Lesson 3 cimoi seltadni Names and Vocatives cmene gi'e nunjundi valsi 3.1 Names cmene (Lojban names) cmene are a special class of word - a whole part of speech, and one of only three major parts of speech in Lojban. They are the most easily recognized, and the most flexible in terms of their form. Lojban cmene can be easily recognized, both in sound and in print, using two major clues: - all cmene end in a consonant followed by a pause (represented by a period in Lojban text). - cmene either occur at the start of an expression (and are unmarked), or they are marked with the words la or coi., or one of their close relatives. cmene (names) are identifiable as special word forms by the following characteristics: a. cmene almost always end in one or more consonants - C, CC, or possibly CCC. b. cmene may contain the letter y as a normal, non-hyphenating vowel. They are the only Lojban word type that may contain the two diphthongs iy and uy. c. cmene are always followed in speech by a pause after the final consonant. d. cmene are generally preceded by the "la" (or words of the same selma'o) when not used in direct address or vocative reference; i.e., when talking about that which is named. e. cmene may optionally be preceded by the cmavo "doi" (English "O, ..." indicating direct address or vocative reference; i.e., when talking to that which is named. They may also be preceded by words in selma'o COI, which also supports direct address. However, cmene preceded by selma'o COI require a pause or doi between them to ensure resolvability under all conditions. In informal direct address outside of sentence constructs, cmene also may appear without any preceding cmavo (e.g. calling out "doi djan." or just "djan."). Thus "ju'idoi djan.", or "ju'i. djan." are acceptable ways to get John's attention (ju'i is in selma'o COI). f. The first letter of a cmene should not be capitalized in print, since this can cause confusion with abnormal stress capitalization. When used in a foreign language text, this capitalization is probably acceptable. g. cmene are usually written with . to mark the mandatory pauses; without capitalization, this makes them easier to recognize. cmene meeting these criteria may be invented, Lojbanized from names in other languages, or formed by appending a consonant onto a cmavo, a gismu, a le'avla or a lujvo. Examples of cmene built from Lojban words are: la pav. "the One" from cmavo "pa", with rafsi "pav", meaning "one" la sol. "the Sun" from the gismu "solri", meaning "solar", or actually "pertaining to the Sun" la ralj. "Chief", as a title from the gismu "ralju", meaning "principal" la nol. "Lord" or "Lady", from the gismu "nobli", with rafsi "nol", meaning "noble". Note: a literal translation of the cmavo "la" is "the one named..." It is also possible to make any brivla act like a cmene by using the formal direct address grammar, as in: doi solri (which is the direct address "O Sun!", that might be used by sun-worshippers or poets). In such usage, the word is still a brivla; it is the grammar that renders it cmene-like. To Lojbanize a name from the various natural languages, apply the following rules: a. Eliminate double consonants and silent letters. b. Add a final s or n (or some other consonant that sounds good) if the name ends in a vowel. c. Convert all phonemes (sounds) to their closest Lojban equivalent. d. Preferably use the penultimate stress rule for pronunciation. Use close-commas and capitalization in written Lojban when it is necessary to preserve non-standard syllabication or stress. e. cmene are not required to be capitalized, and doing so can cause confusion by possibly indicating abnormal stress. f. cmene may not have the syllables la, lai, or doi (/lah/, /lai/, or /doi/), within them unless immediately preceded by a consonant. If any of these syllables appear at the front of the cmene or preceded by a vowel, they should be converted to something different. Possible substitutions include ly, ly'i, and do'i (/luh/, /luh,hee/, and /do,hee/), respectively. A note on Lojbanizing names from other languages: Lojbanized names seldom use the consonantal buffer ('), since the combination of letters with two vowels surrounding an /h/ or an /h/ sound is rare in other languages. Instead, Lojbanized names commonly will use a close-comma, which may be pronounced as a glide or as a consonantal buffer. The consonantal buffer is preferred and will sound more Lojbanic, but the result may be less recognizable to a source language speaker. Some examples of Lojbanized names are: English "Mary" meris. /MEH,rees/ or meiris. /MEI,rees/ English "Smith" smit. /smeet/ English "Jones" djonz. /jonz/ English "John" djan. /jahn/ or jan. /zhahn/ English "Alice" .alis. /AH,lees/ English "Elise" .eLIS. /eh,LEES/ English "Johnson" djansn. /JAHN,sn/ English "William" .uiliam. /WEE,lyahm/ or .uil,iam. /WEEL,yahm English "Brown" braun. /braun/ English "Charles" tcarlz. /CHAHR,lz/ French "Charles" carl. /SHAHR,l/ French "De Gaulle" dyGOL. /dah,GOL/ German "Heinrich" xainrix. /KHAIN,reekh/ Spanish "Joaquin" xuaKIN. /khwah,KEEN/ Russian "Svetlana" sfietLAnys. /sfyeht,LAH,nuhs/ Russian "Khrushchev" xrucTCOF. /khruush,CHOF/ Hindi "Krishna" kricnas. /KREESH,nahs/ Polish "Lech Walesa" lex. valensas. /lehkh.vah,LEHN,sahs/ or .uex va,uensas. /wehkh.vahw,WEHN,sahs/ Vietnamese "Nguyen" n,uiN. /n,wee,N/ or /ng,wee,N/ Spanish "Don Quixote" don kicotes. /don.kee,SHO,tehs/ (modern Spanish don kixotes.) /don.kee,KHO,tehs/ (Mexican dialect don ki'otes.) /don.kee,HO,tehs/ Chinese "Mao Zedong" maudzedy,n. /mau,dzeh,DUH,n/ or /mau,dzeh,DUH,ng/ Japanese "Fujiko" fudjikos. /fu,JEE,kos/ or fujikos. /fu,ZHEE,kos/ English "George Bush" djordj. buc. /jorj.buush./ djiordj. buc. /jyorj.buush./ English "Ronald Reagan" ranld. reign. /RAH,nahld.REI,gn./ ranld reigyn. /RAH,nahld.REI,guhn./ English "Jimmy Carter" djimis. kartr. /JEE,mees.KAHR,tr./ English "Gerald Ford" djerld. ford. /JEH,rld.ford./ English "Richard Nixon" ritcrd. niksn. /REE,chrd.NEEK,sn./ English "Lyndon Johnson" lindn. djansn. /LEEN,dn.JAHN,sn./ "Canada" kenydys. /KEH,nuh,duhs./ KEnadas. /KEH,nah,dahs./ "Mexico" *MEK,si,kos. /MEHK,see,kos./ MExikos. /MEH,khee,kos. "China" *tcainys. /CHAI,nuhs./ junGUON. /zhung,GWON./ "Australia" .astreilias. /.ah,STREI,lyahs./ .astralias. /.ah,STRAH,lyahs./ Some notes on these examples: 1. "George Bush" - Note the two possible pronunciations given. The one which is closer to the way he pronounces his name is the preferred one. Unfortunately, the author is not certain which he uses himself. 2. "Canada" - These are both valid, since both pronunciations can be heard in common usage. The version with schwa is the more English pronunciation. The version without schwa is more French-Canadian. Note that the counting of da'amoi terbasna (penultimate stress) does not include syllables with schwa. Thus the version without schwa needs capitalization in order to obtain first syllable terbasna. Most English names will not need capitalization-marked terbasna; English speakers tend to turn unstressed vowels into schwa for pronunciation purposes. Try to observe this in various people's pronunciation of everyday English words over the next few days. The same principle holds true for unstressed English syllables containing only a single vowel and "l", "m", "n", and "r". These turn into the vocalic consonant pronunciations: /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, which are also not counted in determining da'amoi terbasna. The significant variation from true "penultimate" stress in Lojbanized names is why we use the Lojban term "da'amoi terbasna". This term, while similar to the English "penultimate", is not truly identical. 