(A page from the Loglan web site.)

(From Lognet 96/1. Used with the permission of The Loglan Institute, Inc.)

Lo Nurvia Logla
(Visible Loglan = Loglan Text)

What follows is the longest "nurvia" we've ever published. It is part of an original composition by Alex Leith, and the Loglan alone occupies one full Lognet page. The blow-by-blow translation with commentary occupies another eight pages. That's half an issue by old standards, and about a third of one of these new 28-page issues! And that isn't all. This is just part of Alex's composition; there's still another 124,000 bytes coming up! That's just the raw Loglan. With our standard "dual-translation"--L-literal and E-liberal--plus commentary, if today's multiplier of 8 holds up (it probably won't; m will get smaller as A and we, A's readers, get the "hang" of A's fictional style), that would be one megabyte of LN text still to come. There are only 116K bytes in one of these 28-page issues! So even if we were to devote the whole of this publication to A's novelette and publish nothing else except our commentary on it, it would take three years to get it out!

Obviously we won't do that. There are too many other interesting things to do. But we won't have to. The space devoted to translation-and-commentary will subside; and a new venue for such weighty works is coming up: La Logli, which at 80 pages per issue will have three times our swat. Happily, A is about to become the new editor of LL. So, after publishing another couple of chapters here perhaps, we can then leave it up to A to get the rest of A's novelette out.

But one thing seems certain. Loglandia has found its Charles Dickens. We have never before had a logli for whom the sheer act of writing L has seemed so free and easy, and whose work promises to be of such high literary merit. Haispe lepo tu ridle!

(Web Editor's Note: This article originally contained several symbols that are not part of the usual character set. Two of them, the left and right angle quotes (guillemots) have HTML equivalents and will appear in your browser as "«...»". The rest are Greek letters, which I will substitute with graphics. If you are using a text-only browser, you will see the Greek letter spelled out in angle brackets as in "[gamma]".)

Nepo Neri Vizgoi La Loglandias

Coi Aleks Liq

«Hoi Racyski, kae, mu faza flesti le flehao je la Grasic. I eo klomao letu curpilkoe. I eo gensnible ke letu certoe lepu nu fodmao ki letu cerpripai lepu vreti. I eo fagstimao ra sigre, e norduo lopo smarue pia lepo tu nenri le flestana.»

Nao, mi pa nurtreci bleka le la Loglandias, flehao. I ga mutce groda ga leu poldi ji nu dilri leu dumbe flemai ji flesti ze flesatci le kubra flerodlu.

Mi dioble le notbi spali je le flehao, e vizka la Logle Kerbilca, ja nunrarpai leu ri laldo ge mela Spitfair, kadflemai ze leu ri mela Maskitos, bomflemai, guu ja nu krani lo kersko. I la Logle Kerbilca, ga nermoi nerbi lopo rigclemao lo coirpozfa kulgrudjo ji vi le mela Lojbandias, monca lopo cortakma. I ne tanteaflemai ga normuofle va le tolganynurbai.

Nao le flemai ga stise, ice le nengoicibra ga nu setfa le daorhou. I mi fansea lemi racysakli ze lemi sribuu komta gu, le tovbao, e dirgoi le daorhou kii le notbi racyski. I le nilbii ge logli flesurva ga crano mi. I hue f:

Haispe lepo tu stolo!

Mouhu tu vizgoi la Loglandias? hue le gartua, ja respli le tilnitci ce vegri rulresfu pe le logle polylimji furgalpai.

Mi stude la Loglan, la Loglan Stogrusia, ja vi la Sandiegos, e na danza lepo cirna la Loglan, e lo loglo, vi letu garsitci, hue mi.

g hancapri lemi paspo, e volduo le kusmo ge remcli po spopa, ice mi pucto le racvelkarti le nenbei snible grokru.

Ei ba nu furvemtaa? hue le gartua je le logle nenbei furgalpai.

Siba; ice ba sribuu komta, hue mi. I mi cnida ba lepo mi cirna la Loglan.

marmao lemi komta le- blanu tokri, e crano mi.

Haispe lepo tu stolo! hue .

Nao mi sifdui le grutaksi stisia le frena je le flestana. I ba sanbarta va, ice hue ba:

Na le nazdei lo logli ga grarisdri lo bradei je la Braon. I ni grutaksi na godzi le sitci. I haispe lepo tu stolo.

Nao mi fuo cutse liegei, Dammit, gei. I mi vizka lepo ro pernu ga linpazda lo taksi. I mi sudna hirti ne volsi ji prire mi.

Hoi Traci, ei tu godzi le sitci? hue v.

Mi trana, e vizka ne fitlevtaksi, ja nu bapra ne bilti ce londa junfua.

