Proposed Definitions And Examples

Proposed Definition of noi

noi (NOI)

Incidental clause. noi is Lojban's non-restrictive relative clause. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. noi immediately follows a sumti. The "clause" part means that it is followed by a full bridi (which means it sometimes must be terminated with ku'o, the NOI selma'o terminator, or vau, the general bridi terminator, particularily if one wishes to add another sumti to the outer bridi). The "non-restrictive" part means that the information in the noi clause is not sufficient to completely identify the referents of the sumti that noi is attached to. In other words, the noi bridi is true about the sumti noi is attached to, but is not enough to pick out only the things the speaker has in mind among all the possible things that the sumti noi is attached to could refer to. Generally, noi is only used when the referents of the sumti have already been explained, or are obvious, and the speaker wishes to give additional information. Inside a noi clause, ke'a indicates the precise place of the bridi that the sumti is intended to fill, and translates some uses of the English word "it". For logical scoping purposes, the scope of a noi clause is entirely outside the scope of the statement in which it is contained; its scope occurs after the scope in which it was contained dies in the arse. The noi clause should be considerd, for scoping purposes, as occuring in its own virtual sentence (techinically, its own "statement" production in the formal grammar) after both the one in which it is contained and all further statements that are logically connected to the one in which it was contained.

Examples of noi Usage

le gerku noi blanu cu barda
The dog, which incidentally is white, is big.

la alis noi ru'i senci cu sezysku
Alice, who was continuously sneezing, said to herself.

ro bifce noi pendo mi cu ji'a xebni lo sigja
All bees, which are friends of mine, also hate cigars.
This sentence was taken from the #lojban IRC channel, and asserts that every bee (or wasp or hornet) that exists (ignoring metaphysical issues) is both a friend of the speaker and hates cigars. This is probably not what the author intended.

la fengu lo smacu noi fy ke'a cpacu cu penmi le zdani
The Mad met a mouse, M (The Mad) had acquired it (the mouse), in the house.
Had to re-order the translation a bit to make the English work; in the Lojban the "met" part comes after the comma-delimited clause.

Proposed Definition of poi

poi (NOI)

Restrictive clause. poi is Lojban's restrictive relative clause. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. poi immediately follows a sumti. The "clause" part means that it is followed by a full bridi (which means it sometimes must be terminated with ku'o, the NOI selma'o terminator, or vau, the general bridi terminator, particularily if one wishes to add another sumti to the outer bridi). The "restrictive" part means that the information in the poi clause is intended to completely identify the referents of the sumti that poi is attached to. In other words, out of all the possible things the sumti that poi is attached to could refer to (which, for example, in the case of lo dacti is a great many things indeed) the sumti is actually intended by the speaker to refer only to those things that the sumti could refer to for which the bridi in the poi clause is also true. poi is often used with da to restrict da to some part of all the things which exist. Inside a noi clause, ke'a indicates the precise place of the bridi that the sumti is intended to fill, and translates some uses of the English word "it".

Examples of poi Usage

mi djica lo skami tanxe poi cmalu
I want a computer box which is small.

pau re'i pat ta poi zvati le canko cu mo
Question to Pat: that which at the window is what?
Pat: What is that at the window?

abu tavla le mensi ro le cizra se lifri poi do ke'a puzi ca'o tcidu
A (for Alice) talked to the (her) sister about all the strange experiences which you about them have just been reading.

da poi gerku zo'u da vasxu
There exists at least one thing which is a dog; this thing breathes.

