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

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-=A distinctive features approach to Lojban phonology=-
*balni bilni
*bradi bredi bridi broda brode brodi brodo brodu


==== Introduction ====
*canko cinki
*cmalu cmila


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.
*janco jinci
*merli mirli mrilu mruli


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.
*nanmu ninmu
*plana plini


The features used are:
*platu pluta
*prane prina prenu


;sonorant [[jbocre: son|son]]:characterized by resonance in the oral cavity; sounds that are [[jbocre: -son|-son]] are sometimes called ''obstruents''
--''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:''


;consonantal [[jbocre: con|con]]:characterized by "at least moderate constriction of the vocal tract"
#of CCC cores  #of groups


;continuant [[jbocre: cont|cont]]:characterized by a lack of complete blockage of the vocal tract
1        647 (unique gismu, not interesting)


;nasal [[jbocre: nas|nas]]:characterized by air flow through the nasal cavity
2        193


;voice [[jbocre: voi|voi]]:characterized by vibration of the vocal folds
3          66


;labial [[jbocre: lab|lab]]:characterized by involvement of the lower lip
4          16


;coronal [[jbocre: cor|cor]]:characterized by involvement of the front (or crown) of the tongue
5          4


;distributed [[jbocre: dist|dist]]:(dependent on coronal) characterized by involvement of the tongue blade as opposed to the tongue tip
6          3


;lateral [[jbocre: lat|lat]]:(dependent on coronal) - characterized by a lowering of one or both sides of the midsection of the tongue
9          1 (brd)


;strident [[jbocre: strd|strd]]:(dependent on coronal) - characterized by more noise than other sounds
Total: 930 groups, 1342 words


;dorsal [[jbocre: dor|dor]]:characterized by involvement of the body (dorsum) of the tongue
The champion is '''brd''': 9 gismu:


;high [[jbocre: hi|hi]]:(dependent on dorsal) - characterized by a raising of the tongue body
* '''brd''': barda bradi bredi bridi broda brode brodi brodo brodu


;back [[jbocre: bac|bac]]:(dependent on dorsal) - characterized by a retraction of the tongue body
3 groups of 6:


;low [[jbocre: low|low]]:characterized by a lowering of the tongue body
* '''plj''': pelji pilji pleji pluja polje pulji
* '''pln''': palne pilno plana plini polno pulni


The following is a summary of the features of Lojban.
* '''trn''':  tirna torni trano trene trina turni


||.|son|con|cont|nas|voi|lab|cor|dist|lat|strd|dor|hi|bac|low|CLL description
4 groups of 5:


`|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced glottal spirant
* '''brt''':  bartu berti birti bratu brito
* '''cnt''':  canti centi cinta cnita cuntu


a|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|an open vowel
* '''crn''':  carna cerni crane crino curnu
* '''stc''':  satci setca stace steci stici


b|-|+|-|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced bilabial stop
16 groups of 4:


c|-|+|+|-|-|-|+|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced coronal sibilant
*'''bnd''':  bandu bende bindo bunda
*'''ckl''':  cakla ckilu ckule cukla


d|-|+|-|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced dental/alveolar stop
*'''ckn''':  cikna ckana ckini ckunu
*'''cmn''':  cimni cmana cmene cmoni


e|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a front mid vowel
*'''cns''':  censa cinse cnisa cunso
*'''crt''':  cartu certu cortu critu


f|-|+|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced labial fricative
*'''ctn''':  catni citno ctino cutne
*'''grn''':  garna gerna grana gurni


g|-|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|a voiced velar stop
*'''jbr''':  jabre jbari jbera jibri
*'''krc''':  karce korcu krici kruca


i|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|-|-|a front close vowel
*'''mrl''':  merli mirli mrilu mruli
*'''plt''':  palta platu plita pluta


j|-|+|+|-|+|-|+|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|a voiced coronal sibilant
*'''pnj''':  panje pinji ponjo punji
*'''prn''':  prane prenu prina pruni


k|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|an unvoiced velar stop
*'''snc''':  sance senci since sonci
*'''str''':  satre stero stura sutra


l|+|+|+|-|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced lateral approximant  (may be syllabic)
The complete list is too long to put here. I may upload the files on my website some day. --''mi'e .evgenis.''


m|+|+|-|+|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced bilabial nasal  (may be syllabic)
Please do. --''mi'e .filip.''


n|+|+|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced dental or velar nasal  (may be syllabic)
----


o|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|+|-|a back mid vowel
''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.''


