu mi kakne li’u(orla
djimis.bab.bax..Youcouldsayle vozemoi se finti pe fi’e ...,butthatwould
meanexactlythesamething.Ifthecompositionratherthantheanalysis

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happenedwithamirror,youwouldsayle vozemoi se finti be la’o gy. Jimmy

Bob Bach gy. be’o ne se pi’o le vi minra.
Youcouldalsosayle vozemoi be le’i se finti be ... ,inwhichcaseyou’re
eitherbrilliant,oryou’vebeenreadingahead...)
4. .i la suzyn. cisma ki’u lenu la djiotis. mintu la ranjit. le ka xajmi
5. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i doi suzyn. mu’i ma do tavla la ranjit. [soi vo’a] loi se
bebna li’u(loi se bebna,‘thethingoneisfoolishin’,isbetterherethanloi nu
bebnaorloi ka bebna.)
6. .i lu .i lenu ry./le se go’i/la ranjit./ra cu se kanla lo ba’e se manci li’u(Thisis
anextra-idiomaticwayofsayingthings;kudosifyougotit,don’tbetoo
worriedifyoudidn’t.)

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Chapter 11. Putting it together: Lojban
connectives
All languages need ways to connect words, phrases and sentences. In
English there are a host of words for this purpose: and, or, because,
additionally, however, on the other hand ... the list seems endless, as
foreign students of English know all too well. Lojban also has a wide
variety of words like this, known as connectives, but it is more
systematic about it. (Lojban also handles some of the functions of
English conjunctions in other ways—as we saw, because and so are
translated with sumti tcita, not connectives.)
There are two types of connective: logical and non-logical. Logical
connectives say something about whether and in what circumstances
the two things connected are true; an example is .ije. Non-logical
connectives do not deal with separate truth values, but group things
together to form different kinds of units; an example is joi, which
we’ve already seen in passing, and we’ll be discussing again below.
Moreover, Lojban distinguishes between the logical component of
connectives, and their attitudinal content. For example, most
languages have different words for and and but. Logically, they both
mean the same thing. In terms of attitude, however, they are different:
but contains a connotation of contrast or unexpectedness, which and
does not. So Lojban translates but in two parts: .e ku’i ‘and—however’.
This follows the Lojban principle of keeping content and attitude
separate as far as possible (e.g. .ui la djiotis. klama ti has a content
element—the information that Jyoti is coming here, and an attitude
element—happiness.)
In this lesson we will only look at logical connectives; non-logical
connectives (with one exception) will be dealt with later, along with
some other attitudinals.

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Types of logical connectives

In order to understand Lojban connectives, we first need to look at
logical connectives in general. The types of logical connective in
Lojban are based on truth tables and are explained in detail in Chapter
14 of The Complete Lojban Language. However, if you’re not a logician,
this can be rather confusing, so here I’ll look at them in terms of
Boolean operators. If you haven’t a clue what a Boolean operator is,
don’t panic; they are very simple, and you may even have used them
in an internet search without realising it. On the other hand, if you’ve
used Boolean operators in maths or computer programming, the rest
is a piece of cake. The operators we will look at here are AND, OR,
EOR, IF and IFF.
We have already looked at one operator: AND. A statement with
AND is true if and only if both elements are true. For example, if you
do an internet search for “games AND strategy”, the search engine
will only come up with pages that contain both games and strategy:
you will get pages on strategy games, for example, but not (ideally) on
simulation games or military strategy. Similarly in Lojban

la flufis. ractu .ije ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive

is false if Fluffy is not a rabbit, or if some rabbits are long-lived. It is

only true if both sentences are true.
The next type we need to look at is OR. This is not always, or even
usually, the same as the English word or. English is vague about or,
which sometimes means ‘one or the other or both’, but sometimes
means ‘one or the other but not both’. Compare these two sentences:

1. If it’s cold or rainy we’ll stay inside.

2. The winner of the competition will receive a holiday in Hawaii or
the cash equivalent.

In the first sentence common sense tells us that if it is both cold and
rainy we will also stay inside. However, in the second case, the
winner would have a hard time convincing the competition organisers
that he/she is entitled to both the holiday and the cash. The first case is

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a genuine logical OR; the second is called an EOR, for ‘exclusive or’
(or sometimes XOR—I use EOR because it reminds me of the donkey
in Winnie the Pooh). You can think of OR as ‘and/or’ and EOR as
‘either/or’.
English has similar problems with the word if. Sentence (1) is
unclear as to what will happen if it is neither cold nor rainy. We
assume that in this case we will go out, but this is not necessarily the
case. Strictly speaking, we might stay inside even if the weather is
beautiful. In fact there are two potential meanings here:

1. IF it’s cold or rainy we’ll stay inside.

2. IFF it’s cold or rainy we’ll stay inside.

The first means “If it’s cold or rainy we’ll stay inside (but we may stay
inside anyway)”, while the second means “If and only if it’s cold or
rainy, we’ll stay inside (otherwise we’ll definitely go out)”.
Just to make the difference clear, here are some examples:

Romeo loves Juliet AND Juliet loves Romeo

means that both statements are true, i.e. Romeo and Juliet love
each other.

Romeo loves Juliet OR Juliet loves Romeo

means that one of them loves the other, and perhaps both of them
do.

Romeo loves Juliet EOR Juliet loves Romeo

means that either Romeo loves Juliet (but Juliet doesn’t love him)
or Juliet loves Romeo (but he doesn’t love her).

Romeo loves Juliet IF Juliet loves Romeo

means that if Juliet loves Romeo, he definitely loves her, but he
may love her anyway (the only outcome which is impossible is
that Juliet loves Romeo but he doesn’t love her).

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Romeo loves Juliet IFF Juliet loves Romeo

means that if Juliet loves Romeo, he loves her, and if she doesn’t
love him, he doesn’t love her.

The basic operators OR, AND and IFF are represented in Lojban by
the vowels a, e and o.

• iis not used for logical connectives, since it is already in use as a

sentence separator.
• u is a special case, taking the logical meaning ‘whether or not’—in
other words, it emphasises that the second value does not affect the
truth of the sentence.
• The other operators, EOR and IF, are based on these vowels
combined with negatives. As we shall see below, EOR is .onai and
IF is .anai.

Tip: ThereissomecontroversyintheLojbancommunityabout
whethernaturallanguageifisbestexpressedasalogicalconnective
(IF,IFF),orasasumti tcita.ThereareacoupleofstrikesagainstIF.
Oneisthatitslogicalanalysis,NOTAORB,isn’tterriblyobvious.
AnotheristhatIFFisoftenwhatismeant,ratherthanIF.Yetanother
isthatnaturallanguageifisstronglytiedupwithnotionsofcausality,
precondition,ordeduction—noneofwhichisparticularly
emphasisedbyIFasastrictlylogicalconnective.Forexample,logical
IFwillgiveapoorrenderingof“It’snottruethat,ifI’mrich,I’m
happy”—whichisdecidedlynotthesamethingas“It’snottruethat
I’meithernotrichorhappy”!
Forthatreason,youwillseemanyLojbanistsavoidingIF,andinstead
usingsumti tcitalikeva’o‘underconditions...’,seja’e‘resultsfrom...
happening’,fau‘intheeventof...’,orni’i‘logicallycausedby...’

Exercise 1
Inthefollowing,workoutwhetherthelogicalrelationshiprepresentedbythe
emphasisedwordisclosertoOR,EOR,IF,orIFF.

1. Ifyou’renaughty,Iwon’tgetyouanyicecream.
2. IfJackKennedyisthepresidentoftheUnitedStates,thismustbethe
twentiethcentury.
3. IfIdrinktoomanystrawberrydaquiris,Igetahangover.
4. Callnowforafreeconsultationorquote!
5. Icancomeupwithsixorsevenreasonswhythatwon’twork.

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6. Liechtenstein’snexttoSwitzerlandorAustriaorsomething.

Connecting sumti
The most common connective for sumti is AND. In fact we’ve already
seen this as early as Lesson 7: .i ko’a .e ko’i xanka cmila (“Jyoti and
Susan laugh nervously”). Here’s another example:

mi ponse pa gerku .e re mlatu

I possess one dog AND two cat
I’ve got a dog and two cats.

This is actually a contracted way of saying “It is true that I have a dog;
it is true that I have two cats,” or in Lojban,

mi ponse pa gerku .ije mi ponse re mlatu

Not all English sentences containing and are like this, though. Firstly,
sentences like “I had a bath and washed my hair” are structurally
different and will be dealt with later on. Secondly, “I visited Ranjeet
and Jyoti” is slightly different from “I visited Ranjeet AND I visited
Jyoti.” In this case, you probably want to say that you visited Ranjeet-
and-Jyoti as a unit on one occasion—not that you visited Ranjeet and
Jyoti on (potentially) different occasions (“It is true that I visited
Ranjit, and it is true that I visited Jyoti.”) In this case you don’t want .e
(which is true but potentially misleading), but joi, which means ‘in a
mass with’. So what you have is

mi pu vitke la ranjit. joi la djiotis.

I past visit Ranjeet in-a-mass-with Jyoti
I visited Ranjeet and Jyoti (together).

You’ve seen joi before, too: in Lesson 5, where Marx and Engels wrote
The Communist Manifesto as a joint project, rather than individually (la
marks. joi la .engels. finti le guntrusi’o selpeicku.) This is just like the
difference between le ci gerku and lei ci gerku which we looked at in
Lesson 4—considering the three dogs as individuals, or as a mass.
Incidentally, it is not just Lojban which makes this distinction;

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Turkish, for example, would use ile (‘with’) rather than ve (‘and’) for
joi here.
We can also use OR here. For example,

mi ba vitke le mi mamta .a le mi tamne

I future visit the me mother OR the me cousin
I’ll visit my mother or my cousin.

This leaves open the possibility that I will get round to visiting both of
them at some point. If I want to say that that I will visit either my
mother or my cousin but not both, I need EOR. For this we use .onai.
This is actually a negative IFF, which sounds confusing, but is quite
simple and logical. “If and only if I do not visit my cousin, I will visit
my mother” logically implies that, if I visit my cousin, I will not visit
my mother, and vice versa; so I will visit either my mother or my
cousin but not both. So we have

mi ba vitke le mi mamta .onai le mi tamne

I future visit the me mother EOR the me cousin
I’ll visit either my mother or my cousin.

It is probably obvious that .o means IFF, so “I will visit my mother if

(and only if) I visit my cousin” would be mi ba vitke le mi mamta .o le
mi tamne. If, for some strange reason, I want to use IF and say that I
will definitely visit my mother if I visit my cousin, but I may visit her
anyway, I need another negative: .anai. But since this is rare in sumti
connection, I’ll leave that till later.
Finally, there is .u, meaning ‘whether or not’. This is not a standard
Boolean operator, but I’ve called it WON for convenience. In this way
I can say

mi ba vitke le mi mamta .u le mi tamne

I future visit the me mother WON the me cousin
I’ll visit my mother whether or not I visit my cousin.

To sum up:

OR .a

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 Chapter 11. Putting it together

AND .e
IFF .o
WON .u
IF .anai
EOR .onai

Vocabulary
cinynei x1fanciesx2(cinse‘sex’+nelci‘like’)
finpe x1isafishofspeciesx2
jisra x1ismadeof/contains/isaquantityofjuice/nectarfrom-source/of-
typex2
narju x1isorange[coloradjective]
nimre x1isaquantityofcitrus[fruit/tree,etc.]ofspecies/strainx2
patlu x1isapotato[anedibletuber]ofvariety/cultivarx2
pelxu x1isyellow/golden[coloradjective]
rasyjukpa fry(grasu‘grease’+jukpa‘cook’)

Exercise 2
ExpressthefollowinginLojban.Don’ttrytotranslatetheEnglishwordforword;
workoutwhattheBooleanoperatorisfirst,thenworkfromthat.

1. SusanfanciesZhangorRanjeet,ormaybebothofthem.
2. Ilikefishandchips.
3. Request(=order)thelemonjuiceortheorangejuice.(Hint:Build
expressionsfor‘lemon’and‘orange’(thefruit)astanru.)
4. Iwantthebeer,whetherornotIwantthecurry.(Hint:Thisisasinglebridi,
‘want’!)
5. IfIgofromBostontoWashington,I’llgoallthewaytoAtlanta.(Hint:This
tooinvolvesasinglebridi.)

Connectives in tanru
tanru have been lurking in these lessons since Lesson 2 without a
proper explanation; so before discussing connectives in tanru, it’s
worth looking at how tanru normally work.
As we’ve seen before, we can put two or more words into a selbri or
sumti place. An example is the aforementioned ‘Communist
manifesto’, le guntrusi’o selpeicku.

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Note: Actually,Icheatedalittlehere;sincethisisthetitleofa
specificbook,notjustanyoldmanifesto,itwouldbebettertosayla’e
lu guntrusi’o selpeicku li’u“the-referent-ofquoteCommunistManifesto
unquote”—butthatwouldbetedious.

Let’s start with a simpler example, though.

xunre cukta
[there is a] red [type-of] book

The first element of the tanru modifies or restricts the second element,
in some unspecified way. What happens if there are three or more
elements, though? Like many other features of Lojban grammar, tanru
follow a left-grouping rule, which means that the element on the far
left modifies the next one, then those two together modify the next,
and so on. For example, in a careless moment I once described The
Complete Lojban Language as le barda xunre cukta since it is, indeed, big
and red. However, le barda xunre cukta does not mean this; it means
“the {(big type-of red) type-of book}” and it is hard to imagine what
“big type of red” would mean.
There are various ways to get out of the left-grouping rule when
you need to; we’ll see some in Lesson 14, but the simplest one here is
to use a logical connective and say

le barda je xunre cukta

the {(big AND red) book}
The big red book.

To make a logical tanru connective, then, we simply add j to the

vowel. Turning to Susan’s tastes in men, we can say

la suzyn. cinynei ro xajmi ja melbi nanmu

Susan fancy all {(funny OR beautiful) man}
Susan fancies men who are funny or handsome (or both).

Warning
ThissentenceisstilltrueevenifSusanalsolikesmenwhoarenot
funnyorhandsome.Innaturallanguage,socialconventionsmeans
youwouldn’tnormallysaysuchasentenceinthatcase,becauseit

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wouldbemisleading.Lojbanisstricteraboutthesethings,soyou
mightwanttoaddpo’o‘only’(seeLesson13),orusearelative
clause:ro nanmu poi se cinynei la suzyn. cu xajmi ja melbi.We’llstick
withthevaguersentenceshere,though.

Let’s say that Susan finds the qualities of humour and good looks
attractive but incompatible—she fancies Woody Allen and Steven
Seagal, but thinks a mixture of the two would be just too much. We
would then say

la suzyn. cinynei ro xajmi jonai melbi nanmu

Susan fancy all {(funny EOR beautiful) man}
Susan fancies men who are either funny or handsome (but not
both).

On the other hand, Jyoti is turned on by funny men, and doesn’t care
about their looks at all. Woody Allen would do fine, but Steven Seagal
wouldn’t stand a chance unless he could tell a few jokes (funnier than
Schwarzenegger’s, preferably.) What we need here is

la djiotis. cinynei ro xajmi ju melbi nanmu

Jyoti fancy all {(funny WON beautiful) man}
Jyoti fancies funny men, whether they are handsome or not.

As you’ll remember from last lesson, this kind of connective is also

used to connect sentences, placed next to .i. So if I wanted to say
“Either Susan fancies funny men, or Susan fancies handsome men”, I
need only say

.i la suzyn. cinynei ro xajmi nanmu .ijonai la suzyn. cinynei ro melbi

nanmu

Warning
Becarefulnottoconfusethiskindofconnectionwithsumti
connectives.mi ba vitke le mi mamta .e le mi speniisnotthesameas
mi ba vitke le mi mamta je speni.ThefirstmeansthatIwillvisitmy
motherandmyspouse(probablyonseparateoccasions).Thesecond
meansthatIwillvisitapersonwhoisbothmymotherandmy
spouse,whichimpliesthatIhaveareallyseriousOedipuscomplex.

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Chapter 11. Putting it together

Ontheotherhand,joi(andtheother‘non-logical’connectives,
someofwhichwewillseeinlaterlessons)actasbothsumti
connectivesandtanruconnectives.Normally,Lojbangrammar
arrangesthingssothatthereisnorealambiguitybetweenthetwo.
However(forreasonsalittletootechnicaltogointohere),ifyouuse
joitojointwosumti,andthefirstsumtiisofthenormalkind(article+
selbri),youmustterminatethesumtiwithku.Thisisinordertomake
itexplicitforanycomputerswhichmightbelisteningthatyouare
joiningtwodistinctsumti,andnotjusttwogismuinsidethesumti
tanru.
Thismeansyoucansayloi jisra joi jdacu‘thejuice-and-water-
mixture’;butyouhavetosayloi jisra ku joi loi djacu‘thejuiceandthe
water,consideredtogether’—notloi jisra joi loi djacu.
Thedifficultyinunderstandingsuchusageofjoiisn’trestrictedto
computers,bytheway.Manyahumanwillbemomentarilythrown
by:

lo nu xamgu xunre joi lo crino

Vocabulary
kukte x1isdelicious/tasty/delightfultoobserver/sensex2[person,or
sensoryactivity]

Exercise 3
TranslatethefollowingfromLojban.

1. la ranjit. pinxe loi vanju jonai birje

2. la ranjit. pinxe loi vanju joi birje
3. la natraj. barja je gusta
4. da spuda ju danfu le preti
5. la jan. klama je penmi je tavla la suzyn.
6. ro prenu cu fengu naja xanka leka se xebni
7. la ranjit. nelci loi kukte ja cpina
8. mi bilga jenai kakne lenu mi klama le barja

Connecting bridi tails

Many human languages—English among them—divide sentences
into two parts: the subject, and the rest. In mainstream linguistic
parlance, these get called the noun phrase and the verb phrase.
(We’ve mostly managed to avoid so far the kind of grammar talk that

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might have sent shivers down your spine at school. Don’t worry, this
won’t hurt a bit...)
Now the thing about subjects is, we tend to talk about them a lot. In
fact, it’s not unusual to string together a series of sentences, each with
the same subject. From sentence to sentence, you keep saying what the
same person did, or was. This means you’re keeping the subject
constant, and changing the rest of the sentence.
This makes for an obvious shortcut: rather than repeat the same
subject in two sentences, keep everything in one sentence, with a
single subject, and join together the two ‘rest-of-the-sentences’. For
example, why say Nick went to California. And Nick stayed there for three
years, when you can join them together as Nick went to California, and
stayed there for three years?
Lojban, being spoken by human beings (ostensibly), is not immune
to this kind of pressure. Strictly speaking, Lojban doesn’t have noun
phrases and verb phrases. However, it does have zero or more sumti in
front of the selbri, and then a selbri followed by zero or more other
sumti. The selbri with its trailing sumti can be considered the tail of the
bridi (corresponding to the verb phrase), where the initial sumti (if
any!) are its head (corresponding to the noun phrase).
Lojban allows you to join bridi-tails using a different series of logical
connectives. sumti connectives start with vowels, and tanru
connectives add a j in front of them. bridi-tail connectives add a gi’
instead. So the bridi-tail connective version of AND is gi’e.
So what is this good for? Quite simply, you can take sentences like

.i la nik. klama la kalifornias. .ije la nik. stali la kalifornias. ze’a lo

nanca be li ci

and change them into the much more stylish

.i la nik. klama la kalifornias. gi’e stali la kalifornias. ze’a lo nanca

be li ci

—or, indeed, the even more stylish (and much less like English)

.i la nik. la kalifornias. klama gi’e stali ze’a lo nanca be li ci

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You’ll be seeing a lot of gi’e in Lojban for that reason.

Note: ze’aasasumti tcita?Sure,andyoushouldn’tbesurprisedatthis

bynow.Anythingthatcanbeusedasatensecanbeusedasasumti
tcita,andviceversa.Sinceze’aasatensespecifiesduration,asa
sumti tcitaitintroducesthedurationofthebridi.Soitcorresponds
preciselytoforinEnglish.

Vocabulary
bruna x1isbrotherof/fraternaltox2bybond/tie/standard/parent(s)
x3;[notnecess.biological]
dunli x1isequal/congruentto/asmuchasx2in
property/dimension/quantityx3
gunta x1(person/mass)attacks/invades/commitsaggressionupon
victimx2withgoal/objectivex3
jatna x1iscaptain/commander/leader/in-charge/bossof
vehicle/domainx2
jikca x1interacts/behavessociallywithx2;x1socializeswith/is
sociabletowardsx2
kratrsenatore x1isasenatorrepresentingx2insenatex3
mansa x1satisfiesevaluatorx2inproperty(ka)/statex3
misno x1(person/object/event)isfamous/renowned/isacelebrity
amongcommunityofpersonsx2(mass)
nupre x1(agent)promises/commits/assures/threatensx2
(event/state)tox3[beneficiary/victim]
slabu x1isold/familiar/well-knowntoobserverx2infeaturex3
(ka)bystandardx4
speni x1ismarriedtox2;x1isaspouseofx2under
law/custom/tradition/system/conventionx3
tinbe x1obeys/followsthecommand/rulex2madebyx3;
(adjective:)x1isobedient
vlipa x1hasthepowertobringaboutx2underconditionsx3;x1
ispowerfulinaspectx2underx3

Exercise 4
CombinethefollowingpairsofLojbansentencesintoasinglesentence.Getas
manycommonsumtiaspossibleintothebridi-head.Useconversionliberally.

1. .i la djak.kenedis. jatna le merko .i la djak.kenedis. bruna la rabyrt.kenedis.

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2. .i la djak.kenedis. speni la djaklin.buvier. .i la djak.kenedis. se catra la

lis.xarvis.azuald.
3. .i la djak.kenedis. nupre lenu lo merko cu cadzu le lunra .i la nasas. tinbe fi la
djak.kenedis.
4. .i la djak.kenedis. tavla fi la kubas. .i la djak.kenedis. gunta la kubas.
5. .i la djak.kenedis. mansa lei merko leka vlipa .i la djak.kenedis. ckasu la
nikitas.xrucTCOF. leka vlipa
6. .i la djak.kenedis. sutra tavla .i la djak.kenedis. na denpa
7. .i la djak.kenedis. jikca la MErilin.monROS. .i la djak.kenedis. djuno ledu’u la
MErilin.monROS. misno
8. .i mi la djak.kenedis. se slabu .i la djak.kenedis. pu pendo mi .i do doi
kratrsenatore na dunli la djak.kenedis.

Asking about connectives

• How can you tell someone is a computer programmer?
• You ask them “Do you want milk or sugar?”, and they answer
“Yes.”

In natural languages, that kind of answer is liable to get you a clip

around the ears. That is because natural languages are run not only by
logic, but also by social conventions. And one of the most important
social conventions about language (Gricean informativeness, for those
taking third year linguistics courses) is that, whatever you say, you
should say enough to fully inform your listener about what’s going
on. If I ask “Do you want milk or sugar?”, I need that information in
order to prepare you a cup of coffee to your liking. Answering me
“yes” doesn’t give me much to go on.
As far as strict logic is concerned, though, “Yes” is the only proper
answer, as computer programmers (and logicians, and Lojbanists)
discover much to their amusement—and to the irritation of the rest of
the world. That is because the question is phrased as a yes/no
question; and OR, in the question, does not behave any differently as a
logical connective than AND. (“Yes” is an appropriate answer to “Do
you want milk and sugar?” Of course, now it’s “No” which is not
helpful as an answer.)
The same holds for Lojban, of course: .i xu do djica lenu jmina loi ladru
.a loi sakta is a yes/no-question, and the only proper answers are .i go’i
and .i na go’i. What you should actually be asking, if you want to be

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logically correct, is “Identify which of the following you want: milk,

sugar.”
You could say that, but it’s not much like Lojban’s fill-in-the-slot
approach. Instead, Lojban sneakily asks you to fill in a slot you might
not have expected: not the ‘milk’ slot, or the ‘sugar’ slot, but the
connective slot:

.i do djica lenu jmina loi ladru ji loi sakta

You want to add milk ___ sugar.

By filling in the slot, you get to pick what you want. If you say .e, you
are saying the sentence .i do djica lenu jmina loi ladru .e loi sakta—in
other words, you want both. If you say .enai, you are using the AND
NOT connective, which negates what follows it: so you are saying “I
want milk, and not sugar.” If you want to negate what went before the
connective instead, you use na.e. (You can negate what goes before
any connective by putting na in front of it.) So if you answer na.e, you
are saying “I want not milk, and sugar” (or, as is more usual in
English, “not milk, but sugar”)—which means that you are picking
only sugar. If you want neither, you can negate both sides: na.enai.
You can still be unhelpful with your response: .a would leave us right
where we started, for instance. But at least this way you have a
logically consistent way of picking alternatives presented to you.

Tip: Becareful,though:thiskindofquestiondoesn’treallygeneralise
pasttwoalternatives,soyoumaystillhavetofallbackonthe‘pick
zeroormorealternativesoutofthefollowing’approach.

You can ask questions in the same way about the other kinds of
connectives we have looked at. The connective interrogative for tanru
is je’i, and the connective interrogative for bridi-tails is gi’i.

Vocabulary
spita x1isahospitaltreatingpatient(s)x2for
condition/injuries/disease/illnessx3
stali x1remains/staysat/abides/lastswithx2
tadni x1studies/isastudentofx2;x1isascholar;(adjective:)x1is

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scholarly

Exercise 5
AnswerthesequestionsinLojban.

1. .i la ranjit. penmi la suzyn. vi le barja ji le spita

2. .i la djiotis. stali le barja gi’i klama le gusta
3. .i la jan. tadni loi xumske gi’i nelci loi dotco birje
4. .i la djiotis. pendo la lis.xarvis.azuald. ji la ranjit.
5. .i la suzyn. nelci loi dotco je’i fraso birje(Hint:Justasyouthought:youhave
noideawhetherSusanlikesFrenchbeerornot.Youshouldstillbeableto
comeupwithaconnectivethatreflectsthat.)

Summary
In this lesson, we have covered:

• Lojban logical connectives (AND, OR, EOR, WON, IF, IFF)

• Non-logical connectives (joi)
• sumti connectives (.a, .e, .o, .u, .onai, .anai)
• tanru connectives (ja, je, jo, ju, jonai, janai)
• bridi-tail connectives (gi’a, gi’e, gi’o, gi’u, gi’onai, gi’anai)
• Asking questions about logical connectives (ji, je’i, gi’i)

Vocabulary
bakni x1isacow/cattle/kine/ox/[bull/steer/calf][beef-
producer/bovine]ofspecies/breedx2
cidjrkebabi x1isakebab(Yetanotheroneofthosefunny-shapedwords...)
djacu x1ismadeof/contains/isaquantity/expanseofwater;
(adjective:)x1isaqueous/[aquatic]
fange x1isalien/foreign/[exotic]/unfamiliartox2inpropertyx3(ka)
jipci x1isachicken/[hen/cock/rooster]/smallfowl[atypeofbird]of
species/breedx2
ju’i PayAttention!Followedbythenameoftheperson;same
grammarasdoiandcoi(selma’oCOI)
kensa x1isouterspacenear/associatedwithcelestialbody/regionx2
lanme x1isasheep/[lamb/ewe/ram]ofspecies/breedx2offlockx3
nanba x1isaquantityof/containsbread[leavenedorunleavened]
madefromgrainsx2

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pencu x1(agent)touchesx2withx3[alocusonx1oraninstrument]at
x4[alocusonx2]
sabji x1(source)provides/supplies/furnishesx2[supply/commodity]
tox3[recipient]
sluni x1isaquantityof/containsonions/scallionsoftype/cultivarx2
spaji x1(event/actionabstract)surprises/startles/isunexpected[and
generallysudden]tox2
zdile x1(abstract)isamusing/entertainingtox2inproperty/aspectx3;
x3iswhatamusesx2aboutx1

Exercise 6
TranslatefromLojban.

1. .i le bevri cu klama le jubme pe le ci pendo gi’e cusku lu .i do djica lenu do citka

ma li’u
2. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i do ca sabji le mo cidjrkari ja cidjrkebabi li’u
3. .i le bevri cu cusku lu .i lanme ja bakni ja jipci li’u
4. .i la ranjit. cu cusku lu .i mi djica lo bakni cidjrkari .e lo sluni nanba li’u
5. .i le bevri fi la djiotis. cu dunda fe loi djacu gi’e cusku fe lu .i do djica ma li’u
6. .i la djiotis cusku lu .i lo cidjrkari li’u
7. .iseki’ubo le bevri cu cusku lu .i lanme je’i bakni li’u
8. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i naje li’u

Exercise 7
TranslateintoLojban.

1. ThewaiterturnstoSusan,smiles,andsays“Lamborbeef?”
2. Susaneitherdidn’thearthewaiter,ordidn’tpayattentiontohim.
3. JyotitouchesSusanontheshoulderandsays“Hey,Susan?”
4. Susanissurprised,andsays“Um...Chicken.”
5. Jyotisays“Hopeyouenjoyedtravellingthroughouterspace—whetheror
notyoumetanyaliens.”(Useanattitudinalfor‘Hope.’)

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1
1. IFF.InEnglish,weexpectthatIFFiswhatismeant,anyway;butavery
legalistic(andhorridlymean)parentcanstillsay“IsaidIwouldn’tgetyou
icecreamifyouwerenaughty;IneversaidI’dgetyouicecreamifyou
werenice.”That’sbecauseifinEnglishlogicallymeansIF,andonly

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conventionallymeansthestrongerIFF.Thisconventionalkindofmeaning
goesbythenameofimplicature;andimplicaturehasalwaysbeen
somethingofanissueinLojban,sincehumansexpectit,butit’snotreally
anythingtodowithlogic.
2. DefinitelyIF:IfCalvinCoolidgeispresident,it’sstillthetwentiethcentury.
3. IF.IfthiswasIFF,therelationwouldbesymmetrical,soyoushouldbeable
tosayIfIgetahangover,I’vedrunktoomanystrawberrydaquiris.But
daquirisaren’ttheonlywaytogetahangover,sothisdoesn’tfollow.
4. Thereputablemembersofthebusinesscommunitywhosaythiskindof
thingwillhardlybegrudgeyouaquoteifyou’vealreadycalledfora
consultation;sothisisOR.
5. EOR:Youmaybebeingimprecise,butyou’renotbeingnonsensical—the
numberofreasonsyoucancomeupwithcan’tbebothsixandseven.
6. OR:Asitturnsout,it’snexttoboth.(Nickmetsomepeoplefrom
Liechtensteinonce,actually.Theyfoundthenameoftheircapital
hilarious...)

Exercise 2
1. la suzyn. cinynei la jan. .a la ranjit.
2. mi nelci loi finpe ku joi loi se rasyjukpa patlu(oranyreasonablefacsimile
thereof:loi patlu poi se rasyjukpa,loi rasyjukpa patlu,oranythingofthesort.)
.eispossible,butjoiisbetter,sinceweareprobablytalkingaboutfish
andchipstogether.(.u’ithisisanexampleofaSapir-Whorfeffect;ifmore
BritishpeoplehadbeeninvolvedinthedesignofLojban,therewouldbea
gismufor‘chips’.)
Asitturnsout,thekuisobligatorythere;seethewarninginthesection
ontanruconnectives.
3. ko cpedu le pelxu nimre jisra .onai le narju nimre jisra(Whenyouorderyour
beverage,youarenotnormallyexpectedtoordermorethanone.)
4. mi djica le birje .u le cidjrkari
5. mi klama la .uacintyn .o la .atlantas. la bastn.(Yes,thiswasmeanttobe
tricky.Inparticular,itinvolvesIFFratherthanIF,sincetogetfromBoston
toAtlanta,youwouldlikelygoviaWashington.Soyoucannotgoto
AtlantawithoutgoingtoWashington,andyou’vejustsaidyouwon’tgoto
WashingtonwithoutgoingtoAtlanta.)

