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You may call someone's attention to the fact that you are addressing them by using ``doi'' followed by their name. The sentence
14.1) doi djan.means ``Oh, John, I'm talking to you''. It also has the effect of setting the value of ``do''; ``do'' now refers to ``John'' until it is changed in some way in the conversation. Note that Example 14.1 is not a bridi, but it is a legitimate Lojban sentence nevertheless; it is known as a ``vocative phrase''.
Other cmavo can be used instead of ``doi'' in a vocative phrase, with a different significance. For example, the cmavo ``coi'' means ``hello'' and ``co'o'' means ``good-bye''. Either word may stand alone, they may follow one another, or either may be followed by a pause and a name. (Vocative phrases with ``doi'' do not need a pause before the name.)
14.2) coi. djan.
Hello, John.
14.3) co'o. djan.
Good-bye, John.
Commands are expressed in Lojban by a simple variation of the
main bridi structure. If you say
14.4) do tavla
-- =====
You are-talking.
you are simply making a statement of fact. In order to issue a
command in Lojban, substitute the word ``ko'' for ``do''. The
bridi
14.5) ko tavla
-- =====
instructs the listener to do whatever is necessary to make
Example 14.4
true; it means ``Talk!'' Other examples:
14.6) ko sutra
-- =====
Be fast!
The ``ko'' need not be in the x1 place, but rather can occur anywhere a sumti is allowed, leading to possible Lojban commands that are very unlike English commands:
14.7) mi tavla ko
-- ===== --
Be talked to by me
Let me talk to you.
The cmavo ``ko'' can fill any appropriate sumti place, and can be used as often as is appropriate for the selbri:
14.8) ko kurji ko
-- ===== --
and
14.9) ko ko kurji
-- -- =====
both mean ``You take care of you'' and ``Be taken care of by
you'', or to put it colloquially, ``Take care of yourself''.
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Previous
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A Quick Tour of Lojban Grammar, With Diagrams
The Lojban Reference Grammar |
Next
Questions |