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