This pages is based on me collecting what I thought was the best options out of Magic Words Alternatives. The core is Cowan's version, which in turn uses xorxes' LTR processing idea.

Magic Words

Magic words are all cmavo that have some interaction with words as words irrespective of the function of those words. These are SI SA SU ZO ZOI LOhU LEhU ZEI BU and FAhO. (BAhE, even though it can modify any word, is not a magic word, because it doesn't affect the function of the word it modifies).

Many magic words convert the words they affect into a member of the special grammatical classes any-word and any-string. A member of one of these special grammatical classes has no selma'o for purposes of the rest of the Lojban grammar.

Meta-Rules

1. Y+BU (i.e. ".y. bu") is considered a single word of selma'o BU. This conversion is done before any other processing of any kind.
2. Magic words are processed left-to-right.
3. Y is not a word (i.e. it is considered whitespace) for the purposes of these definitions.

Mini-Definitions

1. ZO binds with the following word. The combination is considered a single word of the pseudo selma'o any-word (which acts as a sumti in all respects), except for SA matching purposes, where it retains the selma'o ZO.
2. LOhU turns all following Lojban words up and including a LEhU into a single word of the pseudo selma'o any-string (which acts as a sumti in all respects). The selma'o of LOhU and LEhU are retained for SA matching purposes, however. In other words, SA LOhU destroys everything since the beginning of the last LOhU...LEhU quote, replacing it with a new LOhU, and SA LEhU destroys everything since the end of the last LOhU...LEhU quote, replacing the terminating LEhU with a new LEhU (i.e. not changing the quote at all). LOhU...LEhU quotes cannot be re-opened; to attach more information to a closed quote, use JOI LOhU...LEhU. To quote a LOhU...LEhU quote including the LEhU, use ZOI.
3. LEhU terminates a LOhU-quote. It is never elidable.
4. ZEI binds with the preceding word and the following word. The combination is considered a single brivla (i.e. it is treated as just one word). ZEI+BU grabs back to the last ZEI, brivla+SA grabs back to the last brivla, which may consume a whole ZEI clause.
5. BU binds with the preceding word. The combination is considered a single word of selma'o BY. SA+BU grabs back to the last BU, SA+BY grabs back to the last word+BU, consuming it entirely.
6. ZOI uses the following word as a delimiting word and binds with it and further text until the same word is repeated, inclusive of both delimiters. Both delimiter words lose their grammatical function. The combination is considered a single word of the pseudo selma'o any-string (which acts as a sumti in all respects), except for SA matching purposes, where it retains the selma'o ZOI.
7. SI erases the preceding word. The construct becomes invisible to the rest of the text. SI at the beginning of text have no effect, but are not in error.
8. SA erases the preceding text back until it sees a word of the same selma'o as the word that follows SA, which replaces it. Words whose selma'o has been changed to any-word or any-string are invisible to SA for purposes to decided what to erase; they are erased as any other word would be. If a word of the same selma'o is not found (which will always be the case with SI and SU), it erases back to the beginning of text. Multiple SA before a word erase back to successively further instances of the same selma'o, one for each SA. SA at the beginning of text have no effect, but are not in error. To back out of a SA spoken in error, simply follow the SA with the word that preceded it.
9. SU erases all words back to the beginning of text. More precisely, "su" erases back to the previous word of selma'o NIhO, LU, TUhE, or TO. The construct becomes invisible to the rest of the text. SU at the beginning of text have no effect, but are not in error.
10. FAhO terminates the text. No words are read to the right of FAhO.

Marking Words

• BAhE marks the following word but does not change its nature, and does not bind with it.
• Attitudinals (UI and CAI cmavo) mark the previous word, quoted word, LOhU-quote, ZEI-lujvo, lerfu word, or ZOI-phrase, but do not change its nature and do not bind with it. One NAI can follow any UI or CAI cmavo. Attitudinals do not blend into a single word with the word they modify, but remain as separate words for the purposes of magic words that come after them. Multiple UI cmavo may be used in succession. They may also be used at the beginning of text.
• DAhO, FUhE, and FUhO are the same as UI, but do not absorb a following NAI.

Examples

(*According to purpleposeidon. The rumors of me being full of crap are crap.)

Terminology

Some people think that "Magic Words" is not a particularly good term, as it would necessarily end up in formal descriptions of this particular part of the grammar. The following replacements have been suggested:

• Extra-syntactical word. (ie. a word outside the regular grammar)
• Meta-syntactical word.
• Super-syntactical word. (ie. a word that works on a higher level than the regular phrase structure rules)