Nao lo fitlevtaksi pacena mutce rornurfundi lo logli. I lo junti logli pacena no godzi lo jelrizgru. Ibuo lei tiftua lepo bapra lo fitlevtaksi. I duo tao lei gudmao lepo lei djela, ice lezo zavlo kerti ji nu ckozu lopo berti na nurmou. I loe glireu je loe fitlevtaksi pacena damni, inukou ro logli ga kamki namdou ra fitlevtaksi liu rirgyviudou.

Sia, ai. I mi godzi la Mykaivr Famymra Hotle, hue mi pa dapli.

Mi tovneagoi le fitlevtaksi.

Mi nu namci liu Selis. I hu namci tu? I tu kamla hu? I tu kamki loktaa, hue le fitlevtaksi bapra.

Mi kamla la Frans. I mi nu namci liu Aleks. I ga nardu ga lepo cirna lo logla po soncue guo, ikou, vi lo zvoto je la Loglandias, ri pernu ga lentaa la Loglan, hue mi dapli.

Ouui. Iceu tu cmabii loktaa L, hue la Selis.

S sacduo lepo fitlevpuo. Ipaza mu kukra linmuo le spebi ge fitlevtaksi rodlypai.

Nao mi mutce haispe le rirgyviu, ice S dedsanduo le ro treci vidju ji via le rodlu. I na lepo le rodlu ga cenja ne gandio slopu guo, S jugra ne muvdo totkoe ji vi lo krilu ji vi le spali je le rodlu. I S kocduo t le fitlevgytaksi, inumoi t kincpu f, ice ga no nerbi ga lepo S fitlevpuo. I S fredirsea mi, ice sacduo lepo djadou mi ro fekto je lopo clivi vi la Loglandias.

Tu djano lepo le nazdei bi la Sacdondein, ioia, hue S. I na le pasnai ba fa grada nurvizlei lo fagdua va le vrici. I mi fundi lepo gangoi le folhaa ji vi la Uorf Ganpea, moi lepo mi katca le fagdua. I ramu fa madzo ne groda hapvei va. I kanoi tu danza ki tu fa kinci mi. I, moi tio tu fa jmite ro logli fremi, euia. I la Sacdondein, bi le bradei je la Braon. I ei tu djano be la Braon?

Noiu. I mi stude ba la Loglan Stogrusia, hue mi.

Faza tao mu fadgoi le sitci. I la Selis, spuro tcegoi le tcakro le hotle.

Nao la Mykaivr Famymra Hotle, pacena groda ce norsapla ci nu durna nurbai. I H katli ro bamtrufa ce peartrufa, e ne grogro rorkolgliso cundo ji fu vidju le vrici, e ne stobii cibra. I le fitlevtaksi pa siasti le frepai je H; ice S cutse «Ai mi vizka tu na lena pasnai. I haispe lepo tu stolo.».

«Hoi Racyski, kae, mu faza flesti le flehao je la Grasic.
(Open quote) O Passenger (Travel-Sitter), gentleperson, we will-soon land-(fly-stop)-at the airport-(fly-harbor)-of [the] Grasic (Grand-City).
"Ladies and gentlemen, we shall shortly be landing at Grasic Airport.

Note the use of the Loglan left-quotation-mark «, pronounced /li/, of course. When we see this mark, or any other abbreviating mark, we know that the writer is "punctuating" w's text. We can then expect w to use punctuation marks instead of punctuation words, letterals instead of letter words, and numerals instead of number words throughout w's composition. That's the textual pattern we're experimenting with today. Marked at one end but not the other, this quotation is apparently to be continued.

I eo klomao letu curpilkoe.
And please close (closed-make) your (the-you) seat-belt (safe-planar-cord = safety-belt).
Please fasten your seat belts.

That this sentence is flush-left shows that it is non-initial in its paragraph. This is shown in speech by the fact that it is I-initial, a "continuing utterance". The quotation evidently continues.

I eo gensnible ke letu certoe lepu nu fodmao ki letu cerpripai lepu vreti.
And please check (again-close-look = again-inspect) both your seat-table (chair-table) for-the-property-of having-been-folded (folded-made) and your seat-back (chair-back-part) for-the-property-of verticality.
Please ensure that your tray table is stowed, and your seat back is in the upright position.

Note that gensnible has the interesting 3-place structure X checks Y for property/condition Z. From the E, one would be tempted to use a 2-place predicate meaning Please check that Y is true. But that is not what this logli stewardess is asking her passengers to do; she is asking them to check two things for two specific properties, and that is exactly what gensnible allows her to do. Note too that ki closes off the first lepu-clause wthout benefit of guo. How handy! The quoted utterance evidently still continues.

I eo fagstimao ra sigre, e norduo lopo smarue pia lepo tu nenri le flestana.»
And please extinguish (fire-stop-make) all cigarettes, and refrain-from (not-do) the-mass-of-events-of smoking (smoke-breathing) until the-event-of you being-inside the terminal (fly-station) (end quote).
Please extinguish all cigarettes, and refrain from smoking until you are inside the terminal building."

