11.9. Minor abstraction types

The following cmavo are discussed in this section:

li'i	NU	experience abstractor
si'o	NU	concept abstractor
su'u	NU	general abstractor

There are three more abstractors in Lojban, all of them little used so far. The abstractor li'i expresses experience:

Example 11.55.

mi	morji	le	li'i	mi	verba
I	remember	the	experience-of	(my	being-a-child)

The abstractor si'o expresses a mental image, a concept, an idea:

Example 11.56.

mi	nelci	le	si'o	la	.lojban.	cu	mulno
I	enjoy	the	concept-of	that-named	Lojban		being-complete.

Finally, the abstractor su'u is a vague abstractor, whose meaning must be grasped from context:

Example 11.57.

ko	zgana	le	su'u	le	ci	smacu	cu	bajra
you [imperative]	observe	the	abstract-nature-of	the	three	mice		running

See how the three mice run!

All three of these abstractors have an x₂ place. An experience requires an experiencer, so the place structure of li'i is:

li'i x₁ is the experience of (the bridi) as experienced by x₂

Similarly, an idea requires a mind to hold it, so the place structure of si'o is:

si'o x₁ is the idea/concept of (the bridi) in the mind of x₂

Finally, there needs to be some way of specifying just what sort of abstraction su'u is representing, so its place structure is:

su'u x₁ is an abstract nature of (the bridi) of type x₂

The x₂ place of su'u allows it to serve as a substitute for any of the other abstractors, or as a template for creating new ones. For example,

Example 11.58.

le	nu	mi	klama
the	event-of	my	going

can be paraphrased as

Example 11.59.

le	su'u	mi	klama	kei	be	lo	fasnu
the	abstract-nature-of	(my	going)		of-type	an	event

and there is a book whose title might be rendered in Lojban as:

Example 11.60.

le	su'u	la	.iecuas.
the	abstract-nature-of	(that-named	Jesus

kuctai	selcatra	kei
is-an-intersect-shape	type-of-killed-one	)

be	lo	sa'ordzifa'a
of-type	a	slope-low-direction

ke	nalmatma'e	sutyterjvi
type-of	non-motor-vehicle	speed-competition

The Crucifixion of Jesus Considered As A Downhill Bicycle Race

Note the importance of using kei after su'u when the x₂ of su'u (or any other abstractor) is being specified; otherwise, the be lo ends up inside the abstraction bridi.