Tip: WedidsaythataLojbancmenecannotcontainla(aswe
mentionedwaybackinLesson1);otherwiseitwouldbreakup
intotwonames.Sola malakais.wouldbreakupintothe
admittedlynonsensicalla ma la kais..However,whenthereisa
consonantinfrontofthelainsidethecmene,thebitbeforethela
woulditselfbeacmene.Sincecmeneendinpauses,ifthere’sno
pause,thenthisisasinglecmene.

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Inotherwords,la .atlantas.isinfactOK,because,ifitdidfall
apart,itwouldfallapartintola .at. la ntas.‘At,Ntas’—andyou’d
needthosepausesforittoreallyfallapartlikethat.Withoutany
suchpauses,la .atlantas.isstilltreatedasasingleword.

Exercise 3
1. Ranjeetdrinkssomethingwhichiseitherwineorbeer.
2. Ranjeetdrinkswinemixedwithbeer(.aunai)
3. Natrajisabarandrestaurant(i.e.abistro,oralicensedrestaurant.)
4. xisaresponse,whetherornotitisananswertothequestion.
5. Zhanggoesupto,meets,andtalkstoSusan.
Thismightleadyoutoaskwhattheplacestructureofatanruis.The
answeris,itistheplacestructureofitsfinalgismu—howeveritisconnected
withtherestofthetanru.
6. Allpeopleare,ifangry,thenanxiousaboutbeinghated.
7. Ranjeetlikestastyorspicythings.(ThenormalimplicationinEnglish,made
explicitinLojban,istoadd“orboth”.Thisisanimplicature,asdescribed
inExercise1.)
8. Ishouldbutcannotgotothebar.(Notatypo:.enaibuildsanew
connective,ANDNOT,sincewhatfollowsitgetsnegated.)

Exercise 4
1. .i la djak.kenedis. jatna le merko gi’e bruna la rabyrt.kenedis.“JackKennedy
wasleaderofAmericaandbrotherofRobertKennedy.”
2. .i la djak.kenedis. speni la djaklin.buvier. gi’e se catra la lis.xarvis.azuald.“Jack
KennedywasmarriedtoJacquelinBouvierandkilledbyLeeHarvey
Oswald.”
3. .i la djak.kenedis. nupre lenu lo merko cu cadzu le lunra kei gi’e te tinbe fi la
nasas.“JackKennedypromisedthatanAmericanwouldwalkonthemoon,
andwasobeyedbyNASA.”(TheconversionworksoutinputtingKennedy
asthex1ofbothbridi.)
4. .i la djak.kenedis. tavla fi la kubas. gi’e gunta la kubas.“JackKennedytalked
aboutCubaandattackedCuba.”(Youcan’tgetCubaintothebridi-head,
becauseit’sindifferentplacesinthetwobridi:x4inthefirstbridi,x2inthe
second.)
5. .i la djak.kenedis fi leka vlipa cu mansa fe lei merko gi’e ckasu fe la
nikitas.xrucTCOF.“JackKennedy,asregardspower,satisfiedtheAmericans,
andmockedNikitaKhrushchev.”(Tricky,tricky,Iknow.Thex1andx3are
thesame;sowithsomecleverusageoffi—andfe,sothatthenextsumti
doesn’tgettakenforx4—thiscanbemadetowork.)

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6. .i la djak.kenedis. sutra tavla gi’e na denpa—orequivalently,.i la

djak.kenedis. sutra tavla gi’enai denpa“JackKennedytalkedfastanddidn’t
pause.”
7. .i la djak.kenedis jikca la MErilin.monROS. gi’e djuno ledu’u la MErilin.monROS.
misno“JackKennedysocialisedwithMarilynMonroeandknewthat
MarilynMonroewasfamous.”(Marilynisn’tinthesameplaceinthetwo
bridi:she’sinx2inthefirstbridi,butinasumtiwithinanabstractioninx2in
thesecondbridi.)
8. .i la djak.kenedis. slabu mi gi’e pu pendo mi gi’e na/gi’enai se dunli do doi
kratrsenatore“JackKennedywasfamiliartomeandwasmyfriend,andis
notequalledbyyou,senator.”(Ifitwasn’tforthethirdsentence,youcould
havefitthemiintothebridi-head.Theoriginaltext,famouslyspokenby
LloydBentsentoDanQuayleinthe1988AmericanVice-Presidential
debate,is:“IknewJackKennedy.JackKennedywasafriendofmine.
Senator,you’renoJackKennedy.”)

Exercise 5
1. .enai(“DoesRanjeetmeetSusanatthebarorthehospital?”)
2. nagi’e(“DoesJyotistayatthebarorgototherestaurant?”)
3. gi’e,becausehedoesboth.(“DoesZhangstudychemistryorlikeGerman
beer?”)
4. na.e—inalllikelihood.(“IsJyotiisafriendofLeeHarveyOswald’sorof
Ranjeet’s?”)
5. naju.Thinkaboutit...(“DoesSusanlikeGermanorFrenchbeer?”)

Exercise 6
1. Thewaitergoestothethreefriends’tableandsays“Whatwouldyouliketo
eat?”
2. Ranjeetsays“Whatcurriesorkebabsareyouservingnow?”(There’sno
reasonyoucan’tusemoinatanru.Asusual,thisasksforthelistenertofill
intheblank.ThewayLojbanworks,mo cidjrkari ja cidjrkebabiisinterpreted
asmo {cidjrkari ja cidjrkebabi}—inotherwords,mo}appliestobothcidjrkari
andcidjrkebabi.ThereismoreonthestructureoftanruinLesson14.)
3. Thewaitersays“Lamb,beeforchicken.”(Thatistosay,thesentence“We
servexcurriesandkebabs”istrueforxbeinglambORbeef,ORchicken.
Thismeansthatthewaiterhascomeupwithanewkindofanimal,a
‘Lamb-OR-Cow-OR-Chicken’;butofcourse,thatdescriptionfitsanyoneof
alamb,acoworachicken,sowhatthewaiterhassaiddoesmakesense.)
4. Ranjeetsays“Iwantabeefcurryandanonionbread.”
5. ThewaitergivesJyotiwaterandsaystoher“Whatwouldyoulike?”
(Whateverisinfrontofthefirstselbrigetsrepeatedinfrontofthesecond;

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sothisisthesameassayingle bevri fi la djiotis. cu dunda fe loi djacu .i je le

bevri fi la djiotis. cu cusku fe lu .i do djica ma li’u.)
6. Jyotisays“Acurry.”
7. Forthatreason,thewaitersays“Lamborbeef?”
8. Jyotisays“NotAbutB”(or,inEnglish,“Beef.”)

Exercise 7
1. .i le bevri cu carna fi la suzyn. gi’e cisma gi’e cusku lu .i lanme je’i bakni li’u
2. .i la suzyn. tirna le bevri gi’onai jundi le bevri(or:.i la suzyn. tirna le bevri
gi’onai jundi ri)
3. .i la djiotis pencu la suzyn. le janco gi’e cusku lu .i ju’i .suzyn. li’u
4. .i la suzyn. se spaji gi’e cusku lu .i .y. jipci li’u(Notoneofthealternativesthe
waiterpresented,soshecouldn’tverywellanswerwithaconnective.)
5. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i .a’o do se zdile lenu do litru le kensa kei gi’u penmi lo
fange(Ifyouleftoutthekei,thegi’uwillattachtolitruratherthanse zdile,
whichgivesaslightlydifferentmeaning.Asitturnsout,though,bothwould
beacceptablerenderingsoftheEnglish.)

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Chapter 12. Aspect, Vocatives, Loan
Words, and Equalities
This lesson is something of a mixed bag. In it, we cover four topics
which are fairly important in Lojban, each of which kind of fits
somewhere else—but would take us far afield in each of the other
lessons. Aspects are a special kind of tense; vocatives are a special
kind of attitudinal; loan words are a way of introducing new words
into Lojban, comparable to lujvo; and equalities involve a special kind
of selbri.

Aspect
We’ve seen that we can locate our bridi in space and time, by using
tenses. But this is something of a simplification. We can’t just say that
events are before, simultaneous with, or after other events, because
events have beginnings, middles and ends. They are not simply points
that can be lined up on a timeline.
And we tend to be very interested in the beginnings and ends of
events. There is quite a difference between these three sentences:

• Is he about to do his homework?

• Is he still doing his homework?
• Has he done his homework yet?

Doing homework is an activity that has a beginning, a middle, and an

end. So when we pinpoint the time at which doing homework
happens, we are also pinpointing its beginning, its middle, and its
end. Which means that the first of those questions asks whether the
time is before the beginning of doing the homework, or after it. The
second question asks whether or not the time is in the middle of doing
the homework. And the third question asks whether the time is after
the end of doing the homework, or not.

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The term in linguistics for situating the beginnings and ends of

events is aspect. The term Lojban uses is event contours: events are
perceived as shapes, which have beginnings and ends. (This is why
Lojban can use its aspects in space as well as time, although we won’t
be going into that here.) In many languages, aspect is as important as
tense, or even more important. In Russian, to use the best-known
example, you cannot use a verb at all without choosing between a
stem indicating that something is (or was, or will be) still going on
(imperfective), and a stem indicating that something is (or was, or will
be) completed (perfective).
English isn’t like that: you can quite often leave off any indication of
aspect in your verbs. Yet English has ways of expressing aspect
anyway. When we say “I have spoken to the doctor”, we are also
indicating that we have now finished doing so—we are after the end
of the event. When we say “I am speaking to the doctor”, on the other
hand, we are also indicating that we are in middle of the event: the
event is continuing, and is not yet over.

Note: Aspectisquiteindependentoftense:youcansaythat
somethingwillbeoversometimeinthefuture(“Iwillhavespokento
thedoctor[bythen]”),orthatsomethingwascontinuinginthepast(“I
wasspeakingtothedoctor”),withoutgivinganyindicationofwhatis
happeninginthehere-and-now.

Lojban uses cmavo belonging to selma’o ZAhO to express event

contours. You use them just like tense words; if you use both, the
tense word goes first. The three-way distinction we made—before the
beginning, in the middle, after the end—is made with three distinct
words: pu’o, ca’o, ba’o. This is, of course, no coincidence: before (pu) an
event begins, you use pu’o; after (ba) an event ends, you use ba’o. So
you can come up with sentences like these:

mi ba’o tavla le mikce

I have spoken to the doctor (or had spoken, or will have
spoken)

mi ca’o tavla le mikce

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I am speaking to the doctor (or was speaking, or will be

speaking)

mi pu’o tavla le mikce

I am about to speak to the doctor (or was about to speak, or will
be about to speak)

mi pu pu’o tavla le mikce

I was about to speak to the doctor

mi ba ba’o tavla le mikce

I will have spoken to the doctor

mi pu ba’o tavla le mikce

I had spoken to the doctor

mi pu ca’o tavla le mikce

I was speaking to the doctor

Vocabulary
fekpre insane,crazyperson(fenki‘crazy’+prenu‘person’)
troci x1tries/attempts/makesanefforttodo/attainx2
(event/state/property)byactions/methodx3

Exercise 1
TranslateintoLojban.

1. Iwillbeonthevergeofgoinginsane.
2. I’mdonereadingthebook.
3. Jyoti’sstillonherwaytotherestaurant.
4. Ranjeetwaseatinghiscurry.
5. Susanwastohavebeenwithus,butshehadtostayatthebar.
6. I’dgonetothehospitalbeforeyoutriedtotalktome.

More Aspects
The aspects pu’o and ba’o describe situations in which the event is still
not going on, or is no longer going on: if you draw a time-line, they
are outside of the line corresponding to the event. But beginnings and

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Chapter 12. Aspect, Vocatives, etc.

endings are pretty conspicuous, as moments go. So we often want to

point out that we are not before the beginning of the event, but right
at the point when it begins; and not after the end of the event, but
right at the point when it ends.
To pinpoint your time at the instant when the event begins, the
aspect word you use is co’a. So you can say mi co’a tcidu le cukta at the
moment when you start reading a book. When you stop reading the
book, the aspect is co’u. When you finish reading, on the other hand,
the word to use is mo’u. So Lojban makes a distinction between
finishing and stopping (before the event would have finished
normally).
For this kind of aspect, English normally just uses verbs: start, finish,
stop. Lojban likewise allows you to use distinct selbri to express these
notions: cfari, mulno, and sisti. Using aspects just lets you express
things more succinctly; and with Lojban the way it is, anything that
makes things more succinct comes in handy.
There are more aspects in Lojban, though you won’t necessarily see
them as often in Lojban text; you can find out about them in Chapter
10.10 of The Complete Lojban Language.

Exercise 2
SomeofyoumaybefamiliarwiththepuzzlesWhere’sWaldo?andWherein
theWorldisCarmenSandiego?.Wellnowwe’regoingtoplayalittlegameofla
jan. zvati ma.Foreachofthesesentences,saywhereZhangis,giventheaspect
expressed.You’reallowedtosay“BetweenAandB”inyouranswer.For
example:

.i la jan. ca’o klama la paRIS. la li,ON.→ZhangisbetweenParisand

Lyon.

WatchoutforstrangeLojbanisationsofnames!

1. .i la jan. co’a klama la sankt.PEterspurg. la myskFAS.

2. .i la jan. ba’o klama la minxen. la keln.
3. .i la jan. mo’u klama la firentses. la veNEtsi,as.
4. .i la jan. co’u klama la cai,en. la nolinz.
5. .i la jan. pu’o klama la canXAIS. la guanJOUS.
6. .i la jan. ca’o stali le barja.

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Vocatives
When you address people by name, you usually do so to make it clear
who out of a group you are talking to. We’ve already seen how to do
that in Lojban: doi, followed by the name (without the name article,
la.) So “Houston, we have a problem” ends up as

doi xustyn. mi’a se nabmi

(sidestepping the slight illogicality of speaking to a single person in

Houston but addressing a whole city.)
Often, however, we address people in order to manage our
conversations: to make someone pay attention to our turn; to butt in
before it is our turn; to signal that a conversation is beginning or
ending; and so on. We can also do this without using names, but
instead by various context cues and all-purpose words. When you
think about it, for example, OK does a lot of work for such a small
word.
As we know, Lojban tends to be precise rather than vague. So when
it comes to signalling what you want done with a conversation,
Lojban doesn’t play along with the usual natural language tricks of
leaving it up to the principles of politeness and social convention to
work out what’s going on. Instead, it has explicit words for managing
turns in a conversation, which can optionally be followed by the name
of whoever you’re bringing it to the attention of. Since all these words
address someone, they are called vocatives (selma’o COI.)
Natural languages don’t distinguish as carefully between these
various contexts, except in fairly artificial contexts: for example,
conversations over two-way radio, where it is impossible to talk over
each other, or to negotiate whose turn it is to speak through subtle
visual cues. (A less elaborate vocabulary is in place for IRC, its
Internet equivalent.) This means that Lojban vocatives look a little like
a CB enthusiast’s nightmare, because the glosses you see for them
come from this more explicit subset of English. But normal English
has these kinds of words as well—they’re just not as clearly
distinguished, because context is usually relied on instead.

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We’ve slipped some of these past you already, too.

• mi’e is the word you use to introduce yourself: it’s the only vocative
followed by the speaker’s name, rather than the addressee’s. So mi’e
.robin. means “I’m Robin” or “This is Robin speaking.”
• coi is the greeting word: it corresponds to “Hello”, “Good
morning”, “Hi”, “Wazzup?”, and whatever else happens to be in
vogue.
• Conversely, co’o is the farewell word, corresponding to “Goodbye”,
“Farewell”, “Yo Later Dude”, and so on. Lojbanists signing off on e-
mail often end with something like co’omi’e .robin.—this is
equivalent to putting your name at the end of your email in English
as a signature, and translates as “Goodbye; I’m Robin.”

The other vocatives are not as common.

• Two words similar to coi are ju’i ‘Hey!’, with which you draw
someone’s attention, and fi’i ‘Welcome! At your service!’, with
which you offer hospitality or a service. (It’s what you say to a
visitor; you wouldn’t say it over the phone, for instance, unless your
addressee is calling from the airport and is on their way over.)
• je’e corresponds to ‘Roger!’ in radio-speak, and ‘right’ or ‘uh-uh’ in
normal English: it confirms that you’ve received a message. If you
haven’t, you say je’enai instead (of course); in normal English, that
would be ‘Beg your pardon?’ or ‘Huh?’.
• In case you haven’t received the message clearly, you can explicitly
ask for the speaker to repeat whatever they said with ke’o.
• Similarly, be’e signals a request to send a message (“Hello? Are you
there?”), and re’i indicates that you are ready (Lojban bredi) to
receive a message. (It’s what you say when you pick up the
phone—which in English also happens to be “Hello?”, but in Italian
is Pronto ‘Ready!’.)
• mu’o is what you say when you explicitly make it another speaker’s
turn to speak: it’s the “Over!” of radio.

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• When it isn’t your turn to speak, but you want to barge in anyway,
you can say ta’a—though it probably won’t make anyone any
happier that you’re interrupting.
• nu’e introduces a promise; pe’u introduces a request, and so is fairly
similar to the attitudinal .e’o.
• vi’o acknowledges a request, and promises to carry it out: in radio
talk this is “Wilco!”, and in normal English “OK” or “All right, I
will” (or for that matter, “Consider it done!”)
• You say “Thank you” with ki’e—to which the appropriate response
is not fi’i (“You’re welcome” doesn’t mean you’re being visited by
some guests), but the simple acknowledgement je’e.
• Finally, to close communication (radio’s “Over and out!”), you can
use fe’o. (This is what people actually should be putting at the end of
their e-mails; but it’s not as well-known a word as co’o)

Vocatives take names, sumti or selbri. The names come after an

obligatory pause, to make sure any eavesdropping computers don’t
misconstrue the vocative as one long name. The sumti or selbri
describes the addressee (e.g. co’o la mensi or co’o mensi “Goodbye,
sister!”.) If any of these are used, they normally don’t need
terminators after them. If you use the vocative on its own, however,
you will need a terminator, because the things likeliest to follow the
vocative in a sentence could easily be misconstrued as describing your
addressee. The terminator for vocatives is do’u. For example,

coi do’u la suzyn. la ranjit. puzi cliva

Hello! Susan’s just left Ranjeet.

coi la suzyn. la ranjit. puzi cliva

Hello, Susan! Ranjeet’s just left.

Exercise 3
GivetheLojbanvocativescorrespondingtotheemphasisedwordsineachof
thefollowingsentences.Youmayneedtoaddnaitoyourvocatives.Bewareof
trickquestions!

1. “Jyoti,areyouthere?”“Justasecond!”
2. “Comeonin,Zhang,makeyourselfathome!”“Muchobliged!”

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3. “You’recomingalong,right?”“Comeagain?”
4. “Excuseme,isthisseattaken?”“Bemyguest!”

Loan words
You got a brief taste of lujvo in Lesson 8. As we said there, lujvo are the
main way of introducing new words—more precisely, new brivla—
into Lojban. The most important thing about lujvo is that, as selbri,
they are meant to have very well-defined place structures; and there
are guidelines in place for deriving them (see The Complete Lojban
Language, Chapter 12.) So, particularly when the concept you want to
express is ‘verb-like’ (that is, when it’s likely to have sumti of its own),
lujvo are preferred.
There are some cases, though, when you do have to borrow a word
from another language, creating a loan word (called in Lojban a
fu’ivla). This can be because the thing you’re talking about is very
concrete or particular, and/or because the reference is quite culture-
specific. In either case, it would be really cumbersome to describe it
with a combination of gismu. (For example, how would you come up
with a description for brie? Or rock ’n’ roll?—which, we should point
out, you would have to keep distinct from the later musical genre of
rock!)
The problem with borrowing words into Lojban is, Lojban has a
quite thorough set-up for working out what the words are in a stream
of letters. This means that most words you import into Lojban (once
you spell them in Lojban letters) are likely to mean something else
already. For example, if I want to bring the word Esperanto into
Lojban, the last thing I want to do is start saying .esperanto. That will
get analysed as .e speranto, which is something like ‘and marriage-
soft’.

Note: Well,itwouldbeif‘soft’wasrantoinsteadofranti—butthe
pointshouldstillbeclear:importingwordsexactlyastheyarewould
leadtoconfusionandhavoc.

The sanctioned way to deal with loan-words (described in more detail

in The Complete Lojban Language, Chapter 4.7) is to stick a gismu (minus

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its final letter) in front of the word, showing what sort of thing the
word is; and to put an r (or, if an r is already there, an n) between the
gismu and the word. The gismu helps the reader or listener, who has
likely never seen this word before, guess what the word might be.
This is particularly handy if the source word might be ambiguous
between two different meanings. And the combination of gismu minus
final vowel, source word (which should start with a consonant, and
end with a vowel), and r or n will hopefully produce a cluster of
consonants crunchy enough that it cannot be mistaken for another
Lojban word or phrase.

Tip: Thereisnostandardconsonanttoputinfrontofthewordto
becomeafu’ivlaifitstartswithavowel.Twopopularchoicesarex
andn.Similarly,thereisnosetconventiononwheretogetthevowel
from,ifyourwordendsinaconsonant.Intheselessons,we’lljust
repeattheprecedingvowel;e.g.England→gugdrninglanda(from
gugde‘country’.)

So what does all this look like in practice? Well, we’ve already seen
curry:

• take ‘food’, cidj[a];

• take the word in Lojban garb (starting with a consonant and ending
with a vowel), kari;
• and wedge them together with an r: cidjrkari.

(The consonant cluster is also crunchy enough to be difficult to

pronounce; the r is a syllable on its own, and the word should sound
something like shidgerrrrrkari.)
Loan words (in Lojban, fu’ivla) are still only sporadically used—
particularly because, as of this writing at least, there is no Lojban
dictionary where a standard list of them can be looked up. The
problem of which language to borrow words from is also hard to
settle, and the choices made can cause problems of their own. The
most international solution for plant and animal names, for example,
is Latin, and in particular the Latin of the Linnaean system of
classification. But this means that, to come up with a word for ‘catnip’,
say, you have to know Latin and your Linnaean taxonomy. (Or, like I

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did, look it up on the Internet—but you can’t normally do that while

you’re having a conversation.) So fu’ivla are still largely unexplored
terrain in Lojban.

Note: Thatsaid,youwilloccasionallysee‘Stage4’fu’ivlainuse.The
fu’ivlawe’veseenare‘Stage3’;inStage4,youdroptheinitial
‘crunchy’rafsi,reasoningthatthewordshouldalreadybewell-known
orrecognisableenough—andmakingsurethatthewordstilldoesn’t
looklikeanormalbrivla.(Forexample,TheCompleteLojban
Languagesuggeststci’ilefor‘Chile’,insteadofgugdrtcile.)Not
everyonelikesthem,sothey’renotyetallthatcommon,andyou’ll
usuallygetplentyofwarningifsomeoneisusingthem.

P.S.: Ifyouwerewondering,bytheway:cirlrbri, zgiknroknrolo,

zgiknroko.

Exercise 4
Turnthesewordsintofu’ivla,usingthegismusuppliedastheprefix.For
example:

Mummy/Mommie:mamta→mamtrmami.

1. Cockney:bangu
2. Pizza:cidja
3. Derivative:cmaci
4. Adagio:zgike
5. Psychopathy:bilmi
6. Deuterium:cidro
7. Amethyst:jemna
8. Rallentando:zgike

Equalities
You may at some stage have asked yourself the question, what the
Lojban for is is. The short answer is, most of the time there isn’t one.
Lojban represents the world in terms of relations (bridi), and is is a
fairly empty kind of relation. Moreover, if the thing to the right of is
(the ‘predicate’, in grammar terminology) means a class of things,
instead of a single entity, then it corresponds to a selbri, and we don’t
need to put a word for is in. So “Robin is English” comes out in Lojban

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as la robin. glico: glico is already a selbri that takes la robin. as a sumti—

so we don’t need a separate selbri for is.
Very, very, very occasionally, you’ll need a Lojban word for is
anyway. Lojban offers three words which sort of do the job of is; each
has its own provisos.
The first word is me. me takes a sumti following it, and converts it
into a selbri. So me la nik. is a selbri, which takes as a sumti anything
that ‘is a Nick’. Similarly, since le mi ci mensi is ‘my three sisters’, la
renas. me le mi ci mensi means “Rena is one of my three sisters” (as she
is described by the selbri version of ‘my three sisters’.) So me is best
thought of as meaning ‘is one of’.

Historical note: me,waybackinthedawnof(Lojbanic)time,usedto

mean‘pertainingto’insteadof‘is’.You’llseeconfusionbetweenthe
twopersistingamongoldtimers.Begentlewiththem,weprayyou...

The second word is du. du is a selbri on its own, and it means that all
its sumti are the same thing and have the same identity. So mi du la nik.
(or mi du la robin.) is a way of saying “I am Robin (or Nick.)” The claim
made is one of identity; so you can flip the sumti around without
making any difference: la robin. du mi. It does not make a sumti behave
like a selbri, so du cannot mean ‘is one of’, like me does: la renas. du le
mi ci mensi makes the nonsensical claim that Rena is my three sisters.
(Or should that be are?)

Tip: Canyousaymi du lo prenu,doingtheLojbanequivalentof

makinganindefinitenoun‘equal’adefinitenoun?Afterall,lo prenu
appliestomanymorepeopleintheworldthanjustme,soduhere
doeskindofactlike‘isoneof’.
Theansweris,yesyoucan,becauseinthiscontexttheybothdorefer
tothesameperson.(Instrictlogicalterms:“thereisatleastone
personsuchthatthatpersonisme.”)ThisisfrowneduponinLojban
ingeneral,though,becauseit’smisleading:dutendstobereservedfor
mathematicalequality,andforclaimingthattwodifferentnames(or
definitenouns)refertothesamething.Ifyoureallywantedtosaymi
du lo prenu,afterall,whywouldn’tyoujustsaymi prenu?

These two means are grammatical Lojban, but they are viewed with
some distaste, and are usually giveaways that some poor translating

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from English (or another natural language) has been going on. The
third mechanism is better regarded, because it tucks the equality away
in an inconspicuous corner. po’u has the same grammar as the sumti
modifiers like pe and po we saw in Lesson 3. But instead of claiming
that one sumti is associated with the other, or owned by the other, po’u
claims that the two sumti are the same thing. So:

la ranjit. po’u le pendo be la djiotis. vi zvati

Ranjeet, who is Jyoti’s friend, is here.

Like those other members of selma’o GOI (pe, po and po’e), po’u has a
non-restrictive version: no’u. So if I was saying that Ranjeet was Jyoti’s
friend, not to distinguish him from the other Ranjeets you might
know, but just for your information, I should use no’u instead of po’u.
You can think of no’u as tantamount to noi du, and po’u as tantamount
to poi du.

Note: no’uandpo’uaretypicallyusedinLojbantointroducealternate
namesforsomething;sotheycorrespondtoEnglishnamely,i.e.For
instance,la suzyn. penmi la xumske fanza ku no’u la jan.“Susanmet
‘ChemistryAnnoyance’,namelyZhang.”

Vocabulary
xadba x1isexactly/approximatelyhalf/semi-/demi-/hemi-ofx2by
standardx3

Exercise 5
Whereappropriate(andonlywhereappropriate),translateisineachofthe
followingsentenceswitheachoneofme,du,po’u,andno’u.Togetpo’uand
no’utowork,youmayhavetorearrangethesentences.Forinstance:

x,whichis[equalto]y,isanumber.

• da noi me de cu namcu
• da noi du de namcu
• da no’u de namcu

1. Jyotiisawoman.
2. JyotiandSusanarethetwowomenwhowentinJyoti’scar.

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3. JyotiandSusanareamongthewomenwhomZhangconsidershisfriends.
(Usejinvi.)
4. Ranjeet,whoisafriendofJyoti,ishalf-German.
5. ThisbluecarwhichistheonetotherightofmineisaFordcar.(Usele pritu
fortheonetotheright.)

Summary
In this lesson, we have covered:

• Simple aspects (pu’o, ca’o, ba’o; co’a, co’o, mo’u)

• Vocatives (DOI, COI)
• Loan words
• Words expressing equality (me, du, po’u, no’u)

Vocabulary
banli x1isgreat/grandinpropertyx2(ka)bystandardx3
banxa x1isabankownedby/inbankingsystemx2forbanking
function(s)x3(event)
casnu x1(s)(massnormally,but1individual/jo’upossible)
discuss(es)/talk(s)abouttopic/subjectx2
cladu x1isloud/noisyatobservationpointx2bystandardx3
cradi x1broadcasts/transmits[usingradiowaves]x2via
station/frequencyx3to[radio]receiverx4
dukse x1isanexcessof/toomuchofx2bystandardx3
ji’a additionally,also
la’edi’u ‘thecontentoftheprevioussentence’(that,asin“Iknewthat!”)
mau sumti tcita:exceededby...(fromzmadu‘more’)
sanga x1sings/chantsx2[song/hymn/melody/melodicsounds]to
audiencex3
smagau x1actssothatx2isquiet/silent/[still]atobservationpointx3by
standardx4(smaji‘quiet’+gasnu‘do’)
ticygau x1(person)actssothatx2(event/experience)
misleads/deceives/dupes/fools/cheats/tricksx3intox4(event/state)
(tcica‘deceive’+gasnu‘do’)
voksa x1isavoice/speechsoundofindividualx2
zmadu x1exceeds/ismorethanx2inproperty/quantityx3(ka/ni)by
amount/excessx4
zgikrfanki Thisisafu’ivla,andyou’llhavetoworkoutwhatitis.Hint:say

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thewordoutloud,minustheprefix.

Exercise 6
TranslatefromLojban:

1. .i ba’o lenu citka kei lei ci pendo ca casnu

2. .i ca’o bo ri klama le dansydi’u po’u la zgikrfanki jipci
3. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i pe’u .djiotis. ko smagau le ve cradi
4. .i mi co’u tirna la ranjit. li’u
5. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i ke’o .suzyn. mi na’e tirna ri’a lenu le ve cradi cu cladu
li’u gi’e mo’u smagau
6. .i la ranjit cusku lu .i .u’i ki’e do’u mi co’a tirna mi li’u
7. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i .uu mi ji’a go’i li’u
8. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i ke’onai .djiotis. mi nelci lei me la’o gy. Eurythmics gy.
selsanga ne mau lemi voksa li’u
9. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i mi pu’o cusku la’edi’u li’u
10. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i ke’onai .suzyn. li’u

Exercise 7
TranslateintoLojban:

1. Jyoti,RanjeetandSusanarriveatthediscoat0:50.(Hint:youdon’thavea
distinctwordfor‘arrive’;useklamaandanappropriateaspect.)
2. RanjeetsaystoJyotiandSusan“Look,youtwo,I’vegottogotothebank.”
3. “Iwasgoingtobringmoney,butIwaspayingtoomuchattentiontomy
radiotransmissions.”(Hint:usedukseinatanru)
4. WhileRanjeetisn’tthere,Jyotisays“Susan?Günter—TheGreatDeceiver—
dumpedyou”(Again,youdon’thaveawordfor‘dump’;usepramiandan
appropriateaspect.)
5. “SoIthoughtyoustillhatedeverythingGerman.”
6. Susansays“Uh-uh,butRanjeet’seyesaremuchmorebeautifulthan
Günter’s.”
7. Alongwayawayfromthewomen,Zhangloudlysays“Howareyoudoing,
friend!”toRanjeet.

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1
1. .i mi ba pu’o fekpre
2. .i mi ca ba’o tcidu le cukta
3. .i la djiotis. ca ca’o klama le gusta
4. .i la ranjit. pu ca’o citka loi ri/vo’a cidjrkari

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5. .i la suzyn. pu pu’o kansa mi’a gi’e ku’i bilga lenu stali le barja
6. .i mi pu ba’o klama le spita pu lenu do troci lenu do tavla mi

Exercise 2
ToexplainthepeculiarLojbanisationsofplacenamesbelow,wehavehelpfully
suppliedIPAtranscriptionsinbracketsafterwards.

