[YG Conlang Archives] > [engelang group] > messages [Date Index] [Thread Index] >


[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next]

Re: [engelang] Xorban: Semantics of "l-" (and "s-" and "r-")



I assume you mean by "on the far right" that they are as close to the predicate to which they attach as possible.  That is precisely where I want s, inside the scope of every other quantifier around.  Similarly, I want l as far to left, outside the scope of everything else.  I am never sure what a weaker claim is, but o'e should be on the shortest possible scope, on the right of the prenex.
I haven't quite got the hang of Xorban number expressions yet, but you citation seems to me to say "every 200 children has a mother".  I would have written (I think) something like la verba je nmdnna re mngeka mmto'eke. (mng, from "among" is not the official word, but I don't remember that).

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 11, 2012, at 6:42 PM, "Mike S." <maikxlx@gmail.com">maikxlx@gmail.com> wrote:

 

On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 7:19 PM, John E. Clifford <kali9putra@hidden.email> wrote:
On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 5:23 PM, John E. Clifford <kali9putra@hidden.email> wrote: 

Oh yes, and you need s, not l, as the quantifier because these guys cannot move a hair away from their predicate without fouling the semantics.

Implicit "o'e" restrictions are probably going to show up adjacent to the primitive formula, except when "a'a" and similar get in the way.  Aside from that, isn't it safe to move "l-" and unsafe to move "s-"? I thought we agreed on that.  

So, the quantifier on o'e wants to be as short scope as possible, I.e., s.  Just because l can move freely.

Assuming that I even half understand you, I never grasped why you seemingly want to define l-terms as s-terms located on the far left instead on the far right.  Likewise, if you were going to define "o'e" in terms of "s-", i.e. existentially, why wouldn't you push it to the right?  Otherwise "ra je nmdnna vrba mmto'eka" would mean "there exists one or more things that is the mother of every one of 200 children" rather than "for every one of 200 children there is one or more things that is a mother of that child".  You generally want the weaker claims with "l-" and "o'e" do you not?



=