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 11.58.

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 11.59.

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 11.60.

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 11.61.

le	nu	mi	klama
the	event-of	my	going

can be paraphrased as

Example 11.62.

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 11.63.

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.