Where there are two gadri separated by a slash, the first one refers to the objects treated as individuals, and the second one refers to objects treated as a mass.

==Chart==
<pre>Spectrum of the Gadri
and the type of Referring Descriptions they create

Frank
\ that cat the/a cat Mr Cat Plato's Cat Statue
\ | | | /
[definite]--la/lai--le'i/lei'i--le'e/le'ei--le/lei--<referents] lo/loi [no referents>--lo'e/lo'ei--lo'i/loi'i--[indefinite]
/ | | \ | | |
/ | | \ null determiner Platitudes |
/ Demonstrative Anaphoric \ <--context resolves--> Modeling
Names Deictic</pre>

==la / lai==
Name determiner. '''la broda''' = the one(s) named "Broda". The definition of '''broda''' is irrelevant; what matters is what the speakers have agreed to name or address as '''broda'''.

==le'i / lei'i==
Demonstrative determiner. '''le'i broda''' = "this/that '''broda'''(s)". Indicates that the speaker is signaling a particular '''broda'''(s) to the listener. Roughly equivalent to '''ti/ta/tu noi broda''', but does not imply spatial distance or presence, and is often grammatically more convenient as it doesn't start a new sub-bridi.

'''ko tcidu le'i cukta''' = "Read this/that book."

If spatial distance is important, use '''vi'''/'''va'''/'''vu''', e.g. '''le'i vu cmana''' = "that mountain way over there"

==le'e / le'ei==
Anaphoric determiner. '''le'e broda''' = the aforementioned '''broda'''(s). Essentially identical to '''le bi'unai broda'''. Used to refer to something mentioned earlier in the text/conversation.

==le / lei==
Deictic determiner. '''le broda''' = the '''broda'''(s) that are identifiable or knowable.

For example, if a wife returns home after watching a play, she might have this conversation with her husband: 
W: '''coi''' = "Hello." 
H: '''coi .i xu do nelci le draci''' = "Hi. Did you like the play? (that you just watched)" 
W: '''na'e uinai''' = "No. *sadness*"


==lo / loi==
Null/descriptive determiner. '''lo broda''' = something(s) that '''broda'''s. This is the simplest gadri of all, and can mean '''le''' or '''lo'e''' depending on context. '''lo''' is pretty much "never wrong", but '''le''' and '''lo'e''' can be used when definiteness is important.

'''mi djica lo nu do penmi lo prenu''' = "I want you to meet someone."

Compare with:

'''mi djica lo nu do penmi le prenu''' = "I want you to meet the person (a/some particular person[s])." 
'''mi djica lo nu do penmi le'e prenu''' = "I want you to meet that person (that we were talking about). 
'''mi djica lo nu do penmi lo'e prenu''' = I want you to meet people (in general; I don't care who you meet)."


==lo'e / lo'ei==
Generalizing determiner. '''lo'e broda''' = '''broda'''s in general, without referring to any '''broda''' in particular.

Continuing the previous conversation of the wife who watched the play: 
H: '''ue .i xunai do nelci lo'e draci''' = "Eh? Don't you like plays? (plays in general)" 
W: '''je'a''' = "Yes (I do like plays; '''xunai''' only makes the question rhetorically negative, and does not change the expected answer)" 
H: '''je'e''' = "OK. (Understood / Roger)" 

Note that this differs from '''xu do nelci ro draci''' "Do you like all plays?", which is most probably false. Even the biggest fan of plays would probably hate some plays; in fact, they may hate it all the more because of their appreciation of plays in general!

==lo'i / loi'i==
Essentialistic determiner. '''lo'i broda''' = the essentialistic/Platonic model of '''broda'''. The truth value of the sentence would depend on the definition of '''broda'''; what constitutes "'''broda'''-ness", regardless of the actual status of things that '''broda'''.

'''xu lo'i remna cu danlu''' = "Are humans animals? / Is animality a part of humanity?" (true, as Lojban '''danlu''' does not imply non-personhood like English "animal" might.) 

'''xu ro remna cu se tuple lo remei''' = "Do all humans have two legs?" (False; some have certainly lost their legs, or were not born with them.) 
'''xu lo'i remna cu se tuple lo remei''' = "Is humanity characterized by having two legs?" (Probably true however; since for most people, their defining model of a "human" will have two legs.)

'''xu ro remna cu mroka'e''' = "Are all humans mortal?" (True; compare with the next sentence) 
'''xu lo'i remna cu mroka'e''' = "Is mortality a part of humanity?" (a very interesting question indeed; you might get very different answers depending if you asked a transhumanist, a priest, or a nihilist!)