Note the right-quotation-mark » (pronounced /lu/), indicating that this is the last sentence in the quoted paragraph.

Nao, mi pa nurtreci bleka le la Loglandias, flehao.
Now (new para) I in-the-past interestedly (as someone who is interested) looked-at the [the] Loglandia airport.
I looked with interest at the Loglandian airport.

The quoted utterance is evidently over. Grammatically, it turned out to be a solitary argument. But utterances that are arguments are used as titles, answers to questions, and observatives in all languages. Here is yet another use: a quoted announcement with which a story begins. L writers, like other writers, are free to make use of all such literary devices. The pa in this sentence could set the "narrative tense" for the rest of the story. But later tense operators can, as we'll see, interfere with this arrangement.

I ga mutce groda ga leu poldi ji nu dilri leu dumbe flemai ji flesti ze flesatci le kubra flerodlu.
And (fronted predicate) very large-was (deferred 1st argument) the-set-of nations that-was represented by the-set-of elephantine aircraft (fly-machines) that-were landing and-jointly taking-off-(fly-starting)-from the wide runway(s) (fly-road(s)).
Jumbo jets representing many countries were landing and taking off on the broad runways.

Lots of wonderful things are going on in this sentence. First, is the fact that its main claim is numerical: that the sheer number of countries represented by this flock of jets is large. Second, is the insight that the designata of both these objects--those numerous countries and that flock of jets--must, in L, be sets, not multiples; see JCB's paper on this topic in LN 95/2. Third, while dumbe is not in LOD, it should be; it means elephantine, like an elephant. Surely this is perfect for talking about "jumbo" anything! Fourth, is the insight that the landings and takings off of these jets constitute a mixture of actions and not independent ones, and thus deserve ze, not e, as their connective. Fifth, while the very liberal back-translation doesn't suggest this--it really represents Alex's literary intent, soi crano--the best word-order for this L sentence is the ga P (A ... A) ga A order with fronted predicate and deferred 1st argument. All these oddities come together to make a wonderful L sentence.

Mi dioble le notbi spali je le flehao, e vizka la Logle Kerbilca, ja nunrarpai leu ri laldo ge mela Spitfair, kadflemai ze leu ri mela Maskitos, bomflemai, guu ja nu krani lo kersko.
(New para) I looked-toward (direction-looked-at) the other side of the airport and saw the Loglandian Airforce (Air-Military), which was composed of the-set-of several old for [the] Spitfire [type of] fighters (fight-fly-machine = fighter-aircraft] and-jointly the-set-of [the] Mosquito [type of] bombers (bomb-aircraft) (close termset), which were driven-by propellors (air-screws).
On the other side of the airfield I could see the Loglandian Air Force, which consisted of a few old, propellor driven Spitfire fighters and Mosquito bombers.

Again the liberal E represents the intentions of the writer and is, in this case, very liberal, soi crano. Both the order and the logical structure of the L sentence that Alex, with our help, produced to convey those intentions had to depart very far from their E-shaped forms. But there are no real oddities in the resulting L sentence...except, perhaps, that, again, the two flocks of old aircraft, the Spitfires and the Mosquitos, had to be designated as a set of sets, not a multiple of multiples. They are the two parts that together constitute a single thing, namely the Loglandian Airforce. Note also the use of logle, the territorial sense of Loglandian, in making a name for this military force. Oh yes, we also had to change the LOD definition of bilca from military person to military force to be able to use it in this way; but we'll need such a word anyway to translate Shakespeare, soi crano. Probably the most interesting thing about this sentence is that it revealed a defect in our designative machinery...actually a gap, a piece missing from it. To designate the two constituents of the Loglandian Airforce we had to use two definite, intentional set-designations: leu ri laldo ge mela Spitfair, kadflemai (the set of several old Spitfire fighters I have in mind) and leu ri mela Maskitos, bomflemai (the set of several Mosquito bombers I have in mind). But this does not do justice to Alex's real intention; A undoubtedly doesn't want to commit A-self to providing the addresses of old airplanes to interrogators! So what is needed here are two indefinite, non-intentional designations, such as ri laldo ge mela Spitfair, kadflemai (each of some several old Spitfire fighters) would be if this were a multiple we were designating. But it's not, it's a set; and the truth is that we don't yet have an indefinite set designator in L! We soon will have, though. I have called the Keugru's attention to this gap; and by LN 96/2 we ought to have filled it. Finally, note that guu, the termset right-closer, spreads the effect of the modifier ja nu krani lo kersko (which are propellor-driven) over both sets of ancient aircraft.

I la Logle Kerbilca, ga nermoi nerbi lopo rigclemao lo coirpozfa kulgrudjo ji vi le mela Lojbandias, monca lopo cortakma.
And the Loglandian Airforce is only (for one-motive) necessary-for the-mass-of-events-of discouraging (courage-without-making) the-mass-of rebel (authority-opposing) tribesmen (culture-group-members) that-are in the [the] Lojbandian [type] mountains from-the-mass-of raidings.
The Loglandian Airforce is needed only to discourage raids by rebel tribesmen up in the Lojbandian mountains.

