gismu that have the same consonants, in order: Difference between revisions

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*balni bilni
*bradi bredi bridi broda brode brodi brodo brodu


-=A distinctive features approach to Lojban phonology=-
*canko cinki
*cmalu cmila


==== Introduction ====
*janco jinci
*merli mirli mrilu mruli


Chapter 3 of ''The Complete Lojban Language'' (and to a lesser extent Chapter 4) contains a great deal of information about Lojban phonology. This information is mostly given in the form of lists and tables.  It includes the definitions of valid and invalid consonant clusters and diphthongs and the rules governing which gism forms are blocked by existing gismu.    When I first read it I found it difficult to see the regularities that I was sure were behind the data.  So, for my own use I began work on the following preliminary attempt to use distinctive features to convey those regularities.
*nanmu ninmu
*plana plini


I have chosen to employ a set of features borrowed from [http://www.sil.org/mexico/ling/Phonology-Marlett/E004-PhonAll.pdf 'An Introduction to Phonlogical Analysis''] (Marlett, 2001).  Marlett intended for this set of features to be sufficient to describe the sound system of any human language.  I suppose that it's likely that different linguists would propose differents sets of features; but I  believe that this set is broadly representative, and that most others would not be significantly different.
*platu pluta
*prane prina prenu


The features used are:
--''Actually, there are many more groups like this.  All 1342 gismu can be sorted into groups having the same consonant CCC core. The complete statistics is the following:''
<tab class="wikitable sortable" head=top>
#of CCC cores #of groups
1 647 (unique gismu, not interesting)
2 193
3 66
4 16
5 4
6 3
9 1 (brd)
</tab>
Total: 930 groups, 1342 words


;sonorant [[jbocre: son|son]]:characterized by resonance in the oral cavity; sounds that are [[jbocre: -son|-son]] are sometimes called ''obstruents''
The champion is '''brd''': 9 gismu:


;consonantal [[jbocre: con|con]]:characterized by "at least moderate constriction of the vocal tract"
* '''brd''': barda bradi bredi bridi broda brode brodi brodo brodu


;continuant [[jbocre: cont|cont]]:characterized by a lack of complete blockage of the vocal tract
3 groups of 6:


;nasal [[jbocre: nas|nas]]:characterized by air flow through the nasal cavity
* '''plj''': pelji pilji pleji pluja polje pulji
* '''pln''': palne pilno plana plini polno pulni


;voice [[jbocre: voi|voi]]:characterized by vibration of the vocal folds
* '''trn''': tirna torni trano trene trina turni


;labial [[jbocre: lab|lab]]:characterized by involvement of the lower lip
4 groups of 5:


;coronal [[jbocre: cor|cor]]:characterized by involvement of the front (or crown) of the tongue
* '''brt''': bartu berti birti bratu brito
* '''cnt''': canti centi cinta cnita cuntu


;distributed [[jbocre: dist|dist]]:(dependent on coronal) characterized by involvement of the tongue blade as opposed to the tongue tip
* '''crn''': carna cerni crane crino curnu
* '''stc''': satci setca stace steci stici


;lateral [[jbocre: lat|lat]]:(dependent on coronal) - characterized by a lowering of one or both sides of the midsection of the tongue
16 groups of 4:


;strident [[jbocre: strd|strd]]:(dependent on coronal) - characterized by more noise than other sounds
*'''bnd''': bandu bende bindo bunda
*'''ckl''': cakla ckilu ckule cukla


;dorsal [[jbocre: dor|dor]]:characterized by involvement of the body (dorsum) of the tongue
*'''ckn''': cikna ckana ckini ckunu
*'''cmn''': cimni cmana cmene cmoni


;high [[jbocre: hi|hi]]:(dependent on dorsal) - characterized by a raising of the tongue body
*'''cns''': censa cinse cnisa cunso
*'''crt''': cartu certu cortu critu


;back [[jbocre: bac|bac]]:(dependent on dorsal) - characterized by a retraction of the tongue body
*'''ctn''': catni citno ctino cutne
*'''grn''': garna gerna grana gurni


;low [[jbocre: low|low]]:characterized by a lowering of the tongue body
*'''jbr''': jabre jbari jbera jibri
*'''krc''': karce korcu krici kruca