Note that this makes '''xu do nelci lo'i draci''' "Is (you liking it) a part of (being-a-play-ness)?" a pretty ridiculous question; plays aren't characterized by whether the wife likes it or not!
==mo'oi / moi'oi==
Interrogative determiner. '''mo'oi broda''' = which '''broda'''? Roughly equivalent to '''ma noi''', but doesn't start a new sub-bridi.

'''mo'oi prenu cu bevri le pipno''' = "Which person(s) carried the piano?" 
'''mo'oi mu prenu cu bevri le pipno''' = "Which five people carried the piano?"

==Non-gadri: voi==
Titular relative clause. Provides a "subtitle" to a name in the form of a sub-bridi.

'''la .aleksandyr. voi banli''' = "Alexander the Great" 
'''la .uubis. voi daspo su'o terdi''' = "Woobie, the Destroyer of Worlds"

(It's been noted that under the cmevla-brivla merge proposal, '''noi''' would still be part of the name if the name is not closed by '''ku''' * but... yeah I think '''voi''' signals the intent much better, with or without that merge.)

<nowiki>*</nowiki> (and without the merge, only brivlacme can have suffixed titles with '''noi'''; cmevlacme must use '''la noi banli vau .aleksandyr.''' . Yuck.)

==Expected impact==
No change: '''la/lai''', '''lo/loi''' (xorlo version) 
No real change; just a cleaned-up/tightened definition: '''le/lei''', '''voi''' 
Slight shift in definition?: '''lo'e''' 
Significant shift in definition: '''lo'i''' 
Completely reassigned: '''le'i''', '''le'e''' 
New cmavo: '''lei'i''', '''le'ei''', '''lo'ei''', '''loi'i''', '''mo'oi''', '''moi'oi'''

zipcpi: Yet another gadri article

2015-06-05T05:14:10Z

Cadgu'a: /* la / lai */

Where there are two gadri separated by a slash, the first one refers to the objects treated as individuals, and the second one refers to objects treated as a mass.

==Chart==
<pre>Spectrum of the Gadri
and the type of Referring Descriptions they create

Frank
\ that cat the cat Mr Cat Plato's Cat Statue
\ | | | /
[definite]--la/lai--le'i/lei'i--le/lei--<referents] lo [no referents>--lo'e/loi--lo'i/loi'i--[indefinite]
/ | \ | | |
/ | \ null determiner Platitudes |
/ Demonstrative \ <--context resolves--> Modeling
Names Deictic</pre>
==la / lai==
Name determiner. '''la broda''' = the one(s) named "Broda". The definition of '''broda''' is irrelevant; what matters is what the speakers have agreed to name or address as '''broda'''.

==le'i / lei'i==
Demonstrative determiner. '''le'i broda''' = "this/that '''broda'''(s)". Indicates that the speaker is signaling a particular '''broda'''(s) to the listener. Roughly equivalent to '''ti noi broda''' or '''ta noi broda''', but does not imply spatial distance or presence, and is often grammatically more convenient as it doesn't start a new sub-bridi.

'''ko tcidu le'i cukta''' = "Read this/that book."

If spatial distance is important, use '''vi'''/'''va'''/'''vu''', e.g. '''le'i vu cmana''' = "that mountain way over there"

==le / lei==
Deixis determiner. '''le broda''' = the '''broda'''(s) that are identifiable or knowable. May be used to refer to something mentioned earlier, or to something present in the shared context of the speakers.

For example, if a wife returns home after watching a play, she might have this conversation with her husband: 
W: '''coi''' = "Hello." 
H: '''coi .i xu do nelci le draci''' = "Hi. Did you like the play? (that you just watched)" 
W: '''na'e uinai''' = "No. *sadness*"


==lo==
Descriptive determiner. '''lo broda''' = something(s) that '''broda'''s. This is the simplest gadri of all, and can mean '''le''' or '''lo'e''' depending on context. '''lo''' is pretty much "never wrong", but '''le''' and '''lo'e''' can be used when definiteness is important.

'''mi djica lo nu do penmi lo prenu''' = "I want you to meet someone."

Compare with:

'''mi djica lo nu do penmi le prenu''' = "I want you to meet the person (a/some particular person[s])." 
'''mi djica lo nu do penmi lo'e prenu''' = I want you to meet people (in general; I don't care who you meet)."

Has no mass variant. Use '''lei''' or '''loi''' instead if masses are desired.


==lo'e / loi==
Generalizing determiner. '''lo'e broda''' = '''broda'''s in general, without referring to any '''broda''' in particular.