p|-|+|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced bilabial stop
*ratcu ractu - cfipu sai mu'i lenu roreri mabru


r|+|+|+|-|+|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|a rhotic sound ([[jbocre: may be syllabic)|(may be syllabic)]]
Here's a table of gismu pairs with swapped consonants:


s|-|+|+|-|-|-|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced alveolar sibilant
|bajra|barja


t|-|+|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|an unvoiced dental/alveolar stop
|balni|banli


u|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|a back close vowel
|berti|betri


v|-|+|+|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|a voiced labial fricative
|canti|catni


x|-|+|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|+|+|-|an unvoiced velar fricative
|cedra|cerda


y|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|+|+|a central mid vowel
|danti|datni


z|-|+|+|-|+|-|+|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|a voiced alveolar sibilant||
|darsi|dasri


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 /'/.
|festi|fetsi


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.
|ganra|garna


==== Results ====
|janta|jatna


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]].
|kabri|karbi


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:
|kalri|karli


A consonant pair, C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB}, is a Permissible Consonant Pair (PCP) '''unless''':
|kufra|kurfa


A1. C{SUB()}1{SUB} = C{SUB()}2{SUB}
|nanvi|navni


A2. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -son +x:voi]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: -son -x:voi]]
|pulni|punli


A3. C{SUB()}1{SUB} and C{SUB()}2{SUB} are both [[jbocre: +strd|+strd]]
|racli|ralci


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)
|ractu|ratcu


A5. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +son +lab|+son +lab]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +voi -dist +strd|+voi -dist +strd]]
|ranti|ratni


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.
|rilti|ritli


Chapter 3, Section 7 lists forty-eight Permissible Initial Consonant Pairs.  The content of that list can be explained by the following rules:
|rinsa|risna


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''':
|sacki|sakci


B1. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cor|-cor]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is '''not''' [[jbocre: +son +cont|+son +cont]]
|sodva|sovda


B2. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +son -lab|+son -lab]]
|stali|tsali


B3. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cor|-cor]]
|stani|tsani


B4. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +lat|+lat]]
|tabno|tanbo


B5. C{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +voi +strd|+voi +strd]] and C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +son -lab|+son -lab]]
|tinsa|tisna


B6. C{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +cont +dor|+cont +dor]]
*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]]


Section 7 also gives rules regarding consonant triples. These rules only need slight modification:
** you mean ''[[jbocre: xruli|xruli]]''? --[[User:tsali|tsali]]
*** I doubt it, since that word's not in my gismu list, but ''xrula'' is ("flower"). mi'e filip.


A consonant triple, C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB}C{SUB()}3{SUB}, can occur medially if:
Here's a table of gismu pairs with a consonant swapped with the neighboring vowel:


C1. C{SUB()}1{SUB}C{SUB()}2{SUB} is a PCP;
|bartu|bratu


C2. C{SUB()}2{SUB}C{SUB()}3{SUB} is an ICP; and
|bruna|burna


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]].
|cikre|ckire


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.
|cinta|cnita


D1. A pair of vowels, V{SUB()}1{SUB}V{SUB()}2{SUB}, is in the first class if either:
|citno|ctino


* V{SUB()}1{SUB} is [[jbocre: +hi -low|+hi -low]] and V{SUB()}2{SUB} is [[jbocre: +hi -bac|+hi -bac]], or
|garna|grana
* 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]]
|gerku|greku


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]]
|jbini|jibni


D4. All other diphthongs are in the fourth class.
|kruji|kurji


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:
|marji|mraji


E1. [[jbocre: +son +x:nas]] blocks [[jbocre: +son +x:nas]]
|pelji|pleji


E2. [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]] blocks [[jbocre: -cont +cor|-cont +cor]]
|sakci|skaci


E3. [[jbocre: +bac|+bac]] blocks [[jbocre: +bac|+bac]]
|samcu|smacu


E4. [[jbocre: -son +x:cont -x:voi +lab]] blocks [[jbocre: -son +y:cont +y:voi +lab]] and vice versa
|sarji|sraji


E5. [[jbocre: +x:voi -x:dist +strd]] blocks [[jbocre: +y:voi +y:dist +strd]] and vice versa
|stura|sutra


==== Conclusion ====
|tarti|trati


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".
|tirna|trina


I welcome comments and suggestions for improvements.
|tisna|tsina
 
----
 
(Some of us (me anyway) have been wondering about punning in Lojban,
 
& these last two types seem extremely promising...anybody want to
 
write some jokes?)
 
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. mi'e filip.

Revision as of 16:50, 4 November 2013

  • 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:

  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)

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:

|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

  • 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:

|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

(Some of us (me anyway) have been wondering about punning in Lojban,

& these last two types seem extremely promising...anybody want to

write some jokes?)

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. mi'e filip.

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