The following is a summary of the features of Lojban.
*'''mrl''':  merli mirli mrilu mruli
*'''plt''':  palta platu plita pluta


||.|son|con|cont|nas|voi|lab|cor|dist|lat|strd|dor|hi|bac|low|CLL description
*'''pnj''':  panje pinji ponjo punji
*'''prn''':  prane prenu prina pruni


`|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced glottal spirant
*'''snc''':  sance senci since sonci
*'''str''':  satre stero stura sutra


a|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|an open vowel
The complete list is too long to put here. I may upload the files on my website some day. --''mi'e .evgenis.''


b|-|+|-|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced bilabial stop
Please do. --''mi'e .filip.''


c|-|+|+|-|-|-|+|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced coronal sibilant
----


d|-|+|-|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced dental/alveolar stop
''There's also the things which might be termed "gimsu" - they are the same except with a medial consonant pair reversed. Consider sodva/sovda. That confuses me every time.''


e|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a front mid vowel
*ratcu ractu - cfipu sai mu'i lenu roreri mabru


f|-|+|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced labial fricative
Here's a table of gismu pairs with swapped consonants:


g|-|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|a voiced velar stop
<tab class="wikitable sortable">
bajra barja
balni banli
berti betri
canti catni
cedra cerda
danti datni
darsi dasri
festi fetsi
ganra garna
janta jatna
kabri karbi
kalri karli
kufra kurfa
nanvi navni
pulni punli
racli ralci
ractu ratcu
ranti ratni
rilti ritli
rinsa risna
sacki sakci
sodva sovda
stali tsali
stani tsani
tabno tanbo
tinsa tisna
</tab>


i|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|-|-|a front close vowel
*and ''xrula'', ''xlura''
** the bugger with this one is that you think 'flora' and that yields a falsefriend with ''xlura''. --[[User:And Rosta|And Rosta]]


j|-|+|+|-|+|-|+|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|a voiced coronal sibilant
** you mean ''[[xruli|xruli]]''? --[[User:tsali|tsali]]
*** I doubt it, since that word's not in my gismu list, but ''xrula'' is ("flower"). mi'e filip.


k|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|an unvoiced velar stop
Here's a table of gismu pairs with a consonant swapped with the neighboring vowel:


l|+|+|+|-|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced lateral approximant  (may be syllabic)
<tab class="wikitable sortable">
bartu bratu
bruna burna
cikre ckire
cinta cnita
citno ctino
garna grana
gerku greku
jbini jibni
kruji kurji
marji mraji
pelji pleji
sakci skaci
samcu smacu
sarji sraji
stura sutra
tarti trati
tirna trina
tisna tsina
</tab>


m|+|+|-|+|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced bilabial nasal  (may be syllabic)
==Discussion==
 
*Some of us have been wondering about punning in Lojban, & these last two types seem extremely promising...anybody want to write some jokes?)
n|+|+|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced dental or velar nasal  (may be syllabic)
**filip:
 
**:One that's come up so far is '''ko ko kruji''' "turn yourself into cream" as a pun on '''ko ko kurji''' "take care of yourself" - turning a popular(?) expression of goodwill into an insult or a threat.
o|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|+|-|a back mid vowel
 
p|-|+|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced bilabial stop
 
r|+|+|+|-|+|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|a rhotic sound ([[jbocre: may be syllabic)|(may be syllabic)]]
 
s|-|+|+|-|-|-|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced alveolar sibilant
 
t|-|+|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced dental/alveolar stop
 
u|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|a back close vowel
 
v|-|+|+|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced labial fricative
 
x|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|an unvoiced velar fricative
 
y|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|+|+|a central mid vowel
 
z|-|+|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|a voiced alveolar sibilant||
 
Notice how the features [[jbocre: son|son]] and [[jbocre: con|con]] divide all Lojban sounds into four categories.  All of the "regular" consonants are [[jbocre: -son +con|-son +con]].  All of the "syllabic" consonants are [[jbocre: +son +con|+son +con]].  The vowels are [[jbocre: +son - con|+son - con]].  The only sound that is [[jbocre: -son -con|-son -con]] is /'/.
 
It is not clear to me whether Marlett intended the features [[jbocre: back|back]] and [[jbocre: high|high]] as applied to consonants to be distinct from the features [[jbocre: back|back]] and [[jbocre: high|high]] as applied to vowels.  I don't see any harm in treating them as the same features.
 
