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Rafsi Repair Proposal: 1
Okay. My "Rafsi Repair Proposal" is an alternative to the current system
of short rafsi & lujvo compounds in Lojban. My primary purpose in
proposing this alternative is to eliminate what I call homophone affix
ambiguity, a defect of the current system in which hundreds of short
rafsi are identical to cmavo with unrelated meanings. I'd appreciate any
_constructive_ criticism.
My goals are: to work with the existing gismu & cmavo; to provide at
least one short rafsi for every gismu; & to eliminate homophone affix
ambiguity.
The current system of short rafsi & lujvo compounds in Lojban does suffer
IMO from other defects besides homophone affix ambiguity. However, my
"Rafsi Repair Proposal" will not address the other defects, because I
don't want to sacrifice compatibility with the existing gismu & cmavo.
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Okay. My proposal will make use of the following NOTATION:
C = any Lojbanic consonant (17 variations)
A = any Lojbanic vowel except y (5 variations);
equivalent to V in the conventional notation
C1 = the first consonant in a gismu
C2 = the second consonant in a gismu
C3 = the third consonant in a gismu
A1 = the first vowel in a gismu
A2 = the second vowel in a gismu
IU = any Lojbanic diphthong (16 variations)
EI = any of the following diphthongs (5 variations):
ai au ei oi ui; possibly a subset of IU
(unless we have to add eu for a total of 6 variations)
ST = any of the "permissible initials" (48 variations), which are
consonant pairs that can start a Lojbanic syllable
DL = any of the "permissible medials" (179 variations), which are
consonant pairs that can occur inside a gismu
ND = any consonant pair that can end a monosyllabic rafsi
(76 variations); a subset of DL; table at end of posting;
we could call ND pairs "permissible finals," but as a rule
they terminate only non-word-final syllables, not words
In later postings, I'll also discuss:
XR = any DL consonant pair which is not ND (103 variations)
TK = any XR consonant pair which is not ST (not yet counted)
IE = any Lojbanic IU diphthong which is not EI (11 variations)
IA = a not-yet-defined subset of IE (about 7 variations)
SP = any ST consonant pair which can precede any IA diphthong
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Okay. In this proposal, short rafsi can take the following FORMS:
CIU => these rafsi are reserved for those cmavo identical to them;
gismu are _not_ eligible for CIU rafsi
CA'A => these rafsi are reserved for those cmavo identical to them;
gismu are _not_ eligible for CA'A rafsi
STAC => reserved primarily for the corresponding STACA gismu
CAND => reserved primarily for the corresponding CANDA gismu
CAC => although several of these rafsi are reserved for CA cmavo,
gismu _are_ eligible for CAC rafsi
STA => gismu are eligible
STEI => gismu are eligible
In later postings, I'll also discuss:
SPIA => gismu are eligible
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Okay. Now let's talk about NUMBERS of short rafsi available for gismu.
The total STAC "rafsi space" allows for 4080 variations. However, these
rafsi are primarily reserved for STACA gismu (equivalent to CCVCV gismu
in conventional notation). Practically, therefore, we have as many STAC
rafsi as we have STACA gismu. By my current estimate, that number is 331.
In the future, perhaps some of the remaining 3749 possible STAC rafsi can
be assigned to new gismu, or to le lebna valsi. Meanwhile, we still have
1009 gismu left without any short rafsi. These are all CADLA gismu
(equivalent to CVCCV gismu in conventional notation.)
The total CAND "rafsi space" allows for 6460 variations. However, these
rafsi are primarily reserved for CANDA gismu (a _subset_ of the CADLA
gismu, just as the 76 ND consonant pairs are a subset of the 179 DL
pairs). Practically, therefore, we have as many CAND rafsi as we have
CANDA gismu. By my current estimate, that number is 477.
Someday, perhaps some of the remaining 5983 possible CAND rafsi can be
assigned to new gismu, or to le lebna valsi. At the moment, we still
have 532 gismu left without any short rafsi. (These are all CAXRA gismu,
which can be divided into CASTA gismu & CATKA gismu.)