Proposed Definition Of voi

voi (NOI)

Descriptive clause. voi is Lojban's non-veridical restrictive relative clause. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. voi immediately follows a sumti. The "clause" part means that it is followed by a full bridi (which means it sometimes must be terminated with ku'o, the NOI selma'o terminator, or vau, the general bridi terminator, particularily if one wishes to add another sumti to the outer bridi). The "restrictive" part means that the information in the voi clause is intended to completely identify the referents of the sumti that voi is attached to. In other words, out of all the possible things the sumti that voi is attached to could refer to (which, for example, in the case of lo dacti is a great many things indeed) the sumti is actually intended by the speaker to refer only to those things that the sumti could refer to for which the bridi in the voi clause is also true. The non-veridical part means that the speaker is making no claime that the bridi in the voi clause actually matches objective reality. Inside a noi clause, ke'a indicates the precise place of the bridi that the sumti is intended to fill, and translates some uses of the English word "it".

Examples of voi Usage

ti voi nanmu cu ninmu
This which is (non-veridically) a man is a woman.
The classic example of voi usage, presumably referring to a case of mistaken identity or a transvestite or transgendered individual.

so'e po'o cuxna la cnemokca cedra voi sete pilno le se jmaji
mi xagji .iku'i .oisai ponse no da voi cidja
I am hungry. However, horrors!, posses no thing which is food.
This is presumably intended to handle under-exaggeration; the speaker probably has something that could be eaten. This is a quote from the #lojban IRC channel.

mrilu su'o ciki'o da voi festi mi
Mail, three thousand of them which are waste products of me.
This case, also from the #lojban IRC channel, is probably intended to deal with very loose usage of festi, and is probably intended to mean "Three thousand pieces of spam e-mail".

ganse vasxu le nicte vacri voi ranti
Breathing the night air, which is soft.
Presumably, voi is being used to deal with the fact that ranti probably does not literally apply to air.

.iku'i ro da voi vi selsnu zo'u .ai skicu da fo ledu'u xukau catni
However, all things which are here-at subjects of conversation: it is intended that they will be described as to whether they are official.
This is from the Lojban translation of the lojban.org web site, and the voi is being used to deal with the usage of vi to translate the English "here on this site", when a web site has no physical location. The original had zu'o instead of zo'u, which I have corrected.

Proposed Definition for ne

ne (GOI)

Incidental phrase. ne is Lojban's non-restrictive relative phrase marker. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. ne immediately follows a sumti. The "phrase" part means that it is followed by another sumti. The meaning of ne is that the attached sumti is relevant to or associated with the first sumti in some way. The "non-restrictive" part means that the information in the ne phrase is not sufficient to completely identify the referents of the sumti that ne is attached to. In other words, the ne sumti is associated with the sumti ne is attached to, but is not enough to pick out only the things the speaker has in mind among all the possible things that the sumti ne is attached to could refer to. Generally, ne is only used when the referents of the sumti have already been explained, or are obvious, and the speaker wishes to give additional information. ne is often used for the loosest form of possession, such as that between a person and the chair they happen to be sitting in at the moment, but can be used for any form of association at all. It is essentially equivalent to noi srana.

Examples of ne Usage

le blabi gerku ne mi cu batci do
The white dog, which incidentally is associated with me, bit you.
This need not be "my" dog in the English sense, but could be the dog I'm walking for a friend, or the dog closest to me, or whatever.

le nuntra be la uiliam ca le nu cfari cu fadni i ku'i le nuntolclite be lai norman ne ubu
The behaviour of William during the beginning is ordinary. However the rudeness of Norman, which incidentally is associated with him (William).

ti'e ko'a ne li 2.6 cu mutce sutra
By the way it, which has something to do with the number 2.6, is very fast.

Proposed Definition for pe

pe (GOI)

Restrictive phrase. pe is one of Lojban's non-restrictive relative phrase markers. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. pe immediately follows a sumti. The "phrase" part means that it is followed by another sumti. The meaning of pe is that the attached sumti is relevant to or associated with the first sumti in some way. The "restrictive" part means that the information in the pe sumti is intended to completely identify the referents of the sumti that pe is attached to. In other words, out of all the possible things the sumti that pe is attached to could refer to (which, for example, in the case of lo dacti is a great many things indeed) the sumti is actually intended by the speaker to refer only to those things that the sumti could refer to which are associated with the sumti marked by pe. pe is often used for the loosest form of possession, such as that between a person and the chair they happen to be sitting in at the moment, but can be used for any form of association at all. It is essentially equivalent to poi srana.

