|
Previous
Logical and non-logical connectives within mekso |
lojbau mekso: Mathematical Expressions in Lojban
The Lojban Reference Grammar |
Next
Other uses of mekso |
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
na'u NAhU selbri to operator
ni'e NIhE selbri to operand
mo'e MOhE sumti to operand
te'u TEhU terminator for all three
One of the mekso design goals requires the ability to make
use of Lojban's vocabulary resources within mekso to extend the
built-in cmavo for operands and operators. There are three
relevant constructs: all three share the elidable terminator
``te'u'' (which is also used to terminate vectors marked with
``jo'i'').
The cmavo ``na'u'' makes a selbri into an operator. In general, the first place of the selbri specifies the result of the operator, and the other unfilled places specify the operands:
18.1) li na'u tanjo te'u
vei pai fe'i re [ve'o] du li ci'i
the-number the-operator tangent
( pi / 2 ) = the-number infinity
tan(pi/2) = ¥
``tanjo'' is the gismu for ``x1 is the tangent of x2'',
and the ``na'u'' here makes it into an operator which is then
used in forethought.
The cmavo ``ni'e'' makes a selbri into an operand. The x1 place of the selbri generally represents a number, and therefore is often a ``ni'' abstraction, since ``ni'' abstractions represent numbers. The ``ni'e'' makes that number available as a mekso operand. A common application is to make equations relating pure dimensions:
18.2) li ni'e ni clani [te'u] pi'i
ni'e ni ganra [te'u] pi'i
ni'e ni condi te'u
du li ni'e ni canlu
the-number quantity-of length times
quantity-of width times
quantity-of depth
equals the-number quantity-of volume.
Length × Width × Depth = Volume
The cmavo ``mo'e'' operates similarly to ``ni'e'', but
makes a sumti (rather than a selbri) into an operand. This
construction is useful in stating equations involving
dimensioned numbers:
18.3) li mo'e re ratcu su'i mo'e re ractu
du li mo'e vo danlu
the-number two rats plus two rabbits
equals the-number four animals
2 rats + 2 rabbits = 4 animals.
Another use is in constructing Lojbanic versions of
so-called ``folk quantifiers'', such as ``a pride of
lions'':
18.4) mi viska vei mo'e lo'e lanzu ve'o cinfo
I see ( the-typical family )-number-of lions.
I see a pride of lions.
|
Previous
Logical and non-logical connectives within mekso |
lojbau mekso: Mathematical Expressions in Lojban
The Lojban Reference Grammar |
Next
Other uses of mekso |