Lightbulb Joke

[djandus]

So, everyone knows that the most important quality of any language is its ability to tell jokes. (sarcasm)

Regardless, in trying to translate a classic lightbulb joke, the closest I got was:

nitcu xo lo prenu ku lo pu'u zbasu se carna lo cukpultergu'i

Basically, how do you describe "screwing in" a lightbulb, and how do you say "lightbulb"? In my example, I went with a sort of "putting-together/installing kind-of turning" for "screwing in", and "round protrusion light-source" for "lightbulb". (I figured out the latter based on suggestions from the plant bulb.)

If this is the actual good way of doing this, then I guess {tolzbasu carna} would be for "unscrewing"? Is this something worth making a lujvo for, what with using an actual screwdriver? (How would you say "screwdriver," even? {carna selpilno}?)

mu'o mi'e djandus

[Adam Lopresto]

.i lo xo jbopre cu jai sarcu lo nu galfi lo spofu te gusni balji
.i re .i pa da jdice lo du'u galfi fi ma kau .i je pa de facki lo du'u ma kau balji gi'e te gusni lo spofu

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "lojban" group.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/lojban/-/4rW5l7rZPH0J.
To post to this group, send email to loj...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to lojban+un...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/lojban?hl=en.

[djandus]

I'm a little confused by the {lo du'u ma kau balji gi'e te gusni lo spofu} construct -- I know the individual words and grammars, but put together in that way, I'm confused. I'm getting "the-predication-of what bulb and what light-source illuminating the-broken-thing".

Additionally, balji is the gismu I was trying to avoid, as it claims to be a body-part. (or is that the part of your joke that I'm screwing up at the end?)

[Pierre Abbat]

On Wednesday 09 November 2011 14:38:41 djandus wrote:
> I'm a little confused by the {lo du'u ma kau balji gi'e te gusni lo spofu}
> construct -- I know the individual words and grammars, but put together in
> that way, I'm confused. I'm getting "the-predication-of what bulb and what
> light-source illuminating the-broken-thing".

I think it should be "te gusni fi lo spofu". The English version says "what
kind of bulb emits broken light".

> Additionally, balji is the gismu I was trying to avoid, as it claims to be
> a body-part. (or is that the part of your joke that I'm screwing up at the
> end?)

Other Germanic languages call it a pear. Spanish "ampolleta" and
French "ampoule" mean a sealed container; "bombillo/a" is a diminutive of a
word meaning "bomb", "glass globe", and various other things. I
suggest "pertergu'i", though it doesn't work in the joke.

Pierre

--
li fi'u vu'u fi'u fi'u du li pa

[Michael Turniansky]

  A screwdriver is a lupcartci

  

  If you want to "change" a lightbulb, that would be "basygau" but if you just want to "unscrew" it, that would be "vimcu" or "tolse'a".  On the other hand, if you really want to emphasize the rotational nature, I'd suggest "carvi'u"

 

        --gejyspa