Again there is a notable difference between the structure of the "target English" sentence and that of the L sentence that now so clearly expresses its meaning. But from these differences, we learn not only about how L works, but also about how obscure the logical features of our native E are! Also, it was during our study of this sentence, or hereabouts, that Bob, Alex, and I began to wonder if we really needed those name-marking commas we have used for so many years in text to mark the obligatory pauses after names. Certainly they do mislead the eye...especially when used to mark a mela-phrase, as in this sentence. Perhaps we'll try getting along without these eye-disturbing commas in one of these columns and see what happens to our speech when we try reading it aloud.

I ne tanteaflemai ga normuofle va le tolganynurbai.
And one helicopter (turn-wing-fly-machine) (end description) hovered (non-move-flew) near the control-tower (control-high-built-thing).
A helicopter hovered near the control tower.

No problems with this one...except that, for a rapid reader, those three mighty metaphors behind tanteaflemai, normuofle, and tolganynurbai might give r pause. (The short affix -tea was given to tcela to make the first of these. In general, if an affix is available, we give it to any primitive that can use it...even to make one word.)

Nao le flemai ga stise, ice le nengoicibra ga nu setfa le daorhou.
Now (new para) the airplane (end description) stopped, and the jetway (in-going-bridge) (end description) was placed-in the doorway (door-hole).
The aircraft came to a stop, and the jetway was swung into place.

There is little to notice here except that doors are different from door-holes...as are windows from window-holes. You will find these inventions--both occasioned by this sentence--in the next LOD.

I mi fansea lemi racysakli ze lemi sribuu komta gu, le tovbao, e dirgoi le daorhou kii le notbi racyski.
And I retrieved (reverse-put) my dufflebag (travel-sack) and-jointly my notebook (writing-book) computer (end term) from-the overhead (over-box), and went-toward the door with the other passengers.
I retrieved my bag from the overhead locker and followed my fellow passengers down the aisle.

Gu is discretionary here. Essentially the same parse results without it, but it does no harm. Like a phrasing comma, gu seems to emphasize the end of one term and the beginning of another. Such a usage is clearly a matter of "writer's choice".

I le nilbii ge logli flesurva ga crano mi. I hue f:
Haispe lepo tu stolo!
And the pretty (girl-ly-beautiful) Loglandian steward (flying-server) (end description) smiled-at me. And said f (that stewardess):
Enjoy (happily-experience) the-event-of your staying!
With a smile the pretty Loglandian stewardess wished me a happy stay.

The thing to note here is that, because the hue-phrase is effectively sentence-initial (it is preceded by I, but that doesn't count), it ends with a colon that terminates its paragraph. The next paragraph is the quotation. In this case, q is just one sentence long, a well-wishing imperative. Also, notice that the writer is using letterals for letter-variables, not letter words (f, not fei). That's because, when w used « ... » for li ... lu at the beginning of w's story, w committed w-self to using this "punctuated" textual form.

Mouhu tu vizgoi la Loglandias? hue le gartua, ja respli le tilnitci ce vegri rulresfu pe le logle polylimji furgalpai.
(New para) Why-do (For-what-motive-do) you visit (see-go-to) [the] Loglandia? asks the official (governing-worker), who-is wearing (clothes-using) the smart (attractively-neat) and green uniform (rule-garment) of the Loglandian border (nation-limit) department (organization-part).
"What is the purpose of your visit?" asked the immigration official in his smart green uniform.

We know this to be the beginning of a new paragraph because it does not commence with an I-word. In speech, there would also be a "3rd magnitude" pause between this utterance and the preceding one, but that's a matter for the algorithmic "Speech Producer" now a-building.

Mi stude la Loglan, la Loglan Stogrusia, ja vi la Sandiegos, e na danza lepo cirna la Loglan, e lo loglo, vi letu garsitci, hue mi.
(New para) I am-a-student-of [the] Loglan at-the Loglan Stogrusia (Lasting-Group-Place) that-is-incidentally in [the] San-Diego, and now want the-event-of learning [the] Loglan and the-mass-of Loglandian-culture (pause) in your capital (ruling-city), said I.
"I am a student of Loglan at the Loglan Institute in San Diego. I now want to learn Loglan and Loglan culture in your capital," I said.

