[lojban-beginners] Re: ti, ta, tu for people?

[Robin Lee Powell <rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org>]

On Thu, Feb 20, 2003 at 04:37:11PM +0100, Jan Pilgenroeder wrote:
> 
> Am Donnerstag, 20.02.03 um 11:10 Uhr schrieb Philip Newton:
> 
> >On 20 Feb 2003 at 4:20, Jan Pilgenroeder wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>Am Mittwoch, 19.02.03 um 12:26 Uhr schrieb Philip Newton:
> >>
> >>>>You probably want to get an answer like {leka cumki daspo nalseltro
> >>>>selfa'u le jimca}.
> >>>
> >>>I don't understand that sentence. What is it supposed to mean?
> >>
> >>It's not a complete sentence. It's just an answer to your ma-question.
> >>And it's mostly just one long tanru. The utterance says:
> >>
> >>"the property of possibly destroying type-of uncontrolled (endpoint of
> >>falling movement) of the branch"
> >
> >Which is about as enigmatic as the original.
> >
> >I continue to not understand. *puzzled*
> 
> If you don't cut the branches, they may fall uncontrolled (i.e. you
> can't control where they will hit). {nalseltro selfa'u le farlu} means
> "uncontrolled point of impact of the falling object". It is
> uncontrolled in a way that allows it to be potentially destructive. So
> you can say:
> 
> .i leka cumki daspo nalseltro selfa'u le jimca cu mukti lenu ta katna
> le jimca

No, you can't.

Well, you can, but people will be confused.  The problem is the ka.

Remember, a tanru is only as good as it's last member, and that is what
people are going to look at if they're confused.  "le ka selfa'u" is
"the property of drop-location-ness".  Or perhaps, "the property of
being a place where something falls".  Being the property of being a
place where something falls makes a poor motivation.

Also, like most lojban beginners, you're really into tanru (believe me,
I did the same thing).  This is something you will want to get over if
you wish to be understood.  Use place structures.  Use sumtcita.  Use
multiple sentences.  Use attitidinals and discursives.

le la'aru'e nu le jimca cu daspo farlu cu mukti le nu katna

Or, if you don't like la'aru'e,

le du'u le nu le jimca cu daspo farlu cu cumki cu mukti le nu katna

Now we get into the topic of, "Aaah!  The stack is too big!  Head
exploding!"

Possibilities:

le jai cumki fai le nu le jimca cu daspo farlu cu mukti le nu katna

katna mu'i le du'u le nu le jimca cu daspo farlu cu cumki

Probably best:

le nu le jimca cu daspo farlu cu cumki .isemu'ibo katna

Breaking things up into multiple sentences is often very helpful.

-Robin


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