The total CAC "rafsi space" allows for 1445 variations. Several of these
are reserved for short cmavo such as se, te, ve & xe. Out of the CAC
rafsi not assigned to cmavo, 532 are reserved for the remaining (CAXRA)
gismu. At this point, every gismu has at least one monosyllabic rafsi, &
there are still several hundred CAC rafsi left over, which can be
assigned to any eligible STACA & CANDA gismu whose ST or ND pairs make
their STAC or CAND rafsi difficult to pronounce. We will IMO want to use
all the CAC forms.
Neither STAC nor CAND nor CAC rafsi can occur in word-final position.
Only STA & STEI rafsi have that capability.
The total STA "rafsi space" allows for only 240 variations, & we'll want
to use all the STA forms.
The total STEI "rafsi space" allows for only 240 variations, unless we
add the diphthong eu (not currently Lojbanic), which would increase that
total by another 48, for a new sum of 288. We'll want to use all of the
STEI forms as well.
Obviously, one great weakness of my "Rafsi Repair Proposal" is the small
number (present maximim 528) of word-final short rafsi. We will have to
be very selective in deciding which gismu are entitled to monosyllabic
word-finals, because 528 is less than half of the 1340 existing gismu.
Of course, this weakness is a direct consequence of my refusal to assign
CIU & CA'A rafsi forms to any gismu. But some such refusal is required
for the elimination of homophone affix ambiguity.
We may also want to consider adding another word-final short rafsi form,
namely, the SPIA rafsi, where SP is a subset of ST (the 48 initial
consonant pairs permitted in Lojban), & IA is a subset of IU (the 16
diphthongs). I haven't yet identified the SP consonant pairs or the IA
diphthongs, but SPIA would be a pronounceable region of the STIU "rafsi
space." (Not everything in STIU can be easily pronounced as a single
syllable. Try saying "mlua xriu jvio kluy vliy" real fast a few times,
saying the vowel pairs as diphthongs, & you'll see what I mean.) Such a
new rafsi form would add maybe 252 or so to our list of word-final short
rafsi, for a new maximum of 780: one word-final rafsi each for more than
half the existing gismu.
Thus, my "Rafsi Repair Proposal" assigns at least one monosyllabic rafsi
apiece to every existing gismu. It guarantees that between 480 gismu
(without eu in STEI & without SPIA) & about 780 gismu (with both eu &
SPIA) are also assigned a word-final monosyllabic rafsi.
Once the word-final short rafsi have been assigned, reassignment of some
CAC rafsi may prove to be desirable. After all, a gismu which has a STA,
STEI or SPIA rafsi may not need a given CAC as much as another gismu
does. But even to speak of such trade-offs is to acknowledge that my
"Rafsi Repair Proposal" is not especially elegant or consistent. Its
only real virtue, besides eliminating homophone affix ambiguity, is its
compatibility with the gismu & cmavo already existing in Lojban.
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Okay. Here's a TABLE of ND pairs ("permissible finals" -- consonant
pairs which are not word-final but merely internal-syllable-final):
-b -c -d -f -g -j -k -l -m -n -p -r -s -t -v -x -z
b- bd bj bv bz
c- ck cp ct
d- dj dv dz
f- fk fp ft
g- gd gj gv gz
j- jb jd jg
k- kc kf ks kt
l- lb lc ld lf lj lm ln lp ls lt lv lz
m- mb mc mf mp ms
n- nc nd nf ns nt
p- pc pf ps pt
r- rb rc rd rf rg rj rk rm rn rp rs rt rv rz
s- sk sp st
t- tc tf ts
v- vb vd vg
x-
z- zb zd zg
This table is certainly open to revision. At present it includes 76
pairs. Please note that acceptance of the proposed ND table & CAND rafsi
will require extending the phonological rules of lujvo compound formation
(& -y- or -r- hyphenation) to cover ND,C triples & ND,ST quartets. (All
consonant triples currently take the form C,ST; also, under the current
system, quartets occur only in some cases of -r- hyphenation.)
Naturally, any change in this table will also change the number of CAND
rafsi.
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co'o mi'e mark,l