Examples of pe Usage

le kabri pe le mi pendo cu cmalu
My friend's cup is small.
Presumably the friend does not own the cup, but is merely holding it, or something similar.

le mi pendo pe le kabri cu cmalu
The cup's my friend is small.
My friend which is associated with the cup is small.
This illustrates one of the non-English-like ways pe can operate.

le lisri pe mi cu clani je se badri
The story associated with me is long and sad.

le gerku pe le mi pendu cu prami lo cakla
The dog of my fiend loves chocolate.
It is likely that po, which indicates stronger possession, was wanted here.

Proposed definition for no'u

no'u (GOI)

Incidental identity. no'u is Lojban's non-restrictive appositive phrase marker. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. no'u immediately follows a sumti. The "phrase" part means that it is followed by another sumti. The meaning of no'u is that the attached sumti is absolutely identical to the first sumti, which is what the "appositive" part means. The "non-restrictive" part means that the information in the no'u phrase is not necessarily sufficient to completely identify the referents of the sumti that no'u is attached to, although in the case of no'u in particular it usually is. In other words, the no'u sumti is associated with the sumti no'u is attached to, but is not enough to pick out only the things the speaker has in mind among all the possible things that the sumti no'u is attached to could refer to. Generally, no'u is only used when the referents of the sumti have already been explained, or are obvious, and the speaker wishes to give additional information. It exactly equates two sumti, and is often used to mention names of things in passing. It is essentially equivalent to ''noi du".

Examples of no'u Usage

le nanmu no'u la djim. cu terpemci
The man, who incidentially is Jim, is a poet.

.au mi ka'e jarco le mi'a mlatu no'u la dinas do
[Desire.] I could show you our cat, Dina.

mi ba stidi so'u cnino gismu no'u zo nagra e zo narga e zo ranga e zo ragna
I will suggest several new gismu: nagra, narga, ranga, and ragna.

Proposed definition for po'u

po'u (GOI)

Restrictive identity. po'u is Lojban's non-restrictive appositive phrase marker. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. po'u immediately follows a sumti. The "phrase" part means that it is followed by another sumti. The meaning of po'u is that the attached sumti is absolutely identical to the first sumti, which is what the "appositive" part means. The "restrictive" part means that the information in the po'u sumti is intended to completely identify the referents of the sumti that po'u is attached to. In other words, out of all the possible things the sumti that po'u is attached to could refer to (which, for example, in the case of lo dacti is a great many things indeed) the sumti is actually intended by the speaker to refer only to those things that the sumti could refer to which are associated with the sumti marked by po'u. It exactly equates two sumti, and is often used to mention names of things in passing. It is essentially equivalent to ''poi du".

Examples of po'u Usage

le gerku po'u le mi pendo cu cinba mi
The dog which is my friend kisses me.
This is actually a somewhat strange use of po'u; poi se pendo mi is much more common for this sort of thing.

la blabi ractu sepi'o le kinli je cmalu voksa cu bacru tcidu le cmene po'u zo alis
The white rabbit in a sharp, small voice loudly read the name, "Alice".

mi cusku za'u pa le jufra .i do tugni ma po'u le mi jufra
I said more than one sentence. You agree with what which is a sentence of mine?
Note that the first le should really be lo. za'u jufra would be even better.

Proposed definition for po

po (GOI)

Is specific to. po is one of Lojban's restrictive relative phrase markers. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. po immediately follows a sumti. The "phrase" part means that it is followed by another sumti. The meaning of po is that the attached sumti is specifically relevant to or associated with the first sumti in some way. The "restrictive" part means that the information in the po sumti is intended to completely identify the referents of the sumti that po is attached to. In other words, out of all the possible things the sumti that po is attached to could refer to (which, for example, in the case of lo dacti is a great many things indeed) the sumti is actually intended by the speaker to refer only to those things that the sumti could refer to which are associated with the sumti marked by po. po is often used for the standard sense of possession, i.e. physical or legal ownership. It is essentially equivalent to poi se steci srana.

