Lesson 6
xamoi seltadni
Place Structures Exercise
tergismu larnuntoi
Lesson 6 consists solely of an exercise, in five parts. The purpose
of this exercise is only partially to test your understanding of the
concepts presented. It is designed instead to get you used to
thinking about place structures and the meanings of brivla in a way
that is necessary to use Lojban effectively.The first three parts of
the exercise will aid you in learning the vocabulary and place
structures, and in understanding what you hear when someone else
speaks Lojban. The last two parts of the exercise will teach a
technique that helps clarify the meaning of a brivla, while exercising
your mind and your use of language in ways to which you are not
accustomed when speaking English. These two sections can be very
difficult at first. In a class situation, feel free to ask the
instructor/leader to go through several examples as a group activity.
Some of the thought problems involved are better tackled by several
minds. If these two parts are too difficult right now, skip them and
go on. They may prove easier as you learn and use the language.
6.1
Examine the examples in Part 4.5 of Lesson 4. Identify in each
sentence the elliptically omitted places.
6.2
Without looking at a list of gismu place structures, make your best
guess as to the place structures of the following Lojban words, given
the English keyword.
bajra run
cpacu get
cpare climb
jbini between
denpa wait
ckini related
cladu loud
tcati tea
vorme door
kurji take care of
bitmu wall
drani correct
ciska write
cpedu request
botpi bottle
6.3
Check your answers to Part 6.2 against a list of gismu place
structures. If your answers differ from the correct places, try to
determine why you reached a different conclusion. Did you forget some
aspect? Did you have a different concept in mind?
You should examine each new brivla that you encounter in this way. Do
your best to guess the place structure from the English keyword, then
check and analyze why you were different. In this way, you will not
only learn the words, but you will learn what they mean.
6.4
For each of the gismu in part 2, describe each of the non-first places
as if it were the topic of the bridi instead of x1. Here is an
example for the gismu "klama":
x1 describes a party that acts with result;
x2 describes a destination where x1 is located after the action;
x3 describes an origin where x1 is located before the action;
x4 describes a route, or points along a route travelled by x1
between x2 and x3;
x5 describes the means of transport by which the result is obtained.
The English verbs 'come' and 'go' describe the action taken by
x1, depending on the relationship between x2, x3, and
the speaker. The position of the speaker is not part
of the Lojban meaning.
Where possible, try to come up with an English keyword or phrase which
conveys each place concept (for the overview example, these might be
"destination", "origin", "route", and "means of transport". These
keywords need not be unique. (The keywords for the various gismu ARE
all unique; this enables you to clearly distinguish and learn them by
their keywords, even though the keyword does not always perfectly - or
uniquely - convey the Lojban meaning.) Some possible answers are
given in the answer key.
This is a useful exercise to do for each new vocabulary word, once you
get used to thinking about the places this way, and will help make the
place structure and meaning of each word more concrete in your mind.
6.5
For selected brivla in Part 6.2, and for each sumti of their place
structures, try to express the sense of that place as a noun, as a
verb, and as an adjective or adverb (obviously, at least one of these
is covered by each of your answers to Part 6.4).
As an example, you can picture the x4 'route' of "klama" as unfolding
in front of the x1 'come-r', actively guiding or leading the way from
the origin to the destination. Or you can think of the various
attributes of an origin: a place one starts out from, and
metaphorically refer to an origin- type familiarity or security
(English uses 'womb' in a somewhat similar metaphor). This is the
adjectival sense of x3.
You are not limited to single word answers. No answers are given to
this step in the answer key (there ARE no truly correct answers to
many of them), nor do you need to necessarily do all of the Part 6.2
words. In fact, it is not necessarily important to verbalize each
concept. What you are trying to do is to picture each sumti in
relation to the other sumti, and also to think of that sumti as an
active verb, or as an adjective, etc.
This is not an easy exercise, and is not truly practical to use with
every word you run into. However, this exercise is one of the better
mind-stretching practices you can undertake. By learning to look at
concepts and their component sumti apart from their English
part-of-speech equivalent, you will better grasp the true meaning of
the Lojban brivla, and thus start to see the world 'Lojbanically'.
When you can freely think of the places of the bridi simply as
interchangeable sumti, and not as the 'nouns', 'verbs', or
'adjectives' that their values assume in English, you will be a major
step along the path towards realizing the potential of Lojban as a
language.
Part 6.1 can be done as a class activity, to show one way of learning
the vocabulary. Part 6.5 is especially amenable to group discussion,
and may be impractical in any other form.