1. Moscow(St.Petersburg[sanktˈpɛtɛrspurg],Moscow[məsˈkfa])
2. Munich(Munich[ˈmynçɛn],Cologne[ˈkœln])
3. Florence(Florence[fiˈrentse],Venice[veˈnetsia])
4. BetweenNewOrleansandCheyenne(Cheyenne[ʃæˈjɛn],NewOrleans
[ˈnɑlɪnz].OK,wearen’tnecessarilyseriousaboutthelastone.)
5. Canton/Guangzhou(Shanghai[ʂaŋxai],Canton/Guangzhou[kuaŋtʂow])
6. Thebar([le ˈbarʒa]).Ofcourse.

Exercise 3
1.

a. be’e(“WillJyotireceivemymessage?”,althoughju’icouldalsobe
used,assomeoneistryingtodrawJyoti’sattention.)
b. re’inai(Jyotiisnotreadytoreceiveanymessages.)

2.

a. fi’i(theEnglishisaclassicformulaforofferinghospitality;itmaynot
alwaysbeliterallymeant!)
b. je’e(thesimplestresponseissimplytoacknowledgewhathasbeen
saidtoyou;“Muchobliged!”isdoingprettymuchthesamejobas
“You’rewelcome!”Youcouldrespondwithvi’o“That’sexactlywhat
I’lldo!”;butvi’oisaresponsetoanexplicitrequest,andfi’iisn’treally
arequest.Itwouldalsomakesensetorespondwithki’e.)

3.

a. mu’o(“Pleaserespond”,whichisprettymuchthesamethingas“It’s
nowyourturntospeak.”)
b. ke’o(unlessyou’resneakilytryingtosay“No”,whichwouldbemore
likevi’onai“Irefusetocomplywithyourrequest.”)

4.

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a. pe’u(becausetheprimarythingyou’redoingismakingarequest;but
“Excuseme”isalsoinitiatinganexchangetheotherpersonwasn’t
expecting,soyoucouldalsouseju’i,ta’a,be’e,orevencoi.)
b. fi’i,becauseyou’reofferingaservice,althoughvi’oisjustasgood,
becauseyou’recarryingoutarequest.

Exercise 4
1. bangrkokni
2. cidjrpitsa(Remember,fu’ivlaaredonebypronunciation,notbyspelling.)
3. cmacrderivativi(Or,ifyouknowaboutInterlingueandablatives,
cmacrderivativo.Butthat’salongstory...)
4. zgikrnadadjioorzgikrxadadjio,dependingonwhatyourfavouriteconsonant
is.
5. bilmrsaikopati,ifyou’reborrowingthewordfromEnglish;bilmrpsikopatior
bilmrpsikopatia,ifyouwantsomethingclosertoGreek(andthuspresumably
morerecognisabletoatleastsomenon-Englishspeakers.)
6. cidrndeuteriumu(orcidrndeuterio,ifyouknowaboutthoseablativesI’mnot
goingtoexplainhere...)Ofcourse,youcan’tuserasthejoining
consonant,sincecidr-alreadyendsinr.
7. jemnrnametistiorjemnrxametisti.(Asitturnsout,jemnrametistiwouldhave
alsobeenacceptableasafu’ivla.)
8. zgiknralentando(Remember,thewordalreadystartswithr,soyouhaveto
usentojointhetwopartsofthefu’ivlatogetherinstead.)

Exercise 5
1.

a. la djiotis. me lo ninmu.
b. la djiotis. du lo ninmuispossible,butfrownedon,asdiscussed.
c. Asfortheothertwoalternatives,evenifwetuckedawaytheis-clause
afterpo’uorno’u,wewouldbeleftwithnoselbriatall.Sowecan’tget
awaywiththem.

2.

a. la djiotis. .e la suzyn. cu me le re ninmu poi klama fu le karce po la djiotis.

b. la djiotis. joi la suzyn. du lei re ninmu poi klama fu le karce po la djiotis
(notethemasses!Ifyou’dused.e,youwouldbesayingthatJyotiwas
thetwowomen,andSusanwasalsothetwowomen!)
c. Therearetwoselbrihere,butyoucan’treallytuckoneawaywithpo’u
andbeleftwithaselbrifortherestofthesentence.

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3.

a. la djiotis. .e la suzyn. me le ninmu poi la jan. jinvi le du’u ke’a pendo ri.
b. la djiotis. .e la suzyn. du le ninmu poi la jan. jinvi le du’u ke’a pendo riis
possiblebutfrownedon.
c. Aversionwithno’uisnotreallypossible,becausetherewouldbeno
selbrileftforthemainbridi.

4.

a. la ranjit. noi me lo pendo be la djiotis. cu me lo xadba dotco.

b. Frownedonbutpossible:la ranjit. noi du lo pendo be la djiotis. cu me lo
xadba dotco.
c. Frownedonbutpossible:la ranjit. no’u lo pendo be la djiotis. cu me lo
xadba dotco.

5.

a. le vi blanu karce poi me le pritu be le mi karce cu me la ford. karce

b. le vi blanu karce poi du le pritu be le mi karce cu me la ford. karce(The
firstisdoesindeedactasanequalitysign:you’redescribingacartwo
differentways,tonarrowitdown.Butthebrandofacarisaclass,so
thesecondisisnotanequalitysign.)
c. le vi blanu karce po’u le pritu be le mi karce cu me la ford. karce(Since
you’renarrowingdownwhatthecaris,youneedarestrictiverather
thananon-restrictiveclause.)

Note: Thisuseofmeisprettystandardtogetacmeneintoa
tanru.Thereareoftentimeswhenyouwillwanttousea
nametodescribeaclassofthings,ratherthanaunique
thing.Thisinturnmeansyouhavetotreatacmenelikea
selbri,enteringintodomainsliketanru.Infact,asan
extensionofthis,Type1and2fu’ivlaaremerelycmene
convertedwithmetoselbri:Type1involvestheundigested
cmene,withla’o(e.g.me la’o gy.currygy.),whileType2
Lojbanisesit,usingla(e.g.me la karis.).

Exercise 6
1. Aftertheyhavefinishedeating,thethreefriendsarenowdiscussing.
(Aspectscanbeusedassumti tcita,justliketensescan.ba’omeanspretty
muchthesameasbahere,butemphasisesthattheyhadfinishedeating
whentheystartedtalkingagain.)
2. Whiletheyweredoingso,theywenttothedisco[whichis]TheFunky
Chicken(Aspectscanalsobeusedtoconnectsentences,justliketenses

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can..i ca’o bomeansthatthesecondsentencetookplacewhilethefirst

sentencewasstillgoingon.Thefu’ivlaconsidersFunkytobeakindof
music:‘TheFunkChicken’isprobablymoreaccurate.)
3. Susansays“Jyoti,pleaseturntheradiodown.”
4. “I’vestoppedhearingRanjeet.”
5. Jyotisays“Comeagain,Susan?Ididn’thearyoubecausetheradioisloud”,
andcompletesturningitdown.(i.e.sheturnsitdowntocompletion—all
thewaydown.)
6. Ranjeetsays“Heheh,thanks!Inowstarthearingmyself!”(Thisisamore
pedanticrenderingofwhatinEnglishwouldbemorelike“Icanhear
myselfthinkagain”.Thedo’uisnecessary,becauseotherwiseRanjeet
wouldbeaddressinghimself:“Thanks,Me!”)
7. Jyotisays“Unfortunately,socanI.”
8. Ranjeetsays“Don’trepeat,Jyoti.IlikeEurythmicssongs,butmyownvoice
more.(or:IlikemyownvoicemorethanEurythmicssongs.)”(Ranjeet,too
cleveraLojbanistforhisowngood,isplayingaroundwithhisvocatives.)
9. Susansays“Iwasabouttosaythat.”(Thefulltensewouldhavebeenpu
pu’o,butyoudon’thavetostatethetenseaswellastheaspectwhenyou
thinkitisobviousfromcontext.)
10. Jyotisays“Don’trepeat,Susan.”(Twocanplayatthatgame!)

Exercise 7
1. .i la djiotis. .e la ranjit. .e la suzyn. mo’u klama le dansydi’u ti’u li no pi’e muno
(Notco’u klama,whichwouldhavehadthemstopontheway;norba’o
klama,whichwouldmeanthattheyhadalreadyarrivedat0:50.)
2. .i la ranjit. cusku fi la djiotis. joi la suzyn. fe lu ju’i redo mi bilga lenu mi klama
le banxa(or:mi .ei klama le banxa.SinceRanjeetspeakstoJyotiandSusanas
aunit(together),joiismoreappropriate,though.eisstrictlyspeaking
correct.)
3. .i mi pu pu’o bevri loi jdini gi’e dukse jundi lemi se cradi li’u(Amorepedantic
version—inkeepingwithRanjeet’sstyle—wouldbe:.i ku’i lenu mi jundi le
se cradi pe mi cu se dukse)
4. .i ca’o lenu la ranjit. na zvati kei la djiotis. cusku lu be’e .suzyn. la ginter. no’u
la banli ticygau co’u prami do(co’uistheonlyreallygoodaspecttouse;it’s
somewhatmorecontroversialtothinkofloveassomethingwithanatural
endingpoint(mo’u),andGünter—thoughhehasturnedSusanoffsome
perfectlyacceptablebeverages—hadnotnecessarilyreachedthatpoint,
anyway.Ifyouwantedtokeeptheumlaut,youcouldalsousela’o dy.
Günter dy.,orsomethinglikethat.WepresumethisistheonlyGünterthey
know,sohisnicknameisn’tbeingusedtodistinguishhimfromother
Günters;hence,no’uinsteadofpo’u.)
5. .i semu’ibo mi pu jinvi ledu’u do ca’o xebni ro lo dotco li’u(or:ro dotco,since
loisassumedafternumbers.ro da poi dotcoisalsocorrect.)

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6. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i je’e do’u ku’i le kanla be la ranjit. cu mutce zmadu le

kanla be la ginter. le ka melbi li’u(Kindofabaptismbyfireforyouwiththat
newgismu.Sorryaboutthat.Youcan’tavoiddo’uhere,otherwiseSusan
wouldbespeakingtoRanjeet’seyes:“That’sright,OeyesofRanjeet’s.”
Bytheway,thecuisnecessary;otherwise,kanla be la ranjit. mutce zmadu
wouldbetakenasasingletanru—individualgismuwithinatanrucanstill
havetheirownsumtiattachedwithbe.)
7. .i vu le ninmu la jan. cladu cusku lu .i coi pendo li’u la ranjit.(Apuregreeting,
ofcourse;ZhangisnotactuallyaskingRanjeet‘howheisdoing’anything.
Hemightwanttoknowwhatheisdoingthere;butthat’sthenextchapter
ofthesaga...)

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Chapter 13. Keeping it flowing: Textual
cmavo
Most of what we’ve been concentrating on until now has had to do
with the logical side of Lojban—getting sentences to be true. To that
end, we’ve been looking at how to describe relationships between
things (bridi, internal sumti); how to situate events and things in time
and space; how to describe things as masses or individuals; how to
speak about events and facts; and so on.
This kind of thing is the ‘hard-core’ of Lojban, so to speak; the
logical machinery on which Lojban is based, and which works with
concrete realities. But there’s another, less concrete side to language.
No, not its ineffable soul, or its intrinsic poetry, or anything like that:
we’re not about to go into such rarified abstractions. (Although those
rarified abstractions do have some rather tangible—and linguistically
concrete—bases.) The less concrete side of language has to do, not
with what you say about things, but how you manage the business of
saying it. This means things like:

• how you express your attitudes to things;

• how you put the things you talk about in the foreground or the
background;
• how you deal with misunderstandings and errors;
• how you structure your texts.

A language isn’t really a language if it can’t cope with things like

these—although typically these kinds of things are not dealt with in
traditional grammars, but are picked up in usage. If there’s one thing
you’ll have noticed about Lojban, of course, it’s that it is as explicitly
specified as possible. Accordingly, Lojban has a special subsection of
its grammar dealing with these issues, rather than leaving it up to
usage. But, precisely because this isn’t what logic was designed for,
the grammar Lojban uses here has little to do with bridi: it is a much

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simpler grammar, mostly using isolated words. We’ll go through the

ones you’re likeliest to meet.

Lojban with lots more attitude

You’ll remember from way back in Lesson 1 that Lojban has little
words called attitudinal indicators (or attitudinals), which show how
you feel about something. That ‘something’ is whatever precedes the
attitudinal. As we have seen, if the attitudinal is after a terminator, it’s
a reaction to whatever phrase ends in the terminator. If it follows an
article, then it applies to the entire sumti; if it follows a connective, it
applies to the connective and whatever following term it is
connecting; and so on.
Attitudinals belong to selma’o UI. This means that their grammar is
as simple as can be: they can turn up after just about any word of
Lojban, without disrupting anything going on grammatically. For that
reason, they don’t need terminators: there’s no danger of them
swallowing up any errant sumti (unlike their close relatives, the
vocatives.)
There are some cmavo whose job is to modify other UI cmavo,
though. You’ve seen one already: nai has the function of converting
the attitudinal expressed to its opposite. So if .a’u expresses interest,
its opposite, .a’unai, expresses repulsion. We saw in our discussion of
negations that, when you set up a scale between something and its
opposite (to’e), you can also speak of something that’s neutral, in-
between (no’e). The same goes for attitudinals, and the word to use in
that case is cu’i. So .a’ucu’i expresses neither interest nor repulsion, but
disinterest.
You can divide up the continuum even more finely. If you want to
say that you feel an emotion only weakly, you can add to it ru’e. If you
want to say you feel it strongly, you can add sai. And if you want to
say you feel it really strongly, you add cai. This gives you a seven-part
scale:

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cai > sai > (nothing) > ru’e > cu’i > nairu’e > nai > naisai > naicai

So for instance, if you want to say “Eh. That’s cool”, you’d say .a’ucu’i.
If you want to say “That is really gross!”, you’d say .a’unaisai. And if
you want to say “Oh my God, that is the most interesting thing in the
world since the very invention of Lojban!!!”, .a’ucai is a pretty safe bet.

Note: Allthesemodifiersbelongtoselma’oCAI,exceptfornai—
whichturnsupalloverLojbangrammar,aswe’vealreadyseen,and
hasitsownselma’o,NAI.

There are 39 attitudinals fitting the pattern VV (two vowels, possibly

with an apostrophe between them; these are a subclass of selma’o UI,
called UI1.) Each of these corresponds to a different emotional state.
With the addition of the seven-way scale we’ve just described, that
makes 273 attitudinals you can use, plunking them pretty much
wherever you want in your sentence. That’s not even counting selma’o
UI4 and UI5, which can further modify your attitudes. As with
everything else, Lojban allows you to be as specific as you want to be
in expressing yourself.

Note: selma’oUI4specifieswhat‘part’ofyouisfeelingtheemotion—
whetheritisaphysical,social,mentalresponse,andsoon.selma’o
UI5hassome‘left-over’modifiers;wealreadysawinpassingga’i,
whichindicateshaughtiness.
Thecmavointhiscategoryyouwillseealmostconstantlyiszo’o.Itis
usedjustlikethesmiley-faceine-mail,toindicatethatyou’rebeing
humorouswhensayingsomething,andit’susedformuchthesame
reason.Inthesetwocommunicationsystems,it’sdifficulttoworkout
whethersomeoneisjokingornot—ine-mail,becauseyoucan’thear
thetoneofvoicethatgivesthingsaway;inLojban,becausebyits
ideologythelanguagedoesn’twanttoleavethingstonatural-
language–basedintuition(andalsobecauseit’susedalotone-mail
anyway.)Sohintslikethisarealwayswelcome,andfrequentlytaken
advantageof.

Vocabulary
Note: Attitudinalshavethree-wayglosses:whattheymeanontheir
own,whattheymeanwithcu’iafterthem,andwhattheymeanwith
naiafterthem.

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.ai attitudinal:intent–indecision–rejection/refusal
.o’o attitudinal:patience–meretolerance–anger
.o’u attitudinal:relaxation–composure–stress
.e’u attitudinal:suggestion–abandonsuggest–warning
.i’e attitudinal:approval–non-approval
.uu attitudinal:pity–cruelty
.u’u attitudinal:repentance–lackofregret–innocence

Exercise 1
Matchoneofthefollowingattitudinalstoeachofthefollowingsituations.
.a’unairu’e
.e’uru’e
.e’ucai
.i’enai
.i’eru’e
.i’esai
.o’onai
.o’u
.u’u
.uu

1. Youseesomeonestubtheirtoe.
2. Youboughtthelasticecreamintheshop,andthetoddlerqueuingbehind
youhasstartedcrying.
3. You’dliketoasksomeonetotakeyoualongtotheshops,ifit’snottoo
muchtrouble.
4. Youwillabsolutelydieifyoursisterdoesn’ttakeyoutotheRickyMartin
concert.
5. Yourlocalfootballteam,theLoglandiaContrapositives,hasjustwona
match.Youwatchfootballmaybetwiceayear.
6. Youhavejustbeenslappedintheface,andyouareneithertheBuddhanor
Christ—orintoS&M,forthatmatter.

My attitudinals! All mine! (And you?)

A common pitfall to avoid is trying to specify whose attitude the
attitudinals express. The reason UI cmavo are so simple is that they
express direct emotional responses—gut reactions, without making
any fine distinctions like whose attitude is involved. The reaction is
always taken to be the speaker’s. So .ui do cliva means you’re happy
that someone else is leaving, just like “You’re leaving—Yay!” does. If
you wanted to say that the ‘someone else’ is happy, not you, then you

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wouldn’t say “Yay!” at all. Instead, you’d say something like “You
must be happy you’re leaving.” The same goes in Lojban: if you’re
relaying someone else’s responses, not your own, then that’s what
bridi are there for.
You wouldn’t likely make this mistake for .ui; but there are other
cmavo it’s almost impossible not to do this with. The worst offender is
probably .ei, which expresses obligation. .ei mi cliva means “I ought to
leave.” But .ei do cliva doesn’t necessarily mean “You ought to leave.”
It’s more like “I feel the obligation for you to leave”: I can say this if I
want you gone while you’re making yourself comfortable—but not if
you’ve remembered you’ve got to be somewhere else, while I’d want
nothing more than for you to stick around.

Tip: Thetemptationtouseattitudinalsforothers’reactionsisstrong
enough,infact,thatthereareacoupleofwaysofgettingaroundit.If
youaddtheUI5cmavose’i,yousaythatyoufeeltheemotionfor
yourself.Ifyouaddse’inai,then,yousaythatyoufeelitforsomeone
else:.uise’inaiisprettymuch“I’mhappyforyou!”Andifyouadddai,
you’resayingthattheemotionissomeoneelse’s,andthatyouare
empathisingwiththem.If.a’uis“That’sinteresting!”,.a’udaiismore
like“Thatmusthavebeeninterestingforyou!”

One final thing: if you want to know how someone feels about
something, once again Lojban provides a fill-in-the-slot question
word. The word asking the listener to fill in the attitudinal that best
applies is pei. You can fill pei in with anything from selma’o UI, NAI or
CAI. So if I ask you

.i pei le lunra cu blanu

The moon is blue—how do you feel about that?

at least one response is .ienai “Disagree!” (“Uh-uh”, “No way!”,

“No!”, etc.) pei can also explicitly ask for NAI or CAI alone, by
following a UI cmavo. So a response to

.i .u’ipei do farlu le pesxu

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You fell into the mud! Funny, eh?

could well be ru’e: “Kinda...” Then again, it could also be naicai:

“Absolutely not, and I shall thank you never to mention it in my
presence again.” (Allowing for some latitude in translation...)

Discursives
Attitude isn’t the only meaning UI cmavo convey. Another subclass of
UI cmavo (UI3: discursives) carry information about how a particular
word or phrase fits in with everything else you’re saying.
We’ve seen one such cmavo already: ku’i, which means ‘but,
however’. This means that whatever it is attached to contrasts with
what you’ve been saying. It usually applies to a whole sentence (so
normally you’ll see it next to .i), but it can apply to a single word: .abu
na.e ku’i by. is the proper Lojban for “Not A, but B.”
The flipside to ku’i is ji’a ‘additionally, also’ (which we saw in
passing last lesson.) This means that whatever it is attached to adds on
to what you’ve been saying. Again, this can apply to individual
words, as well as sentences:

.i .ai mi venfu do doi melbi .e ji’a le do cmalu gerku

I’ll get you, my pretty—and your little dog, too!

In some cases, there is nothing to either contrast or add to what

you’ve said, because what you’ve said is the unique relevant case. In
that context, you would use only in English. Because only is somewhat
clumsy to express in terms of pure logic, Lojban allows another
discursive as its equivalent: po’o. So “Only cats like catnip” is in
Lojban

loi mlatu po’o cu nelci loi spati be la’o ly. Nepeta cataria ly. (Nepeta
cataria being the Linnaean name for catnip I had to go look up
online.)

If you wanted to say that something is not the only applicable case,
then of course you’d say po’onai.

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There are several more discursives, but you won’t seem them all
that often. Some to watch out for, though, include:

ba’u exaggeration – accuracy – understatement

sa’e precisely speaking – loosely speaking
ju’o certainly – uncertain – certainly not
la’a probably – improbably
ta’o by the way – returning to the subject
zu’u on the one hand – on the other hand

There are two more UI cmavo that will come in handy. da’i means
‘hypothetically’; it points out that what you are saying is a hypothesis,
rather than fact. This is how you distinguish between hypothetical
and non-hypothetical kinds of if:

.i da’i do zvati le nu la rikis.martin. tigni .inaja do tirna la’o sy. La

Vida Loca sy.
If you had gone to the Ricky Martin concert, then you would
have heard La Vida Loca.

.i da’inai do zvati le nu la rikis.martin. tigni .inaja do tirna la’o sy.

La Vida Loca sy.
If you did go to the Ricky Martin concert, then you must have
heard La Vida Loca.

ki’a, finally, is a cmavo you want to make your friend. ki’a is Lojban for
‘Huh?’ When you don’t understand what someone has just said—
whether because you don’t get what they were referring to, or you
don’t know the word, or the grammar confused you—you can repeat
the word or phrase you didn’t get, and add ki’a as a plaintive request
for clarification (so it’s even better than Huh?, because you can point
out exactly what made you say Huh?):

.i mi puzi te vencu lo matcrflokati

.i matcrflokati ki’a
“I just bought a flokati [rug].”

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“Flokati? Huh?”

Exercise 2
GivetheLojbandiscursivescorrespondingtotheemphasisedwordsineachof
thefollowingsentences.

Note: Thisexercisereliesheavilyonaparticularvariantofidiomatic
AmericanEnglish.(Sincetheequivalentsofdiscursives,and
attitudinalsingeneral,areamongthefeaturesoflanguagethattendto
beidiomatic,thisishardtoavoid.)Ifyou’renotfamiliarwiththe
idiom,don’tworryaboutthisexercise;you’llgetplentyofpractice
withdiscursivesonceyoustartusingLojbanconversationally,
anyway.

1. TheEiffelToweris,like,20milestallorsomething.
2. Saythisguygoesuptoyouandgoes,“Dude,yourfly’sundone.”That’dbe,
like,soembarrassing!
3. So,anyway,Iseethisdude,andhe’slike,all“I’mjusthangingwithmy
friends,youknowwhatI’msaying?”.AndI’m,like,“Hellooo?There’s,like,
nobodyelsehere!”
4. So,like,hereyou’vegotthisdudewho’s,like,totallygrody,scopingme
out.Andthenthere’sTiffanywalkingbyintheotherdirection.Plusshe’s
gotTracyandShannonwithher.Andshetotallywalkstwofeetawayfrom
meactinglike,“DoIknowyou?”Like,bogustothemax!

(YoumayattainLojbandivinitystatusif,onsomefuturedate,youcomebackto
thisscintillatinglittleanecdoteandtranslateintoLojban.Like,totally.)

Erasure
When you make a mistake while speaking, whether in your wording
or your grammar, you don’t normally bother to correct it—if you even
realise you made a mistake in the first place. That’s because natural
languages are fairly redundant (for this very reason!); and we
normally rely a lot more on context than on what we actually hear,
anyway. If we do catch ourselves making an error, we stumble out a
correction that will do the trick, without going into details like how
many words should be cancelled: again, context is almost always
more than adequate. So if I say

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I downloaded and learned some Esperanto vocabulary. Er,

Lojban vocabulary.

context and common sense dictate that Lojban vocabulary is meant to

replace Esperanto vocabulary. But what if it was meant to replace some
Esperanto vocabulary? Or downloaded and learned some Esperanto
vocabulary? We wouldn’t normally care, in natural languages.
But Lojban is Lojban precisely because it is not a natural language.
And this kind of imprecision does not sit well with how the language
was designed. So Lojban allows you to be more precise about what
words you are correcting. Whether it is actually too be precise to be
useful—well, that’s something for usage to determine. But the tools
are available, if you want them.
si erases the immediately preceding word. If you want to erase two
words in a row, you say si si after them. So the correction above would
be in Lojban

.i mi te benji je cilre loi bangrnesperanto valsi si si lojbo valsi.

The problem with si is, you have to count words. This can get tedious,
and you shouldn’t have to keep a transcript of your words when you
want to correct yourself. The other correction word Lojban offers is
somewhat more helpful: sa erases a phrase. It works by taking the
word following it, which starts the phrase to serve as the correction. It
then goes back in the sentence, looking for the last time you used a
phrase starting with the same word. (Same selma’o, actually.) Once it
finds the last such phrase, it replaces all text from that phrase up to sa
with the phrase following sa. For example:

.i mi te benji je cilre loi sa .i mi cilre loi lojbo.

The correction following sa is a sentence; you know that, because the

first word after sa is the sentence marker, .i. So the sentence following
sa replaces the current sentence up to and including sa. Or consider:

.i mi mrilu fi do ca le purlamdei sa ca la reldjed.

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The correction is ca la reldjed. ‘on Monday’. So what it replaces is

everything from the last phrase beginning with ca: ca le purlamdei
‘yesterday’. The English version would be “Yesterday I mailed you...
actually, it was Monday.”

Tip: OftheLojbanerasurewords,saisnotaswidelyknownassi,and
another,unofficialsolutionhasarisenonIRC(InternetRelayChat)to
theproblemofcorrectingawordinthesentenceafteryou’ve
completedthatsentence.(PeopleonIRCtendtotypefasterthanthey
should,sothiskindofproblemarisesprettyfrequently.)Thesolution
istorepeattheerrorword,theneraseitwithsi,thengivethe
correction.Strictlyspeaking,that’snothowsiismeanttowork—it
onlymakessensetoacomputerparseriftheerasureiswithinthe
currentsentence;butyou’llseethisonIRCfairlyoften.

Exercise 3
ApplytherequirederasurestothefollowingLojbansentences.

1. .i mi viska le si la djan.
2. .i mi viska la djan. si si si catlu la djan.
3. .i mi viska la djan. sa catlu
4. .i lenu lebna loi lojbo valsi cu nandu sa nu vimcu loi lojbo valsi lo jufra cu nandu
5. .i mi .e lemi pendo cu zvati le barja sa .e la ranjit. cu zvati le barja ca lenu do
zvati le gusta

Bits and pieces

Inevitably with textual cmavo, there’s a lot of words that can only be
called odds and ends; they each have a specific little job, and don’t
have much in common. The Complete Lojban Language, Chapter 19,
bemoans the same problem in paedagogy for the same topic; so at
least we’re in good company.
To survive in Lojbanistan, though, you’ll certainly need the
following:

• ni’obegins a new paragraph. Paragraphs are usually associated

with new topics, and ni’o is meant to remind you of cnino ‘new’.
There’s some complicated stuff about what happens with tenses
and assigned pro-sumti across different types of paragraph, but you
can do without that for now.

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• To emphasise a word, where you would use stress in a spoken

natural language, and italics or capitals in a written language,
Lojban insists (as should be no surprise to you by now) that you use
a separate word: ba’e. Like UI, this word can go pretty much
anywhere in a Lojban sentence, but it emphasises the word that
follows it, rather than what precedes it. Or, to put it in Lojban,

zo ba’e basna le valsi poi se lidne jenai lidne zo ba’e

• zo ki’a, I hear you ask? Good, that means you’ve been paying
attention! zo is a quotation marker, just like lu. However, zo quotes
only the word immediately after it. This means it does not need a
terminator: we already know where the quotation ends. The saving
of two syllables is highly valued in a language which can get as
prolix as Lojban does.

Note: Sincezoquotesanywordfollowingit—anyword—itturns
outthatzo ki’adoesn’tmean“zo?Huh?”atall,but“Thewordki’a.”
Toask“zo?Huh?”,you’llhavetoresortto(waitforit)zo zo ki’a.

• Parenthetical remarks can go anywhere UI can—meaning pretty

much anywhere in a Lojban sentence. With parentheses, just like
with quotes, you need to know where the parenthesis starts, and
where it ends. And just like quotes, the end-parenthesis terminator
is going to be pretty hard to drop out. The normal Lojban
parentheses are to and toi. So “This (no, I don’t want another one!)
apple is rotten” comes out in Lojban as:

ti poi to vi’onai do’u mi na djica lo drata toi plise cu fusra

Vocabulary
cizra x1isstrange/weird/deviant/bizarre/oddtox2inpropertyx3(ka)

Exercise 4
Translatethefollowingdisfunctionaldialogue.

1. .i zo to to mi ca tavla fo la lojban toi xamgu lenu tavla fo la lojban

2. .i xamgu ki’a

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3. ni’o xu do nelci lai loglandias.kontrapositivos.

4. .i lai ki’a
5. .i mi to .e do xu toi gleki lenu te vecnu loi matcrflokati
6. .i do tavla lo ba’e cizra

Summary
In this lesson, we have covered lots and lots of little words:

• Attitudinal scales (NAI, CAI)

• Non–self-directed and empathic attitudinals
• Attitudinal questions (pei)
• Discursives (UI3)
• Erasing words and phrases (si, sa)
• Paragraphs (ni’o)
• Emphasis (ba’e)
• Single-word quotations (zo)
• Parentheses (to, toi)

Vocabulary
crida x1isafairy/elf/gnome/brownie/pixie/goblin/kobold[mythical
humanoid]ofmythos/religionx2
dansu x1(individual,mass)dancestoaccompaniment/music/rhythmx2
dasni x1wears/isrobed/garbedinx2asagarmentoftypex3
drata x1isn’tthe-same-thing-as/isdifferent-from/other-thanx2by
standardx3;x1issomethingelse
.e’e attitudinal:competence–incompetence/inability
.ia attitudinal:belief–skepticism–disbelief
krixa x1criesout/yells/howlssoundx2;x1isacrier
lanli x1analyzes/examines-in-detailx2bymethod/technique/systemx3
[process/activity]
milxe x1ismild/non-extreme/gentle/middling/somewhatinpropertyx2
(ka);x1isnotveryx2
sesi’u sumti tcita:assisting...(sidju“help”)
pensi x1thinks/considers/cogitates/reasons/ispensiveabout/reflects
uponsubject/conceptx2
sisku x1seeks/searches/looksforpropertyx2amongsetx3(complete
specificationofset)

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terdi x1istheEarth/thehomeplanetofracex2;(adjective:)x1is
terrestrial/earthbound
xalfekfri inebriated,drunk(xalka‘alcohol’+fenki‘crazy’+lifri
‘experience’)
zirpu x1ispurple/violet[coloradjective]

Exercise 5
TranslatefromLojban.Remember,kaistheabstractorthatspecifiesaquality
(andisobligatoryforthesecondplaceofsisku.)

1. ni’o ta’o la jan. milxe xalfekfri ki’u lenu klama lo drata barja
2. .i ta’onai la jan. cusku lu .i doi le pedro si pendo .e’uru’e mu’i ma do vi zvati li’u
3. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i lenu mi kansa la djiotis. .e lo pendo be ri to mutce melbi
.uasai toi li’u
4. .i la jan. lu .i mi lenu do .e re melbi cu kansa cu ba’e gleki doi pendo sa lenu do
kansa re sa’e melbi cu gleki li’u
5. .i la ranjit. lu .i .e’epei zo’o do ca klama la jipci li’u
6. .i la jan. lu .i .audai do denpa lenu viska lenu mi dansu lenu si si la jipci vi .y. la
jipci li’u
7. .i ranjit. lu .i ro da pe le dansydi’u co’a krixa zo pe’u vau ba’uru’e li’u
8. .i jan. lu .i xu .iacu’i do ba’o cradi fo le crida li’u
9. to la ranjit. cu lanli loi se cradi sesi’u la nu sisku leka terdi bartu pensi toi
10. .i la ranjit lu .i .i’e ju’o lenu do tavla cu zdile li’u
11. .i la jan. lu .i je’e do’u .i’ese’i go’i li’u

Exercise 6
TranslateintoLojban.