Alex has asked Bob to change the place-structure of stude from X is a student at Y of subject Z to X studies Y at institution Z feeling that the latter is a more useful order of arguments. We always encourage writers to make such place-structure explorations in their writings, though whether the changes they suggest actually get adopted in LOD depends on ratification by the Purmaogru (Word-Makers-Group). Also, the pause-comma after loglo is discretionary. Everything else in this passage is straightforward.

g hancapri lemi paspo, e volduo le kusmo ge remcli po spopa, ice mi pucto le racvelkarti le nenbei snible grokru.
(New Para) g (the official) stamped (hand-printed) my passport, and voiced (voice-did) the customary type-of friendly (friend-like) events-of hoping; and I pushed the baggage-cart (travel-vessel-cart) to-the customs (in-carry) inspection (near-look) hall (big-room).
He stamped my passport with the usual friendly wishes and I wheeled my bag on a trolley through to the customs hall.

Apart from starting a sentence with a lowercase letter--necessitated by the distinction we draw in L between gei and Gai--everything is straightforward here...although Alex has coined some lovely metaphors that may take some decipherment.

Ei ba nu furvemtaa? hue le gartua je le logle nenbei furgalpai.
(New para) Is-it-true-that something-x is declarable (buy-tellable)? says the official of the Loglandian customs department (organization-part).
"Anything to declare?" asked the Loglan customs official.

Siba; ice ba sribuu komta, hue mi. I mi cnida ba lepo mi cirna la Loglan.
(New para) At-most-one-something-x; and that-x is-a-notebook (write-book) computer, said I. And I need that-x for-the-event-of my learning [the] Loglan.
"Only a notebook computer. I need it for my Loglan studies."

Notice that ba keeps the same reference throughout A's speech; we could translate its sutori instances as that x, that very x, and notice that these ba's are still non-designating (the computer hasn't yet been produced). Notice, too, that it doesn't matter where hue mi goes in this speech so long as it isn't sentence-initial. In any non-initial position in a sentence the scope of a hue-phrase is the whole of the embedding paragraph. Recall that if a hue-phrase is sentence-initial, its scope is the whole of the next paragraph...not the one it's in.

marmao lemi komta le- blanu tokri, e crano mi.
gamma (the 2nd official) marked (mark-made) my computer with-his (the-gamma's) blue chalk, and smiled-at me.
The official made a blue chalk mark on my computer and smiled.

There are four things to notice here: (1) The L sentence must be I-less; if it commenced with an I-word, it would, by the rule given above, be absorbed into A's speech. (2) The L sentence uses a replacing variable (pronoun) where the E one doesn't. The L system of anaphora is much richer and deeper than the E one is, and is, accordingly, used much more frequently and widely than the E pronomial system is...and with virtually zero risk of ambiguity. (3) g cannot be used as the replacing variable in this case--i.e., to co-designate this second official--because g has already been used for the immigration official...who may come back! So the text follows the convention of using the Greek lowercase letteral with the same phonemic value, in this case (pronounced 'gamma' in E and /geo/ in L). (4) When is combined with le to make a possessive descriptor, it must be separated from le by a "silent" (text-only) hyphen, producing le-g (pronounced /le-ge'-o/). Without that hyphen, some odd-looking textual critters could result, e.g., *leg composed of le + g /le'-gei/, as well as some definitely ambiguous words, such as *lea from le + a /le-a'-si/.

Haispe lepo tu stolo! hue g.
Enjoy (happily-experience) the-event-of your staying! said gamma.
"Enjoy your stay."

This, too, must be indented because it is a new para and about to be quoted. Notice also a new textual convention: we're putting 2 spaces before these hue's, just as we do before uppercase I's.

Nao mi sifdui le grutaksi stisia le frena je le flestana.
Now (new para) I found (location-discovered) the bus (group-taxi) stop (stopping-place) at-the front of the terminal.
In front of the terminal building I found the bus stop.

Notice how the L word-order departs from that of the target E. This is because, in L, the location where something is found is a logically essential part of the process of finding it, not an incidental modifier of the finding claim (as it appears to be in E). So the designation of the location of the found thing goes in the 3rd place of the L predicate sifdui (X finds/locates Y at/in place Z). Alex could have fronted the 3rd argument with gi--Nao le frena je le flestana gi mi sifdui le grutaksi stisia = Now the front of the terminal (is where) I located the bus-stop--thus bringing it more in line with the E; but we all decided that using L-standard argument-order made for better L.

I ba sanbarta va, ice hue ba:
Na le nazdei lo logli ga grarisdri lo bradei je la Braon. I ni grutaksi na godzi le sitci. I haispe lepo tu stolo.
And something-x was-a-sign (sign-board) there, and said that-something-x:
On the present-day the-mass-of logli (end-description) are celebrating (great-respectfully-remembering) the-mass-of birthdays (born-days) of [the] Brown. And zero buses are-now going-to the city. And enjoy the-event-of your staying.
There was a board announcing, "Today Loglanders celebrate the birthday of Brown. No buses are running to the city. Enjoy your stay."

