History: slinku'i

Source of version: 2 (current)

The "''((slinku'i))'' test" refers to the test for words that can become ambiguous if certain syllables come before them. This rule applies mostly to type 4 ((fu'ivla)), which have to be very careful not to cause any morphological conflicts. For example, if you say ''pa slinku'i'', it becomes the lujvo ''paslinku'i'' ("robe-chain-caretaker"). The reason this lujvo looks so stoopid is that it was borrowed as-is from ((Loglan)), where it has the somewhat more reasonable meaning "past-line-related" and is glossed "ancestor" (typical Loglan lujvo!). * Wow! I picked "pa" totally at random for this example. What a coincidence. "slinku'i", by the way, was intended to refer to Slinky, a special kind of toy. See [http://www.slinkytoys.com/]. ''What is the easiest way to determine slinku'i failure?'' Put a random CV on the front and see if the result looks like a lujvo. I'd say the easiest way is, in fact, to ask ((vlatai)). slinku'i : [[EV=00000500] Bad fu'ivla (fails slinku'i test) slinku'i Is it certain that CV cmavo are the only prefixes which can cause slinku'i failure? ''Nothing of this kind is certain until a full morphology algorithm is implemented and exhaustively debugged. Any takers? --((John Cowan))'' It just occurred to me. Wouldn't ''paslinku'i'' be invalid on the grounds of failing the ((tosmabru)) test? In which case, wouldn't ''slinku'i'' thus be okay? ''--mi'e mark'' That would be taking the ((Loglan)) approach (if the first consonant cluster of the lujvo is a permissible initial consonant cluster, they stick in a y). However, extending ((tosmabru)) to include ((fu'ivla)) makes a very large number of lujvo fail the tosmabru test, and this adds an arbitrary rule you need to memorize in order to make lujvo, especially since exactly which word forms can be fu'ivla is not entirely certain. In Lojban, if there's a conflict between a fu'ivla form and anything else, the fu'ivla loses. --((rab.spir)) ---- How do you refer to the ((slinku'i test)) in lojban? le valsrslinku'i cipra ''What is the'' slinku'i ''there being borrowed from?'' (a) what difference does it make? Fu'ivla don't ''have'' to have a source language, though it helps. (b) I think the original example ''slinku'i'' was proposed as an example fu'ivla for "Slinky," the springy toy.