1. OnlySusandoesn’tknowthatZhangknowsRanjeet.(Hint:trickquestion!
Thetwoinstancesofknowdonottranslatetothesamegismu!)
2. Susan:“Woah!You’rehere,andyou’rewearingpurple,too!”
3. Zhang:“IfI’dknownyou’dbehere,I’dhavewornnothing:-)”(Nothingin
Lojbanis‘zerosomethings’.)
4. Jyoti:“Notonlygeeky,butinsane.”(Makeupafu’ivlafor‘geeky’,basedon
kulnu‘x1[massofideas,customs,skills,arts]iscultureofnation/ethosx2
(mass);x1isethnic’.Assume(fornow!)theplacestructure“x1isgeeky”.)
5. Ranjeetisveryamused,andsays“Probably!”
6. (Faraway,anextraterrestrialintelligencesetsoffforEarth.)(You’llneeda
three-parttanruforthis.Andyou’vealreadyseenit,ifyou’vebeengood....)

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Answers to exercises

Exercise 1
1. .uuisthemostusualreaction.ThisisonemeaningofEnglishSorry!
2. .u’u(again,unlessyoufloutthedominantsocialnorms.)Thisistheother
meaningofEnglishSorry!
3. .e’uru’e,the“Eh,whatever”typeofrequest.
4. .e’ucai,the“Beggingonhandsandknees”typeofrequest.
5. .i’eru’e:yetanother‘slacker’attitudinal.
6. .o’onai.InLojban,angerisconsideredtheoppositeofpatience:“losing
yourtemper”.TheBuddhawouldpresumablyreactwith.a’ucu’i
(indifference),andChristwith.io(love).Someonegettingathrilloutofthis
wouldreactwithsomethingmorelike.oinai(un-complaint,i.e.pleasure.)

Exercise 2
1. ba’uistheonlydiscursiveLojbanwouldtoleratehere,astheEiffelTower,
is,like,totallynot20milestall!
2.

a. da’i
b. ju’o“thatwouldcertainlybeembarrassing”(orsa’e—“thatwould,in
preciseterms,beembarrassing.”)

3.

a. ta’onai(“gettingbacktowhatIwassaying...”)
b. po’o(“thisistheonlyrelevantthingI’mdoing.”)
c. ki’a(there’sawealthofattitudinalsinthisword,butki’aisreallythe
onlyrelevantdiscursive.)

4.

a. zu’u(“ontheonehand...”;itmightnotbeaselegantastheClassical
Greekcontrastclauseswithmenandde,butthat’swhatitmeans.)
b. zu’unai
c. ji’a
d. sa’e(orba’ucu’i:presumablyourhaplessnarratorisn’texaggerating
here.)

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Exercise 3
1. .i mi viska la djan.
2. .i mi catlu la djan.
3. .i mi catlu(Whatfollowssaisaselbri;soitreplacesthelastselbriwe’ve
seen,aswellaseverythingelseuptosa,includingthesumti,la djan.)
4. .i lenu vimcu loi lojbo valsi lo jufra cu nandu(You’retellingme!)
5. .i mi .e la ranjit. cu zvati le barja ca lenu do zvati le gusta(Thephrase
followingsaisthenamela ranjit.;everythingfromthatnameon,i.e.cu
zvati le barja,isdeleted.)

Exercise 4
1. Thewordto(IamnowspeakingLojban)isgoodforspeakingLojban.
2. Good?!
3. Tochangethetopic:Doyoulikethe(massof)LoglandiaContrapositives?
4. lai?!(Notacommonlyusedarticle,afterall.)
5. I(andyou?)arehappytobuyflokatirugs.(Notethatxu,asaUIcmavo,
specificallyqueriestheworditfollows;thisisshorthandforasking“Doyou
too?”)
6. Yousaystrangethings.

Exercise 5
1. (NewParagraph)Incidentally,Zhangissomewhatdrunk,becausehewent
toanotherbar.
2. Anyway,Zhangsays“Pedro,Imean,friend,doyoumindtellingmewhat
you’redoinghere?”
3. Ranjeetsays“I’mwithJyotiandafriendofhers(reallygood-looking;what
awin!)”
4. Zhang:“I,foryouandtwobeautifulpeopleaccompanying,amhappy,
friend...Imean,foryouaccompanyingtwobeautifulpeople(toputit
precisely),amhappy”(Wecangetawaywith“thissentencenoverb”in
Lojban.Andlet’snotbetoohardonZhang,either,whohasthesensetofix
hisLojbangrammareveninhiselatedstate.Hehastriedtosay“foryou
andtwobeautifulpeoplebeingtogether”,butkansainLojbancorresponds
to“youaretogetherwithtwobeautifulpeople”:itisnotreciprocal.)
5. Ranjeet:“You’renowgoingtotheChicken—sureyoucanmanageit?:-)”
6. Zhang:“You’rejustwaitingtoseemedancethat,er,theChickenat,uh,the
Chicken.”(Theempathyattitudinaldaiexpressesdesire,butit’sadesire
Zhangisprojectingontoothers.That’sroughlywhatjustisdoinginthe
English:“Youmustbewantingit,waitingforme...”.Zhangproducesone

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toomanylenus,sohehastodeletehislastone;notethatlenucountsastwo
words!)
7. Ranjeet:“Everybodyinthediscostartsshouting‘Pleasedo’—moreorless.”
(Anyresemblanceto“Everybodyinthehousesay‘Yeah’”ispurely
obscuredbyRanjeet’spedantry.Theattitudinalgoesaftervau,whichyou
mayrememberfromLesson5istheterminatorforasentence;sothe‘slight
exaggeration’attitudinalappliestothewholesentence.)
8. Zhang:“Areyoureallydonesendingbroadcaststothepixies?”(Sacrificing
Zhang’sprettygoodwordplay,consideringhis‘tiredandemotional’state.)
9. (RanjeetanalysesradiotransmissionsfortheSearchforExtraterrestial
Intelligence.)(Abstractionscanbenamesjustlikesimplesumti.)

Note: WhenyousearchinLojban,yousearchforsomethingthat
fitssomeproperty,andsoyounamethepropertyasx2.That
meansthatyoudon’tsayyou’researchingforgoodthings,but
forgoodness—thatis,you’researchingbycheckingwhether
eachthingyoucomeacrosshasgoodnessornot.Thisissortof
anextensionofLojban’sfill-in-the-slotapproachtoquestions:.i
mi sisku leka ___ terdi bartu pensi .i lo fange pe la mars. cu terdi
bartu pensi .i lo fange pe la venus. cu terdi bartu pensi .i lo fange pe
la vulkan. cu terdi bartu pensi .i la jan. na terdi bartu pensi.

10. Ranjeet:“Goodjob!Certainlyyoutalkingisentertaining.”(Ormore
colloquially,“It’sfuntohearyoutalk.”)
11. Zhang:“Yup,itis,isn’tit!”(Spokenwithsomecomicalsmugness,no
doubt...)

Exercise 6
1. .i la suzyn. po’o na djuno ledu’u la ranjit. slabu la jan.(Somelanguages,like
FrenchandGerman,differentiatebetweenknowingfactsandknowing
people.Somelanguages,likeEnglish,donot.Noprizesforguessingwhich
sideofthedivideLojbanison.po’ofollowsla suzyn.,sincethat’swhoit
appliesto.)
2. .i la suzyn. lu .i .uecai do vi zvati gi’e ji’a dasni loi zirpu li’uor.i la suzyn. lu .i
.uecai do vi zvati .i je ji’a do dasni loi zirpu li’u(Youcantoneitdownto
.uesai,ifyouwant.)
3. .i la jan. lu .i da’i mi djuno ledu’u do vi zvati kei nagi’a dasni noda zo’o li’uor.i
la jan. lu .i da’i mi djuno ledu’u do vi zvati .inaja mi dasni noda zo’o li’u.Infact
(forreasonswewon’tgointohere),thingsturnsouttobelessproblematic
forhypotheticalif-statementsifyouuseasolutionbasedonnibliorni’i:.i la
jan. lu .i lenu mi da’i djuno ledu’u do vi zvati cu nibli lenu mi dasni noda zo’o
li’u,or.i la jan. lu .i mi da’i djuno ledu’u do vi zvati .i seni’ibo da’i mi dasni
noda zo’o li’u

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4. la djiotis. lu .i kulnrgiki po’onai gi’e ji’a fekypre li’u(Butheredoesn’t

contradictexpectation;itcorroboratesit.Sointhiscasebutactuallymeans
‘also’!YoucouldinfactaddalsoortoointheEnglishsentence.Some
languageshavedifferentwordsforthetwotypesofbut:German,for
instance,wouldhereusesonderninsteadofaber.)
5. .i la ranjit. mutce se zdile gi’e cusku zo la’a(orlu .i la’a go’i li’u)
6. to vuku lo terdi bartu pensi co’a klama la terdi toiorto lo terdi bartu pensi vu
co’a klama la terdi toi(Youcouldoptionallyputan.iafterto,butyoudon’t
haveto:there’snodangerofthesentencewithinparenthesesbeingmerged
inwiththesentencebeforeit.)

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that
before? More connectives
We have already seen in Lesson 11 several Lojban connectives
described. This lesson rounds off discussion of connectives, with three
additional types. First, we consider forethought connectives: these are
used to identify the logical relation between two terms by being
placed in front of the first term, rather than in between the two. Then,
we look at some more non-logical connectives—which may prove
more useful than you might have expected, especially in a ‘logical’
language. Finally, we look at connectives used to structure tanru—in
particular, how to group gismu together within tanru.

Forethought connectives
As we’ve already seen, there are some things odd about the Lojban
logical connective for IF. One oddity we haven’t touched upon is that
you realise that there’s a conditional going on only halfway through.
Recall what a typical instance of IF looks like:

.i mi djuno ledu’u do vi zvati .inaja mi dasni noda

You read the first sentence, and everything goes swimmingly: “I

know that you’re here.” Then, shazam! you get the connective: “IF
that were the case, I would wear nothing.” You didn’t know in
advance that the first sentence was going to be an IF. This is unlike the
case in English (and natural languages in general), where the if comes
right at the start of the first sentence, and gives you plenty of warning
about what’s coming up.
The problem here is, the logical version of IF denies what comes
before it. So in effect, you’re getting the first statement, quite
normally, and then the surprise: “Either that’s not true, or this is true.”
Things are just as bad for other connectives denying what comes
before them. For instance, na.e is a perfectly reasonable connective:

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

mi djica loi bakni na.e loi jipci

I want not the beef, but the chicken.

But look at what the Lojban is actually saying:

I want the beef—NOT! and the chicken.

There was a vogue in the ’90s of putting NOT! at the end of sentences
in American English (see Wayne’s World.) This was a joke, and the
reason it was a joke is that saying a sentence isn’t true after you’ve
already said it isn’t exactly being helpful.
So if we’re going to use logical connectives in Lojban, and are
obligated to pull NOT!-tricks like this, the Lojban listener can
understandably get frustrated. Once again, though, Lojban has an
answer. With forethought connectives, you can indicate the logical
relationship between two terms in front of the first term. You still need
a word separating the two terms, to show what is being logically
connected; but now you know in advance what that logical connection
is.
If sumti are involved, the forethought connective is formed by
placing g in front of the vowel indicating the logical relationship. The
two sumti are then connected with the leftover g-word, gi. So the
forethought version of mi .e do is

ge mi gi do

Here, ge means that the two sumti coming up are connected with
AND, while gi indicates that what follows is the second sumti in the
relation. (These forethought connectives belong to selma’o GA.)
The real usefulness of these forms comes out in the NOT!-
connectives we’ve just seen. If you want to give some warning when
choosing the chicken instead of the beef, you can now say

mi djica genai loi bakni gi loi jipci

(Forethought connectives can be followed by nai, just like their

afterthought counterparts.) If you wanted to say “beef, not chicken”,
you would put nai after the gi:

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 Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

mi djica ge loi bakni ginai loi jipci

If you’re connecting bridi, as it turns out, you still use selma’o GA. If
you don’t follow GA + sumti immediately by gi and another sumti, then
Lojban grammar assumes that you’re connecting not sumti any more,
but bridi. So our forethought version of Zhang’s statement of wishful
thinking is:

.i ganai mi djuno lenu do vi zvati gi mi dasni noda

You’ll notice that there is no second .i here. Two bridi connected by

GA belong to the same sentence; we already know from the grammar
that what’s coming up after the gi is a separate bridi, so we don’t need
to separate it out with .i.

Tip: ThiscanactuallyturnouthandyinbeatingLojbanprecedence.
Forexample,rememberinLesson10thatwegavetwosentences,and
theirlogicalconclusion:

.i la flufis. ractu .ije ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive .i la flufis. seni’i na ze’u
jmive

Weshouldbeablefromthattosay

.i la flufis. ractu .ije ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive .iseni’ibo la flufis. na

ze’u jmive

right?Actually,nowecan’t:bohasthefunctionofconnecting
sentencesthroughsumti tcita,becauseitconnectssentencesonits
own.Andwhenitdoes,itconnectsthemtighterthan.ijedoes.This
meansthat.iseni’iboconnectsonlytotheimmediatelypreceding
sentence—nottotheprecedingsentencepair!SoFluffy’sdeathis
presentedasaconsequenceofrabbitsnotlivinglong—nota
consequenceofbothrabbitsnotlivinglongandFluffybeingarabbit.
However,ifweputthetwobridiinasinglesentence,thennoneof
thisisanissue:theconclusionwillattachtobothbridi,butwillstill
attachtoasinglesentence:

.i ge la flufis. ractu gi ro ractu na’e ze’u jmive .iseni’ibo la flufis. na

ze’u jmive

There is also a forethought connective for tanru, corresponding to JA:

these are the connectives belonging to selma’o GUhA, and are formed

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

by placing gu’ in front of the connective vowel (connecting the second

tanru with gi.) So if we want to say that Susan fancies men that are, if
funny, then also handsome, the afterthought version is

la suzyn. cinynei ro melbi naja xajmi nanmu

To make this slightly (but only slightly!) more comprehensible, we can

put this in forethought mode:

la suzyn. cinynei ro gu’anai melbi gi xajmi nanmu

There are no forethought versions of bridi-tail connectives. In practice,

however, two bridi connected by GA can be bridi-tails just as easily as
full bridi: there is no real meaning distinction between the two.

Exercise 1
Givesentencesusingforethoughtconnectivesinsteadoftheafterthought
connectivesusedbelow.

1. .i la djiotis. nelci loi cidjrkari .a loi nanba

2. .i la djiotis. nelci loi cidjrkari .iju la djiotis. citka loi cidjrkari
3. .i la djiotis. nelci ju citka loi cidjrkari
4. .i la djiotis. nelci loi cidjrkari gi’e xebni loi zirpu
5. .i la djiotis. .onai la suzyn. djuno ledu’u la jan. zvati jonai tadni
6. .i la djiotis. nelci loi cidjrkari .a loi nanba .e loi jisra(Remember:Lojbannests
totheleft!)
7. .i la djiotis. .onai la suzyn. djuno ledu’u la jan. zvati .inaja la jan. se denpa

Non-logical connectives
We have already seen one non-logical connective, joi. By non-logical,
we mean that the truth of the combined terms does not depend on the
truth of the individual components. It may not be true that la kris.
bevri le pipno “Chris carries the piano”, or la pat. bevri le pipno “Pat
carries the piano”, for example (to revisit an example from Lesson 4),
even if it is true that la kris. joi la pat. bevri le pipno “Chris and Pat
carry the piano.”
Lojban has several other non-logical connectives; we’ll cover the
most frequently used ones:

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 Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

• ce joins sumti (usually) into a set, rather than a mass like joi.
We haven’t said much about sets; and because sets are fairly
abstract entities, as entities go, you don’t often have occasion to talk
about them. While you can say mi viska loi remna “I saw a mass of
people”, for example (you saw them as a bunch), you aren’t likely
to say mi viska lo’i remna “I saw a set of people.”
But as we have seen in the exercises, some gismu need sets in order
to work. simxu, for example, takes as its x1 a set. This is because the
group of things or people in a mutual relationship needs to be well-
defined: you’ve got to be able to say with certainty whether
someone is involved in the relationship or not. The point of sets is
that you can categorically say x belongs to the set or doesn’t. The
membership of masses is left much more nebulous, so saying “a
bunch of people talk to each other” doesn’t make as definite a
statement. The same goes for cuxna ‘choose’: what you choose from
in Lojban (x3) is a set, because you normally have to be certain what
belongs in the group you’re choosing from, and what doesn’t.
So when you form a set out of several sumti, you connect them
with ce. To say “Jyoti, Susan and Ranjeet talk to each other”, you
would say something like

la djiotis. ce la suzyn. ce la ranjit. simxu lenu tavla

or

la djiotis. ce la suzyn. ce la ranjit. tavla simxu

Similarly, if you pick one of Jyoti, Susan or Ranjeet, you would say

mi cuxna pa da la djiotis. ce la suzyn. ce la ranjit.

• If you are referring to an ordered set—a sequence of things, in other

words—then you use ce’o to place things in order. This gets
invoked when you’re compiling a list for whatever reason; for
example, the Lojban alphabet is a sequence, and you’d list it as

.abu ce’o by. ce’o cy. ce’o dy. ce’o .ebu ...

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

and so on. This is what liste ‘list’ and porsi ‘sequence’ expect as their
x1 sumti.
• fa’u carries the meaning of respectively: it relates pairs of sumti cross-
wise. If I were to say

la suzyn. .e la djiotis. tavla la jan. .e la ranjit.

that means that both Susan and Jyoti talk to both Zhang and
Ranjeet. If I want to say that Susan only talked to Zhang, and Jyoti
only to Ranjeet (i.e. “Susan and Jyoti talked to Zhang and Ranjeet,
respectively”), a logical connective is not useful. Instead, I would use
fa’u to connect both pairs of sumti:

la suzyn. fa’u la djiotis. tavla la jan. fa’u la

ranjit.
Susan, cross-wise with Jyoti, talks to Zhang, cross-wise with
Ranjeet.

• If you’re talking about a range, you use bi’i to describe the range
between the first thing and the second thing; so it corresponds to
English between. If you want to say “I dropped my pencil
somewhere between the office and the bar”, you would describe the
location “somewhere between the office and the bar” as le briju ku
bi’i le barja. The whole sentence would come out as:

mi falcru lemi pinsi vi le briju ku bi’i le barja

Warning
Thisselma’o,BIhI,likeselma’oJOItowhichallnon-logicalcon-
nectivesbelong,canjoinbothsumtiandselbri.SoLojbangrammar
requiresyoutoterminateasumtibeforeJOIwithku.

• If the order of the things defining the range matters, you use bi’o.
This corresponds to from... to... in English (though between covers
both ordered and unordered intervals.) For example, “from 1 PM to
2 PM” is an interval lasting an hour; but “from 2 PM to 1 PM”
would normally be interpreted as a 23-hour interval (1 pm the
following day), since times in English are assumed to be presented

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 Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

in order. Lojban follows suit with li pavo lo’o bi’o li paci as a 23-hour
interval. If I said li pavo lo’o bi’i li paci, the order of the two times
would not matter at all; so I could still be talking about a one-hour
interval instead.

Tip: Theselma’oBIhIneedsallsumtiterminatedbeforeit,notjust
normalsumtiwithleorlo.Sincenumbersarealsosumti,youhave
tousetheterminatorcorrespondingtoli,whichislo’o.

Note: Youcanusenon-logicalconnectivesinforethoughtmode,too:
theforethoughtconnectiveisthenon-logicalconnectivefollowedby
gi.Sotheforethoughtversionofla kris. joi la pat.isjoi gi la kris. gi la
pat.

Exercise 2
Whichlogicalornon-logicalconnectivewouldyouusetotranslatethe
emphasisedphrasesinthefollowingsentences?

1. ThemurdererisoneofColonelMustard,ProfessorPlum,orMissWhite.
2. TheGreekDialectDictionaryhaspublishedfivevolumes,fromalphato
delta.
3. SeetheLojbanReferenceGrammar,pp.22–24.
4. Adactylconsistsoftwoshortsyllables,onelongsyllable;ananapaest
consistsofonelongsyllable,twoshortsyllables.
5. OutofZhang,Susan,JyotiandRanjeet,Zhangisthepurplest.
6. JyotiandSusandiscussZhang’sfashionsense.
7. RanjeetandZhangarewearingshirts.

tanru grouping
The default grouping in Lojban is leftwards. This means that, if you
have three things connected together in Lojban, the first two go
together before you join in the third. For example, la djiotis. .e la suzyn.
.onai la ranjit means not “Jyoti and either Susan or Ranjeet”, but
“Either Jyoti and Susan, or Ranjeet.”
Does the distinction matter? Depends on your background;
programmers, for example, are often driven to distraction in making
sure their logical connectives work out in the right order (usually by
copious use of brackets.) But there is often a real difference in

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meaning; the first interpretation given above describes a couple, for

example, but the second doesn’t.
The grouping of terms in Lojban grammar is particularly important
when it comes to tanru. The way gismu group together in a tanru
determines what that tanru means. For example,

bad music magazine

has in English two interpretations: a bad magazine about music, or a

magazine about bad music. In Lojban, its equivalent

xlali zgike karni

has only the interpretation ‘magazine about bad music’, because the
first two gismu (xlali zgike ‘bad music’) group together first. So it is
important to be able to modify the grouping of gismu, so that we can
make sure the tanru means what we actually intend it to mean. For
that reason, Lojban has a couple of mechanisms in place for making
tanru group together properly.
If you are a programmer, or a mathematician, you have long ago
made brackets your trusted aide in dealing with this kind of problem.
So you won’t be surprised to hear that Lojban has cmavo that act as
parentheses, grouping gismu together. Those cmavo are not to and toi:
those are reserved for your own parenthetical comments, and you
never know when you might want to insert a snide remark in the
middle of a particularly arduous tanru. Rather, the cmavo you need are
ke, to open the grouping bracket, and ke’e, to close it. So if xlali zgike
karni means a {bad music} magazine, then a bad {music magazine} is in
Lojban:

xlali ke zgike karni ke’e

Now, ke’e is a terminator, like all the other terminators we’ve seen: ku,
kei, ku’o, vau, and so on. And like those terminators, it can be dropped
out when no ambiguity will result. So if we know we’re at the end of
the tanru, having reached the end of the selbri (because we’ve just
bumped into a sumti, say, or a new sentence), then we also know that

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 Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

any open ke brackets must now close; so ke’e can be omitted. This
means you won’t necessarily see a ke’e ‘close bracket’ after each ke
‘open bracket’:

.i mi pu zi te vecnu lo xlali ke zgike karni .i to’e zanru la’o gy.

Eurythmics gy.
I just bought a bad {music magazine [}]. It dissed the
Eurythmics.

That’s one way of grouping together gismu in tanru. The other way is
to use a cmavo we’ve already seen in a related role: bo. When bo
appears between two gismu, it means that those gismu group together
more tightly than anything else. So an alternative way of saying bad
{music magazine} is

xlali zgike bo karni

This means that zgike bo karni should count as a unit, to which the
description xlali ‘bad’ applies.
bo does the same job with sentences (.i bo, .i ba bo, .i seni’i bo all
attach to only the preceding sentence), with connectives (.e bo, gi’e
bo), and so on. So if I want to say “Jyoti and either Susan or Ranjeet”, I
would say

la djiotis. .e la suzyn. .onaibo la ranjit.

For that matter, ke can also be used with connectives (though not with
sentences; they have their own kind of bracket, tu’e–tu’u.) So I could
also say

la djiotis. .e ke la suzyn. .onai la ranjit. ke’e

—where in most cases the ke’e may be left out.

Tip: Youcan’tstartarunofsumtiwithke,forreasonsofLojban
grammaticalpedantrywewon’tgointohere.

Tip: Anadvantageofputtingtheconnectivebeforethetwoterms,or
afterthetwoterms,isthatyoucancompletelyavoidthiskindof
ambiguity.ThemoregeekyamongyouwillhaveheardofReverse

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

Polishnotation:thisdoesarithmeticbyplacingtheoperatorsafterthe
numberstheyoperateon(e.g.(2 + 3) × 5becomes2 3 + 5 ×),
andsoavoidshavingtousebrackets.ThesameholdsforLojban
forethoughtconnectives:“JyotiandeitherSusanorRanjeet”is

ge la djiotis. gi gonai la suzyn. gi la ranjit.

and“EitherJyotiandSusan,orRanjeet”is

gonai ge la djiotis. gi la suzyn. gi la ranjit.

Sincethereisnoambiguity,youwon’tneedboorkewithforethought
connectives.

Exercise 3
GlossthefollowingintoEnglish,usingbracketstoindicatetheirstructure.For
instance:

xlali zgike karni

((badmusic)magazine)

1. xlali bo zgike karni

2. xlali zgike bo karni
3. ke xlali zgike karni
4. ke xlali zgike bo karni
5. xlali ke zgike ke karni ke tcidu
6. xlali zgike bo karni tcidu
7. xlali zgike ke karni tcidu
8. ke xlali zgike ke’e karni tcidu
9. xlali ke zgike karni ke’e tcidu
10. ke xlali zgike bo karni ke’e tcidu

Summary
In this lesson, we have covered:

• Forethought logical connectives (GA, GUhA)

• Non-logical connectives (ce, ce’o, fa’u, bi’i, bi’o)
• Uses for sets and sequences
• tanru-grouping cmavo (ke, ke’e, bo)

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 Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

Vocabulary
cabdei today(cabna‘now’+djedi‘day’)
certu x1isanexpert/pro/hasprowessin/isskilledatx2(event/activity)by
standardx3
cfipu x1(event/state)confuses/bafflesx2[observer]dueto[confusing]
propertyx3(ka)
ckafi x1ismadeof/contains/isaquantityofcoffeefrom
source/bean/grainx2
ckule x1isschool/institute/academyatx2teachingsubject(s)x3to
audien./commun.x4operatedbyx5
frumu x1frowns/grimaces(facialexpression)
glare x1ishot/[warm]bystandardx2
gusni x1[energy]islight/illuminationilluminatingx2fromlightsource
x3
jamfu x1isa/thefoot[body-part]ofx2
ladru x1ismadeof/contains/isaquantityofmilkfromsourcex2;
(adjective:)x1islactic/dairy
moi convertnumbertoordinalselbri;x1is(n)thmemberofsetx2
orderedbyrulex3
ni abstractor:quantity/amountabstractor;‘theamountthat...’
skapi x1isapelt/skin/hide/leatherfromx2
stedu x1isa/thehead[body-part]ofx2
sodva x1ismadeof/contains/isaquantityofacarbonatedbeverage/soda
offlavor/brandx2
traji x1issuperlativeinpropertyx2(ka),thex3extreme(ka;defaultka
zmadu)amongset/rangex4
vimcu x1removes/subtracts/deducts/takesawayx2fromx3with/leaving
result/remnant/remainderx4
zbasu x1makes/assembles/builds/manufactures/createsx2outof
materials/parts/componentsx3
zmadu x1exceeds/ismorethanx2inproperty/quantityx3(ka/ni)by
amount/excessx4

Exercise 4
TranslatefromLojban.

1. .i la jan. traji leka zirpu kei fo la jan. ce la ranjit. ce la djiotis. ce la suzyn.

2. .i ji’a la jan. gonai zmadu la ranjit. leni certu lenu dansu gi xalfekfri caku

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

3. .i la suzyn. cu bevri loi birje gi loi sodva fa’u gi la djiotis. fa’u la jan.
4. .i la jan. gu’u sutra gi djica pinxe lei sodva
5. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i pe’ipei do baza djica loi glare cnino bo se zbasu ckafi li’u
6. .i la jan. cusku lu .i cnino skapi ki’a .i le ca skapi be mi cu stedu bi’i jamfu melbi
li’u
7. .i la ranjit. krixa lu .i ckafi li’u
8. .i la jan. se cfipu catlu gi’e ba ke cmila gi’e cusku lu .i na go’i doi bebna .i mi
pinxe loi sodva li’u

Exercise 5
TranslateintoLojban.Useonlyforethoughtconnectives.

1. Jyoti,whoisholdinganddrinkingcoffee,speakstoSusan.
2. “It’sgoodthatZhangishere,andthatyoumethimtoday.”
3. Susansays“TellmeaboutRanjeet,notZhang.”
4. “Isheanoldschoolfriendofyours?”
5. Justthen,SusanhearsSuperfreak,thefirstoutofthesongswhichare
dancedto(=todanceto.)
6. Susanshouts“Yay!”,andsheandRanjeetstartdancing.
7. JyotistaresatZhang,whoissmilingandbuildingachickenoutofpretzels,
andfrowns.(Makeafu’ivlaforpretzelbasedonnanba‘bread’.Becareful,
bytheway:isZhangreallyconstructingachicken?)
8. Analienspacevehiclearrives,shineslight,andremovesthefourfriends
fromthedisco.(Usece’otojointhestepsinthissomewhatunlikely
sequenceofevents.)

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1
1. .i la djiotis. nelci ga loi cidjrkari gi loi nanba
2. .i gu la djiotis. nelci loi cidjrkari gi la djiotis. citka loi cidjrkari
3. .i la djiotis. gu’u nelci gi citka loi cidjrkari
4. .i la djiotis. ge nelci loi cidjrkari gi xebni loi zirpu
5. .i gonai la djiotis. gi la suzyn. djuno ledu’u la jan. gu’onai zvati gi tadni(or:.i go
la djiotis. ginai la suzyn. djuno ledu’u la jan. gu’onai zvati gi tadni)
6. .i la djiotis. nelci ge ga loi cidjrkari gi loi nanba gi loi jisra(You’rejoiningloi
cidjrkari .a loi nanbatoloi jisra)
7. .i ganai go la djiotis. ginai la suzyn. djuno ledu’u la jan. zvati gi la jan. se denpa

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 Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

Exercise 2
1. ce:Youarepickingamurdereroutofagroup,sothegroupyouarepicking
fromneedstobewell-defined.Thatmakesitaset.
2. bi’o:Thedictionarydoesnotcontainthelettersalphaanddelta,ofcourse,
butalltheGreekdialectwordsbetweenthosetwoletters;sowearedealing
witharange.AndhoweverslowtheAcademyofAthenshasbeeningetting
thevolumesout(67yearsandcounting),ithasstilldonethemin
alphabeticalorder;sotheorderoftheintervalmatters.
3. bi’o:Thisisstillarange,asyouarebeingaskedtoconsultthetext
containedbetweenthosepages(youwillalsobelookingatpage23.)The
pagesarealsoassumedtobeinnumericalorder,sobi’oispreferred
(althoughbi’iwouldnotbeincorrect:evenifyoulookedthroughthepages
backwards,youwouldstillenduplookingatthesamepages.)
4. ce’o:Evenifyoudon’tknowwhatonearthadactylandananapaestis(no,
theyarenotcomponentsofdinosaurs),youcantellfromthedefinitionthat
theorderofshortandlongsyllablesmakesadifference.Sothetwoterms
involvetypesofsequences.
5. ce:Youarestillpickingsomethingoutofawell-definedgroup,soLojban
usesaset.Infact,allsuperlativesinLojban(‘fastest’,‘smartest’,‘mostlikely
todancethefunkychicken’)involvesetsinthesameway.
6. joi:Discussionisagroupeffort,anditdoesnotinvolverangesofpeopleor
sequencesofpeople.Wecouldspeakofsetsofpeopleinvolvedin
discussion,ifweassumedthatyou’redefinitelyeitherinthediscussionor
outofit;butjoiavoidshavingtocommittosuchaclearcutdistinction.
7. .e:Thisisaperfectlylogicalconnective:whatRanjeetandZhangdowith
theirshirts,theydoindependently.

