Re: la lojban zasni

[Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>]

>>> 2. As part of the new version release, assure that there is a well-defined,
>>> nonambiguous translation algorithm from la papinomoi lojban -> la papipamoi
>>> lojban (or whatever). Thus all well-formed extant texts can be translated.
>>
>>I wonder how you would handle "changes" such as the normalizing of the
>>use of {ri} in {le re nanmu cu prami le ri speni}. I expect most of the
>>evolution of the language to be of this sort, getting a clearer
>>understanding of already parser-grammatical Lojban. If rules of
>>interpretation vary somewhat, it will be extremely hard, if at all
>>possible, to "translate" from old texts.
>--More--
>
>I think perhaps the parser is less useful than it might be, if it allows
>"legal" but as yet unexplored parts of the language to pass through.
>Perhaps a second pass parser could label something like the use of {ri} as
>*experimental* until it was well worked out. (I am *not* suggesting the
>parser check for context!)

I'm probably missing some of the context of this discussion, drowning
back in last month's onslaught, but the issues that the parser does NOT
resolve, which I think are being referred to here, are indeed those that
require context checking.  The rules for interpreting "ri" are almost
certainly to at least a small extent context dependent, though one might be
able to devise algorithmic rules for it.  But those rules are set only in jello
and not in concrete, as we have not tested all plausible varieties of
backreference with "ri" (and may never actually do so for ALL variations).
Some undecided loose ends include whether "ri" can refer to and pick up the
value of an explicit "zo'e" place.  I think it should, but since we have
a standard that says that "ri" does not pick up the value of any monosyllable
fixed analphora like mi/do or ko'a, there would be a conflict if an
explicit zo'e stood for one of these values.

The purpose of the parser is simply to identify ungrammatical text 9and possibly
 to say where it is ungrammatical), and if it is grammatical, to present the
YACC-based struture for human or other automatic processing (Nora's glosser
takes the parser output for example and does a simple word-for-word
translation.  It may eventually ave more sophisticated syntax-based
tranlsation capabilties, but may never try to resolve "ri".

lojbab