rafsi zi'evla

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Talking about rafsi in Lojban can get inconvenient. Not only must some rafsi be quoted like cmevla (e.g. {zo .lob. rafsi zo lojbo}), but rafsi of the form CCV can't be quoted at all. This caused the experimental {ra'oi} to be invented, but that's not necessarily a pretty solution because it still requires obnoxious quoting.

I therefore had the idea to use a simple, predictable algorithm that lets us refer to any rafsi via a regularly generated zi'evla. The system is simple:

  1. Use the zi'evla prefix -rafr- or -rafsr- (it doesn't matter).
  1. Add the rafsi. If the rafsi begins with r, use the zi'evla prefix -rafn- (or -rafsn- instead)
  1. If the rafsi ends in a consonant, add any of the five normal vowels. Probably -i is preferable, since it's also the last vowel of {rafsi}.

That's it.

Here are some examples that use each type of rafsi:

rafsi zi'evla
-bal- rafrbali
-tsa- rafrtsa
-bi'o- rafrbi'o
-gai- rafrgai
-ro'u- rafnro'u

Now you can talk about rafsi without ever needing to quote them:

lo rafrlo'i cu rafsi zo bloti

"-lo'i- is the rafsi of {bloti}"

You can even easily use them in tanru now:

lo nintadni cu su'o roi rafrpi'o se cfipu

"Beginners sometimes are confused about -pi'o-"