Exercise 3
1. ((badmusic)magazine)
2. (bad(musicmagazine))
3. (((badmusic)magazine))—Thekespanstheentiretanru,soitdoesn’t
makemuchofadifferenceinthemeaning.
4. ((bad(musicmagazine)))
5. (bad(music(magazinereader)))
6. ((bad(musicmagazine))reader)—bobindszgikeandkarnitogether,so
thisbecomesathree-parttanru,whichstillbindsleftwards.
7. ((badmusic)(magazinereader))
8. (((badmusic)magazine)reader)—theke–ke’epairismerelyreproducing
thestandardstructureofatanru.
9. ((bad(musicmagazine))reader)
10. ((bad(musicmagazine))reader)

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

Exercise 4
1. ZhangisthemostpurpleoutofZhang,Ranjeet,JyotiandSusan.(Literally,
“Zhangissuperlativeinpurplenessamong...”Youwouldnormallyusea
lujvo—inthiscaseziryrai‘purplest’—tocutthesentencedowntoa
manageablesize:la jan. ziryrai la jan. ce la ranjit. ce la djiotis. ce la suzyn..)
2. Also,ZhangeitherdancesbetterthanRanjeet,ordrunk(atthattime).(Or:
whenhe’snotdrunk.)(Literally,again,theLojbangivesmoredetail:
“ZhangexceedsRanjeetintheamountbywhichheisexpertatdancing.”
Andhere,too,youcanusealujvotomakethesentencesomewhatsimpler:
.i la jan. cremau la ranjit. lenu dansu,fromcertu zmadu‘moreexpert’.)
3. SusanbringsJyotiabeer,andZhangasoda.(Orsoftdrink,orpop,orcoke,
orcordial,orlollywater—whateveryourlocalwordforcarbonated
beveragesis.)
4. Zhangquickly(whetherornotwillingly)drinksthesoda.(Rememberthat
gu’u sutra gi djicameansthesameassutra ju djica:itisthewillingness,
ratherthanthequickness,thatisirrelevant.)
5. Ranjeetsays“Don’tyouthinkyou’lleventuallywantsomehot,freshly-
brewedcoffee?”(AsthepunctuationintheEnglishshows,theLojbanwords
forfreshly-brewed—literallythemoreprosaic‘newlyconstructed’—go
together.Ifthebowasnotthere,Ranjeetwouldbesayingsomethinglike
thecoffeebeingnovelinthatitishot({hot[kindof]new}madecoffee);
perhapstheestablishmentdoesn’tnormallyhavemuchofawaterheating
process,soanyactualhotcoffeewouldbeasensation.)
6. Zhangsays“Newskin?Huh?Mycurrentskinishead-to-footbeautiful!”
(ZhanghasmisheardRanjeetoverthethumpingmusic,nottomentionthe
buzzinhisownhead.Asthisshows,youcanusenon-logicalconnectives
tojointogetherselbriaswellassumti:fromheadtotoesnuckinsideatanru
isasgoodaplaceasanyforit.)
7. Ranjeetshouts“Coffee!”
8. Zhanglooksconfusedly,andafterwards(then)laughsandsays“No,silly!
I’mdrinkingsoda!”(Ranjeet’sexclamationcanalsobeinterpretedasan
observative—“Look!Coffee!”,especiallytoamindasaddledasZhang’s.)

Note: Justlike.i,gi’ecanbefollowedbyatensetoindicate
whenthesecondtermhappenedrelativetothefirstterm.Ifgi’e
means‘and’,thengi’e ba bomeans‘andlater’,or‘andthen’.We
sawsometingsimilarwithgi ca boabove.
Butbostillbindsimmediatelytowhatwentbeforeit.Soifweleft
thingsastheywere,wewouldbesayingsomethinglike“Zhang
looksconfusedlyandthenlaughs.Healsosays...”Inthatcase,it
wouldn’tnecessarilybeclearthathespokeafterhestaredat
Ranjeet,dumbstruck:sincelogicalANDsaysnothingaboutthe

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 Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

timewhenthingshappen,thatsentencewouldstillbetrueeven
ifZhanghadmadehisperceptiveremarkthreedaysearlier.
Whatwewantisfortheandlatertoapplytobothhimlaughing
andhimtalking.Toforcethistohappen,weusethebracketke
insteadofbo(kecanalsotaketense):“Zhang{stares},andthen
{laughsandsays‘No,silly...’}”Youmightalsowanttorefertop.
364ofTheCompleteLojbanLanguage.

Exercise 5
1. .i la djiotis. noi gu’e jgari gi pinxe loi ckafi cu tavla la suzyn.
2. Thereareseveralwaysyoucansaythis:

• .i lu .i lenu ge la jan. vi zvati gi do penmi ri ca le cabdei cu xamgu li’u

• .i lu .i ge lenu la jan. vi zvati gi lenu do penmi ri ca le cabdei cu xamgu li’u
• .i lu .i xamgu fa lenu ge la jan. vi zvati gi do penmi ri ca le cabdei li’u
• .i lu .i xamgu fa ge lenu la jan. vi zvati gi lenu do penmi ri ca le cabdei li’u

3. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i ko tavla mi ge la ranjit. ginai la jan.

4. .i xu slabu ckule bo pendo do li’uor.i xu slabu ke ckule pendo do li’u(slabu
ckule pendowouldhavemeant‘friendfromanoldschool’instead.)
5. .icazibo la suzyn. tirna la’o gy. Superfreak gy. no’u le pamoi be le’i selsanga poi
se dansuor.icazibo la suzyn. tirna la SUperfrik. noi pamoi le’i selsanga poi se
dansu
6. .i ge la suzyn. krixa zo .ui gi joigi la suzyn. gi la ranjit. co’a dansu(ifyouwant
toemphasisethatthey’redancingtogether)or.i ge la suzyn. krixa zo .ui gi ge
la suzyn. gi la ranjit. co’a dansu(ifyoudon’t.)
7. .i la djiotis. ge catlu la jan. noi ge cisma gi zbasu le jipci loi nanbrpretsele gi
frumu(le jipci‘thatwhichIdescribeasachicken’istheeasiestwayaround
thefactthatZhang’sincipientmasterpieceofcontemporaryartisnotan
actualflesh-and-blood,cluckingchicken.Lojbanbeingthelogical
languageitis,you’llprobablyfindpeopleinsistingonthedistinction,and
sayingthingslike‘facsimileofachicken’or‘chicken-likething’.
Likewesaid,thefinalvowelofnanbrpretseleisprettymuchuptoyou—
untilthere’sastandarddictionaryfu’ivlaforit,atleast.)

Note: Strictlyspeaking,neitherle jipcinorlo jipciactuallywork.

leisnon-veridical(“thatwhichIdescribeas”),butitisalso
specific(thespeaker,atleast,musthaveaspecificreferentin
mind—whichisnotnecessarilythecasehere.)loisveridical,so
itatleastraisestheexpectationthatthechickenclucksandlays
eggs—althoughmanyLojbanistswouldallowformetaphorical
extension,andsaythatachickenmadeoutofpretzelsisstilla
chicken,ofthespeciesChickenusBreadproductusPretzelus.
(Remember:allchickenshavetohaveaspeciesorbreed(lo se

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Chapter 14. Why didn’t I think of that before?

jipci)tobecalledle jipci!CompareTheCompleteLojban
Language,Chapter6.2,andtheexampleofteddybears.)

8. .i lo fange kensa bo xe klama ce’ogi mo’u klama gi ce’ogi te gusni gi vimcu le vo

pendo le dansydi’u(Althoughfange ke kensa xe klamawouldalsohavebeen
fine.fange kensa xe klamawouldhavemeantavehicleintendedonlyfor
alienspace—whichcan’tberight,sincethespaceshiphasjustpaidplanet
Earthasurprisevisit.Waysurprising...)

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Chapter 15. Singled out: Isolating specific
places
In this lesson, we look at three features of Lojban grammar which
normally get relegated to the ‘too-hard’ basket. Each of them involves
singling out a particular sumti from a bridi, as being somehow more
special than the other sumti. The full logical machinery associated with
these ‘singlings out’ can get rather formidable, which is why
Lojbanists tend to regard these features with some degree of awe.
Hopefully we’ll present these concepts to you with a minimum of
fuss, in enough detail that you can go about using them comfortably
in your Lojban.

Indirect questions
A Lojban question word is a request to “fill in the slot”, wherever it
appears in a sentence. So

ma cilre la lojban.

is the question “Who is learning Lojban?” By the same token,

mi djica lenu ma cilre la lojban.

is the question “I want who to learn Lojban?”—or, in actual English

(since English likes to have its question words at the start of the
sentence), “Who do I want to learn Lojban?” And

mi pu cusku lesedu’u ma cilre la lojban.

is “I said who is learning Lojban?”—i.e. “Who did I say is learning

Lojban?”
There’s no reason du’u should behave any differently than nu, let
alone sedu’u; so

mi djuno ledu’u ma cilre la lojban.

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Chapter 15. Singled out

means “I know that who is learning Lojban?”—i.e. “Who do I know is

learning Lojban?”
What it does not mean is “I know who is learning Lojban”—as in “I
know the identity of the person learning Lojban.” In a construction
like that in English, you are not asking a real question; that’s why this
is called an indirect question. Instead, you are saying that you
already know the answer to the question. You can tell that the word
who in that statement is not a request for information, because it is not
at the start of the sentence, there’s no question mark (or questioning
intonation), and the question word is not being emphasised.
Lojban does not use any of these workarounds; a question word is a
question word in Lojban, wherever it happens to end up in the
sentence. This means that mi djuno ledu’u ma cilre la lojban. can never
be an indirect question: it is asking for an answer. (It is asking for an
answer even if you’re doing it rhetorically, although that’s the kind of
behaviour which Lojbanists—a level-headed bunch by most accounts,
at least when they’re speaking in Lojban—might not necessarily
appreciate.) So what to do?
Well, let’s look at what you do know. Let’s say the person learning
Lojban is Fred. If I ask you the question ma cilre la lojban., you know
what value to fill in the ma slot with: la fred. So you could just say

mi djuno ledu’u la fred. cilre la lojban.

For whatever reason, however, you’re not telling me the actual

name—totally within your prerogative. In fact, I could say about you
that “You know who is learning Lojban”—but because I don’t know it,
I have no name to fill in the ‘who’ slot with.
So you know that someone is learning Lojban: do djuno ledu’u zo’e
cilre la lojban. And you can fill in the value of zo’e, even though I can’t.
What we want is some word that would tell us “the answer that goes
here isn’t being said, but it is known anyway.” That word is the UI
cmavo, kau. So we can say:

mi djuno ledu’u zo’e kau cilre la lojban.

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 Chapter 15. Singled out

I know someone is learning Lojban, and I know who it is.

do djuno ledu’u zo’e kau cilre la lojban.

You know someone is learning Lojban, and you know who it is.

kau says that the value of the word it attaches to is known—whatever

that word might be. So in fact, you can put it next to a question word,
and it will cancel out the question word’s force. mi djuno ledu’u ma kau
cilre la lojban. means exactly the same as mi djuno ledu’u zo’e kau cilre
la lojban.—and it has the advantage of looking just like the indirect
questions we’re already familiar with.

Tip: Questionwordshavetheadvantagethattheyarefairlydevoidof
content,sotheydon’tmakeanypresumptionsyoumightnot
welcome.Forexample,ifIknowthatno-oneislearningLojban,Ican
saymi djuno ledu’u makau cilre la lojban.;butIcannotsaymi djuno
ledu’u dakau cilre la lojban.—becausedabydefaultmeans‘atleastone
entity’.

Since kau belongs to selma’o UI, you can place it pretty much
anywhere. In particular, anywhere you can put a question word in
Lojban, you can turn it into an indirect question by adding kau. So you
can say “I know how many people are learning Lojban”, as

mi djuno ledu’u xo kau prenu cu cilre la lojban.

(Remember, xo is the question word for numbers.)

You can even make indirect questions of Lojban’s more exotic
question words. For example, in Lesson 11, the waiter asks Jyoti and
Susan lanme je’i bakni “lamb or beef?” Once they answer, he knows
whether they want to eat lamb or beef; in Lojban,

ba’o lenu la djiotis. .e la suzyn. spuda kei le bevri cu djuno ledu’u re

ra djica lenu citka loi lanme je’i kau bakni

Vocabulary
farna x1isthedirectionofx2(object/event)fromorigin/inframeof
referencex3
gunro x1rolls/trundleson/againstsurfacex2rotatingonaxis/axlex3;x1is

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Chapter 15. Singled out

aroller
rokci x1isaquantityof/ismadeof/containsrock/stoneof
type/compositionx2fromlocationx3
sepli x1isapart/separatefromx2,separatedby
partition/wall/gap/interval/separatingmediumx3
simsa x1issimilar/paralleltox2inproperty/quantityx3(ka/ni);x1
looks/appearslikex2

Exercise 1
ExpressthefollowingindirectquestionsinLojban.UseLojbanquestionwords
totranslatetheEnglishquestionwords.

1. Iwanttoknowwhenyouwilltalktome.
2. Idon’tknowwhyyoudon’ttalktome.
3. I’vesaidwhoIthoughtwasafool.
4. Tellmewherethebeeris.
5. YousaidwhoIshouldgivethebookto.
6. Tellmehowdoesitfeelwhenyou’reonyourownwithnodirection
knownlikearollingstone.(NotonlyisthereaprofusionofDylanhere,but
thisiskindofatrickquestion.Butdotranslateitasanindirectone,
anyway.)

Properties
We have seen, here and there, instances of Lojban expressions of
properties. Lojban treats properties as abstractions, introduced by ka.
There is nothing controversial about that; properties are things you
can talk about (sumti), which involve relationships and characteristics
(selbri.) So if xendo means ‘kind’, for instance, le ka xendo refers to
‘kindness’.
The thing about properties, though, is that they are properties of
something. They are associated, not just with a selbri, but with a
particular place of the selbri. For example, kindness is not just le ka
xendo, but the property of someone displaying kindness—as a
characteristic of that someone. In other words, not just le ka xendo, but
le ka ___ xendo, where ___ stands in for that ‘someone’.
As a further example, consider influence and susceptibility. Both
involve the relationship expressed in Lojban as xlura:

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 Chapter 15. Singled out

x1 (agent) influences/lures/tempts x2 into action/state x3 by

influence/threat/lure x4

So the Lojban for influence is le ka xlura. And the Lojban for

susceptibility is... le ka xlura? Strictly speaking, yes: both properties
involve the same bridi, xlura.
But obviously, we can’t have the same expression for both influence
and susceptibility; we have to have a way of highlighting the place in
the bridi we are interested in. Though the two properties involve the
same bridi, they focus on different places of that bridi. Influence is the
property associated with the x1 of xlura, the influencer. Susceptibility
is the property associated with the x2 of xlura, the influencee. So how
do we say that in Lojban?
Lojban’s solution to this problem is fairly similar to Lojban’s
approach to questions, as it turns out. Remember in Lesson 13 that the
search for extraterrestrial intelligence was, in terms of Lojban, a search
for the value to fit in the slot

leka ___ terdi bartu pensi

By the same token, influence is a property of things that fit into the x1
place of xlura; so you can think of influence as leka ___ xlura. If we
know that mi fits into the slot, we have ‘my influence’; if we know that
la fred. fits into the slot, we have ‘Fred’s influence’. And susceptibility
is a property of things that fit into the x2 place of xlura; so you can
think of susceptibility as le ka xlura ___ (or le ka ___ se xlura.)
Lojban has a word for that slot associated with properties. It isn’t
ma, because you’re not asking someone what fills the slot; you’re just
pointing out that there’s a slot there that can be filled. It isn’t ke’a
either, because ke’a refers back to something you’ve already expressed
as a sumti (though you might think of a relative clause as a property
belonging to that sumti.) Property slots get their own KOhA cmavo,
ce’u. So:

• Influence is le ka ce’u xlura “the property that x influences”: anyone

or anything that has that property can stand in for ce’u.

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• Susceptibility is le ka xlura ce’u “the property that [something]

influences x”, or le ka ce’u se xlura “the property that x is
influenced”: anyone or anything that has that property can stand in
for ce’u.
• And extraterrestrial intelligence is le ka ce’u terdi bartu pensi “the
property that x is an earth-exterior thinker.” You can tell whether
you’ve found your Little Green Men by substituting them for ce’u,
and seeing if the bridi is true:

le ka lo fange pe la vulkan. cu terdi bartu pensi

Lambda Note, Part 1: Ifyou:

• didComputerScienceatUniversity,andyoudidn’tskipTheoryof
Computationinthirdyearjustbecauseithadallsortsofstrange
Greeklettersandivorytowermathematicsinit;
• didComputerScienceatUniversity,andskippedTheoryof
Computationinthirdyear,buthackedaroundwithLISPalot
anyway;
• didLinguisticsatUniversity,anddidnotrunscreamingfromthe
FormalSemanticselectiveinthirdyear(ifyouwereevenofferedit)
justbecauseithadallsortsofstrangeGreeklettersandmore
mathematicsthanyouwereusedto(i.e.none);

thenitwillmeansomethingtoyouthatce’uisalambdavariable,and
that

le ka ce’u xlura da de di

correspondsto

λx.xendo(x,da,de,di)

The rest of you (which includes 90% of all programmers and 99% of all
linguists) can go ahead and forget I ever mentioned this.

If you cast your mind back to Lesson 7, you’ll remember that we split
up the abstractions Lojban uses into two main types: events, using nu,
and facts or propositions, using du’u. A property, as introduced by ka,
is still what we called there a reification. That means it’s just like du’u:
it’s something you hold in your mind about what happens in the
world, rather than something that objectively happens in the world.

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The difference is, ka has an empty slot, occupied by ce’u; and you’re
interested in the ka-clause only inasmuch as you’re interested in what
fills the slot. On the other hand, du’u-clauses don’t necessarily have
any such slot—although they can.

Note: This means that, when you get down to it, there is no real difference
between ledu’u ce’u xendo and leka ce’u xendo. But as we discuss below,
there is a real difference between ledu’u xendo and leka xendo: by default, ka
is assumed to contain ce’u somewhere (since it is a property of something.)
No such assumption is made for du’u: ledu’u xendo is normally assumed to
be just ledu’u zo’e xendo; the fact that someone is kind, rather than the
property of someone being kind.

Most usage of ka in Lojban fits this pattern of ‘filling a slot’

straightforwardly. This is particularly the case when a ka-asbtraction is
required in the place structure definition of a gismu: a ka-clause is
required, because by its definition the gismu involves that slot. So with
sisku ‘seek’, you search for ka-clauses, to find what will fill the slot.
With karbi ‘compare’, you compare things to see how well they fit the
slot. Or alternatively, the gismu by definition fills that slot, by relating
the property to the value satisfying it. For example,

• mi fange do leka ce’u se krasi le bartu be le tcadu:

I am alien to you in the
property of “x1 is from out of town” (as applied to me.)
• mi barda leka le xadni be ce’u cu clani: I am big in the property of “x1’s
body is long”—i.e. “x1 is tall” (as applied to me.)
• mi mansa do leka ce’u pensi: I satisfy you that the property “x1 is
intelligent” applies to me.

What happens when you find the value that fills the slot? Then—and
here Lojban parts ways with English—you no longer have a slot; so
you no longer have a property. You’ve gone back to du’u. If mi mansa do
leka ce’u pensi, that’s the same as saying do djuno ledu’u mi pensi. A
property applying to a known entity is no longer a property at all in
Lojban, but a fact—or (if you no longer have to reify it) an event.
Be careful here: what English (and in fact, most traditional usage)
calls properties are often actually considered just states in Lojban—
that is, something that happens in the world, but without anybody

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t is, something that happens in the world, but without anybody lifting
a finger. Being a runner (also known as ‘running’) is hard work; so
we’re happy to think of it as an event: nu bajra. But being happy (also
known as ‘happiness’) is something that just happens, without any
work; so we’re inclined to call it ka gleki. But that’s misleading. English
distinguishes between running and happiness grammatically, because
run is a verb and happy is an adjective. But verbs and adjectives don’t
mean anything to Lojban (or to many other languages), so there’s
nothing to say you can’t say nu gleki instead. Much of the time, in fact,
that is precisely what you should be saying. As a rule of thumb: if you
wouldn’t say ka bajra in a sentence, don’t say ka gleki either.

Note: For instance, is illness a quality in the sentence “Fred’s illness is

more debilitating than George’s”? Let’s use running instead. If we
translated more debilitating as a single lujvo, rubri’amau, would we say leka
la fred. bajra cu rubri’amau leka la djordj. bajra? No; we’d likely say lenu la fred.
bajra cu rubri’amau lenu la djordj. bajra. In fact, there is a quality involved in
the sentence, if you expand it out fully—but it’s not the illness, but the
debilitatingness: lenu la fred. bilma cu zmadu lenu la djordj. bilma kei leka ce’u
rinka lenu zo’e ruble “The event of Fred being ill exceeds the event of
George being ill in the quality of causing someone to be weak.”

Tip: In older Lojban, you’ll often see phrases like leka mi gleki for “the
property of me being happy.” That’s because we used to not know any
better (ce’u is a recent addition to the language), and were treating Lojban
properties pretty much the way English does. The proper way to say this in
Lojban is lenu mi gleki, or ledu’u mi gleki. Alternatively, if you want to
emphasise that the property “x1 is happy” is being applied to you, you can
say leka ce’u gleki kei poi ckaji mi—a literal translation of “the property ‘x1 is
happy’ as applied to me”.

Lambda Note, Part 2: The infinitesimal number of you that know about
lambda calculus are by now thinking this is a pretty lame way of
implementing beta-reduction. All I can say to that is, if you want LISP, you
always know where to find it...

Sometimes you’ll want to speak of properties of applying to two

entities at once. For example, the cop wants to know who talked about
the heist, and to whom:

le pulji cu djica lenu djuno ledu’u makau tavla makau le nu jemna zercpa.

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In that case, he’s looking for both x1s and x2s to fill in his ka-property:

le pulji cu sisku leka ce’u tavla ce’u lenu jemna zerle’a To put it more
formally, he is seeking pairs {.abu, by.} such that the proposition
.abu tavla by. is true.

Tip: By default, two different instances of ce’u are two distinct entities. So
the example given is not saying that the police are looking to someone who
talked to themselves about the heist!

The main use for multiple instances of ce’u is our old friend simxu: if
we want to speak about reciprocality, we are very much interested in
which two places are related through that reciprocality:

mi ce do simxu leka ce’u tavla ce’u lenu jemna zerle’a

There are some reciprocalities that can be distinguished nicely in this

way: simxu leka draci fi ce’u ce’u is a situation where people take turns
writing plays for each other, while simxu leka draci fo ce’u ce’u is a
situation where people take turns performing plays for each other.

Note: The quantity abstractor, ni ‘the amount by which...’ can also take
ce’u. Had we actually looked at ni in this course at all, this piece of
information might have been slightly more useful to you.

Vocabulary
ckire x1isgrateful/thankfulto/appreciativeofx2forx3(event/property)
mamta x1isamotherofx2;x1bears/mothers/actsmaternallytowardx2;
[notnecessarilybiological]

Exercise 2
ExpressthefollowingqualitiesinLojban,usingce’uexplicitlyinallcases.

1. Gratitude
2. SimilaritytoArnoldSchwarzenegger
3. Motherhood
4. Havingamother
5. MysimilaritytoArnoldSchwarzenegger
6. Beingaplacewherepeoplegetanxious;creepiness,(oneinterpretationof)
hauntedness(Hint:Usesumti tcita.)

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From sumti to abstraction: tu’a

When looking up words in a gismu list, you may have already noticed
that, where languages like English have people or things as subjects
and objects, Lojban often uses abstractions instead as gismu places. For
example, in English, you say that someone is interesting, or something is
interesting. In Lojban, you aren’t really meant to say either. The
definition of cinri is:

x1 (abstraction) interests/is interesting to x2; x2 is interested in x1

In other words, as far as Lojban is concerned, it’s not things or people

that are interesting, but actions or properties involving those things or
people. For example, Jyoti cannot be said to be interesting simply by
virtue of being Jyoti; the way Lojban puts it, it’s the things Jyoti does
(or is) that are interesting—the way she talks about British sitcoms,
her choice of headgear, her tendency to break into ’80s songs after
she’s had a few drinks. (Oh, I forgot to tell you about all that. Maybe
next course.)
The same goes for fenki ‘crazy’. In almost every language, it is
people that are called crazy. Only occasionally are actions also called
crazy. Lojban, however, defines fenki as:

x1 (action/event) is crazy/insane/mad/frantic/in a frenzy (one

sense) by standard x2

In other words, as far as Lojban is concerned, craziness lies in actions,

not in people; a crazy person is by definition someone who does crazy
actions.

Note: Thismeansthatsomeonesufferingfromtheparticularformsof
mentalillnesslooselycalled‘crazy’wouldn’tbecalledfenkiin
Lojban—sincetheirconditionisnotprimarilyamatterofsocially
unaceptableactions—butrathermenli bilma:‘mentallyill’.

For now, you may be prepared to accept this as an endearing quirk of

Lojban. (If you’re not, we explain why Lojban is all topsy-turvy like
this in the next section.) But very often, you have no idea what to say

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is the selbri of that abstraction, or you don’t particularly care to. For
example, yes, Jyoti doing this, that and the other is what is interesting
about her; but I may not know first-hand what exactly her particular
talents are, or I may not feel like going into a five-minute spiel every
time I merely want to point out that she is interesting. If I can’t say the
Lojban for “Jyoti is interesting”, I should at least be able to say
something like “Jyoti {doing some stuff I’m not listing here} is
interesting”, or “Some things about Jyoti are interesting.” In other
words, I have to say

lenu la djiotis. cu ___ cu cinri

but I shouldn’t have to fill in that slot with an explicit selbri each time.
There are slots in Lojban sentences that we have in fact been leaving
empty all the time. Remember zo’e? zo’e is the ‘don’t care’ value we
leave implied in the unspecified places of bridi. For example, when I
say mi klama le barja, I’m not bothering to specify my point of origin,
route, or vehicle. They are all implied to be zo’e: mi klama le barja zo’e
zo’e zo’e. This means that there is a point of origin, a route and a
vehicle involved, but we don’t really care what they are.
zo’e is a sumti; but it has a selbri equivalent, co’e. co’e can appear
where any selbri can appear, but it leaves the relationship between its
sumti unspecified. So mi co’e le barja means something like “I
thingummy the bar”: the bar and I are in some relationship, but I’m
not bothering to say what it is. I might be going to it, coming from it,
sleeping in it, refurbishing it, or hearing about my neighbour getting
drunk in it once. It just doesn’t matter enough for me to say what.
Now normally, you can’t get away with this: if you leave out the
selbri in your story, you pretty much have no story. But with these
abstractions that we wish weren’t really abstractions, co’e is just what
you need: you can get away with making an abstraction containing
only the sumti you want to talk about. You don’t have to specify
anything else in the abstraction—especially not the selbri. So if I want
to say “Jyoti is interesting”, I need only say

lenu la djiotis. cu co’e cu cinri

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I’m still saying an abstraction involving Jyoti is what is interesting, so

I’m following the requirements of the gismu list. But that’s all I’m
saying; what particular abstraction it is that is interesting, I am leaving
entirely open. In the same way, if I want to say “Zhang is crazy” (or
“berserk”, probably a closer translation of fenki), I don’t have to
enumerate the various wacky stunts he has pulled over the years. I
can simply say that “some stuff about Zhang is crazy”, which in
Lojban comes out as

lenu la jan. co’e cu fenki

The value of co’e could be

• dasni [loi zirpu]“wears purple”

• dansu [la zgikrfanki jipci] “dances the Funky Chicken”
• tavla [bau la lojban.] “speaks Lojban”

or whatever; we’re just not bothering to name it here.

Lojban can go one better, though. As you can tell, Lojban is going to
have you saying lenu ___ cu co’e kei quite often (and you never know
when you might need that kei terminator); so it offers you an
abbreviation: tu’a. tu’a da means lesu’u da cu co’e kei (where su’u, you
may recall, is the generic abstractor); so you can translate tu’a as
“some abstraction associated with...”, or more colloquially, “some
stuff about...”. tu’a is easily the most popular way of dealing with
abstractions you wish weren’t there in Lojban; Lojban sentences using
it come out fairly similar to the natural language sentences without
abstractions that we’re used to seeing. So the usual Lojban for “Jyoti is
interesting” is

tu’a la djiotis. cinri

and the usual Lojban for “Zhang is crazy” is

tu’a la jan. fenki

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Vocabulary
djica x1desires/wants/wishesx2(event/state)forpurposex3
cfari x1[state/event/process]commences/initiates/starts/beginstooccur;
(intransitiveverb)
fanza x1(event)annoys/irritates/bothers/distractsx2
nelci x1isfondof/likes/hasatasteforx2(object/state)
snuti x1(event/state)isanaccident/unintentionalonthepartofx2;x1is
anaccident
troci x1tries/attempts/makesanefforttodo/attainx2
(event/state/property)byactions/methodx3

Exercise 3
SomeofthesesentencesneedtobetranslatedinLojbanwithtu’a,andsome
don’t.Supplytheappropriatetranslation,ineithercase.

1. Itriedthecurry.
2. Iwantedthecurry.
3. Ilikedthecurry.
4. Myleavingwasaccidental.
5. Gratitudeannoysme.
6. Curryannoysme.
7. Theirritationhasbegun.

Raising: jai

Warning
Thissectionislongandcomplicated.Ontheplusside,it’salsothe
finalsectioninthecourse.

Things weren’t always like this. In the ’80s, the ancestor of Lojban still
said that things were interesting, and people were crazy, just like most
normal languages, and without detouring through abstractions. So
what happened?
Well, what happened was that Lojbanists noticed how linguists
have been analysing these concepts in natural languages, and how
they were coming up with their own versions of selbri. Often, what
was a noun in one part of the sentence, and a verb in another part,

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were brought together and considered to be underlyingly part of the

same abstraction sumti.

Note: ThewordforselbriinEnglish,bytheway,ispredicates;we’ve
beenavoidingituptonow,butwethinkyoucanhandlethetruth
fromnowon...

A good example is the phrase I am difficult to annoy in English. At first

sight, you might think that I is a sumti of difficult. And grammatically it
is: it’s the subject. But logically it isn’t: what we’re describing as
difficult is not me. We can’t say:

• “Who is difficult?”
• “Me (to annoy).”

What’s actually going on is that, underlyingly, what is difficult is to

annoy me: the action of getting me annoyed is what is hard to
achieve—not me! This is why English also allows you to say It is
difficult to annoy me, and (if you squint a little) To annoy me is difficult.
And sure enough, Lojban expresses this concept according to that
‘underlying’ form:

lenu fanza mi cu nandu

The event of annoying me is difficult

So why did English pull that weird switcheroo with I am difficult to

annoy? Basically, because when we talk, we aren’t concentrating in our
minds on intangible abstractions like “the event of annoying me”, let
alone “the state of Jyoti having certain unspecified properties.”
Instead, we run little stories in our head, with heroes and villains:
concrete heroes and villains—people, for the most part. And as it
happens, we make the subjects of our sentences be the heroes and
villains we’re concentrating on. (That’s what a subject’s ultimate job is:
to present what we’re concentrating on.)
So by pulling a switcheroo like that, we’re not talking about
abstractions and events any more; the subject of the sentence is now
our perennially favourite subject—namely me: it’s me that is difficult
to annoy. (Yes, it is all about me...) This process is called in linguistics

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raising, because it raises concrete subjects (and objects) we want to

talk about, out of the haziness of an abstraction sumti (or ‘clausal
argument’, to use English logical terminology.)
Once the requisite number of Lojbanists did an undergraduate
course in syntax (you may commence throwing darts at effigies of
Nick Nicholas at your leisure), it was realised that there were a lot of
gismu whose place structures contained both a raised concrete sumti
(usually x1), and an abstraction sumti which itself contained the first
sumti. For example, the place structure of fenki used to be

x1 is crazy in behaviour x2 (abstraction) by standard x3

But any abstraction that would go into x2 would contain the x1 sumti:
any crazy behaviour would automatically be the behaviour of the
crazy person. For example, you’d get

• la jan. fenki lenu la jan. dasni loi zirpu

• la jan. fenki lenu la jan. dansu la jipci
• la jan. fenki lenu la jan. tavla bau la lojban.

