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Appendix:Lojban/cu in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Lojban
Pronunciation
Particle
cu
- Indicates that the next word or phrase functions as a selbri (“predicate”).
xu la .okrand. cu finti lo bacrynandu- Did Okrand invent a tongue twister?
- (literally, “QUESTION PROPER-NOUN "OKRAND" invented SELBRI-TO-SUMTI Tongue-Twister”)
Usage notes
- cu can be necessary because any two gismu (“root words”) or lujvo (“compound words”) (as well as the cmavo (“structure words”) mo), when placed directly in sequence, form a tanru (“meaning/phrase compound”), a phrase with a single meaning.
- Thus, cu may be necessary to divide the selbri (“predicate”) from certain preceding words. When the word immediately preceding the selbri cannot be part of a tanru, such as a pro-sumti or a cmevla (“meaning of word is based on morphology/shape”), cu can be omitted.
- For instance, the statement, ".i lo prenu cu melbi" requires the use of cu, but ".i do melbi", ".i la .meilis. melbi", and ".i melbi" do not.
- cu can likewise be omitted when there is no word preceding the selbri; i.e., the selbri is the first word of the utterance.
- However, the inclusion of cu before a selbri (“predicate”) is never incorrect, even when unnecessary.
- The use of cu allows for elision of many types of grammatical terminators, specifically those that terminate elements that cannot contain a selbri (“predicate”).
- For instance, using cu makes it unnecessary to use ku, which marks the end of a sumti (“argument”), because a sumti must always end where the selbri begins.