Notice how the L is very differently paragraphed from the E. This is another case of a hue-phrase being sentence-initial, and so ending one para in order to quote the whole of another. The L-speaker must now be careful to end the quoted para by starting a new one; for if s fails to do so, s may find s-self including more in p than s intended. (This is, of course, our loglanoid system of alphabetic anaphora borrowed for use in E.)

Nao mi fuo cutse liegei, Dammit, gei.
Now (new para) I to-myself say (start E expression) Dammit (end E expression).
I said to myself, "Dammit."

Notice the foreign-language quotation with lie-, in this case using the alphabetic boundary-words gei, ..., gei signifying gleca (from the English).

I mi vizka lepo ro pernu ga linpazda lo taksi. I mi sudna hirti ne volsi ji prire mi.
And I saw the-event-of many persons (end description) queueing-up-for (in-line-waiting-for) the-mass-of taxis. And I suddenly heard one (exactly one) voice that-was behind me.
I could see a lot of people standing in line for taxis. Suddenly I heard a voice behind me.

This is a continuation of the "Dammit!" para. Quotation there was handled by liegei ... gei, so we do not need to end it by starting a new para...as we would have to do with hue.

Hoi Traci, ei tu godzi le sitci? hue v.
Mi trana, e vizka ne fitlevtaksi, ja nu bapra ne bilti ce londa junfua.
O Traveller, is-it-true-that you go-to the city? said v (the voice).
I turned and saw one pedicab (foot-lever-taxi), which-was operated-by one beautiful for-a blonde young-woman.
"Hey, Traveller, are you going to the city?"
I turned round and saw a pedicab, driven by a beautiful blonde.

Pay particular attention to the paragraphing of the L in this passage and the way it relates to the L dialog. E dialog conventions are much freer.

Nao lo fitlevtaksi pacena mutce rornurfundi lo logli. I lo junti logli pacena no godzi lo jelrizgru. Ibuo lei tiftua lepo bapra lo fitlevtaksi. I duo tao lei gudmao lepo lei djela, ice lezo zavlo kerti ji nu ckozu lopo berti na nurmou.
Now (new para) the-mass-of pedicabs were-then-and-are-now very popular (many-liked-by) the-mass-of Loglanders. And the-mass-of young Loglanders did-and-do not go-to the-mass-of health-clubs (healthy-private-groups = health-clubs). And-however el (those young Loglanders) did-and-do-improve (better-make) the-state-of el's (their) being-healthy, and the-amount-of bad air that-was-and-is caused-by the-mass-of-events-of carrying (end-description) is-now less.
Pedicabs are very popular in Loglandia. The young Loglanders don't go to health clubs; instead they volunteer as pedicab drivers. In this way they improve their health, and transport causes less pollution.

There are several things to learn here. One is how the compound tense-operator pacena (then-and-now) takes us out of the simple past of narration and into the "then and now"of historical observation, and how that new tense is assumed to be carried on by the ga's and untensed predicates that follow it until it, too, is changed...as it is in the last sentence by the mention of na, the simple present. Clearly pa must again be mentioned when we drop back into simple narration. That won't happen for a few more sentences yet.

I loe glireu je loe fitlevtaksi pacena damni, inukou ro logli ga kamki namdou ra fitlevtaksi liu rirgyviudou.
And the-typical handlebar (guide-bar) of the-typical pedicab (end description) then-and-now is-low, therefore (in the physical sense) many Loglanders (end description) comically christen (name-give) all pedicabs with-the-word 'rirgyviudou' (bottom-view-giver).
The handlebars of the pedicabs are set low, so many Loglanders jokingly refer to them as 'bottom-viewers'.

The pacena tense must be re-established because the last tense was na, the narrator's present. Note also the use of loe, a seldom-used but very precise descriptor meaning the typical (whatever). Notice too that Alex can't use f to replace ra fitlevtaksi because f would refer back to loe fitlevtaksi, the typical pedicab, and they're not the only ones to which many logli presumably give this impudent name. Instead, we must, as usual, say exactly what we mean in L, namely that many logli give all pedicabs this name. Finally, note that the order of the implicit quantifiers is quite important here: that many naming all is quite different from all being named by many.

Sia, ai. I mi godzi la Mykaivr Famymra Hotle, hue mi pa dapli.
Mi tovneagoi le fitlevtaksi.
(New para) (quote) Thanks, I will. And I go to the MacIvor Arms Hotel (end quote) was replied-by me.
(New para) I boarded (above-and-next-to-went-to) the pedicab.
"Yes please. I'm going to the MacIvor Arms Hotel," I replied. I climbed aboard the pedicab.

The writer has had to augment the stark hue mi-form, which is untensed, with a tensed predicate, and chose pa dapli. For, having departed from the simple past to make his historical and present-time observations, Alex must now reestablish it. Once pa has been reintroduced in this way, it is again the implicit tense of every ensuing sentence until another departure from it--say, for another historical or present-time observation--is signalled.

