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Re: [engelang] Xorban Development



On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 9:41 PM, And Rosta <and.rosta@hidden.email> wrote:
>
> Anyway, so that we don't get too sidetracked, let me recapitulate how we
> got onto this. All variables must be bound, so when we come to an unbound
> variable, the options are:
> (1) Ungrammaticality
> (2a) the variable is implicitly bound and is unrestricted
> (2b) the variable is implicitly bound and preserves the restriction it had
> the last time it was bound
> (3) the variable is bound by something that follows it
>
> (1) pains my sensibility. (2a) had originally been my preference, but one
> short variable (which we're currently calling o'e but which I would give the
> form /ai/) would suffice, so it doesn't make sense as the default for
> variables in general. (2b) is okay for a subset of variables, e.g. V'u, but
> is (for reasons I've gone over before) objectionable as the default. So (3)
> is merely a solution of last resort.

2a has different subversions:

2ai- Variable implicitly bound by minimal scope sV smV
2aii- Variable implicitly bound by maximal scope rV smV (this is the
usual convention in maths).
2aiii- Variable implicitly bound by lV smV (scope not very relevant).

> I'd be fine with declaring that the default rule for unbound variables
> varies by Xorban dialect and is outside the common core (the 'kernel'?).
> Then we could get on with developing the kernel in which all variables are
> bound.

Agreed.

> So, whenever dividuality matters, quantifier scope matters, and vV is
> needed. And when dividuality doesn't matter, quantifer can be lV and vV
> isn't needed.
>
> I think it's good to have both systems, the xorloan one and the classical
> one augmented by vV.

How general is vV? I'm not too happy with an operator that only makes
sense when used in conjunction with a single specific predicate. Can't
we generalize it somehow? It seems to be related to "respectively" in
some way.

ma'a xrxe