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Re: [txeqli] Re: Structure Words



On Fri, Apr 26, 2002 at 06:31:42PM -0600, Rex May - Baloo wrote:
> > It also wouldn't allow for a qualified yes. For example, in Lojban:
> > 
> > .i xu do ca klama       Are you going (somewhere)?
> > .i go'i le zarci        Yes, to the store.
> 
> How does that work?   Is 'do' the somewhere?  If xu is applying to the whole
> sentence, I presume ca is the 'somewhere.'   If so, couldn't the Ceqli be:

do = you
ca = present tense

"Somewhere" is implied by the lack of an x2. This could be said
explicitly with "zo'e". All unfilled places of a predicate are "zo'e".

> Kihaj zi ba dxa?   At what degree of certitude you somewhere go?
> Haj, go dxa to seldom.   Certainly, I go to the store.

So that either requires repeating "go dxa", or using the Ceqli
equivalent of "go'i" which repeats the last predicate, in addition to
haj. A waste of words, when "go'i" does a perfectly good job of
answering a yes/no question. Other answers like "maybe" can be achieved
by modifying go'i, as well, and they can be the same words that would
mean "maybe" for any other predicate. This way would seem to require a
set of specialized words.

xu is a special case in Lojban, and I think this is justified for the
consistency it allows in other ways.

"Haj" could still be used for Lojban "je'e", glossed as "roger", a UI
word that answers "yes" but not to any particular question.

-- 
Rob Speer