Remember that this exercise is intended to build everyday
Lojban-oriented thinking and speaking skills more than they are to
test knowledge of the material covered.
6.6
Answers to 6.1
The following subsections have the same numbering as the subsections
of 4.5.
6.6.1
A: zo .alis. cu cmene mi [zo'e]
"Alice" is-the-name of me [used by someone].
.i ma cu cmene do [zo'e]
What is-the-name of you [used by someone]?
R: zo .rik. cu cmene mi [zo'e]
"Rick" is-the-name of me [used by someone].
.i mi cu cilre la lojban. [zo'e]
I learn Lojban [from something/someone].
A: ma cu ctuca [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e]
What/who teaches [to someone] [some ideas] [about some subject]
[by doing something]?
R: la djos. cu ctuca [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e]
Joe teaches [to someone] [some ideas] [about some subject] [by
doing something].
A: ti cu cukta la lojban. [zo'e] [zo'e] .i mi cu cilre la lojban. ti
this is-a-book about Lojban [by someone] [for some audience]. I
learn about Lojban from it.
R: ta cu cukta la lojban. ma [zo'e]
That is-a-book about Lojban by what/whom [for some audience]?
A: ti cu cukta la lojban. la djos. [zo'e]
This is-a-book about Lojban by Joe [for some audience].
R: mi cu cilre la lojban. la djos.
I learn about Lojban from Joe.
A: ko'a cu stizu .i mi cu zutse ko'a
It is-a-chair. I sit in it.
.i ko cu klama ko'a [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] pe'u doi rik. Go/come
to it [from somewhere] [via some route] [using some means],
please O Rik.
6.6.2.
ko cu punji ti ta
Put this at/on that.
ti ki'a
This - clarify-it.
ti cu botpi [zo'e] [zo'e] .i ti cu ganlo This is-a-bottle [containing
something] [made of something]. This is-closed.
ta ki'a
That - clarify-it.
ta cu tanxe [zo'e] [zo'e] .i ta bunre
That is-a-box [containing something] [made of something]. That is-brown.
mi cu punji [zo'e] [zo'e] .i ti cu cpana ta
I put [something] [someplace]. This is-upon that.
6.6.3
zo stizu cu bridi ma [zo'e]
"Chair" is-a-predicate meaning what [with some sumti/(arguments)]?
do cu zutse ko'a .i zo stizu cu bridi ko'a [zo'e] You sit on it.
"Chair" is-a-predicate meaning it [with some sumti/(arguments)].
6.6.4
ko cu ciksi lu ko cu sanli li'u [zo'e] [zo'e]
Explain "Stand!" [to someone] [with some explanation].
ko cu catlu mi .i mi cu sanli [zo'e]
Look at me. I stand [on some surface].
lu mi'o cu klama ti li'u cu jufra [zo'e] [zo'e] .i ma cu sumti zo
klama "We go/come to this" is-a-sentence [about something] [in some
language]. What is-an-argument in- predicate "klama"?
zo mi'o cu sumti zo klama .i zo ti cu sumti zo klama "We"
is-an-argument of-predicate "klama". "This" is-an-argument
of-predicate "klama".
6.6.5
R: ta cu mo
That is/does what?
("mo" has an indeterminate place structure so there is no 'correct'
statement as to what is ellipsized.)
A: ti cu pinsi [zo'e] .i ta cu penbi [zo'e]
This is-a-pencil [with some kind of lead]. That is-a-pen [with
some kind of ink].
R: do cu cmila mi .i ko cu sisti [zo'e]
You laugh at me. Stop [something-ing]!
A: do cu darxi mi ta .i ko cu sisti [zo'e]
You hit me with that. Stop [something-ing]!
R: ko cu danfu [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e]
Answer [with some answer] [to someone] [about some question]!
A: mi cu na jimpe [zo'e] .i ta cu mo ki'a
I do-not understand [about something]. That is/does
(what-do-you-mean-by) what?
(no correct answer for the second sentence)
R: ta cu skari ma [zo'e] [zo'e]
That is-colored what [perceived by someone] [under some condition]?
A: ta cu zirpu
That is-purple.
6.6.6
do cu mo
You are/do what?
(no 'correct' answer)
mi cu merko [zo'e] .i mi cu remna .i mi cu glico [zo'e] .i mi cu zunle
do [zo'e] I am-American [in some aspect]. I am-human. I
am-English-speaking [in some aspect]. I am-to- the-left of you
[facing some way].
ko cu sisti [zo'e]
Stop [something-ing]!
mi cu sisti [zo'e]
I stop [something-ing].
do cu na mo
You aren't/don't-do what?