The question then became: does the x1 tell us anything the x2 wasn’t
already telling us? We know who was involved in the crazy
behaviour, because that person would be a sumti inside x2. (More
specifically, he or she would be the active party: someone hitting
random strangers is crazy; someone being hit by random strangers
isn’t—although arguably someone allowing themselves to keep being
hit by random strangers is.) Was there any reason, then, to grant the
person an extra place in the overall bridi? The decision was, no:
behaviour is what is crazy, so you can work out that the person acting
out the behaviour is the crazy person. There’s no need to have an
extra place for the person, when you can already work out who they
are. The same conclusion was arrived at for cinri: it is abstractions—
events and qualities—that attract interest; and an interesting person is
simply a person involved in an interesting abstraction.
All well and good; but natural languages do raising for a reason. So
when Lojban has its gismu without raising, it gains in eliminating

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redundancy and logical muddledness; but it loses in ‘naturalness’. We

like talking about people rather than abstractions in our languages;
and Lojban should not go out of its way to form an exception to this.
There is a solution of sorts to this problem using tu’a; but it doesn’t
actually do what raising does in natural languages: it doesn’t change
the x1 place from an abstraction to a concrete sumti. And there are
times you will want to do just that.
One example is joining bridi-tails. In English, you can say Jyoti is
interesting and beautiful. This is based on two sentences (Jyoti is
interesting, Jyoti is beautiful) which have the same subject. So we can
easily combine them into a single sentence. In Lojban, the equivalent
sentences are

tu’a la djiotis. cinri

and

la djiotis. melbi

There is no way you’re going to join those two bridi together with gi’e:
they simply do not have their first sumti in common. But they’re both
somehow ‘about’ Jyoti; so you really should be able to work around
this.
An even more important instance when you want raising is in
forming sumti out of this kind of gismu. A sumti means whatever goes
into the x1 of its selbri. If la djiotis. ninmu “Jyoti is a woman”, then I can
describe Jyoti as lo ninmu ‘a woman’. If lemi karce cu xe klama le gusta fu
mi “My car is a vehicle to the restaurant for me”, then I can describe
lemi karce as lo xe klama ‘a vehicle’. So how do I say that someone is a
cheat, or a deceiver? The gismu for ‘deceive’, tcica, has the place
structure

x1 (event/experience)
misleads/deceives/dupes/fools/cheats/tricks x2 into x3
(event/state)

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This means that, while in English we say that “x1 (person) deceives x2
into doing x3, by doing x4”, in Lojban the person and the action are
merged into the one place. That makes lo tcica a trick, not a trickster; a
deception, and not a deceiver. To say that someone is a trickster or a
deceiver, we need to use tu’a: tu’a da tcica. But you can’t put lo in front
of tu’a da: the deceiver has to be the x1 of some selbri, in order to get
their own sumti.
The solution to this is to force Lojban to have raising after all,
changing the place structure of the selbri involved. This works just like
se changing the place structure of its selbri, swapping its first and
second place. If we put jai in front of a selbri, its x1 place changes from
an abstraction, to any sumti contained within the abstraction. Let’s try
this with a few sentences:

• lenu la jan. dasni loi zirpu cu fenki

• la jan. cu jai fenki

• lenu la djiotis. cu co’e cu cinri

• la djiotis. cu jai cinri

• tu’a la ranjit. tcica la suzyn.

• la ranjit. jai tcica la suzyn.

• lenu fanza mi cu nandu

• mi jai nandu

You’ll notice that, with these new place structures, the Lojban phrases
sound pretty much like their English equivalents. For example,

la djiotis. jai cinri

Jyoti is interesting

la ranjit. jai tcica la suzyn.

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Ranjeet deceives Susan

We can now do with jai those things we couldn’t before. The Lojban
for “Jyoti is interesting and beautiful”, for example, is

la djiotis. jai cinri gi’e melbi

That’s because Jyoti goes in the x1 place of jai cinri, just as it goes into
the x1 place of melbi. And if I want to make a sumti meaning ‘deceiver’
or ‘trickster’, I can use jai to do it:

tu’a la ranjit. tcica → la ranjit. jai tcica → lo jai tcica

However, mi jai nandu does not correspond to “I am difficult to

annoy.” In switching a concrete sumti for the original x1—the
abstraction that was difficult—we have lost the abstraction itself: there
is nothing in mi jai nandu that means ‘to annoy’. But not to worry:
Lojban allows you to keep the original abstraction in the bridi by
preceding it with fai. fai is a place tag like fa and fe; it effectively adds
a new place to the bridi. So I am difficult to annoy is matched almost
word-for-word by the Lojban sentence

mi jai nandu fai lenu fanza mi

And we can apply this pattern further afield; for example, “the book
took three months to write” is in Lojban properly

lenu finti le cukta cu masti li ci

To write the book had a month-duration of three

Raising allows the slightly more familiar-looking

le cukta cu jai masti li ci fai lenu finti

jai has not proven as popular as tu’a, presumably because it involves a

fairly thorough rearrangement of place structures—and has the whiff
about being somehow ‘un-Lojbanic’. But as we’ve seen, it allows you
to talk about things in a way that is in many ways more natural; and

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though it belongs to ‘advanced’ Lojban, it is a feature you will find it

useful to be familiar with.

Exercise 4
Thatwasprettyheavygoing.Youcanrelax:thisexercisewillgoeasyonyou.
(Youstillhavethefinaltranslationexercisestogothrough,afterall!)Where
possible,andbyallmeansnecessary,recasttheabstractionsinthefollowing
sentencessothattheyusejai(andfai,whereapplicable.)

1. .i tu’a mi nabmi
2. .i ledu’u mi xebni loi kensa fange cu nabmi
3. .i mi djuno tu’a la lojban.
4. .i mi djuno ledu’u la lojban. cu bangu kei la lojban.
5. .i lenu mi ckire da cu nibli lenu mi se xamgu tu’a da(Don’ttryandbetoo
cleverhere—itwon’twork...)
6. .i lenu lenu la jan. xalfekfri cu nabmi cu cizra(Onlyeliminateonelevelof
abstraction.)
7. .i da poi lenu fanza ke’a cu nandu cu zvati(Reducethis,thenseeifyoucan’t
reduceitalittlemore...)

Summary
In this lesson, we have covered:

• Indirect questions (kau)

• Property variables (ce’u)
• Raising (co’e, tu’a, jai, fai)

And with that, we have reached the end of the Lojban for Beginners
course! There are several bits of the grammar of Lojban not covered
here; but you now have the essentials with which to start using
Lojban, and you are in a good position to pick up the rest—preferably
from The Complete Lojban Language, which is a fairly easy read for a
reference grammar. Moreover, most of the Lojban you will see will
stick fairly closely to the grammar covered here. .i .a’o do se zdile tu’a
le ve ctuca gi’e ba gleki lenu pilno la lojban.

Vocabulary
Note: Rememberthe‘errorquote’lo’u...le’ufromLesson7.

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birti x1iscertain/sure/positive/convincedthatx2istrue
cipra x1(process/event)isatestfor/proofofproperty/statex2insubject
x3(individ./set/mass)
curmi x1(agent)lets/permits/allowsx2(event)underconditionsx3;x1
grantsprivilegex2
dicra x1(event)interrupts/stops/halts/[disrupts]x2(object/event/process)
duetoqualityx3
drata x1isn’tthe-same-thing-as/isdifferent-from/other-thanx2by
standardx3;x1issomethingelse
drani x1iscorrect/proper/right/perfectinproperty/aspectx2(ka)in
situationx3bystandardx4(Note:whenpeoplesaycorrectthings,
thatdoesnotautomaticallymakethem
‘correct/proper/right/perfect’)
jarco x1(agent)shows/exhibits/displays/[reveals]/demonstratesx2
(property)toaudiencex3
kucli x1iscurious/wondersabout/isinterestedin/[inquisitiveabout]x2
(object/abstract)
kumfa x1isaroomof/instructurex2surroundedby
partitions/walls/ceiling/floorx3(mass/jo’u)
logji x1[rules/methods]isalogicfor
deducing/concluding/inferring/reasoningto/aboutx2(du’u)
mebri x1isa/thebrow/forehead[projectingflat/smoothhead/body-part]
ofx2
remna x1isahuman/humanbeing/man(non-specificgender-freesense);
(adjective:)x1ishuman
rufsu x1isrough/coarse/uneven/[grainy/scabrous/rugged]in
texture/regularity
sonci x1isasoldier/warrior/fighterofarmyx2
tarci x1isastar/sunwithstellarpropertiesx2

Exercise 5
TranslatefromLojban.

1. .i le vo pendo na djuno le du’u ri zvati ma kau mu’i ma kau

2. .i la jan. cusku lu .i mi cazi ckire da’i tu’a loi glare ke cnino se zbasu ckafi li’u
3. .i la djiotis. se cinri leka ce’u cizra pe le kumfa poi dy. nenri
4. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i .ue le vi canko noi jarco tu’a loi tarci cu pe’i jai se xanka
li’u
5. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i go’i fa ji’a le re fange noi jarco leka le mebri po’e ce’u cu
rufsu li’u

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 Chapter 15. Singled out

6. .i pa fange poi simsa lo sonci cu jai cfari fai lenu lanli le terdi pendo kei gi’e
cusku lo’u .uxrup .ua. doglau. latl. tcak. val. tca. le’u
7. .i la ranjit. kucli ledu’u le fange cu tavla bau ma kau
8. .i le ka tu’a ce’u se kucli cu se jundi le drata fange noi cusku zoi gy. Greetings
people of the planet ... um... Saturn? gy.
9. .i la jan. cusku lu .i tu’a le fange na drani so’a da li’u

Exercise 6
TranslateintoLojban.Usece’uinqualityabstractions.Usejaiinsteadoftu’a
whereverpossible.

1. Susansays“Excuseme,butIthinkyouareuncertainaboutwhereyou
are—whichisEarth.”
2. Thealiensays“Youarecorrect.”
3. “Weare,uh,merelytestingyouforterrestrialintelligence.”
4. Jyotisays“Youcouldhavedonethatandnothaveinterruptedour
dancing.”
5. Ranjeetsays“Andalso,ifyouknewthatweareterrestrialpeopleand
intelligent,thenyoualsoknewthatweareterrestrialintelligences.”(Use
forethoughtconnectives.)
6. Thealiensays“Areyoutheradiotransmitter?”
7. Ranjeetsays“Iamoneoftheradiotransmitters.”
8. “Butmi po’onai cradiismorelogicallycorrect.”
9. Thealienfrowns,says“Youareallowedtoleave”,andun-removesthe
friendsfromthedancehall.
10. Thealiensays“xuˈmɑn ˈmɛqːoq. ˈwɛdʒpux”,whichistranslatedas“Human
logic.Yuck.”

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1
1. mi djica lenu mi djuno ledu’u do ba tavla mi ca ma kau(Youcanplacetheca
ma kauanywhereafterledu’u.)
2. mi na djuno ledu’u do na tavla mi mu’i ma kau(Samegoesformu’i ma kau.)
3. mi ba’o cusku lesedu’u mi pu jinvi ledu’u ma kau bebna(Yes,Lojbancanget
prolix...)
4. ko cusku lesedu’u le birje cu zvati ma kauorko cusku lesedu’u birje vi ma kau
(...except,perhaps,whereitmattersmost!Theobservativeinthesecond
versionactuallyworks:“Beer!Where?!”)
5. do pu cusku lesedu’u mi bilga lenu mi dunda le cukta ma kauor(ifyouwantto
risktheattitudinal)do pu cusku lesedu’u mi .ei dunda le cukta ma kau

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Chapter 15. Singled out

6. OK,thisdoesn’thavetobethatclose(letalonerhyme),andinfactthe
Englishisclosertoadirectthananindirectquestion,butthisissomething
likeko cusku fi mi fe lesedu’u pei kau do sepli gi’e na djuno le farna gi’e simsa
lo gunro rokci.
Toldyouthiswaskindofatrickquestion...

Exercise 2
1. le ka ce’u ckire
2. le ka ce’u simsa la arnold. cfartseneger.(orla’o gy. Arnold Schwarzenegger gy.,
ifyouprefer.TheLojbansoundsystem(phonology)doesn’tallowcvin
sequence;thisissomethingyoucanworryaboutmoreinyourfurther
Lojbanstudies.SeeTheCompleteLojbanLanguage,p.36)
3. le ka ce’u mamta
4. le ka mamta ce’uorle ka ce’u se mamta
5. le ka ce’u simsa la arnold. cfartseneger. kei poi ckaji mi(or,ofcourse,le du’u
mi simsa la arnold. cfartseneger.,whichactuallymeansthesamething.)
6. le ka xanka vi ce’u.Alittlecontrived,weadmit.

Exercise 3
1. .i mi troci tu’a le cidjrkari(Whatyouactuallytryistoeatit—or,on
occasion,tokeepitdown.)
2. .i mi djica tu’a le cidjrkari(Thisusuallycomesasashocktopeoplelearning
Lojban,butyoucan’tactuallywantobjects,onlyevents.Theeventyou
usuallywantistobeinpossessionoftheobject,insomewayorother.)
3. .i mi nelci le cidjrkari(Thegismulistexplicitlyallowsnelcitoinvolveboth
objectsandevents;soyoudon’tneedtu’ahere.Thismakesnelciquite
differenttodjica.)
4. .i lenu mi cliva cu snuti(Nosurprisethere;‘leaving’correspondstoan
abstraction.)
5. .i leka ckire cu fanza mi
6. .i tu’a le cidjrkari cu fanza mi(Unlikegratitude,curryiscertainlynotan
abstraction.)
7. .i le fanza cu cfari(Yes,youreadcorrectly.Tofitthex1ofcfari,asumti
doesn’tactuallyhavetolooklikeanabstraction;itjusthastomeanan
abstraction.Anythingthatcanbedescribedasle fanzaisgoingtobean
abstraction,becauseoftheplacestructureoffanza.Sosincethex1offanza
isastateorevent,andthex1ofcfariisalsoastateorevent,theycanboth
bedescribingthesamething—withoutneedingtostrainabstractionsoutof
oneortheotherusingtu’a.)

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 Chapter 15. Singled out

Exercise 4
1. .i mi jai nabmi“Iamaproblem.”
2. .i mi jai nabmi fai ledu’u mi xebni loi kensa fange“Iamaproblemin[thefact]
thatIhatespacealiens.”
3. .i la lojban. jai se djuno mi“Lojbanisknowntome.”(Wedidsay“allmeans
necessary...”)
4. .i la lojban. jai se djuno mi la lojban. fai ledu’u la lojban. cu bangu“OfLojban,
itisknowntomeaboutLojbanthatLojbanisalanguage.”(Asthis
indicates,thex3placeofdjunoisraisedoutofitsx2place.Sinceyouhave
widelibertyinstatingwhatyouknowaboutasubject,however,thiswon’t
necessarilyalwaysbethecase:

.i mi djuno ledu’u loi cidro ku joi loi kijno cu cupra loi djacu kei loi xum-
ske
Iknowaboutchemistrythathydrogenandoxygenmakeswater

5. .i mi/da cu jai nibli lenu mi se xamgu tu’a da kei fai lenu mi ckire da,or.i
mi/tu’a da jai se nibli lenu mi ckire da kei fai lenu mi se xamgu tu’a daNoreal
Englishequivalent;theoriginalsentenceis“Mebeinggratefultox
necessitatesthatIhavebeenbenefittedbyx.”
6. .i lenu la jan. xalfekfri cu jai cizra fai lenu nabmi“Zhangbeingdrunkis
strangeinthatitisaproblem”or.i lenu la jan. jai nabmi fai lenu xalfekfri cu
cizra“Zhangbeingaprobleminthatheisdrunkisstrange.”

Note: Canyoueliminatebothabstractions?Fortherecord,yesyou
can,byapplyingjaitwice:

.i la jan. jai jai cizra fai xi pa lenu xalfekfri kei fai xi re lenu nabmi

Messily,wenowhavetwofaiplaces:theLojbansubscript
phrasesxi pa‘subscript1’andxi re‘subscript2’helpfullykeep
themapart.You’renotreallyencouragedtodothiskindofthing,
though;afterall,jaiwasintendedtomakeLojbanmorenatural—
notmorewacky!

7. da poi ke’a jai nandu fai lenu fanza da cu zvati“xsuchthatxisdifficultto

annoyishere.”Youdoneedtoindicatesomehowwhoisbeingannoyedin
thefai-clause.Onewayofdoingsoistoleavetheraisedsumtiin,aswe’ve
justdone:fai lenu fanza da cu zvati.Anotheristomaketheraisedplaceof
thefai-clauseitsx1,conventionallyitsmostimportantplace:da poi ke’a jai
nandu fai lenu se fanza cu zvati.

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Chapter 15. Singled out

Sincewhatyou’redescribingisathingorperson(aperson,inthiscase),
thatmeansthatda poi ke’a jai nandu fai lenu fanzashouldbeasumti,with
nanduasitsselbri.Thisgives

le jai nandu be fai lenu fanza cu zvati

Theonedifficulttoannoyishere.

Ifyoucameupwiththat,weherebydubtheeKing/QueenofLojban!.i ko
jgira!Ifnot,well,that’sOK,too;thiskindofexpressionisn’tallthatpopular
yet,soyou’renotataterribledisadvantageifyoudon’tuseit...

Exercise 5
1. Thefourfriendsdonotknowwheretheyare,orwhytheyarethere.(You
canaskmorethanonequestioninasentenceinLojban,directorindirect.)
2. Zhangsays“Rightnow,Iwouldbegratefulforahot,freshly-brewed
coffee.”(YouaregratefulinLojbanforeventsratherthanobjects,sofully
expanded,.i la jan. ckire da’i lenu kakne lenu pinxe loi glare ke cnino se zbasu
ckafi.)
3. Jyotiisinterestedintheweirdnessoftheroomsheisin.(peisanotherway
ofassociatingabstractionswithspecificobjects.)
4. Susansays“Wow!Thiswindow,whichshowsthestars,isinmyopinion
somethingtobeanxiousabout.”(se xankadescribesaneventthatprovokes
anxiety,sojai se xankadescribesathinginvolvedintheeventthatprovokes
anxiety.Strictlyspeaking,Susanisprobablymisusingjarco...)
5. Ranjeetsays“Soarethetwoaliens,whoshowthattheirforeheadsare
rough”or“whoexhibitroughnessintheirforeheads.”(...Ranjeet,of
course,cannothelpbutbecorrectinhisusageofjarco.)
6. OnealienwhoislikeasoldierstartsanalysingtheEarthlingfriends,and
says“ˈʔuxrup wɑʔ ˈɖoɣlɑwʔ lɑtɬ tʃɑq vɑl tʃɑʔ”(Alotofyoumayhaveguessed
thelanguagethealienisspeaking.Youarecorrect,andlet’sleaveitatthat,
shallwe?)
7. Ranjeetiscuriousaboutwhatlanguagethealiensarespeakingin.(No,I
haven’tcluedhimin...)
8. Beinganobjectofcuriosityissomethingnoticedbytheotheralien,who
says(inEnglish)“Greetingspeopleoftheplanet...um...Saturn?”
9. Zhangsays“Stuffaboutthealiensisnotrightinmostregards.”(Inother
words,therearepropertiesinvolvingthesealiensthatarenotcorrectin
mostregards;forexample,theirsenseofdirection.)

Exercise 6
1. .i la suzyn. cusku lu .i ta’a do’u pe’i do na birti ledu’u do zvati ma kau po’u la
terdi li’u

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 Chapter 15. Singled out

2. .i le fange cu cusku lu .i do jai drani(Notdo drani,whichwouldmean“You,

asSusan,areacorrect(orperfect)humanbeing”;itisonlyoneaspectof
Susan,namelywhatshehasjustsaid,whichisbeingdescribedhereas
correct.)
3. .i mi’a .y. jai cipra po’o leka ce’u terdi pensi kei do li’u(Youcouldsay.i mi’a
.y. jai cipra po’o leka do po’u ce’u terdi pensi kei li’u,becauseit’stheperson
withthequalitybeingtestedthatisthetestsubject.Butforpractical
reasons,Lojbanhasn’teliminatedthisparticularredundancy,soyoumight
aswellexploitit.)
4. .i la djiotis. cusku lu .i do pu kakne lenu go’i gi’enai jai dicra lenu mi’a dansu li’u
(InLojban,onlyeventsinterrupt;latex-foreheadedaliensare‘involvedin
interrupting’.)
5. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i ji’a ganai do pu djuno ledu’u mi’a ge terdi prenu gi pensi
gi do djuno ledu’u mi’a terdi pensi li’u(Ranjeetcanneverresistagood
syllogism.)
6. .i le fange cu cusku lu .i xu do du le cradi li’u(Alegitimateuseofdu,sinceto
thealien‘Theradiotransmitter’and‘You’refertothesameperson.)
7. .i la ranjit. cusku lu .i mi me le cradi(Ifyouwanttoemphasisethepluralityof
thetransmitters,youcouldsay.i mi me le su’o re cradi“Iamoneofthetwo
ormoreradiotransmitters”.)
8. .i ku’i lu mi po’onai cradi li’u cu zmadu fi leka ce’u logji drani li’u(Althougha
personsayingsomethingcorrectisnoteligibletobethex1placeofdrani,
thecorrectthingthattheysayiseligible:draniisnotbydefinitionrestricted
toabstractions.)
9. .i le fange cu frumu gi’e cusku lu .i do jai se curmi fai lenu cliva li’u gi’e to’e
vimcu le pendo le dansydi’u
10. .i le fange cu cusku zoi gy. xuˈmɑn ˈmɛqːoq. ˈwɛdʒpux gy. noi se fanva fu lu .i
remna logji .a’unai li’u(or,inLojbanphoneticapproximation,lo’u xuman.
mekok. .uedj. pux. le’u.)

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Appendix A. Unsettled Business
Lojban is a young language, but a language which prides itself on
being fully and explicitly documented... almost always. In a couple of
instances, topics alluded to in these lessons are still somewhat up in
the air. Though what the lessons themselves say about Lojban
grammar you can rely on, there are some side issues on which the
dust has not yet settled as of this writing. This appendix covers two
issues in particular; you do not need to go through this on your first
reading of the lessons, but once you start reading, writing, and
speaking Lojban, this appendix tries to explain some things you may
bump into, and which might strike you as odd.

Embedded vo’a
In Lesson 8, we said that vo’a refers back to ‘the first sumti of this bridi’.
This is all well and good when your sentence only contains one bridi.
But when it doesn’t—and it often doesn’t—we have a problem. In

la kris. djuno ledu’u la pat. prami vo’a

does vo’a refer to la kris. (“Chris knows that Pat loves her”), or la pat.
(“Chris knows that Pat loves herself”)? In

la kris. djuno ledu’u la pat. prami la djun. soi vo’a

does vo’a swap la djun. with la pat. (“Chris knows that Pat loves June
and vice versa, that they love each other”), or with la kris. (“Chris
knows that Pat loves June, and June knows that Chris loves Pat”)?
The answer will, perhaps, shock you. In both cases, vo’a is acting as
what is called in linguistics a reflexive: it refers back to something in
the same sentence. In natural languages, reflexives almost always
refer back to subjects; and in Lojban, the x1 place is as close as you
will get to a subject. The difference is, when you have this kind of
embedding, the reflexive can refer back to the subject of the verb it is
immediately tied to (short-distance reflexive), or it can refer all the

258
 Appendix A. Unsettled Business

way back to the subject of the entire sentence (long-distance

reflexive.)
Now, herself in English is a short-distance reflexive: if Chris knows
that Pat loves herself, then Chris knows that Pat loves Pat, not Chris.
Reflexives in almost all languages are short-distance; relatively few
languages allow their reflexives to be long-distance as well as short-
distance (Chinese), or have long-distance reflexives distinct from
short-distance (Icelandic). So if vo’a corresponds to herself, then it too
is short-distance.
And here, we have some unfortunate confusion. The Complete Lojban
Language describes vo’a as short-distance. But the earlier material
defining the language had it as long-distance; and that is in fact how
just about all Lojbanists use it.
Why would Lojbanists do something seemingly so perverse, and
contrary to how most languages work? Basically, because their
attitude towards pro-sumti is quite different to normal language
attitudes towards pronouns. Lojbanists would like to have
unambiguous pro-sumti—pro-sumti whose reference can be
determined with certainty. Now, to do a short-distance reflexive’s job
(refer to something in the same bridi), you can very often use ri instead
of vo’a. But to do a long-distance reflexive’s job (refer to something in
the main bridi of the sentence), ri usually will not work, because you
will have mentioned other sumti in between. This leaves you stuck
with ra, which is deliberately as vague as natural language pronouns.
“But,” reasons the average Lojbanist, “if I wanted natural language
vagueness, I’d be speaking a natural language. And because I will
need to refer back to sumti of the main sentence often (main and
embedded bridi tend to involve the same cast of characters), I’d rather
vo’a serve as an unambiguous way of doing just that.”
So whether because it was what they got used to in 1991 (and they
didn’t want to relearn the language in 1997), or because they thought
vo’a would be more useful that way, Lojbanists interpret la kris. djuno
ledu’u la pat. prami vo’a as saying that Chris knows that Pat loves her,
not herself. So Lojbanists use vo’a as a long-distance reflexive.
... almost always. There are two occasions when you will
occasionally see short-distance interpretations instead. The first is

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Appendix A. Unsettled Business

when the long-distance interpretation doesn’t make sense for some

reason. For example, the x1 place of the main bridi contains the
embedded bridi containing vo’a—so a long-distance reading would get
terribly recursive: lenu la suzyn. jmina fi le vo’a ctebi cinta cu cinri makes
sense as “Susan putting on her lipstick is interesting”, but not as the
horridly recursive “Susan putting on x’s lipstick is interesting”—
where x is “Susan putting on x’s lipstick”, where x is “Susan putting
on x’s lipstick”, where x is “Susan putting on x’s lipstick”...)
The second occasion is (you guessed it) soivo’a. People are used to
thinking of soivo’a as vice versa, which forces a short-distance
interpretation. And while there are reasons you would want vo’a in
general to be a long-distance reflexive, there isn’t much occasion for a
long-distance reciprocal.
If usage to date were the only thing that determined the meaning of
Lojban words (as is usually believed by the community), we might say
that vo’a is by default long-distance, but becomes short-distance under
special circumstances (such as soivo’a.) But past usage is not the only
factor in determining what Lojban words mean. Lojbanists cherish
their precious few unambiguous pro-sumti, and most would rather not
lose one. So, while some Lojbanists have said (and will likely continue
to say) things like la kris. djuno ledu’u la pat. prami la djun. soi vo’a,
meaning that Pat and June love each other, most Lojbanists think they
are being wrong, and would prefer something like la kris. djuno ledu’u
la pat. prami la djun. soi ri.

Note: Thephrasela djun. soi ricountsasonesumti,sothankfullyri

heredoesnotrefertoJune!

Incidentally, there are truly unambiguous alternatives to vo’a, if

you’re not comfortable with the way this is heading. We won’t explain
them here, but you might be able to guess how they work anyway.
The guaranteed short-distance reflexive in Lojban is lenei, and the
guaranteed long-distance reflexive is leno’axiro. (leno’a is enough
when there is only one level of bridi nesting.) In the unlikely case your
use of vo’a is met with blank, uncomprehending stares, you can try
using these instead.

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 Appendix A. Unsettled Business

Unfilled places in ka-abstractions

When there is no ce’u in the abstraction, there is some controversy as
to how the ka-abstraction is to be interpreted. In many instances, the
existence of a slot to be filled by ce’u is required by the definition of
the bridi itself. For example, sisku leka pensi makes no sense, unless you
are looking for a specific something that fits a ce’u slot in pensi.
For such instances, the location of ce’u is ambiguous, and The
Complete Lojban Language mentions no convention having arisen, like
with ke’a, on where it goes by default. The current default assumption
is that ce’u here behaves like ke’a, and occupies the first empty place.
This means that, while le ka xlura without ce’u can potentially mean
both ‘influence’ and ‘susceptibility’, the default assumption is that it
means ‘influence’, while le ka se xlura means ‘susceptibility’. Likewise,
le ka xendo can usually be assumed to mean le ka ce’u xendo ‘the
property of people being kind’, and probably not le ka xendo fi ce’u
‘the property of an action being something in which kindness is
shown’ (although that action is frequently what is meant in English by
kindness.)
A more contentious issue is, whether this should hold for all ka-
abstractions, wherever they may occur. For example, does mi tavla fi
leka xendo mean the same thing as mi tavla fi leka ce’u xendo zo’e zo’e?
Are you saying you are talking about kindness, as a property
specifically applied to the person showing the kindness?
The majority view as of this writing is yes. This means that ka is
treated the same, whether it appears as a sumti of sisku or tavla.
The catch is, when ka was originally invented, ce’u didn’t exist yet.
And the original definition of ka refers not to properties at all, but to
qualities.
Property and quality are fairly abstract, as words of English go, so
this may not seem to make any difference. However, the objection that
has been raised is that ka shouldn’t always be regarded as singling out
one or two places. The quality of kindness, it is argued, does not
single out the person being kind, or the person to whom the kindness
is shown (which is what a property does.) Instead, it concentrates only

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Appendix A. Unsettled Business

on the selbri of the relationship: what it means to say that a

relationship of kindness holds, whoever is involved in it.
This view is not universally held; at least some of the Lojbanists who
think ka is all about being a property of something specific, think this
notion is better expressed instead by si’o, the abstractor defined as
‘idea, concept’.
Talk at this level of abstraction is not something you’re likely to run
into the moment you start using Lojban. It does explain, however,
why you’ll see property used a lot here, but quality a lot elsewhere. It
may also explain why you will see some grown Lojbanists blanch at
the sight of a ce’u...