==== Results ====
 
In the following discussion, C will represent any sound which is [[jbocre: +con|+con]] and V any sound which is [[jbocre: +son -con|+son -con]].
 
Chapter 3, Section 6 of ''The Complete Lojban Language'' defines Permissible Consonant Pairs (although that term is not actually used until Section 7).  That definition can be restated as:
 
A consonant pair, C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB}, is a Permissible Consonant Pair (PCP) '''unless''':
 
A1. C{SUB()}1{SUB} = C{SUB()}2{SUB}
 
A2. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -son +x:voi]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: -son -x:voi]]
 
A3. C{SUB()}1{SUB} and C{SUB()}2{SUB} are both [[jbocre: +strd|+strd]]
 
A4. C{SUB()}x{SUB} is [[jbocre: +cont +dor|+cont +dor]] and C{SUB()}y{SUB} is [[jbocre: -voi -lab +x:cor +x:dist]] (where either x = 1 and y = 2, or x = 2 and y = 1)
 
A5. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +son +lab|+son +lab]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +voi -dist +strd|+voi -dist +strd]]
 
Rule A1 says that doubled consonants are not allowed.  Rule A2 is the "voicing harmony" rule.  The notation here may need a little explanation.  It indicates that whatever the value of the feature [[jbocre: voi|voi]] for the first consonant, the second consonant has the opposite value.  Rule A3 says that the two consonants cannot both be from the set "c", "j", "s", "z".  Rule A4 says C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB} cannot be any of "cx", "xc", "kx", or "xk".  Rule A5 says that C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB} cannot be "mz".  Note that Rules A4 and A5 are stated as one rule in ''The Complete Lojban Language''.  They appear to have little relation to each other.
 
Chapter 3, Section 7 lists forty-eight Permissible Initial Consonant Pairs.  The content of that list can be explained by the following rules:
 
If a consonant pair, C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB}, is a PCP then it is also a Permissible Initial Consonant Pair (ICP) '''unless''':
 
B1. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cor|-cor]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is '''not''' [[jbocre: +son +cont|+son +cont]]
 
B2. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +son -lab|+son -lab]]
 
B3. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cor|-cor]]
 
B4. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +lat|+lat]]
 
B5. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +voi +strd|+voi +strd]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +son -lab|+son -lab]]
 
B6. C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +cont +dor|+cont +dor]]
 
Section 7 also gives rules regarding consonant triples.  These rules only need slight modification:
 
A consonant triple, C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB}C{SUB()}3{SUB}, can occur medially if:
 
C1. C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB} is a PCP;
 
C2. C{SUB()}2{SUB}C{SUB()}3{SUB} is an ICP; and
 
C3. it is '''not''' the case that C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +nas -lab|+nas -lab]], C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cont +x:voi -cor]], and C{SUB()}3{SUB} is [[jbocre: +x:voi +strd]].
 
Chapter 3 Section 4 defines four classes of diphthongs.  The first class of diphthongs are freely used in most Lojban words.  The second class are used as stand-alone words (cmavo) and in cmene and fu'ivla.  The third class are only used in cmene.  The fourth class are not used in Lojban words.
 
D1. A pair of vowels, V{SUB()}1{SUB}V{SUB()}2{SUB}, is in the first class if either:
 
* V{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +hi -low|+hi -low]] and V{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +hi -bac|+hi -bac]], or
* V{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -bac +low|-bac +low]] and V{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +hi|+hi]]
 
D2. A pair of vowels, V{SUB()}1{SUB}V{SUB()}2{SUB}, is in the second class if V{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +hi|+hi]] and V{SUB()}2{SUB} is '''not''' [[jbocre: +bac +low|+bac +low]]
 
D3. A pair of vowels, V{SUB()}1{SUB}V{SUB()}2{SUB}, is in the third class if V{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +hi|+hi]] and V{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +bac +low|+bac +low]]
 
D4. All other diphthongs are in the fourth class.
 
