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[Making good on my pledge to reply....]
Garrett to Ceqli list:
> A while back on the conlang list I compiled a list
> of meanings for "the" and "a". It might be useful for you to have
> this list if you're intending on defining articles precisely for Ceqli.
I'll comment on this by giving (i) what I take to be the defining
features of the meaning, (ii) the official Lojban equivalent ('OL'),
and (iii) and the equivalent in a system (known as 'XS') that has
been developed to fix the problems of the official Lojban system so
as to get it on a sound footing. (See the pages under "gadri" and
in particular "XS" listed at
http://www.lojban.org/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=jboske+whitepapers.)
> note: i didn't use meanings of 'the' or 'a' that i found weren't an
> "article" usage. I provided a lot of examples because some of these are
> pretty subtle.
>
> T* = the, A* = a/an, N* = [none]
>
> THE:
Your list is simplified in some ways, because you don't treat
THE+plural.
> TA. a certain one being spoken of/already mentioned (introduced by AA).
> -The story ended.
> -So then I smacked the guy.
specific, discourse-old
Current Lojban: le bi'u nai
XS: le bi'u nai
> TB. hypothetical instance of (introduced by AB).
> -I want a girlfriend. The girl has to be cute.
> -I need some paint. The paint is going to be used here.
specific, discourse-old (but not previously referred to)
[i.e. same as previous]
The first sentence means "I want that there is someone who
is my girlfried"; that evokes a scenario containing me
and my girlfriend. That then allows my (hypothetical) girlfriend
to be referred to as any other referent.
> TC. the one and only (geographic/environmental/locational)
> -The sun is very hot today. (both occurances here)
> -The sky is bright today.
> -The world is falling apart.
> -I don't like the weather.
> -He came to us from the north.
> -I walked to the edge and contemplated jumping. (the edge of a cliff)
> -Let's meet at the entrance.
> -Where is the bathroom?
There's a superfetation of ways to handle this. OL usage favours
"le" (each of the certain X), not so much because of the (rather
inappropriate) meaning but because it's the shortest article and
gets treated in usage like a default article. XS would probably
favour "lo" = yout TJ.
> TD. the one identified by/as (the modifier of the noun)
> -the man who answered (as opposed to the one who ignored his phone)
> -the hit of the week (as opposed to the hit of the year)
> -the right to strike (as opposed to the right to remain silent)
> -You can be the father in our play.
> -The purple people eater is here to get us!
> -What is the point of your story?
> -The coffee in my cup is hot.
> -Which one was the movie that you hate?
> -We take the air we breathe for granted.
>
> TE. an integral part or clothing of the obvious entity (possessives can
also
> be used for these in english)
> -I smacked him in the face.
> -Take me by the hand.
> -You should hold your mug by the handle.
> -The surface is extremely hot, don't touch it.
> -I held him by the collar.
>
> TF. that which is present/close, as opposed to remote
> -The day has just started (as opposed to the next day)
> -Where has the year gone?
definite, for different contextual reasons.
XS would probably use "lo" (Kind) for some of these (right to
strike, purple people eater, air we breathe, face, hand) and
"le" (specific) for others (man who answered, movie you hate,
year). OL would probably again use "le", again mainly out of
habit.
> TG. the one designated/named. related to NC.
> -the President (of the u.s.)
> -the Mississippi (river)
> -the United States
Is this different from TC/TJ?
> TH. the one considered the best, most fashionable (usually emphasized)
> -That is *the* restaurant in town.
A special use of TC, really.
> TI. specified period of time
> -the dark ages
> -the seventies
How is this different from TG/TC/TJ?
> TJ. taken as a representative of the entire genus or type
> -I'm learning how to use the typewriter.
> -The cow is a domestic animal.
Kind. XS "lo". Not really doable in OL.
> TK. for an adjective used as a noun
> -the good, the beautiful, the true
Not really a separate *meaning*.
> A/AN,SOME:
>
> AA. a certain one speaker has in mind.
> -I saw a burning house on the way to the store.
> -He has a nice car/some nice cars.
> -I'm going to marry a Swede. (in response to: what is the nationality of
> your fiancee?)
>
> AB. any one of them in existence
> -I need a girlfriend.
> -I'm going to marry a Swede. (in response to: In twenty years, what type
of
> person will you marry?)
> -I need some paint.
>
> AC. in copulas, equality
> -I am a doctor.
> -That is a harmless snake.
> -As a young girl she slacked off in school.
AC is a variety of the nonspecific (existentially quantifiying
article), which is a meaning also available to your examples
forAA. AB also has this meaning, but with the existential
quantifier within the propositional argument of the predicate:
I need that there is someone who is my girlfriend.
It will be that there is a Swede who I marry.
AA is XS "le". The other meaning is XS "su'o".
> [NONE]:
>
> NA: a discrete amount of (for a non-count noun). (the word "some" can
always
> be used before the noun).
> -I need water.
> -We need rocks for this project.
>
> NB: generalizations, applying to all the members of a type of
> object/concept.
> -Gold is very valuable.
> -Guns are dangerous.
> -I really don't like stupid dogs.
> -He lacks intelligence.
> -Anger is a destructive emotion.
> -We really hate school.
>
> NC: proper nouns. related to TG.
> -Let's run away to Mexico.
> -Where is Main Street?
> -I don't speak Greek.
NB=NC=TJ. NA is XS "su'o (tu'o)" where tu'o indicates a null
cardinality (masses lack cardinality since they lack countable
members).
> whew, what a list. Here is how i organize them in Minyeva:
>
> 1 = AA,AC: "da" = used for introducing a particular entity in mind
> 2 = TA,TB: "te" = referring back to an introduced entity
> 3 = TJ,TK,AB,NA,NB: "ki" or null = generic members/representative members
> 4 = TC,TD,TE,TI: "sao" = the one identified as, the only one
> 5 = NC,TG: "cai" = used for names
> 6 = TF: "kre" (this) = demonstrative used here.
> 7 = TH: syntactic construction: the most ~.
This seems pretty reasonable. XS makes do with two articles, which,
with the addition of quantifiers, covers all meanings we know of.
That'd be a minimal system, which could be augmented for
demonstrativeness (kra) or definiteness (te, sao).
--And.