3. "Mexico" and "China" - The asterisked versions are considered invalid, in that they are Lojbanizations of the English pronunciation of the name. They are valid Lojban names, but they would not be recognized by the people of those countries. Wherever possible, you should use the native pronunciation in Lojbanizing a proper name. If you do not know the proper pronunciation and cannot look it up, go ahead and use the English version. In the sense that a name is a label, of course, it is correct to use any name that is going to be understandable by your listener. As a speaker using a name, you can technically get away with it by arguing that the meaning of la, which precedes most uses of a name, translates literally as "that which I am calling ...". However, in the interests of cultural neutrality, it is strongly preferred that people use native pronunciation. Note, by the way, that in the Chinese word for "China", we have inserted the alternative /ng/ pronunciation for 'n' before 'g'. This is convenient, since the Chinese actually use an /ng/ sound in their pronunciation that is unrelated to the following letter. 4. "Australia" - Although the name in this case is not preceded by anything that requires a pause, it is a good idea to get in the habit of putting a period before every vowel initial name. It is not erroneous; after all, the 'blank space' before the start of a printed piece of text could be considered a pause. It is much harder to remember to sometimes put in the period and to sometimes leave it out. The second pronunciation, by the way, is closer to what most Australians themselves use for their country name. Now, having these examples in mind, it's your turn. Lojbanize your name, as you wish it to be used in the class (nicknames permitted). Also Lojbanize your full name (including middle name), as you pronounce it. In a classroom situation, your instructor will assist you if you have any difficulty. Remember the rule: a Lojbanized name cannot contain the syllables "la", "lai", or "doi" in them, unless immediately preceded by a consonant. One note on Lojbanization is based on observations of English-speaking Lojbanists. Do not expect the Lojbanized name to sound exactly like your English name. An excellent example is that English speakers often want to insert an extra 'y' to represent a 'schwa' sound (/uh/) before a vocalic consonant. For example, the name "Martin" can be Lojbanized as "martn." (/MAHR,tn./), or as "martyn." (/MAHR,tuhn./). The latter 'looks' better, but is actually more unlike the English pronunciation than the former version, as well as being longer. The English name "Kim" can be Lojbanized as "kim." (/keem./; this looks identical to the English, but the short Lojban "i" sound causes one Lojbanist to instead write her name "ki,ym." (/KEE,uhm./) to lengthen the sound of the vowel. The choice of how to Lojbanize your name is, of course, up to you. We suspect that over the long course, Lojbanists will adopt names that are easy to read and write, as well as to pronounce comfortably. An instructor should not interfere with a student who spells his/her name differently than expected, provided that the student pronounce it in accordance with her/his spelling. Similarly, if after a time, a student decides to change spellings because familiarity with the language, this should be accepted. Note to instructors: If you have a list of student's names, it is a good idea to have attempted each name on your own. This will speed up any assistance you need to give. Be prepared for surprises in how people want their names pronounced, though. If your guess differs from theirs, try to determine if they made a mistake, if you did, or if you just had a different idea how to pronounce the name. As much as possible, let them do the work. Don't just tell them your answer. Try to quickly check each student's Lojbanization. If possible, have blank name tags or place tags, and allow them to write their correctly Lojbanized name. After they do so, have them wear name tags or display place tags so everyone can see them. Then go immediately into the next activity. In this activity, avoid using English. Go to your instruction partner (or one student likely to guess what is wanted) and utter the greeting sentence as per example (3), using your name and their tag name. Then, motion