Examples of po Usage

le botpi po mi cu spofu
My bottle is broken.

mi troci le nu jimpe le krinu po le do cortu
I try to understand the reason / justification associated with your pain.
Probably rinka be was meant, rather than krinu po.

xu do tcidu le samselmri po la noras
Have you read Nora's e-mail?

Proposed definition for po'e

po'e (GOI)

Which belongs to. po'e is one of Lojban's restrictive relative phrase markers. The "relative" part means that it attaches to a sumti to provide additional information about that sumti. po'e immediately follows a sumti. The "phrase" part means that it is followed by another sumti. The meaning of po'e is that the attached sumti is inalienably associated with the first sumti in some way. An inalienable association is one that cannot be taken away, such as the association between you and your arm. The "restrictive" part means that the information in the po'e sumti is intended to completely identify the referents of the sumti that po'e is attached to. In other words, out of all the possible things the sumti that po'e is attached to could refer to (which, for example, in the case of lo dacti is a great many things indeed) the sumti is actually intended by the speaker to refer only to those things that the sumti could refer to which are associated with the sumti marked by po'e. po'e is used for things like people's limbs or parental relationships or other inalienable things. It is essentially equivalent to poi jinzi ke se steci srana.

Examples of po'e Usage

le birka po'e mi cu spofu
My arm is broken.

mi kucli le du'u ki'u makau le xriso cu krici le du'u le malcevni cu djica le pruxi po'e mi
I am curious as to why Christians believe that the devil wants my soul.

le galxe po'e mi cu kanro
My throat is healthy.

Proposed Definition for vu'o

vu'o (VUhO)

Long scope relative clause/phrase marker. Normally, a relative clause or phrase sumti binds to the last sumti to its immediate left, regardless of logical connectors. To have a relative clause or phrase bind to every member of a connected group of sumti, place vu'o after the sumti and before the relative clause or phrase cmavo.

Examples of vu'o Usage

la frank. .e la djordj. vu'o noi nanmu cu klama le zdani
Frank and George, who are both men, go to the house.

la eduin joi la morkar vu'ono'u lei turni be la mersias fa'u la nortumbrias
Edwin along with Morkar (?), who are the rulers of Mersia (?) and Northumbria, respectively

mi na jimpe le du'u makau nilbra be le plini .e le gerku vu'o noi se tavla do
I don't understand how big the planet and the dog, which you are talking about, are.

Proposed Definition for zi'e

zi'e (ZIhE)

Relative clause/phrase joiner. Normally, a relative clause or phrase sumti binds to the last sumti to its immediate left, which means that it is impossible to apply more than one relative marker to the same sumti. To attach another relative marker to the same sumti, place zi'e after the end of the first relative marker's data (which normally needn't be terminated) and place the next relative marker immediately after the zi'e. Using zi'e to mix poi and noi clauses (or pe and ne, and so on) is, for very subtle reasons, not well defined.

Examples of zi'e Usage

le botpi po mi zi'e poi blanu cu spofu
My blue bottle is broken.

do ponse ma poi drata zi'epe ne'i le do daski
You have what else that has to do with the inside of your pocket?

je'u ro lo prenu poi mi xamgu djuno zi'e poi ponse le slanu kerfa zi'e poi ponse lo blabi skapi cu pilno ry. vau .u'isai
Truthfully, all the people which I know well and who have dreadlocks and are white use bicycles Amusement.
The author has special insight into this sentence, which was found on the #lojban IRC channel, having wrote it. ry refers to lo relxilma'e.