(no 'correct' answer)
mi cu na stizu [zo'e]
I don't sit [on something].
6.6.7
mi cu crino
I am-green.
ko cu rapli di'u [zo'e]
Repeat that-sentence [some number of times].
mi cu crino
I am-green.
mi cu na jimpe la'e di'u
I don't understand the-referent-of that-sentence.
mi cu tcidu lu mi cu crino li'u [zo'e] .i mi cu na crino
I read "I am-green" [from something]. I am-not-green.
6.6.8
ta cu blanu
That is-blue.
la'edi'u cu na drani [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] .i ta cu crino
The-referent-of that-sentence isn't-correct [in some aspect] [in some
situation] [by some standard] . That is green.
6.6.9
ko cu pritu mi [zo'e]
Be-to-the-right-of me [facing some way].
mi cu pritu do ma
I am-to-the-right-of you based-on-facing what?
ko cu pritu mi ta
Be-to-the-right-of me based-on-facing that.
mi cu pritu do ta .i mi cu zunle to ti I am-to-the-right of you
based-on that. I am-to-the-left-of you based-on this.
.i mi cu mlana do ti .i mi cu mlana do ta I am-to-the-side of you
based-on this. I am-to-the-side-of you based-on that.
6.6.10
mi'o cu tcidu ti [zo'e]
We read this [from something].
ko cu catlu la stus. .i la stus. cu fanva lu mi stizu li'u la
inglec. la lojban. Look at Stu. Stu translates "I sit" to English
from Lojban.
6.6.11
A: mi cu cliva [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] .i co'o doi rik.
I leave [from somewhere] [via some route] [using some means of
locomotion]. Bye, O Rick.
R: ko cu denpa mi [zo'e] .i mi cu cliva [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e] [zo'e]
Wait for me [before doing something]! I leave [from somewhere]
[via some route] [using some means of locomotion].
6.7
Answers to 6.2
bajra run x1 runs to x2 from x3 over path x4
cpacu get x1 gets/acquires x2 from x3 for x4
cpare climb x1 climbs on surface x2 to x3 from x4 with means x5
jbini between x1 is between/among x2's (plural set)in quality x3
ckini related x1 is related to x2 by relation x3
tcati tea x1 is tea from leaves x2
vorme door x1 is a door of/in structure x2 between x3's (pl.set)
kurji take care of x1 takes-care-of/is-caretaker-for x2
botpi bottle x1 is a bottle containing x2, and is made of material x3
bitmu wall x1 is a wall/fence separating x2's (pl.set)
ciska write x1 write/inscribe x2 on x3 with x4
cpedu request x1 requests/asks for x2 of/from x3 in manner x4
denpa wait x1 waits/pauses for x2 before doing/being x3
drani correct x1 is correct/proper in aspect x2 in situation x3 by
standard x4
6.8
Answers to 6.4
*** verify place structures! ***
cpacu x1 one who acquires
x2 thing which is acquired
x3 person/place where x2 is located before acquisition
cpare x1 one who climbs
x2 thing which is climbed
x3 place x1 is located after climb
x4 place x1 is located before climb
x5 means/method/implements of locomotion used for climb
jbini x1 thing which is between object(s)/idea(s) x2
(i.e. less than some, more than others)
x2 thing(s) located to either side of x1
x3 quality by which the "locating" (more-ness or less-ness) is judged
ckini x1 thing whose relation is to be considered
x2 other thing whose relation (to x1) is to be considered
x3 relationship holding between x1 and x2
tcati x1 a quantity of tea; brew resulting from x2
x2 leaves from which x1 was brewed
vorme x1 thing which is a door
x2 structure in which x1 is a door
x3 rooms/areas linked by x1
kurji x1 care-taker
x2 that which x1 takes care of; ward
botpi x1 thing which is a bottle; hollow seal-able
container designed for liquids
x2 contents of x1
x3 material of which x1 is made
bitmu x1 thing which is a wall; thing which separates 2 areas
x2 things/areas separated by x1
ciska x1 one who writes/scribes
x2 that which x1 writes; inscription
x3 surface on which x2 is written
x4 implement with which the marks are made
cpedu x1 requestor
x2 thing/action requested
x3 one from whom x2 is requested
x4 actions/methods used to do the requesting
denpa x1 one who has a particular action in suspense pending x2
x2 event/state awaited before initiating/continuing x3
x3 action which will proceed once x2 occurs
drani x1 thing/idea considered correct
x2 aspect in which x1 is considered correct
x3 situation in which x1 is considered correct in aspect x2
x4 standard by which consideration of correctness is made