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Appendix B. Vocabulary
.a sumti or logical connective: sumti afterthought or
.abu a letteral for a
.a’o hope attitudinal: hope – despair
.a’u interest attitudinal: interest – disinterest –
repulsion
.ai desire attitudinal: intent – indecision –
rejection/refusal
.au desire attitudinal: desire – indifference –
reluctance
.e sumti and logical connective: sumti afterthought and
.ebu e letteral for e
.e’e competence attitudinal: competence –
incompetence/inability
.ei obligation attitudinal: obligation – freedom
.enai sumti but logical connective: sumti afterthought x
not but not y
.e’o request attitudinal: request – negative request
.e’u suggestion attitudinal: suggestion – abandon suggest
– warning
.i ja sentence or logical connective: sentence afterthought
or
.i je sentence logical connective: sentence afterthought
and and
.i je’i sentence logical connective: sentence afterthought
conn? connective question
.i jenai sentence logical connective: sentence afterthought x
but not but not y
.i jo sentence iff logical connective: sentence afterthought
biconditional/iff/if-and-only-if
.i jonai sentence logical connective: sentence afterthought
xor exclusive or
.i ju sentence logical connective: sentence afterthought
whether whether-or-not
.i naja sentence logical connective: sentence afterthought
only if conditional/only if

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Appendix B. Vocabulary

.i sentence sentence link/continuation; continuing

link sentences on same topic
.ia belief attitudinal: belief – skepticism – disbelief
.ibu i letteral for i
.i’e approval attitudinal: approval – non-approval –
disapproval
.ie agreement attitudinal: agreement – disagreement
.ii fear attitudinal: fear – security
.iu love attitudinal: love – no love lost – hatred
.o sumti iff logical connective: sumti afterthought
biconditional/iff/if-and-only-if
.obu o letteral for o
.oi complaint attitudinal: complaint – pleasure
.onai sumti xor logical connective: sumti afterthought
exclusive or
.o’o patience attitudinal: patience – mere tolerance –
anger
.o’u relaxation attitudinal: relaxation – composure –
stress
.u sumti logical connective: sumti afterthought
whether whether-or-not
.ua discovery attitudinal: discovery –
confusion/searching
.ubu u letteral for u
.u’e wonder attitudinal: wonder – commonplace
.ue surprise attitudinal: surprise – not really surprised
– expectation
.u’i amusement attitudinal: amusement – weariness
.ui happiness attitudinal: happiness – unhappiness
.u’u repentance attitudinal: repentance – lack of regret –
innocence
.uu pity attitudinal: pity – cruelty
.y hesitation ‘er’ (hesitation)
.ybu y letteral for y
.y’y ’ letteral for ’
.y’ybu h letteral for h
ba after time tense relation/direction: will [selbri];
after [sumti]; default future tense

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 Appendix B. Vocabulary

badri sad x1 is
sad/depressed/dejected/[unhappy/feels
sorrow/grief] about x2 (abstraction)
ba’e emphasize forethought emphasis indicator; indicates
next next word is especially emphasized
bai compelled bapli modal, 1st place (forced by)
by forcedly; compelled by force ...
bajra run x1 runs on surface x2 using limbs x3 with
gait x4
bakfu bundle x1 is a bundle/package/cluster/clump/pack
[shape/form] containing x2, held together
by x3
bakni bovine x1 is a cow/cattle/kine/ox/[bull/steer/calf]
[beef-producer/bovine] of species/breed x2
bangrnesperanto Esperanto x1 is the language Esperanto used by x2 to
express/communicate x3 (si’o/du’u, not
quote)
bangu language x1 is a/the language/dialect used by x2 to
express/communicate x3 (si’o/du’u, not
quote)
banli great x1 is great/grand in property x2 (ka) by
standard x3
banxa bank x1 is a bank owned by/in banking system
x2 for banking function(s) x3 (event)
ba’o perfective interval event contour: in the aftermath of
...; since ...; perfective
bapli force x1 [force] (ka) forces/compels event x2 to
occur; x1 determines property x2 to
manifest
barda big x1 is big/large in property/dimension(s) x2
as compared with standard/norm x3
barja bar x1 is a tavern/bar/pub serving x2 to
audience/patrons x3
bartu out x1 is on the outside of x2; x1 is exterior to x2
batci bite x1 bites/pinches x2 on/at specific locus x3
with x4

265
Appendix B. Vocabulary

ba’u exaggeratio exaggeration – accuracy – understatement

n
bau in language bangu modal, 1st place in language ...
be link sumti sumti link to attach sumti (default x2) to a
selbri; used in descriptions
bebna foolish x1 is foolish/silly in event/action/property
[folly] (ka) x2; x1 is a boob
be’e request to vocative: request to send/speak
send
bei link more separates multiple linked sumti within a
sumti selbri; used in descriptions
benji transfer x1 transfers/sends/transmits x2 to receiver
x3 from transmitter/origin x4 via
means/medium x5
be’o end linked elidable terminator: end linked sumti in
sumti specified description
berti north x1 is to the north/northern side [right-
hand-rule pole] of x2 according to frame
of reference x3
bevri carry x1 carries/hauls/bears/transports cargo x2
to x3 from x4 over path x5; x1 is a
carrier/[porter]
bi 8 digit/number: 8
bi’i unordered non-logical interval connective:
interval unordered between ... and ...
bilga obliged x1 is bound/obliged to/has the duty to
do/be x2 in/by standard/agreement x3; x1
must do x2
bilma ill x1 is ill/sick/diseased with symptoms x2
from disease x3
binxo become x1 becomes/changes/converts/transforms
into x2 under conditions x3
bi’o ordered non-logical interval connective: ordered
interval from ... to ...
birje beer x1 is made of/contains/is a amount of
beer/ale/brew brewed from x2
birka arm x1 is a/the arm [body-part] of x2

266
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

birti certain x1 is certain/sure/positive/convinced that

x2 is true
blabi white x1 is white / very light-coloured
bo short scope short scope joiner; joins various constructs
link with shortest scope and right grouping
boi end number elidable terminator: terminate numeral or
or lerfu letteral string
botpi bottle x1 is a bottle/jar/urn/flask/closable
container for x2, made of material x3 with
lid x4
bredi ready x1 is ready/prepared for x2 (event)
bridi predicate x1 (text) is a predicate relationship with
relation x2 among arguments
(sequence/set)
briju office x1 is an office/bureau/work-place of
worker x2 at location x3
bruna brother x1 is brother of/fraternal to x2 by
bond/tie/standard/parent(s) x3; [not
necess. biological]
budjo Buddhist x1 pertains to the Buddhist
culture/religion/ethos in aspect x2
burna embarassed x1 is
embarrassed/disconcerted/flustered/ill-at-
ease about/under conditions x2
(abstraction)
bu’u coincident location tense relation/direction;
with coincident with/at the same place as;
space equivalent of ca
by b letteral for b
ca during time tense relation/direction: is [selbri];
during/simultaneous with [sumti];
present tense
cabdei today x1 is today (cabna ‘now’ + djedi ‘day’)
cacra hour x1 is x2 hours in duration (default is 1
hour) by standard x3
cadzu walk x1 walks/strides/paces on surface x2 using
limbs x3

267
Appendix B. Vocabulary

cai intense attitudinal: strong intensity attitude

emotion modifier
ca’o continuativ interval event contour: during ...;
e continuative)
carna turn x1 turns/rotates/revolves around axis x2 in
direction x3
carvi rain x1 rains/showers/[precipitates] to x2 from
x3; x1 is precipitation [not limited to ‘rain’]
casnu discuss x1(s) (mass normally, but 1 individual/jo’u
possible) discuss(es)/talk(s) about
topic/subject x2
catke shove x1 [agent] shoves/pushes x2 at locus x3
catlu look x1 looks
at/examines/views/inspects/regards/watch
es/gazes at x2 [compare with zgani]
catra kill x1 (agent) kills/slaughters/murders x2 by
action/method x3
ce in a set with non-logical connective: set link,
unordered; ‘and also’, but forming a set
ce’o in a non-logical connective: ordered sequence
sequence link; ‘and then’, forming a sequence
with
certu expert x1 is an expert/pro/has prowess in/is
skilled at x2 (event/activity) by standard x3
ce’u lambda pseudo-quantifier binding a variable
within an abstraction that represents an
open place
cevni god x1 is a/the god/deity of people(s)/religion
x2 with dominion over x3 [sphere]; x1 is
divine
cfari initiate x1 [state/event/process]
commences/initiates/starts/begins to
occur; (intransitive verb)
cfipu confusing x1 (event/state) confuses/baffles x2
[observer] due to [confusing] property x3
(ka)
ci 3 digit/number: 3

268
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

cidja food x1 is food/feed/nutriment for x2; x1 is

edible/gives nutrition to x2
cidjrkari curry x1 is a quantity of curry
cidjrkebabi kebab x1 is a kebab
cidro hydrogen x1 is a quantity of/contains/is made of
hydrogen (H)
cifnu infant x1 is an infant/baby [helpless through
youth/incomplete development] of species
x2
cilre learn x1 learns x2 (du’u) about subject x3 from
source x4 (obj./event) by method x5
(event/process)
cinba kiss x1 (agent) kisses/busses x2 at locus x3
cinmo emotion x1 feels emotion x2 (ka) about x3
cinri interesting x1 (abstraction) interests/is interesting to
x2; x2 is interested in x1
cinse sexual x1 in activity/state x2 exhibits
sexuality/gender/sexual orientation x3 (ka)
by standard x4
cinta paint x1 [material] is a paint of pigment/active
substance x2, in a base of x3
cinynei fancy x1 fancies x2 (cinse ‘sex’ + nelci ‘like’)
cipni bird x1 is a bird/avian/fowl of species x2
cipra test x1 (process/event) is a test for/proof of
property/state x2 in subject x3
(individ./set/mass)
cirla cheese x1 is a quantity of/contains cheese/curd
from source x2
ciska write x1 inscribes/writes x2 on display/storage
medium x3 with writing implement x4; x1
is a scribe
cisma smile x1 smiles/grins (facial expression)
cismyfra smile at x1 reacts/responds/answers by smiling to
stimulus x2 under conditions x3 [cisma
(smile) + frati (react)]

269
Appendix B. Vocabulary

citka eat x1 eats/ingests/consumes (transitive verb)

x2
citsi season x1 is a season/is seasonal [cyclical
interval], defined by interval/property x2,
of year(s) x3
cizra strange x1 is strange/weird/deviant/bizarre/odd to
x2 in property x3 (ka)
ckafi coffee x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity of
coffee from source/bean/grain x2
ckasu ridicule x1 ridicules/mocks/scoffs at x2 about x3
(property/event) by doing activity x4
(event)
ckire grateful x1 is grateful/thankful to/appreciative of x2
for x3 (event/property)
ckule school x1 is school/institute/academy at x2
teaching subject(s) x3 to audien./commun.
x4 operated by x5
clani long x1 is long in dimension/direction x2
(default longest dimension) by
measurement standard x3
cladu loud x1 is loud/noisy at observation point x2 by
standard x3
clira early x1 (event) is early by standard x2
clite polite x1 is polite/courteous/civil in matter x2
according to standard/custom x3
cliva leave x1 leaves x2 via route x3
cmaci mathematic x1 is a mathematics of type/describing x2
s
cmalu small x1 is small in property/dimension(s) x2
(ka) as compared with standard/norm x3
cmavo structure x1 is a structure word of grammatical class
word x2, with meaning/function x3 in usage
(language) x4

270
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

cmene name x1 (quoted word(s)) is a/the name/title/tag

of x2 to/used-by namer/name-user x3
(person)
cmila laugh x1 laughs
cmima member x1 is a member/element of set x2; x1
belongs to group x2; x1 is
amid/among/amongst group x2
cmoni moan x1 utters moan/groan/howl/scream [non-
linguistic utterance] x2 expressing x3
(property)
cnino new x1 is new/unfamiliar/novel to observer x2
in feature x3 (ka) by standard x4; x1 is a
novelty
cnita beneath x1 is directly/vertically
beneath/below/under/underneath/down
from x2 in frame of reference x3
co’a initiative interval event contour: at the starting
point of ...; initiative
co’e unspecified elliptical/unspecified bridi relationship
selbri
coi greetings vocative: greetings/hello
co’o partings vocative: partings/good-bye
co’u cessative interval event contour: at the ending point
of ... even if not done; cessative
cpedu request x1 requests/asks/petitions/solicits for x2
of/from x3 in manner/form x4
cpina pungent x1 is
pungent/piquant/peppery/spicy/irritating
to sense x2
cradi radio x1 broadcasts/transmits [using radio
waves] x2 via station/frequency x3 to
[radio] receiver x4
crane front x1 is anterior/ahead/forward/(in/on) the
front of x2 which faces/in-frame-of-
reference x3

271
Appendix B. Vocabulary

cremau more expert x1 is more expert/pro/has prowess than x2

in/is more skilled at x3 by standard x4, by
amount/excess x5 (certu ‘expert’ + zmadu
‘more’)
cribe bear x1 is a bear/ursoid of species/breed x2
crida fairy x1 is a
fairy/elf/gnome/brownie/pixie/goblin/kob
old [mythical humanoid] of
mythos/religion x2
crino green x1 is green
crisa summer x1 is summer/summertime [hot season] of
year x2 at location x3
critu autumn x1 is autumn/fall [harvest/cooling season]
of year x2 at location x3
ctebi lip x1 is a/the lip [body-part]/rim of orifice x2
of body x3; (adjective:) x1 is labial
ctuca teach x1 teaches audience x2 ideas/methods/lore
x3 (du’u) about subject(s) x4 by method x5
(event)
cu selbri elidable marker: separates selbri from
separator preceding sumti, allows preceding
terminator elision
cu’i neutral attitudinal: neutral scalar attitude
emotion modifier
cukta book x1 is a book about subject/theme/story x2
by author x3 for audience x4 preserved in
medium x5
culno full x1 is full/completely filled with x2
cupra produce x1 produces x2 [product] by process x3
curmi let x1 (agent) lets/permits/allows x2 (event)
under conditions x3; x1 grants privilege x2
cusku express x1 expresses/says x2 for audience x3 via
expressive medium x4
cu’u as said by cusku modal, 1st place
(attribution/quotation) as said by source
...; used for quotation

272
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

cy c letteral for c
da something logically quantified existential pro-sumti:
#1 there exists something #1 (usually
restricted)
dable’a conquer x1 conquers/siezes x2 from x3 (‘war-take’)
da’i supposing discursive: supposing – in fact
dai empathy attitudinal modifier: marks empathetic
use of preceding attitudinal; shows
another’s feelings
danfu answer x1 is the answer/response/solution/[reply]
to question/problem x2
dansu dance x1 (individual, mass) dances to
accompaniment/music/rhythm x2
dansydi’u disco x1 is a disco (dansu ‘dance’ + dinju
‘building’)
dapma curse x1 curses/damns/condemns x2 to fate
(event) x3
daptutra hell x1 is the territory of damnation by x2
(dapma ‘curse’ + tutra ‘territory’)
darxi hit x1 hits/strikes/[beats] x2 with instrument
[or body-part] x3 at locus x4
dasni wear x1 wears/is robed/garbed in x2 as a
garment of type x3
dau 10 digit/number: hex digit A
de something logically quantified existential pro-sumti:
#2 there exists something #2 (usually
restricted)
de’i dated detri modal, 1st place (for letters) dated ...
; attaches date stamp
denpa wait x1 awaits/waits/pauses for/until x2 at state
x3 before starting/continuing x4
(activity/process)
detri date x1 is the date [day,{week},{month},year] of
event/state x2, at location x3, by calendar
x4

273
Appendix B. Vocabulary

di something logically quantified existential pro-sumti:

#3 there exists something #3 (usually
restricted)
dicra interrupt x1 (event) interrupts/stops/halts/[disrupts]
x2 (object/event/process) due to quality x3
dikca electric x1 is electricity [electric charge or current]
in/on x2 of polarity/quantity x3 (def.
negative)
dilnu cloud x1 is a cloud/mass of clouds of material x2
in air mass x3 at floor/base elevation x4
dinske economics x1 is economics based on methodology x2
(jdini ‘money’ + saske ‘science’)
dirba dear x1 is dear/precious/darling to x2; x1 is
emotionally valued by x2
djacu water x1 is made of/contains/is a
quantity/expanse of water; (adjective:) x1
is aqueous/[aquatic]
djedi full day x1 is x2 full days in duration (default is 1
day) by standard x3; (adjective:) x1 is
diurnal
djica want x1 desires/wants/wishes x2 (event/state)
for purpose x3
djuno know x1 knows fact(s) x2 (du’u) about subject x3
by epistemology x4
do you pro-sumti: you listener(s); identified by
vocative
doi vocative generic vocative marker; identifies
marker intended listener; elidable after COI
dotco German x1 reflects German/Germanic
culture/nationality/language in aspect x2
draci drama x1 is a drama/play about x2
[plot/theme/subject] by dramatist x3 for
audience x4 with actors x5
drani correct x1 is correct/proper/right/perfect in
property/aspect x2 (ka) in situation x3 by
standard x4

274
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

drata other x1 isn’t the-same-thing-as/is different-

from/other-than x2 by standard x3; x1 is
something else
du same identity selbri; = sign; x1 identically equals
identity as x2, x3, etc.; attached sumti refer to same
thing
du’e too many digit/number: too many
dukse excess x1 is an excess of/too much of x2 by
standard x3
dunda give x1 [donor] gives/donates gift/present x2 to
recipient/beneficiary x3 [without
payment/exchange]
dunku anguish x1 is anguished/distressed/emotionally
wrought/stressed by x2
dunli equal x1 is equal/congruent to/as much as x2 in
property/dimension/quantity x3
dunra winter x1 is winter/wintertime [cold season] of
year x2 at location
du’u bridi abstractor: predication/bridi abstractor; x1
abstract is predication [bridi] expressed in
sentence x2
dy d letteral for d
dzena elder x1 is an elder/ancestor of x2 by
bond/tie/degree x3; x1’s generation
precedes x2’s parents
fa 1st sumti sumti place tag: tag 1st sumti place
place
fa’a towards location tense relation/direction; arriving
point at/directly towards ...
facki discover x1 discovers/finds out x2 (du’u) about
subject/object x3; x1 finds (fi) x3 (object)
fagri fire x1 is a fire/flame in fuel x2 burning-
in/reacting-with oxidizer x3 (default
air/oxygen)

275
Appendix B. Vocabulary

fai extra sumti sumti place tag: tag a sumti moved out of
place numbered place structure; used in modal
conversions
falcru drop x1 allows x2 to fall/drop to x3 in gravity
well/frame of reference x4
fange alien x1 is alien/foreign/[exotic]/unfamiliar to x2
in property x3 (ka)
fanva translate x1 translates x2 to language x3 from
language x4 with translation-result x5
fanza annoy x1 (event)
annoys/irritates/bothers/distracts x2
farlu fall x1 falls/drops to x2 from x3 in gravity
well/frame of reference x4
farna direction x1 is the direction of x2 (object/event) from
origin/in frame of reference x3
fasnu event x1 (event) is an event that
happens/occurs/takes place; x1 is an
incident/happening/occurrence
fatci fact x1 (du’u) is a fact/reality/truth/actuality, in
the absolute
fa’u and non-logical connective: respectively;
respectively unmixed ordered distributed association
fau in the event fasnu modal, 1st place (non-causal) in the
of event of ...
fe 2nd sumti sumti place tag: tag 2nd sumti place
place
fei 11 digit/number: hex digit B
fekpre crazy x1 is an insane, crazy person (fenki ‘crazy’
+ prenu ‘person’)
fengu angry x1 is angry/mad at x2 for x3
(action/state/property)
fenki crazy x1 (action/event) is
crazy/insane/mad/frantic/in a frenzy (one
sense) by standard x2
fe’o over and vocative: over and out (end discussion)
out

276
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

fi 3rd sumti sumti place tag: tag 3rd sumti place

place
fi’e created by finti modal, 1st place (creator) created by
...
fi’i hospitality vocative: hospitality – inhospitality; you
are welcome/ make yourself at home
finpe fish x1 is a fish of species x2 [metaphorical
extension to sharks, non-fish aquatic
vertebrates]
finti invent x1 invents/creates/composes/authors x2 for
function/purpose x3 from existing
elements/ideas x4
fi’u fraction digit/number: fraction slash; default “/n”
slash → 1/n, “n/” → n/1, or “/” alone → golden
ratio
fo 4th sumti sumti place tag: tag 4th sumti place
place
fo’a it #6 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #6 (specified by
goi)
fo’e it #7 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #7 (specified by
goi)
fo’i it #8 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #8 (specified by
goi)
fonxa telephone x1 is a telephone transceiver/modem
attached to system/network x2
fo’o it #9 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #9 (specified by
goi)
fo’u it #10 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #10 (specified by
goi)
fraso French x1 reflects French/Gallic
culture/nationality/language in aspect x2
frati react x1 reacts/responds/answers with action x2
to stimulus x3 under conditions x4; x1 is
responsive
frumu frown x1 frowns/grimaces (facial expression)
fu 5th sumti sumti place tag: tag 5th sumti place
place

277
Appendix B. Vocabulary

fusra rotten x1 rots/decays/ferments with

decay/fermentation agent x2; x1 is
rotten/decayed/fermented
fy f letteral for f
ga fore or logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal or
gacri cover x1 is a cover/[lid/top] for
covering/concealing/sheltering x2
gai 12 digit/number: hex digit C
gairgau cover x1 [person/agent] places x2 as a
cover/[lid/top] on x3 (gacri ‘cover’ + gasnu
‘do’)
galfi modify x1 (event)
modifies/alters/changes/transforms/conve
rts x2 into x3
ganai fore only if logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal conditional/only if
ganlo closed x1 (portal/passage/entrance-way) is
closed/shut/not open, preventing
passage/access to x2 by x3
gasnu do x1 [person/agent] is an agentive cause of
event x2; x1 does/brings about x2
ge fore and logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal and
ge’i fore conn? logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal connective question
gerku dog x1 is a dog/canine/[bitch] of species/breed
x2
gerna grammar x1 is the grammar/rules/defining form of
language x2 for structure/text x3
gi connective logical connective: all but tanru-internal
medial forethought connective medial marker
gi’a bridi or logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought
or
gi’e bridi and logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought
and

278
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

gi’enai bridi but logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought

not x but not y
gi’i bridi conn? logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought
connective question
gi’o bridi iff logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought
biconditional/iff/if-and-only-if
gi’onai bridi xor logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought
exclusive or
gismu root word x1 is a (Lojban) root word expressing
relation x2 among argument roles x3, with
affix(es)
gi’u bridi logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought
whether whether-or-not
glare hot x1 is hot/[warm] by standard x2
gleki happy x1 is happy/gay/merry/glad/gleeful about
x2 (event/state)
gletu copulate x1 copulates/mates/has coitus/sexual
intercourse with x2
glico English x1 is English/pertains to English-speaking
culture in aspect x2
go fore iff logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal biconditional/iff/if-and-
only-if
go’i last bridi pro-bridi: preceding bridi; in answer to a
yes/no question, repeats the claim,
meaning yes
goi pro-sumti sumti assignment; used to define/assign
assign ko’a/fo’a series pro-sumti
gonai fore xor logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal exclusive or
grana rod x1 is a rod/pole/staff/stick/cane
[shape/form] of material x2
gu fore logical connective: forethought all but
whether tanru-internal whether-or-not
gu’a fore or logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal or
gu’anai fore only if logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal conditional/only if

279
Appendix B. Vocabulary

gubni public x1 is public/un-hidden/open/jointly

available to/owned by all among
community x2 (mass)
gu’e fore and logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal and
gugde country x1 is the country of peoples x2 with
land/territory x3; (people/territory
relationship)
gu’i fore conn? logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal connective question
gunjubme desk x1 is a desk of worker x2 (gunka ‘work’ +
jubme ‘table’)
gunka work x1 [person] labors/works on/at x2 [activity]
with goal/objective x3
gunro roll x1 rolls/trundles on/against surface x2
rotating on axis/axle x3; x1 is a roller
gunta attack x1 (person/mass) attacks/invades/commits
aggression upon victim x2 with
goal/objective x3
guntrusi’o Communis x1 is a notion of communism (gunka ‘work’
m + turni ‘govern’ + sidbo ‘idea’)
gu’o fore iff logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal biconditional/iff/if-and-
only-if
gu’onai fore xor logical connective: forethought all but
tanru-internal exclusive or
gusni illumine x1 [energy] is light/illumination
illuminating x2 from light source x3
gusta restaurant x1 is a restaurant/cafe/diner serving type-
of-food x2 to audience x3
gu’u fore logical connective: forethought all but
whether tanru-internal whether-or-not
gy g letteral for g
ja tanru or logical connective: tanru-internal or
jai modal convert tense/modal (tagged) place to 1st
conversion place; 1st place moves to extra FA place
(fai)

280
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

jalge result x1 (action/event/state) is a

result/outcome/conclusion of antecedent
x2 (event/state/process)
jamfu foot x1 is a/the foot [body-part] of x2
jamna war x1 (person/mass) wars against x2 over
territory/matter x3; x1 is at war with x2
janco shoulder x1 is a/the shoulder/hip/joint [body-part]
attaching limb/extremity x2 to body x3
jarbu suburb x1 is a suburban area of city/metropolis x2
jarco show x1 (agent)
shows/exhibits/displays/[reveals]/demons
trates x2 (property) to audience x3
jatna captain x1 is captain/commander/leader/in-
charge/boss of vehicle/domain x2
jau 13 digit/number: hex digit D
jbena born x1 is born to x2 at time x3 [birthday] and
place x4 [birthplace]; x1 is native to (fo)
jbonunsalci Logfest x1 is an event of
celebrating/recognizing/honoring Lojban
with activity/[party] x2
jdima price x1 [amount] is the price of x2 to
purchaser/consumer x3 set by vendor x4
jdini money x1 is money/currency issued by x2;
(adjective:) x1 is
financial/monetary/pecuniary/fiscal
je tanru and logical connective: tanru-internal and
jecta polity x1 is a polity/state governing
territory/domain x2; [government/territory
relationship]
jecyga’ibai revolutiona x1 revolts against/deposes regime x2 (jecta
ry ‘polity’ + galfi ‘modify’ + bapli ‘force’)
je’e roger vocative: roger (ack) – negative
acknowledge; used to acknowledge offers
and thanks
je’i tanru conn? logical connective: tanru-internal
connective question

281
Appendix B. Vocabulary

jelca burn x1 burns/[ignites/is

flammable/inflammable] at temperature
x2 in atmosphere x3
jemna gem x1 is a gem/polished stone/pearl of type x2
from gemstone/material/source x3
jenai tanru but logical connective: tanru-internal x but not
not y
jgari grasp x1
grasps/holds/clutches/seizes/grips/[hugs]
x2 with x3 (part of x1) at locus x4 (part of
x2)
jgira pride x1 (person) feels/has pride in/about x2
(abstraction)
jgita guitar x1 is a guitar/violin/fiddle/harp [stringed
musical instrument] with
actuator/plectrum/bow x2
jgitrgitara guitar x1 is a guitar
jgitrviolino violin x1 is a violin
ji sumti conn? logical connective: sumti afterthought
connective question
ji’a in addition discursive: additionally
jikca socialize x1 interacts/behaves socially with x2; x1
socializes with/is sociable towards x2
jimpe understand x1 understands/comprehends fact/truth x2
(du’u) about subject x3; x1 understands (fi)
x3
jinvi opine x1 thinks/opines x2 [opinion] (du’u) is true
about subject/issue x3 on grounds x4
jipci chicken x1 is a chicken/[hen/cock/rooster]/small
fowl [a type of bird] of species/breed x2
jisra juice x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity of
juice/nectar from-source/of-type x2
jmina add x1 adds/combines x2 to/with x3, with result
x4; x1 augments x2 by amount x3
jmive live x1 lives/is alive by standard x2; x1 is an
organism/living thing

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 Appendix B. Vocabulary

jo tanru iff logical connective: tanru-internal

biconditional/iff/if-and-only-if
joi in a mass non-logical connective: mixed
with conjunction; ‘and’ meaning ‘mixed
together’, forming a mass
jonai tanru xor logical connective: tanru-internal
exclusive or
ju tanru logical connective: tanru-internal
whether whether-or-not
jubme table x1 is a table/flat solid upper surface of
material x2, supported by
legs/base/pedestal x3
ju’i attention vocative: attention – at ease – ignore me
jukpa cook x1 cooks/prepares food-for-eating x2 by
recipe/method x3 (process)
jundi attentive x1 is attentive towards/attends/tends/pays
attention to object/affair x2
jungo Chinese x1 reflects Chinese [Mandarin, Cantonese,
Wu, etc.] culture/nationality/language in
aspect x2
junri serious x1 (person) is serious/earnest/has gravity
about x2 (event/state/activity)
ju’o certainty attitudinal modifier: certainly – uncertain
– certainly not
ka property abstractor: property/quality abstractor (-
abstract ness); x1 is quality/property exhibited by
[bridi]
kabri cup x1 is a
cup/glass/tumbler/mug/vessel/[bowl]
containing contents x2, and of material x3
kakne able x1 is able to do/be/capable of doing/being
x2 (event/state) under conditions x3
(event/state)
kanla cup x1 is a/the eye [body-part] of x2;
[metaphor: sensory apparatus];
(adjective:) x1 is ocular

283
Appendix B. Vocabulary

kansa with x1 is with/accompanies/is a companion of

x2, in state/condition/enterprise x3
(event/state)
karbi compare x1 [observer] compares x2 with x3 in
property x4 (ka), determining comparison
x5 (state)
karce car x1 is a car/automobile/truck/van [a
wheeled motor vehicle] for carrying x2,
propelled by x3
karni journal x1 is a
journal/periodical/magazine/[newspaper]
with content x2 published by x3 for
audience x4
kau indirect discursive: marks word serving as focus
question of indirect question
ke start start grouping of tanru, etc; ... type of ... ;
grouping overrides normal tanru left grouping
ke’a relativized pro-sumti: relativized sumti (object of
it relative clause)
ke’e end elidable terminator: end of tanru left
grouping grouping override (usually elidable)
kei end elidable terminator: end abstraction bridi
abstraction (often elidable)
kensa outer space x1 is outer space near/associated with
celestial body/region x2
ke’o please vocative: please repeat
repeat
kerfa hair x1 is a/the hair/fur [body-part] of x2 at
body location x3
ki’a textual attitudinal question: confusion about
confusion something said
ki’e thanks vocative: thanks – no thanks to you
kijno oxygen x1 is a quantity of/contains/is made of
oxygen (O)
ki’o number digit/number: number comma; thousands
comma

284
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

kisto Pakistani x1 reflects Pakistani/Pashto

culture/nationality/language in aspect x2
ki’u because of krinu modal, 1st place (justified by)
reason justifiably; because of reason ...
klaji street x1 is a street/avenue/lane/drive/cul-de-
sac/way/alley/[road] at x2 accessing x3
klaku weep x1 weeps/cries tears x2 about/for reason x3
(event/state)
klama come x1 goes/comes to x2 from x3 via x4 by
means x5
ko imperative pro-sumti: you (imperative); make it true
for you, the listener
ko’a it #1 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #1 (specified by
goi)
ko’e it #2 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #2 (specified by
goi)
ko’i it #3 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #3 (specified by
goi)
ko’o it #4 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #4 (specified by
goi)
ko’u it #5 pro-sumti: he/she/it/they #5 (specified by
goi)
krasi origin x1 (site/event) is a
source/start/beginning/origin of x2
(object/event/process)
kratrsenatore senator x1 is a senator representing x2 in senate x3
krinu reason x1 (event/state) is a
reason/justification/explanation
for/causing/permitting x2 (event/state)
krixa cry out x1 cries out/yells/howls sound x2; x1 is a
crier
ku end sumti elidable terminator: end description,
modal, or negator sumti; often elidable
kucli curious x1 is curious/wonders about/is interested
in/[inquisitive about] x2 (object/abstract)
ku’i however iscursive: however/but/in contrast

285
Appendix B. Vocabulary

kukte delicious x1 is delicious/tasty/delightful to

observer/sense x2 [person, or sensory
activity]
kumfa room x1 is a room of/in structure x2 surrounded
by partitions/walls/ceiling/floor x3
(mass/jo’u)
kunti empty x1 [container] is empty/vacant of x2
[material]; x1 is hollow
ku’o end relative elidable terminator: end NOI relative
clause clause; always elidable, but preferred in
complex clauses
kurji take care of x1 takes-care-of/looks after/attends
to/provides for/is caretaker for x2
(object/event/person)
ky k letteral for k
kybu q letteral for q
la that named name descriptor: the one(s) called ... ;
takes name or selbri description
la’a probability discursive: probably – improbably
lacpu pull x1 pulls/tugs/draws/drags x2 by handle/at
locus x3
ladru milk x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity of
milk from source x2; (adjective:) x1 is
lactic/dairy
la’e di’u last pro-sumti: the referent of the last
utterance it utterance; the state described
la’e the referent the referent of (indirect pointer); uses the
of referent of a sumti as the desired sumti
la’i the set of name descriptor: the set of those named ...
named ; takes name or selbri description
lai the mass of name descriptor: the mass of individual(s)
named named ... ; takes name or selbri
description
lamji adjacent x1 is adjacent/beside/next to/in contact
with x2 in property/sequence x3 in
direction x4

286
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

lanli analyze x1 analyzes/examines-in-detail x2 by

method/technique/system x3
[process/activity]
lanme sheep x1 is a sheep/[lamb/ewe/ram] of
species/breed x2 of flock x3
lante can x1 is a can/tightly sealed/pre-sealed
container for perishable contents x2, made
of x3
la’o the non- delimited non-Lojban name; the resulting
Lojban quote sumti is treated as a name
named
le the non-veridical descriptor: the one(s)
described described as ...
lebna take x1
takes/gets/gains/obtains/seizes/[removes]
x2 (object/property) from x3 (possessor)
le’e the non-veridical descriptor: the stereotype of
stereotypica those described as ...
l
le’i the set non-veridical descriptor: the set of those
described described as ..., treated as a set
lei the mass non-veridical descriptor: the mass of
described individual(s) described as ...
lerci late x1 (event) is late by standard x2
le’u end error end quote of questionable or out-of-
quote context text; not elidable
li the number the number/evaluated expression; convert
number/operand/evaluated math
expression to sumti
lidne precede x1 precedes/leads x2 in sequence x3; x1 is
former/preceding/previous; x2 is
latter/following
lifri experience x1 [person/passive/state]
undergoes/experiences x2
(event/experience); x2 happens to x1
lindi lightning x1 is lightning/electrical arc/thunderbolt
striking at/extending to x2 from x3