Proposed Definition for ge'u

ge'u (GEhU)

End relative phrase. ge'u is an elidable terminator that indicates the end of relative or sumtcita phrases. It is usually elidable in simple situations. It is required, however, when one wishes to apply a logical connective to a sumti that has a relative or modal phrase attached (otherwise you are simply added an additional part to the phrase).

Examples of ge'u Usage

li'o pensi le cmalu no'u la alis ge'u e ro le abu se manci se lifri
... thinking about the small thing which is Alice, and all of her wondrous experiences.

Proposed Definition for ku'o

ku'o (KUhO)

End relative clause. ku'o is an lidable terminator: end NOI relative clause; always elidable, but preferred in complex clauses.

Examples of ku'o Usage

Proposed Definition for goi

goi (GOI)

Pro-sumti assign. Sumti assignment; used to define/assign ko'a/fo'a series pro-sumti; Latin 'sive'.

Preliminary: goi unifies its arguments. If both arguments are already defined, it is assumed that a re-definition is taking place, and the right-hand argument takes on the value of the left-hand argument (essentially matching the English ", which we'll call "). For explicit re-definition, use da'o as follows:

ko'a da'o goi ko'e / ko'a goi ko'e da'o nai: cancel ko'a and redefine as ko'e
ko'a da'o nai goi ko'e / ko'a goi ko'e da'o: don't cancel ko'a and redefine ko'e as ko'a

Examples of goi Usage

Formal Definitions

(AKA conversion formulas)

noi	PA broda noi brode cu brodi	PA broda cu brode .i je PA broda cu brodi
poi + ro	ro broda poi brode cu brodi	ro da poi broda zo'u da ga nai brode gi brodi
poi + su'o	su'o broda poi brode cu brodi	su'o da poi broda zo'u da ge brode gi brodi
voi	PA broda voi brode cu brodi	PA broda poi pe'a broda cu brodi
ne	PA1 broda ne PA2 brode	PA1 broda noi ke'a srana PA2 brode
pe	PA1 broda pe PA2 brode	PA1 broda poi ke'a srana PA2 brode
no'u	PA1 broda no'u PA2 brode	PA1 broda noi ke'a du PA2 brode
po'u	PA1 broda po'u PA2 brode	PA1 broda poi ke'a du PA2 brode
po	PA1 broda po PA2 brode	PA1 broda poi ke'a se steci srana PA2 brode
po'e	PA1 broda po'e PA2 brode	PA1 broda poi ke'a jinzi ke se steci srana PA2 brode
vu'o	PA1 broda [JOI / A] PA2 brode vu'o [relative]	PA1 broda [relative] [JOI / A] PA2 brode [relative]
zi'e	PA1 broda [relative] zi'e [relative] cu brode	da poi du PA1 broda zo'u da [relative] .e da [relative] cu brode

The pe'a in the voi formula can better be replaced with je'u cu'i in some cases and da'i in others, but I think pe'a is the most common.

Notes

• Many of these definitions are substantially similar. Please bear in mind that they will normally be used in isolation.

• Example of the difference between noi and poi: "ro prenu noi xamgu cu klama" is a monumentally different claim from "ro prenu poi xamgu cu klama". The former is "All people are good, and they go." The latter is "All the good people go". Formally, the former is "ro prenu ge xamgu gi klama", and the latter is "ro da poi prenu zo'u da ga nai brode gi brodi". With su'o, however, they are equivalent.

• voi is pretty amazingly useless. This is borne out by the amount of usage it has seen: I have collected above, as far as I can tell, more than 80% of the extant usages of it. ne is, if anything, worse (i.e. less used). po'e is not much used either, but that's hardly a surprise. vu'o seems to be underutilized as well, but I suspect that's more in error than anything else. The winner of the no-usage prize, however, seems to be ge'u. This, however, seems to have been a serious error: {mi po do ge'u .e da} means something completely different than {mi po do .e da}, and I don't think anyone noticed but xorxes.

• I don't know who cares that goi is Latin 'sive', but I'm sure it's not me.