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:
The abstractor si'o expresses a mental image, a concept, an idea:
Finally, the abstractor su'u is a vague abstractor, whose meaning must be grasped from context:
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,
can be paraphrased as
and there is a book whose title might be rendered in Lojban as:
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.