287
Appendix B. Vocabulary

lo that which veridical descriptor: the one(s) that really

really is is(are) ...
lo’e the typical veridical descriptor: the typical one(s)
who really is(are) ...
logji logic x1 [rules/methods] is a logic for
deducing/concluding/inferring/reasoning
to/about x2 (du’u)
lo’i the set veridical descriptor: the set of those that
which really are ..., treated as a set
really is
loi the mass veridical descriptor: the mass of
which individual(s) that is(are) ...
really is
lojbo Lojbanic x1 reflects [Loglandic]/Lojbanic
language/culture/nationality/community
in aspect x2
lo’o end mex elidable terminator: end math expression
sumti (mex) sumti; end mex-to-sumti
conversion; usually elidable
lo’u error quote start questionable/out-of-context quote;
text should be Lojban words, but needn’t
be grammatical
lu’a the the members of the set/components of the
individuals mass; converts another description type to
of individuals
lujvo affix x1 (text) is a compound predicate word
compound with meaning x2 and arguments x3 built
from metaphor x4
lunra lunar x1 is Earth’s moon (default); x1 is a major
natural satellite/moon of planet x2
lu’o the mass the mass composed of; converts another
composed description type to a mass composed of
of the members
ly l letteral for l
ma sumti? pro-sumti: sumti question
(what/who/how/why/etc.); appropriately
fill in sumti blank

288
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

ma’a we with pro-sumti: me/we the speaker(s)/author(s)

you and you the listener(s) and others
unspecified
mabla derogative x1 is a derogative connotation/sense of x2
used by x3; x3 derogates/‘curses at’ x2 in
form x1
malglico derogatoril x1 is English/pertains to English-speaking
y English culture in aspect x2, and is derogatorily
viewed by x3 (mabla ‘derogative’ + glico
‘English’)
malrarbau derogatoril x1 is a natural language, and is
y natural derogatorily viewed by x2 (mabla
language ‘derogative’ + rarna ‘natural’ + bangu
‘languge’)
mamta mother x1 is a mother of x2; x1 bears/mothers/acts
maternally toward x2; [not necessarily
biological]
manci wonder x1 feels wonder/awe/marvels about x2
manku dark x1 is dark/lacking in illumination
mansa satisfy x1 satisfies evaluator x2 in property
(ka)/state x3
masti month x1 is x2 months in duration (default is 1
month) by month standard x3
matcrflokati flokati rug x1 is a flokati rug
mau exceeded by zmadu modal, 1st place (a greater)
exceeded by ... ; usually a sumti modifier
me sumti to convert sumti to selbri/tanru element; x1 is
selbri specific to [sumti] in aspect x2
mebri brow x1 is a/the brow/forehead [projecting
flat/smooth head/body-part] of x2
melbi beautiful x1 is beautiful/pleasant to x2 in aspect x3
(ka) by aesthetic standard x4
menli mind x1 is a
mind/intellect/psyche/mentality/[consciou
sness] of body x2

289
Appendix B. Vocabulary

mensi sister x1 is a sister of/sororal to x2 by

bond/tie/standard/parent(s) x3; [not
necessarily biological]
merko American x1 pertains to USA/American
culture/nationality/dialect in aspect x2
mi me pro-sumti: me/we the
speaker(s)/author(s); identified by self-
vocative
mi’a we, not you pro-sumti: me/we the speaker(s)/author(s)
and others unspecified, but not you, the
listener
mi’e self- self vocative: self-introduction – denial of
introductio identity; identifies speaker
n
mikce doctor x1 doctors/treats/nurses/[cures]/is
physician/midwife to x2 for ailment x3 by
treatment/cure x4
milxe mild x1 is mild/non-
extreme/gentle/middling/somewhat in
property x2 (ka); x1 is not very x2
minra reflect x1 reflects/mirrors/echoes x2
[object/radiation] to observer/point x3 as
x4; x2 bounces on x1
mintu same x1 is the same/identical thing as x2 by
standard x3; (x1 and x2 interchangeable)
mi’o me and you pro-sumti: me/we the speaker(s)/author(s)
and you the listener(s)
misno famous x1 (person/object/event) is
famous/renowned/is a celebrity among
community of persons x2 (mass)
mlatu cat x1 is a cat/[puss/pussy/kitten] [feline
animal] of species/breed x2; (adjective:) x1
is feline
mo bridi? pro-bridi: bridi/selbri/brivla question
mo’i space mark motions in space-time
motion

290
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

moi ordinal convert number to ordinal selbri; x1 is

selbri (n)th member of set x2 ordered by rule x3
morji remember x1 remembers/recalls/recollects
fact(s)/memory x2 (du’u) about subject x3
morsi dead x1 is dead/has ceased to be alive
mo’u completive interval event contour: at the natural
ending point of ...; completive
mrilu mail x1 mails/posts [transfer via intermediary
service] x2 to x3 from x4 by
carrier/network/system x5
mrobi’o die x1 dies under conditions x2 (morsi ‘dead’ +
binxo ‘become’)
mu 5 digit/number: 5
mu’i because of mukti modal, 1st place because of motive
motive ...
mukti motive x1 (action/event/state) motivates/is a
motive/incentive for action/event x2, per
volition of x3
mulno complete x1 (event) is complete/done/finished; x1
(object) has become whole in property x2
by standard x3
munje universe x1 is a universe/cosmos [complete and
ordered entirety] of domain/sphere x2
defined by rules x3
mu’o over vocative: over (response OK) – more to
come
mupli example x1 is an
example/sample/specimen/instance/case/il
lustration of common property(s) x2 of set
x3
mutce much x1 is much/extreme in property x2 (ka),
towards x3 extreme/direction; x1 is, in x2,
very x3
mu’u exemplified mupli modal, 1st place exemplified by ...
by
my m letteral for m

291
Appendix B. Vocabulary

na.a sumti only logical connective: sumti afterthought

if conditional/only if
na bridi bridi contradictory negator; scope is an
negator entire bridi; logically negates in some
cmavo compounds
nabmi problem x1 (event/state) is a problem
to/encountered by x2 in
situation/task/inquiry x3
na’e scalar contrary scalar negator: other than ...; not
contrary ...; a scale or set is implied
nagi’a bridi only if logical connective: bridi-tail afterthought
conditional/only if
nai negate last attached to cmavo to negate them; various
word negation-related meanings
naja tanru only logical connective: tanru-internal
if conditional/only if
namcu number x1 (li) is a
number/quantifier/digit/value/figure
(noun); refers to the value and not the
symbol
nanba bread x1 is a quantity of/contains bread
[leavened or unleavened] made from
grains x2
nanca year x1 is x2 years in duration (default is 1 year)
by standard x3; (adjective:) x1 is annual
nandu difficult x1 is difficult/hard/challenging for x2
under conditions x3; x1 challenges (non-
agentive) x2
nanmu man x1 is a man/men; x1 is a male humanoid
person [not necessarily adult]
narju orange x1 is orange [color adjective]
ne’a next to location tense relation/direction;
approximating/next to ...
ne’i within location tense relation/direction;
within/inside of/into ...
nelci fond x1 is fond of/likes/has a taste for x2
(object/state)

292
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

nenri in x1 is in/inside/within x2; x1 is on the

inside/interior of x2 [totally within the
bounds of x2]
ni amount abstractor: quantity/amount abstractor; x1
abstract is quantity/amount of [bridi] measured on
scale x2
ni’a below location tense relation/direction;
downwards/down from ...
nibli necessitate x1 logically necessitates/entails/implies
action/event/state x2 under rules/logic
system x3
nicte night x1 is a nighttime of day x2 at location x3;
(adjective:) x1 is at night/nocturnal
ni’i because of nibli modal, 1st place logically; logically
logic because ...
nimre citrus x1 is a quantity of citrus [fruit/tree, etc.] of
species/strain x2
ninmu woman x1 is a woman (any female humanoid
person, not necessarily adult)
ninpe’i meet x1 meets x2 for the first time at location x3
(cnino ‘new’ + penmi ‘meet’)
ni’o new topic discursive: paragraph break; introduce
new topic
nitcu need x1 needs/requires/is dependent on/[wants]
necessity x2 for purpose/action/stage of
process x3
ni’u negative digit/number: minus sign; negative
number number); default any negative
no 0 digit/number: 0
nobli noble x1 is noble/aristocratic/elite/high-
born/titled in/under
culture/society/standard x2
no’e scalar midpoint scalar negator: neutral point
midpoint between je’a and to’e; ‘not really’
not

293
Appendix B. Vocabulary

noi incidental non-restrictive relative clause; attaches

clause subordinate bridi with incidental
information
no’u incidental non-restrictive appositive phrase marker:
identity which incidentally is the same thing as ...
nu event abstractor: generalized event abstractor; x1
abstract is state/process/achievement/activity of
[bridi]
nu’e promise vocative: promise – promise release – un-
promise
nupre promise x1 (agent)
promises/commits/assures/threatens x2
(event/state) to x3 [beneficiary/victim]
ny n letteral for n
pa 1 digit/number: 1
pagbu part x1 is a
part/component/piece/portion/segment of
x2 [where x2 is a whole/mass]; x2 is partly
x1
pai pi digit/number: pi (approximately 3.1416...)
palci evil x1 is evil/depraved/wicked [morally bad]
by standard x2
patlu potato x1 is a potato [an edible tuber] of
variety/cultivar x2
pavbudjo first x1 is the first Buddhist (pa ‘1’ + budjo
Buddhist ‘Buddhist’)
pe restrictive restrictive relative phrase marker: which
phrase is associated with ...; loosest
associative/possessive
pe’i I opine evidential: I opine (subjective claim)
pei emotion? attitudinal: attitudinal question; how do
you feel about it? with what intensity?
pelxu yellow x1 is yellow/golden [color adjective]
pencu touch x1 (agent) touches x2 with x3 [a locus on x1
or an instrument] at x4 [a locus on x2]
pendo friend x1 is/acts as a friend of/to x2 (experiencer);
x2 befriends x1

294
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

penmi meet x1 meets/encounters x2 at/in location x3

pensi police x1 thinks/considers/cogitates/reasons/is
pensive about/reflects upon
subject/concept x2
pesxu paste x1 is paste/pulp/dough/mash/mud/slurry
[soft, smooth-textured, moist solid] of
composition x2
pe’u please vocative: please
pi so’e most of number: most of of; used to refer to a
greater portion of something
pi decimal digit/number: radix (number base) point;
point default decimal
pi’e digit digit/number:separates digits for base >16,
separator not current standard, or variable (e.g.
time, date)
pilno use x1 uses/employs x2 [tool, apparatus,
machine, agent, acting entity, material] for
purpose x3
pinsi pencil x1 is a pencil/crayon/stylus applying
lead/marking material x2, frame/support
[of material] x3
pinxe drink x1 (agent) drinks/imbibes
beverage/drink/liquid refreshment x2
from/out-of container/source x3
pi’o used by pilno modal, 1st place used by ...
pipno piano x1 is a
piano/harpsichord/synthesizer/organ; a
keyboard musical instrument
plise apple x1 is an apple [fruit] of species/strain x2
pluja complicated x1 is complex/complicated/involved in
aspect/property x2 (ka) by standard x3
po is specific to restrictive relative phrase marker: which
is specific to ...; normal possessive
physical/legal
po’e which restrictive relative phrase marker: which
belongs to belongs to ... ; inalienable possession

295
Appendix B. Vocabulary

poi restrictive restrictive relative clause; attaches

clause subordinate bridi with identifying
information to a sumti
ponse possess x1 possesses/owns/has x2 under
law/custom x3; x1 is owner/proprietor of x2
under x3
po’u restrictive restrictive appositive phrase marker:
identity which is the same thing as
prami love x1 loves/feels strong affectionate devotion
towards x2 (object/state)
prenu person x1 is a person/people (noun) [not
necessarily human]; x1 displays
personality/a persona
preti question x1 (quoted text) is a question/query about
subject x2 by questioner x3 to audience x4
pritu right x1 is to the right of x2 facing x3
pu before time tense relation/direction: did [selbri];
before/prior to [sumti]; default past tense
pulji police x1 is a police officer/[enforcer/vigilante]
enforcing law(s)/rule(s)/order x2
pu’o anticipative interval event contour: in anticipation of
...; until ... ; inchoative
purci past x1 is in the past of/earlier than/before x2 in
time sequence; x1 is former; x2 is latter
purlamcte last night x1 is the night preceding x2 (purci ‘past’ +
lamji ‘adjacent’ + nicte ‘night’)
py p letteral for p
ra recent pro-sumti: a recent sumti before the last
sumti one, as determined by back-counting rules
ractu rabbit x1 is a rabbit/hare/[doe] of species/breed x2
rafsi affix x1 is an affix/suffix/prefix/combining-form
for word/concept x2, form/properties x3,
language x4
rarna natural x1 is natural/spontaneous/instinctive, not
[consciously] caused by person(s)
rasyjukpa fry x1 fries x2 (grasu ‘grease’ + jukpa ‘cook’)
re 2 digit/number: 2

296
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

rectu meat x1 is a quantity of/contains meat/flesh

from source/animal x2
re’i ready to vocative: ready to receive – not ready to
receive receive
rei 14 digit/number: hex digit E
remna human x1 is a human/human being/man (non-
specific gender-free sense); (adjective:) x1
is human
ri last sumti pro-sumti: the last sumti, as determined
by back-counting rules
ri’a because of rinka modal, 1st place (phys./mental)
cause causal because ...
rinka cause x1 (event/state) effects/physically causes
effect x2 (event/state) under conditions x3
rinsa greet x1 (agent) greets/hails/[welcomes/says
hello to]/responds to arrival of x2 in
manner x3 (action)
rirni parent x1 is a parent of/raises/rears x2; x1
mentors/acts parental toward
child/protege x2
ri’u on the right location tense relation/direction;
of rightwards/to the right of ...
ro each digit/number: each, all
rokci rock x1 is a quantity of/is made of/contains
rock/stone of type/composition x2 from
location x3
ru earlier pro-sumti: a remote past sumti, before all
sumti other in-use backcounting sumti
ru’e weak attitudinal: weak intensity attitude
emotion modifier
rufsu rough x1 is
rough/coarse/uneven/[grainy/scabrous/ru
gged] in texture/regularity
rupnu dollar x1 is measured in major-money-units
(dollar/yuan/ruble) as x2 (quantity),
monetary system x3
ry r letteral for r

297
Appendix B. Vocabulary

sa erase erase complete or partial utterance; next

utterance word shows how much erasing to do
sabji provide x1 (source) provides/supplies/furnishes x2
[supply/commodity] to x3 [recipient]
sa’e precisely discursive: precisely speaking – loosely
speaking speaking
sai strong attitudinal: moderate intensity attitude
emotion modifier
sakta sugar x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity of
sugar [sweet edible] from source x2 of
composition x3
salci celebrate x1 celebrates/recognizes/honors x2
(event/abstract) with activity/[party] x3
sanga sing x1 sings/chants x2
[song/hymn/melody/melodic sounds] to
audience x3
sanli stand x1 stands [is vertically oriented] on surface
x2 supported by limbs/support/pedestal x3
sanmi meal x1 (mass) is a meal composed of dishes
including x2
saske science x1 (mass of facts) is science of/about
subject matter x2 based on methodology x3
sazri operate x1 operates/drives/runs x2
[apparatus/machine] with
goal/objective/use/end/function x3
se ba’i instead of basti modal, 2nd place instead of ...
se cau without claxu modal, 2nd place (lacking) without
...
se du’u sentence compound abstractor: sentence/equation
abstract abstract; x1 is text expressing [bridi] which
is x2
se ja’e results jalge modal, 2nd place (event causal)
because results because of ...
se pa’u as a part of pagbu modal, 2nd place (whole) partially;
as a part of ...
se si’u assisting sidju modal, 2nd place assisting ... (in
doing/maintaining something)

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 Appendix B. Vocabulary

se 2nd 2nd conversion; switch 1st/2nd places

conversion
se’i self- attitudinal modifier: self-oriented – other-
oriented oriented
selbri predicate x2 (text) is a predicate relationship with
relation relation x1 among arguments
(sequence/set) (= se bridi)
selpeicku manifesto x1 is a manifesto about topic x2 by author
x3 for audience x4 preserved in medium x5
(pensi ‘thought’ + cukta ‘book’)
sepli apart x1 is apart/separate from x2, separated by
partition/wall/gap/interval/separating
medium x3
si erase word erase the last Lojban word, treating non-
Lojban text as a single word
sidbo idea x1 [person] labors/works on/at x2 [activity]
with goal/objective x3
sidju help x1 helps/assists/aids object/person x2
do/achieve/maintain event/activity x3
simlu seem x1 seems/appears to have property(ies) x2
to observer x3 under conditions x4
simsa similar x1 is similar/parallel to x2 in
property/quantity x3 (ka/ni); x1
looks/appears like x2
simxu mutual x1 (set) has members who
mutually/reciprocally x2 (event [x1 should
be reflexive in 1+ sumti])
si’o concept abstractor: idea/concept abstractor; x1 is
x2’s concept of [bridi]
sisku seek x1 seeks/searches/looks for property x2
among set x3 (complete specification of
set)
sisti cease x1 ceases/stops/halts activity/process/state
x2 [not necessarily completing it]
skapi pelt x1 is a pelt/skin/hide/leather from x2

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Appendix B. Vocabulary

skicu describe x1 tells about/describes x2

(object/event/state) to audience x3 with
description x4 (property)
skori cord x1 is
cord/cable/rope/line/twine/cordage/wove
n strands of material x2
slabu familiar x1 is old/familiar/well-known to observer
x2 in feature x3 (ka) by standard x4
sluni onion x1 is a quantity of/contains
onions/scallions of type/cultivar x2
smagau quieten x1 acts so that x2 is quiet/silent/[still] at
observation point x3 by standard x4 (smaji
‘quiet’ + gasnu ‘do’)
smaji quiet x1 (source) is quiet/silent/[still] at
observation point x2 by standard x3
snanu south x1 is to the south/southern side of x2
according to frame of reference x3
snuti accidental x1 (event/state) is an
accident/unintentional on the part of x2; x1
is an accident
so 9 digit/number: 9
so’a almost all digit/number: almost all (digit/number)
sodva soda x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity of a
carbonated beverage/soda of flavor/brand
x2
so’e most digit/number: most
so’i many digit/number: many
soi reciprocal discursive: reciprocal sumti marker;
sumti indicates a reciprocal relationship
between sumti
sonci soldier x1 is a soldier/warrior/fighter of army x2
so’o several digit/number: several
so’u few digit/number: few
spaji surprise x1 (event/action abstract)
surprises/startles/is unexpected [and
generally sudden] to x2

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 Appendix B. Vocabulary

spati plant x1 is a plant/herb/greenery of

species/strain/cultivar x2
spebi’o marry x1 marries x2; x1 becomes a spouse of x2
under
law/custom/tradition/system/convention
x3 (speni ‘spouse’ + binxo ‘become’)
speni married x1 is married to x2; x1 is a spouse of x2
under
law/custom/tradition/system/convention
x3
spita hospital x1 is a hospital treating patient(s) x2 for
condition/injuries/disease/illness x3
spoja explode x1 bursts/explodes/violently breaks
up/decomposes/combusts into
pieces/energy/fragments x2
spuda reply x1 answers/replies to/responds to
person/object/event/situation/stimulus x2
with response x3
sruma reply x1 assumes/supposes that x2 (du’u) is true
about subject x3
stali remain x1 remains/stays at/abides/lasts with x2
stedu head x1 is a/the head [body-part] of x2
stela lock x1 is a lock/seal of/on/for sealing x2
with/by locking mechanism x3
su’e at most digit/number: at most (all); no more than
su’i plus n-ary mathematical operator: plus;
addition operator; [(((a + b) + c) + ...)]
sumti argument x1 is a/the argument of predicate/function
x2 filling place x3 (kind/number)
su’o at least at least some); no less than
sutra fast x1 is fast/swift/quick/hastes/rapid at
doing/being/bringing about x2
(event/state)
su’u unspecified abstractor: generalized abstractor (how);
abstract x1 is [bridi] as a non-specific abstraction of
type x2

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Appendix B. Vocabulary

sy s letteral for s
ta that there pro-sumti: that there; nearby
demonstrative it; indicated thing/place
near listener
ta’a interruption vocative: interruption
tadni study x1 studies/is a student of x2; x1 is a scholar;
(adjective:) x1 is scholarly
tamne cousin x1 is cousin to x2 by bond/tie x3; [non-
immediate family member, default same
generation]
ta’o by the way discursive: by the way – returning to the
subject
tarci star x1 is a star/sun with stellar properties x2
tartcita star label x1 is a star-shaped label/tag of x2 showing
information x3 (tarci ‘star’ + tcita ‘label’)
tarti behave x1 behaves/conducts oneself as/in-manner
x2 (event/property) under conditions x3
tavla talk x1 talks/speaks to x2 about subject x3 in
language x4
tcadu city x1 is a town/city of metropolitan area x2, in
political unit x3, serving hinterland/region
x4
tcetoi try hard x1 tries hard to do/attain x2
(event/state/property) by actions/method
x3 (mutce ‘much’ + troci ‘try’)
tcica deceive x1 (event/experience)
misleads/deceives/dupes/fools/cheats/tric
ks x2 into x3 (event/state)
tcidu talk x1 [agent] reads x2 [text] from
surface/document/reading material x3; x1
is a reader
tcika time of day x1 [hours, {minutes}, {seconds}] is the
time/hour of state/event x2 on day x3 at
location x4
tcita label x1 is a label/tag of x2 showing information
x3

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 Appendix B. Vocabulary

te me’e as a name cmene modal, 3rd place as a name used

used by by ...
te 3rd 3rd conversion; switch 1st/2nd places
conversion
telgau lock x1 (agent) makes x2 be a lock/seal of/on/for
sealing x3 with/by locking mechanism x4
(stela ‘lock’ + gasnu ‘do’)
terdi earth x1 is the Earth/the home planet of race x2;
(adjective:) x1 is terrestrial/earthbound
ti this here pro-sumti: this here; immediate
demonstrative it; indicated thing/place
near speaker
ti’a behind location tense relation/direction;
rearwards/to the rear of ...
tigni perform x1 performs x2 [performance] for/before
audience x3
tinbe obey x1 obeys/follows the command/rule x2
made by x3; (adjective:) x1 is obedient
tirna hear x1 hears x2 against background/noise x3; x2
is audible; (adjective:) x1 is aural
tirse iron x1 is a quantity of/contains/is made of iron
(Fe)
ti’u associated tcika modal, 1st place (for letters)
with time associated with time ... ; attach time stamp
tivni television x1 [broadcaster] televises programming x2
via media/channel x3 to television receiver
x4
to start left parenthesis; start of parenthetical note
parenthesis which must be grammatical Lojban text
to’e polar polar opposite scalar negator
opposite
toi end elidable terminator: right parenthesis/end
parenthesis unquote; seldom elidable except at end of
text
to’o away from location tense relation/direction;
point departing from/directly away from ...

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Appendix B. Vocabulary

traji superlative x1 is superlative in property x2 (ka), the x3

extreme (ka; default ka zmadu) among
set/range x4
trene train x1 is a train [vehicle] of cars/units x2
(mass) for rails/system/railroad x3,
propelled by x4
troci try x1 tries/attempts/makes an effort to
do/attain x2 (event/state/property) by
actions/method x3
tu that yonder pro-sumti: that yonder; distant
demonstrative it; indicated thing far from
speaker and listener
tu’a the bridi extracts a concrete sumti from an
implied by unspecified abstraction; equivalent to le
nu/su’u [sumti] co’e
tu’e start text start of multiple utterance scope; used for
scope logical/non-logical/ordinal joining of
sentences
tugni agree x1 [person] agrees with
person(s)/position/side x2 that x3 (du’u) is
true about matter x4
turni govern x1 [person] labors/works on/at x2 [activity]
with goal/objective x3
tutra territory x1 is territory/domain/space of/belonging
to/controlled by x2
tu’u end text elidable terminator: end multiple
scope utterance scope; seldom elidable
ty t letteral for t
va there at location tense distance: near to ... ; there at
...; a medium/small distance from ...
vai 15 digit/number: hex digit F
vajni important x1 (object/event) is important/significant
to x2 (person/event) in aspect/for reason x3
(nu/ka)
valsi word x1 is a word meaning/causing x2 in
language x3; (adjective: x1 is lexical/verbal)

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 Appendix B. Vocabulary

vanbi environmen x1 (ind./mass) is part of an

t environment/surroundings/context/ambie
nce of x2
vanju wine x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity of
wine from fruit/grapes x2
va’o under vanbi modal, 1st place (conditions 1)
conditions under conditions ...; in environment ...
vau end simple elidable: end of sumti in simple bridi; in
bridi compound bridi, separates common
trailing sumti
ve 4th 4th conversion; switch 1st/4th places
conversion
vecnu sell x1 [seller] sells/vends x2
[goods/service/commodity] to buyer x3 for
amount/cost/expense x4
venfu revenge x1 takes revenge on/retaliates against x2
(person) for wrong x3 (nu) with vengeance
x4 (nu)
vensa spring x1 is spring/springtime [warming season]
of year x2 at location x3; (adjective:) x1 is
vernal
vi here at location tense distance: here at ... ; at or a
very short/tiny distance from ...
vi’irku’a toilet x1 is a toilet in structure x2 (vikmi ‘excrete’
+ kumfa ‘room’)
vikmi excrete x1 [body] excretes waste x2 from source x3
via means/route x4
vimcu remove x1 removes/subtracts/deducts/takes away
x2 from x3 with/leaving
result/remnant/remainder x4
vinji airplane x1 is an airplane/aircraft [flying vehicle]
for carrying passengers/cargo x2,
propelled by x3
vi’o wilco vocative: wilco (ack and will comply)
viska see x1 sees/views/perceives visually x2 under
conditions x3

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Appendix B. Vocabulary

vitke guest x1 is a guest/visitor of x2 at place/event x3;

x1 visits x2/x3
vlipa powerful x1 has the power to bring about x2 under
conditions x3; x1 is powerful in aspect x2
under x3
vo 4 digit/number: 4
vo’a x1 it pro-sumti: repeats 1st place of main bridi
of this sentence
vo’e x2 it pro-sumti: repeats 2nd place of main bridi
of this sentence
vofli fly x1 flies [in air/atmosphere] using
lifting/propulsion means x2
vo’i x3 it pro-sumti: repeats 3rd place of main bridi
of this sentence
voksa voice x1 is a voice/speech sound of individual x2
vo’o x4 it pro-sumti: repeats 4th place of main bridi
of this sentence
vo’u x5 it pro-sumti: repeats 5th place of main bridi
of this sentence
vrude virtue x1 is
virtuous/saintly/[fine/moral/nice/holy/mo
rally good] by standard x2
vu yonder at location tense distance: far from ... ;
yonder at ... ; a long distance from ...
vy v letteral for v
vybu w letteral for w
xa 6 digit/numeral: 6
xabju dwell x1 dwells/lives/resides/abides
at/inhabits/is a resident of
location/habitat/nest/home/abode x2
xadba half x1 is exactly/approximately half/semi-
/demi-/hemi- of x2 by standard x3
xadni body x1 is a/the body/corpus/corpse of x2;
(adjective:) x1 is corporal/corporeal
xajmi funny x1 is funny/comical to x2 in
property/aspect x3 (nu/ka); x3 is what is
funny about x1 to x2

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 Appendix B. Vocabulary

xalfekfri drunk x1 is inebriated, drunk (xalka ‘alcohol’ +

fenki ‘crazy’ + lifri ‘experience’)
xalka alcohol x1 is a quantity of/contains/is made of
alcohol of type x2 from source/process x3
xamgu good x1 is good/beneficial/acceptable for x2 by
standard x3
xanka nervous x1 is nervous/anxious about x2
(abstraction) under conditions x3
xanto elephant x1 is an elephant of species/breed x2
xatra letter x1 is a letter/missive/[note] to intended
audience x2 from author/originator x3
with content x4
xe 5th 5th conversion; switch 1st/5th places
conversion
xebni hate x1 hates/despises x2 (object/abstraction); x1
is full of hate for x2; x2 is odious to x1
xelso Greek x1 reflects Greek/Hellenic
culture/nationality/language in aspect x2
xendo kind x1 (person) is kind to x2 in
actions/behavior x3
xindo Hindi x1 reflects Hindi language/culture/religion
in aspect x2
xlali bad x1 is bad for x2 by standard x3; x1 is
poor/unacceptable to x2
xlura influences x1 (agent) influences/lures/tempts x2 into
action/state x3 by influence/threat/lure x4
xo number? digit/number: number/digit/lerfu question
xrabo Arabic x1 reflects Arabic-speaking
culture/nationality in aspect x2
xu true–false? discursive: true–false question
xukmi chemical x1 is an instance of
substance/chemical/drug x2 (individual or
mass) with purity x3
xumske chemistry x1 is chemistry based on methodology x2
(xukmi ‘chemical’ + saske ‘science’)
xunre red x1 is red/crimson/ruddy [color adjective]

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Appendix B. Vocabulary

xy x letteral for x
za medium time tense distance: medium distance in
time time
zanru approve x1 approves of/gives favor to plan/action
x2 (object/event)
zbasu make x1
makes/assembles/builds/manufactures/cre
ates x2 out of materials/parts/components
x3
zdani nest x1 is a nest/house/lair/den/[home] of/for x2
zdile amusing x1 (abstract) is amusing/entertaining to x2
in property/aspect x3; x3 is what amuses x2
about x1
ze 7 digit/number: 7
ze’a medium time tense interval: a medium length of
time time
interval
ze’i short time time tense interval: an
interval instantaneous/tiny/short amount of time
zekri crime x1 (event/state) is a punishable
crime/[taboo/sin] to
people/culture/judges/jury x2
zergle sexual x1 copulates with x2, which is a punishable
crime crime to people/culture/judges/jury x3
(zekri ‘crime’ + gletu ‘copulate’)
zerle’a steal x1
takes/gets/gains/obtains/seizes/[removes]
x2 (object/property) from x3 (possessor),
which is a punishable crime/[taboo/sin] to
people/culture/judges/jury x4 (zekri ‘crime’
+ lebna ‘take’)
ze’u long time time tense interval: a long amount of time
interval
zgana observe x1 observes/[notices]/watches/beholds x2
using senses/means x3 under conditions x4
zgike music x1 is music performed/produced by x2
(event)

308
 Appendix B. Vocabulary

zi short time time tense distance: instantaneous-to-

short distance in time
zi’e relative joins relative clauses which apply to the
clause same sumti
joiner
zirpu purple x1 is purple/violet [color adjective]
ziryrai purplest x1 is the most purple/violet [color
adjective] among set/range x2 (zirpu
‘purple’ + traji ‘superlative’)
zmadu more x1 exceeds/is more than x2 in
property/quantity x3 (ka/ni) by
amount/excess x4
zo one-word quote next word only; quotes a single
quote Lojban word (not a cmavo compound or
tanru)
zo’e unspecified pro-sumti: an elliptical/unspecified value;
it has some value which makes bridi true
zoi non-Lojban delimited non-Lojban quotation; the result
quote treated as a block of text
zo’o humorously attitudinal modifier: humorously – dully –
seriously
zu long time time tense distance: long distance in time
zu’a on the left location tense relation/direction;
of leftwards/to the left of ...
zutse sit x1 sits [assumes sitting position] on
surface x2
zu’u on the one discursive: on the one hand – on the other
hand hand
zvati at x1 (object/event) is at/attending/present at
x2 (event/location)
zy z letteral for z

309