to that person to do the same with another in the class. (This obviously will be understood if you are working with a partner.) If necessary, point at the person they are to greet, or preferably, let them choose themselves. Continue until everyone has greeted another person, and have the last student greet you. Exercise 3-1 larnuntoi cipi'epamoi Lojbanize the following names. The last five are somewhat tricky in that they involve foreign names. If you do not know how the native pronunciation, use your best guess, but be prepared for differences from the answer key. 1. John Anderson 16. Margaret McLaughlin 2. William Davis 17. Ruth Richardson 3. Charles Jones 18. Virginia Armstrong 4. Robert Cunningham 19. Jean Gallagher 5. Thomas Fitzgerald 20. Frances Elliot 6. James Kennedy 21. New York 7. Arnold Montague 22. Kentucky 8. Henry Montgomery 23. London 9. Joseph Ferguson 24. San Francisco 10. Edward Alexander 25. Poughkeepsie 11. Mary Brown 26. Netherlands 12. Elizabeth Jordan 27. Plato 13. Barbara Miller 28. Julius Caesar 14. Dorothy Thompson 29. Petrarch 15. Helen Wilson 30. Johannes Brahms Identify these fairly well-known Lojbanized names: 1. .adolf. .xitlr. 6. mixeil. garbaTCOF. 2. crlak. xolmz. 7. .aizek. .Ezimov. 3. maRIS. .antuaNET. 8. .arnld. cuartzynegr. 4. .uinstn. tcrtcil. 9. djanis. djaplin. 5. .eibry'em. linkyn. 10. meris. tailr. mor. 3.2 Vocatives nunjundi valsi The next Lojban word we will introduce is coi. This word is used to express greetings. It thus is roughly equivalent to "Hello!", and indeed has similar usage in Lojban to its usage in English. "coi" is one of several members of selma'o COI, which are called vocative markers. Vocatives are used in directly addressing specific people. Usage of COI implies that a name will follow - the person who is being addressed. COI must be separated from the name by a pause, or it could be absorbed into it. Alternatively, you can follow COI with "doi" (the only member of selma'o DOI). "doi" is another vocative marker. It has identical grammar to the members of COI, but it doesn't require the pause. This is because names are forbidden to have the syllable "doi" in them, so that "doi" can never be absorbed into the name. "doi" translates roughly into the English vocative marker "O ...", as in the "O Father" or "O God" used by some in prayer (but not the "Oh God" expression of emotion, which does not truly indicate direct address.) If a name starts with or includes the syllable "doi", it must be modified to be Lojbanized. The recommended alternative is "do'i", although "dei" may work when a single syllable must be retained. In the example below, we have Lojbanized "Doyle" as "do'il." (/DO,heel./). Another alternative capturing a common English pronunciation of the name is "do,iyl." (/DO,yuhl/). Examples: coi. keroln. /shoi.KEH,roh,ln./ "Greetings, Caroline!" coidoi betis. /shoi,doi,BEH,tees./ "Greetings, O Betty!" doi martas. /doi,MAHR,tahs./ "O Martha!" doi do'il. /doi,DOH,heel./ "O Doyle!" ke'o. pit. /keh,hoh,peet./ "Repeat, Pete!" Other members of COI include: co'o /sho,ho/ "Partings, ..." or roughly: "Good-bye". coico'o. /shoi,sho,ho/ "Greetings in passing, ..."; used when you meet someone to acknowledge them but to indicate that you do not wish to begin a conversation. (Note: This is actually two COI cmavo put together - this is permissible with others but the meaning of other combinations must be extrapolated from the component words - as an extra thought exercise, try to come up with another paired COI that is useful in conversation, and then use it sometime with a fellow Lojbanist.) pe'u /peh,hu/ "Please, ..."; a request directed at a specific party. fi'i /fee,hee/ A welcoming, an offer of hospitality, or a response to a request such as "pe'u", which is directed back to the requestor. This can thus be roughly translated as "My pleasure, ...!", "Make yourself at home, ...!", "Welcome, ...!", or in some conditions a literal "You're welcome, ...!, such that it is not merely an acknowledgement of "Thank you". ki'e /kee,heh/ "Thank You, ...!"; a response to fulfilled request or hospitality, including "fi'i". ke'o /keh,ho/ "Please Repeat, ...!"; a request for the named person to repeat the previous utterance, usually because it wasn't heard correctly (although other reasons are possible). mi'e /mee,heh/ "I am ...!"; a self-introduction. This vocative differs from all the others in that the name which follows is the speaker's name rather than the listener's. There are several other members of COI. You perhaps are wondering why these expressions are tied to vocatives - why they always imply or express a name. If you think about how they are used, though, it will appear logical. Whenever you use one of these expressions, you clearly have an individual or several individuals in mind. Imagine being in a large party, where someone is leaving. You say "Good-bye" to that individual. Otherwise everyone might take it as a hint. Similar circumstances involving multiple people can be envisioned for each of the other words that are placed in COI. The words in COI (and DOI as well, of course) are part of the 'protocol' of communication. They have a minor semantic content - you are expressing something meaningful. But the content is not necessarily emotional, nor is it assertive (it makes no claim). You are merely indicating your relative conversational position of the moment with regard to your listener. Effort has been made to isolate the vocatives from the cultural and emotive connotations that speakers associate with them. There are, for example, ways of conveying happiness, sadness, complaint, or other emotions at parting that are appended into a vocative when you wish to express those emotions. Without those explicit expressions, the emotions should not be assumed. We will go into those emotional indicators in a later lesson. You can combine several vocatives (and the names which optionally follow them) into a single sentence. For example: fi'i. djerom. mi'e. matius. "Welcome, Jerome! I am Matthew!" It is also perfectly all right to reverse the order: mi'e. matius. fi'i. djerom. "I am Matthew! Welcome, Jerome!" The transposition looks a little strange in English, but is not as strange in Lojban. Matthew is introducing himself before acknowledging the name of the person he is talking to. This might be appropriate if he knows Jerome's name, but Jerome doesn't know his. The English-speaking cultural ritual that indicates that the guest is acknowledged first is not mandatory in Lojban interaction. It is useful to think of the implications of various phrasings of expressions such as vocatives in varying contexts before you need them. In the middle of conversation, you are likely to fall back on English-like practices; it is useful to know that there are alternatives and to have them in your repertoire. Answers to Exercise 2 Part 1 1. djan. .endrsn. 16. margret. magLAXln. 2. uiliam. deivys. 17. rut. ritcrdsn. or rut. RItcardsan. 3. tcarlz. djonz. 18. vrdjinias. .armstron. 4. rabrt. KANinxem. or 19. djin. gelygr. or djin. gelagr. British robrt. kaningm. 5. tamys. fitsDJERld. 20. frensas. Eliat. (note the capital) 6. djeimz. KEnydis. 21. nu,IORK. 7. arnld. mantygius. 22. kentakis. 8. .enris. mantGAmr,is. or 23. lndn. xenris. mantGAmaris. 9. djosef. frgysn. 24. san. fransiskos. or sen. frensiskos. 10. .eduard .elagzendr. 25. pykipsis. 11. meris. braun. or meiris. braun. 26. NEderlant. (the 's' is an English addition) 12. .ilizabet. djordn. or 27. platon. (Greek; has final "n" in some cases) .alizabet. djorden. 28. .iulius. kaisar. (Classical Latin) or .iulius. tsezar. (Medieval Latin) 13. barbr,as. milr. or BARbaras. milr. 14. dorytis. tampsn. 29. petrarkas. (Italian - Petrarca in the original) 15. .el,n. uilsn. or .xel,n. uilsn. 30. io'Anys. bramyz. (German) Part 2 1. Adolf Hitler 6. Mikhail Gorbachev 2. Sherlock Holmes 7. Isaac Asimov 3. Marie Antoinette 8. Arnold Schwartzeneggar 4. Winston Churchill 9. Janis Joplin 5. Abraham Lincoln 10. Mary Tyler Moore 1-1 1-7