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lojbo terctuca pamoi lojban lesson
one
This is a lesson in conversational lojban. In this lesson, you will learn by reading actual lojban and answering simple questions about the text. Use the space bar or 'Enter' key to progress through the lesson. >> Imagine you are walking down the street, and see your friend
Martha approaching. The following conversation ensues: coi. martas. coi .i co'o .i do klama ma .i mi klama le zarci .i co'o .i co'o >> Let's take a closer look at the conversation, step by step.
You begin by greeting Martha: coi. martas Note that this is pronounced /shoy martas/. Can you guess the lojban word for "hello"? coi >> Names, called cmene in lojban, must
always end in
a consonant. Since "Martha" ends with a vowel, we add an extra letter - usually an "s" or an "n" to the end of her name. Since lojban has no sound for "th", we instead use a simple "t". How do you say "Martha" in lojban? martas >> Names also require a short, mandatory pause at the end,
to keep them from running into the next word. In lojban, we write the pause as: "." The word coi also requires a pause at the end when used before cmene. How do you say "hello, martha" in lojban? coi. martas. >> Note that "." does not signify the end of a sentence,
as it does in English. In lojban, punctuation marks are replaced by short words that are actually spoken. Lojban sentences are separated by the word .i, which sounds like the long "E" sound in the English word "see". .i also sounds like the Spanish word "y", which means "and". Saying .i is something like saying "and" between sentences to form an English run-on. >> Martha says:
coi .i co'o It means, "hello! goodbye!" What is the lojban word for goodbye? co'o >> The apostrophe in co'o is an actual
lojban letter. It
sounds like the English letter, "h" and is used to keep vowels from running together. How do you tell Martha goodbye? co'o. martas. >> Now we get to a simple lojban question. In the example,
you told Martha hello, and she says coi .i co'o "hello! goodbye!". You then ask her where she's going: .i do klama ma How do you ask, "where are you going?" in lojban? do klama ma >> Let's take a closer look at do klama
ma.
A word for word translation might be something like: you go fill-in-the-blank which lojban word represents "go"? klama >> The lojban klama roughly corresponds
to the English "go",
but klama isn't a verb. Rather, klama represents a relationship between various things. The full definition of klama is: x1 comes/goes to destination x2 from origin x3 via route x4 using means/vehicle x5 The lojban question, do klama ma really means: you go where from somewhere via somewhere using something? Generally, the most important relationship-parts (called sumti) come first. Since these sumti often correspond to subjects and objects in English sentences, klama acts like an English verb. How would you say "you go" in lojban? do klama >> The question word ma is a request for
the listener to
"fill in the blank". Depending on context, ma could mean "who?", "what?", "when?", "where?", "why?" or "how?" How would you ask "who's going?" in lojban? ma klama >> When you ask Martha, do klama ma,
she responds:
.i mi klama le zarci She says she is going to the store. How do you say "I" or "me" in lojban? mi >> Martha said:
.i mi klama le zarci say "the store" in lojban. le zarci >> Let's review.
Do you remember how to say "hello" in lojban? coi >> Do you remember how to say "goodbye"?
co'o >> Say "hello! goodbye!" in lojban.
coi .i co'o >> How do you ask someone where they are going?
do klama ma >> How do you ask "who's going to the store?"
ma klama le zarci >> Answer yourself: "I'm going to the store"
mi klama le zarci >> Ask, "where am I going"?
mi klama ma >> You should now be able to understand the conversation
that started this lesson. coi. martas. coi .i co'o .i do klama ma .i mi klama le zarci .i co'o .i co'o >> This concludes lesson one.
co'o do |