The Complete Lojban Language
other languages (the fu'ivla). In addition, there are a few cmavo that can act like brivla; these are mentioned in Section 5.9 (p. 94), and discussed in full in Chapter 7 (p. 139).
For the purposes of this chapter, however, all brivla are alike. For example,
- Example 5.3
ta bloti That is-a-boat.
- That is a boat.
- Example 5.4
ta brablo That is-a-large-boat.
- That is a ship.
- Example 5.5
ta blotrskunri That is-a-(boat)-schooner.
- That is a schooner.
illustrate the three types of brivla (gismu, lujvo, and fu'ivla respectively), but in each case the selbri is composed of a single word whose meaning can be learned independent of its origins.
The remainder of this chapter will mostly use gismu as example brivla, because they are short. However, it is important to keep in mind that wherever a gismu appears, it could be replaced by any other kind of brivla.
5.2 Simple tanru
Beyond the single brivla, a selbri may consist of two brivla placed together. When a selbri is built in this way from more than one brivla, it is called a tanru, a word with no single English equivalent. The nearest analogue to tanru in English are combinations of two nouns such as “lemon tree”. There is no way to tell just by looking at the phrase “lemon tree” exactly what it refers to, even if you know the meanings of “lemon” and “tree” by themselves. As English-speakers, we must simply know that it refers to “a tree which bears lemons as fruits”. A person who didn't know English very well might think of it as analogous to “brown tree” and wonder, “What kind of tree is lemon-colored?”
In Lojban, tanru are also used for the same purposes as English adjective-noun combinations like “big boy” and adverb-verb combinations like “quickly run”. This is a consequence of Lojban not having any such categories as “noun”, “verb”, “adjective”, or “adverb”. English words belonging to any of these categories are translated by simple brivla in Lojban. Here are some examples of tanru:
- Example 5.6
tu pelnimre tricu That-yonder is-a-lemon tree.
- That is a lemon tree.
- Example 5.7
la djan. barda nanla That-named John is-a-big boy.
- John is a big boy.
- Example 5.8
mi sutra bajra I quick run
- I quickly run./I run quickly.
Note that pelnimre is a lujvo for “lemon”; it is derived from the gismu pelxu, yellow, and nimre, citrus. Note also that sutra can mean “fast/quick” or “quickly” depending on its use:
