>===== Original Message From "Jared Angell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> =====
>
>If a word such a geodesic dome requires this much debate then if the
>language suddenly had 1,000,000 speakers how would anyone ever be able to
>get anything across on a specific topic.
[snip]
>Being able to say 'geodesic dome' should really not be so hard. I doubt it
>took Fuller and a team of language buffs over a week of debating to make a
>word for the concept in English.
>
This is a straw man. Of course if I invent anything, I can unilaterally
call it what I want. Does that mean it's the only possible name for it? Of
course not. That's why corporations have brainstorming sessions, focus groups
and so forth just for deciding on a name, when they bring out a new product.
The point of this exercise wasn't that there isn't a consensus of opinion on
how to translate a given concept into lojban. It's that ANY or ALL of the
names could be used and they will ALL be understood as meaning "geodesic dome"
if they are in the least well-formed. This is not so with an English phrase
like "geodesic dome" which if you just gave out devoid of context to 1000
passersby on the street in 1950, how many would have understood what it meant?
--gejyspa