Chapter 4, Section 14 gives a table of which consonants were considered "too similar" to which other consonants for the purposes of the gismu creation algorithm.  This information can be presented more systematically as:
 
E1. [[jbocre: +son +x:nas]] blocks [[jbocre: +son +x:nas]]
 
E2. [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]] blocks [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]]
 
E3. [[jbocre: +bac|+bac]] blocks [[jbocre: +bac|+bac]]
 
E4. [[jbocre: -son +x:cont -x:voi +lab]] blocks [[jbocre: -son +y:cont +y:voi +lab]] and vice versa
 
E5. [[jbocre: +x:voi -x:dist +strd]] blocks [[jbocre: +y:voi +y:dist +strd]] and vice versa
 
==== Conclusion ====
 
Marlett says (p. 224) "features have been used as part of a simplicity metric; that is, they have been used to formally measure the simplicity of a phonological rule.  A natural process (one that is commonly found in languages) should be statable with fewer features than a process which is unnatural."  My results seem to indicate that Lojban's phonology is, on the whole, satisfyingly "natural".
 
I welcome comments and suggestions for improvements.

Latest revision as of 15:17, 4 July 2014

  • balni bilni
  • bradi bredi bridi broda brode brodi brodo brodu
  • canko cinki
  • cmalu cmila
  • janco jinci
  • merli mirli mrilu mruli
  • nanmu ninmu
  • plana plini
  • platu pluta
  • prane prina prenu

--Actually, there are many more groups like this. All 1342 gismu can be sorted into groups having the same consonant CCC core. The complete statistics is the following: <tab class="wikitable sortable" head=top>

  1. of CCC cores #of groups

1 647 (unique gismu, not interesting) 2 193 3 66 4 16 5 4 6 3 9 1 (brd) </tab> Total: 930 groups, 1342 words

The champion is brd: 9 gismu:

  • brd: barda bradi bredi bridi broda brode brodi brodo brodu

3 groups of 6:

  • plj: pelji pilji pleji pluja polje pulji
  • pln: palne pilno plana plini polno pulni
  • trn: tirna torni trano trene trina turni

4 groups of 5:

  • brt: bartu berti birti bratu brito
  • cnt: canti centi cinta cnita cuntu
  • crn: carna cerni crane crino curnu
  • stc: satci setca stace steci stici

16 groups of 4:

  • bnd: bandu bende bindo bunda
  • ckl: cakla ckilu ckule cukla
  • ckn: cikna ckana ckini ckunu
  • cmn: cimni cmana cmene cmoni
  • cns: censa cinse cnisa cunso
  • crt: cartu certu cortu critu
  • ctn: catni citno ctino cutne
  • grn: garna gerna grana gurni
  • jbr: jabre jbari jbera jibri
  • krc: karce korcu krici kruca
  • mrl: merli mirli mrilu mruli
  • plt: palta platu plita pluta
  • pnj: panje pinji ponjo punji
  • prn: prane prenu prina pruni
  • snc: sance senci since sonci
  • str: satre stero stura sutra

The complete list is too long to put here. I may upload the files on my website some day. --mi'e .evgenis.

Please do. --mi'e .filip.

There's also the things which might be termed "gimsu" - they are the same except with a medial consonant pair reversed. Consider sodva/sovda. That confuses me every time.

  • ratcu ractu - cfipu sai mu'i lenu roreri mabru

Here's a table of gismu pairs with swapped consonants:

<tab class="wikitable sortable"> bajra barja balni banli berti betri canti catni cedra cerda danti datni darsi dasri festi fetsi ganra garna janta jatna kabri karbi kalri karli kufra kurfa nanvi navni pulni punli racli ralci ractu ratcu ranti ratni rilti ritli rinsa risna sacki sakci sodva sovda stali tsali stani tsani tabno tanbo tinsa tisna </tab>

  • and xrula, xlura
    • the bugger with this one is that you think 'flora' and that yields a falsefriend with xlura. --And Rosta
    • you mean xruli? --tsali
      • I doubt it, since that word's not in my gismu list, but xrula is ("flower"). mi'e filip.

Here's a table of gismu pairs with a consonant swapped with the neighboring vowel:

<tab class="wikitable sortable"> bartu bratu bruna burna cikre ckire cinta cnita citno ctino garna grana gerku greku jbini jibni kruji kurji marji mraji pelji pleji sakci skaci samcu smacu sarji sraji stura sutra tarti trati tirna trina tisna tsina </tab>

Discussion

  • Some of us have been wondering about punning in Lojban, & these last two types seem extremely promising...anybody want to write some jokes?)
    • filip:
      One that's come up so far is ko ko kruji "turn yourself into cream" as a pun on ko ko kurji "take care of yourself" - turning a popular(?) expression of goodwill into an insult or a threat.
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