Continuing the previous conversation of the wife who watched the play: 
H: '''ue .i xunai do nelci lo'e draci''' = "Eh? Don't you like plays? (plays in general)" 
W: '''je'a''' = "Yes (I do like plays; '''xunai''' only makes the question rhetorically negative, and does not change the expected answer)" 
H: '''je'e''' = "OK. (Understood / Roger)" 

Note that this differs from '''xu do nelci ro draci''' "Do you like all plays?", which is most probably false. Even the biggest fan of plays would probably hate some plays; in fact, they may hate it all the more because of their appreciation of plays in general!

==lo'i / loi'i==
Essentialistic determiner. '''lo'i broda''' = the essentialistic/Platonic model of '''broda'''. The truth value of the sentence would depend on the definition of '''broda'''; what constitutes "'''broda'''-ness", regardless of the actual status of things that '''broda'''.

'''xu lo'i remna cu danlu''' = "Are humans animals? / Is animality a part of humanity?" (true, as Lojban '''danlu''' does not imply non-personhood like English "animal" might.) 

'''xu ro remna cu se tuple lo remei''' = "Do all humans have two legs?" (False; some have certainly lost their legs, or were not born with them.) 
'''xu lo'i remna cu se tuple lo remei''' = "Is humanity characterized by having two legs?" (Probably true however; since for most people, their defining model of a "human" will have two legs.)

'''xu ro remna cu mroka'e''' = "Are all humans mortal?" (True; compare with the next sentence) 
'''xu lo'i remna cu mroka'e''' = "Is mortality a part of humanity?" (a very interesting question indeed; you might get very different answers depending if you asked a transhumanist, a priest, or a nihilist!)

Note that this makes '''xu do nelci lo'i draci''' "Is (you liking it) a part of (being-a-play-ness)?" a pretty ridiculous question; plays aren't characterized by whether the wife likes it or not!

==mo'oi==
Interrogative determiner. '''mo'oi broda''' = which '''broda'''? Roughly equivalent to '''ma noi''', but doesn't start a new sub-bridi.

'''mo'oi prenu cu bevri le pipno''' = "Which person(s) carried the piano?" 
'''mo'oi mu prenu cu bevri le pipno''' = "Which five people carried the piano?"

==Off topic: voi==
Titular relative clause. Provides a "subtitle" to a name in the form of a sub-bridi.

'''la .aleksandyr. voi banli''' = "Alexander the Great" 
'''la .uubis. voi daspo su'o terdi''' = "Woobie, the Destroyer of Worlds"

gadganzu proposal

2015-06-04T19:59:16Z

Cadgu'a: Created page with "If you have at least a basic familiarity with Lojban you are likely also familiar with its system for forming noun-phrases. One where verb words are surrounded and transformed..."

If you have at least a basic familiarity with Lojban you are likely also familiar with its system for forming noun-phrases. One where verb words are surrounded and transformed into nouns. The words that do this parenthetical surrounding and perform this transforming, called the Gadri, have a confusing and contentious history. Their semantics have changed over time and lack of a clear formulation leaves them the topic of endless debate. This paper will present a framework for unifying the Gadri under a regular semantic system that is mostly backwards compatible, can be readily explained and that empowers communicators.

'''What the Gadri do'''

The Gadri are articles that are used to denote the beginning of a noun-phrase or description. In addition to denoting the head of the noun-phrase they also act as a "determiner" that inform how the description should be interpreted. The specific Gadri article used to start the noun-phrase is what determines this interpretation. For example, noun-phrases starting with la denote a name.

In the wider linguistic world, there are many kinds of possible determiners. Those that denote definite or indefinite descriptions, demonstratives which relate to spatial context, possessives, and quantifiers. They all share in the goal of expressing what the speaker intends to reference in their noun-phrases.

Lojban has a number of different types of articles that serve these various determiner roles; the Gadri are just one of them. But what determiner semantics do the existing Lojban Gadri provide today?

'''Names'''

The Gadri la and lai both create name descriptions which designate strong or even absolute definite references. la denotes the name of an individual, lai denotes the name of a group.

'''Masses and Groups'''

For each of the main Gadri and their associated semantic, there is a alternative form of that Gadri that denotes a description which deals with a group or mass as a whole. Like explained for names, lai is the mass forming version of la. Similarly there is lei for le, and loi for lo.

'''Non-Veridicality'''

As defined, le, lei and le'i are all defined as creating descriptions for which the intended referents may not necessarily qualify but are useful in helping the listener identify the intended designation anyway. All other Gadri produce "veridical" descriptions which express that the speaker intends to be understood literally.

'''Sets'''

Sets are distinguished from Masses in that Sets only ever refer to constituent members once. Otherwise they are typically treated similarly to masses.

'''Existentialism'''

One common property of the existing Gadri is that they all assert the existence of definite referents. Behind every description, is some existentially quantified referent.