Mi nu namci liu Selis. I hu namci tu? I tu kamla hu? I tu kamki loktaa, hue le fitlevtaksi bapra.
(New para) I am-named-by the-word 'Selis'. And what names you? And you come-from where? And you comically speak-with-an-accent (locally-talk), said the pedicab operator.
"My name's Sally. What's your name? Where do you come from? You've got a funny accent," said the pedicab driver.

Loktaa deserves a little attention. It has a 3-place structure (X speaks language Y with an accent characteristic of locality Z); so the incomplete 1-place form used here must mean You speak some language--inferrably Loglan--with an accent, and that suggests you come from somewhere else. All that is implicitly contained in tu kamki loktaa.

Mi kamla la Frans. I mi nu namci liu Aleks. I ga nardu ga lepo cirna lo logla po soncue guo, ikou, vi lo zvoto je la Loglandias, ri pernu ga lentaa la Loglan, hue mi dapli.
(New para) I come-from France. And I am-named-by the-word 'Aleks'. And (fronted-preda) difficult-it-is-to-do (deferred subject) the-event-of learning the-mass-of Loglan events-of pronounciation (end clause), because (physical) in the-mass outside of Loglandia, few people (end description) speak L, said I replying.
"I come from France. My name is Alex. It's difficult to learn Loglan pronunciation, because very few people outside Loglandia speak it," I replied.

Notable here is A's choice among L's four because's. A used ikou, the physical one, because (and that because was justificational!) it is the physical distribution of L-speakers on this planet--their "thinness on the ground"--that is the cause of L pronunciation's being difficult to learn. Making the ikou/imoi/irau/isoa distinctions regularly and accurately is admittedly rather taxing for our E-formed minds. Yet the claims of these 4 words are obviously very different. The guo is necessary to close off the lepo-clause because, without it, the ikou-clause will be heard as part of the lepo-event.

Ouui. Iceu tu cmabii loktaa L, hue la Selis.
S sacduo lepo fitlevpuo. Ipaza mu kukra linmuo le spebi ge fitlevtaksi rodlypai.
(New para) It-doesn't-matter-happily. And-anyway you cutely (diminutively-beautifully) talk-with-a-local-accent L (Loglan), said (the) Sally.
(New para) She started the-event-of pushing the pedal(s). And-that-was-shortly-before we were quickly moving-along (line-moving-on) the special pedicab lane (road-part).
"It doesn't matter. Anyway your Loglan accent is cute," said Sally, and she started to pedal. Soon we were moving quickly along the special pedicab lane.

Alex's la Loglan may be replaced by L in Sally's speech because of A's immediately antecedent use of it. Also, note that attaching -paza to the connective I- turns the compound into a connective between the two sentences. That's why Ipaza means And-that-was-shortly-before ... . This takes some getting used to. It is easier for our E-accustomed minds to understand the same relationship when the PA word is unconnected to I, i.e., separated from it by a comma, and followed by tao. Yet exactly the same claim may then be conveyed with the phrase I, faza tao (And, a-little-later-than that, ...). It takes some hard thinking to see that I, faza tao and Ipaza mean exactly the same thing; but once that is done, it is easy to see that Ipaza is the more elegant, and hence the preferred, L form. Notice, too, A's combining ou + ui to get a single word for Happily it doesn't matter, thus extending our attitudinal pallette in a graceful direction.

Nao mi mutce haispe le rirgyviu, ice S dedsanduo le ro treci vidju ji via le rodlu. I na lepo le rodlu ga cenja ne gandio slopu guo, S jugra ne muvdo totkoe ji vi lo krilu ji vi le spali je le rodlu. I S kocduo t le fitlevgytaksi, inumoi t kincpu f, ice ga no nerbi ga lepo S fitlevpuo. I S fredirsea mi, ice sacduo lepo djadou mi ro fekto je lopo clivi vi la Loglandias.
(New para) I much enjoyed the bottom-view, and (the) Sally pointed-out the many interesting sights that-were throughout the road. And, when the road changed into an upward slope, S grabbed a moving rope (thick-cord) that-was on wheels that-were on the side of the road. And S tied (cord-did) t (the rope) to-f (the pedicab), so-that (of motivated consequences) t pulled-along (accompany-pulled) f, and (fronted preda) not necessary-was-it (deferred subject) that S pedal (foot-lever-push). And S faced (front-direction-placed) me and started (start-did) the-event-of telling (know-giving) me many facts about the-mass-of-events-of living in (the) Loglandia.
I very much enjoyed the 'bottom-view', and Sally pointed out the interesting sights along the road. When the road began to slope uphill, Sally grabbed hold of a moving rope that ran on wheels at the side of the road. She fixed the rope to the pedicab, so that it pulled the pedicab along and she didn't have to pedal. She turned round to me and started to tell me lots of things about life in Loglandia.

Apart from A's being careful about A's because's and therefore's, this was all straightforward.

Tu djano lepo le nazdei bi la Sacdondein, ioia, hue S. I na le pasnai ba fa grada nurvizlei lo fagdua va le vrici. I mi fundi lepo gangoi le folhaa ji vi la Uorf Ganpea, moi lepo mi katca le fagdua. I ramu fa madzo ne groda hapvei va. I kanoi tu danza ki tu fa kinci mi. I, moi tio tu fa jmite ro logli fremi, euia. I la Sacdondein, bi le bradei je la Braon. I ei tu djano be la Braon?
(New para) You know today is Founder's Day (Start-Giver's-Day), probably-certainly, says S. And in the evening (early-night) something-x will-be-a great exhibition (let-be-seen-thing)-of the-mass-of fireworks (fire-adornments) near the river. And I like the-event-of going-up-to the castle (strong-house) that-is on (the) Whorf Peak (High-Point) in-order-to-do the event-of watching the fireworks. And all-of-us (including you) will make a big party there. And if you want, you will accompany me. And because-of (motivational) this (situation) you will meet many logli friends, I-suppose-certainly. And Founder's Day is the birthday of (the) Brown. And is-it-true-that you know something-y about-(the) Brown?
"You know today is Founder's Day, don't you," said Sally. "In the evening there is a great firework display near the river. I like to go up to the castle on Whorf Peak to watch the fireworks. We all have a big party there. If you like, you can come with me. That way you'll meet a lot of logli friends, I'm sure. Founder's Day is the birthday of Brown. Do you know about Brown?"

With the new words ioia and euia, Alex is again expanding our emotional pallette. A says that ioia (probably certainly) conveys an attitude similar to the one conveyed by the ambivalent E I'm sure that ... probably in E, while euia (let's suppose certainly) "allows more possibility of doubt but expressed in an optimistic way". Notice quite particularly the use of the two non-designating variables, ba and be, in Sally's speech. If we assume that the scope of each is its embedding para, then this is a precaution similar to saying a new something y in E after having alluded to something x. Notice, too, A's use of tio (this) to mean the situation just alluded to where other writers might have used tao (that). Toi/toa/tio/tao usage is still developing; different writers are still using them in quite different ways. This is good; for different explorers will make different discoveries in this still unexplored country.

Noiu. I mi stude ba la Loglan Stogrusia, hue mi.
It's-not-the-case-that-I-know-nothing. And I study something-x at-the Loglan Institute, said I.
"I'm not unaware of him. I'm studying at the Loglan Institute," I said.

Note A's elegant use of a negative indicator to express his character's slightly stuffy offendedness. Note, too, the very logla use of the non-designator ba as a place-holder, allowing A to skip over the obvious and get rapidly to what A feels really distinguishes A, namely A's studying at The Loglan Institute. Ba can be used afresh here because this is a new utterance.

We are wise to remention Sally at this point. Even though the assignment of the letter-variable S as a co-designator of Sally is arguably permanent in this story--so that the just-mentioned Loglan Stogrusia would require (capital Sigma) if the replacement of its long name by a variable were desired--a careful speaker/writer (and our Nurvia writers when abetted by the team of Nurvia editors are nothing if not careful, soi crano!) will be aware that an S used here could be inadvertently taken to co-designate the Loglan Stogrusia. So why not just remention Sally, which will give S a fresh start?

Nao la Mykaivr Famymra Hotle, pacena groda ce norsapla ci nu durna nurbai. I H katli ro bam-trufa ce peartrufa, e ne grogro rorkolgliso cundo ji fu vidju le vrici, e ne stobii cibra. I le fitlevtaksi pa siasti le frepai je H; ice S cutse «Ai mi vizka tu na lena pasnai. I haispe lepo tu stolo.».
Now (new para) the MacIvor Arms (Family-Marks) Hotel was-and-is a-large and intricately (non-simply) (hyphen) adorned building (built-thing). And H (that hotel) has (is characterized by) many domes (ball-roofs) and spires (pointed-roofs), and a huge (big-big) stained-glass (many-colored-glass) window that-is a-point-from-which-may-be-viewed the river and a classic (lastingly-beautiful) bridge. And the pedicab stopped-at (place-stopped-at) the front-of (front-part-of) H; and S said (quote) I-intend-that I see you this (the-current) evening. And enjoy your stay! (end-quote).
The MacIvor Arms Hotel is a large, ornate baroque building, with many domes and spires, and a huge stained glass window looking out on the river and an elegant bridge. The pedicab stopped in front of the hotel, and Sally said, "I'll see you this evening. Enjoy your stay."

This final paragraph in the first installment of Alex's story is studded with A's new words: Famymra, bamtrufa, peartrufa, grogro, and rorkolgliso. A is teaching us how to use our language...poetically and at the same time with semantic precision. The story of A's first visit to Loglandia will be continued in the next issue.

--APL/RAM/JCB

Copyright © 1996 by The Loglan Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

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