[YG Conlang Archives] > [jboske group] > messages [Date Index] [Thread Index] >
Xod: > On Thu, 24 Oct 2002, And Rosta wrote: > > pc: > > > xod@hidden.email writes: > > > << > > > > > > > I certainly won't claim that my {lo'e nanmu} is "the average man" > > > > It is "men in general" > > > > > > What's the difference? Aren't their properties identical? > > > > > > >> > > > Well, no. The average man is 5'9" tall, say; man in general is not > > > any particular height. And so on through a mass of statistical > > > information. Man in general seems to have only generic properties -- > > > being a mammal, bipedal, and the like. Xorxes {lo'e nanmu} does not > > > actually work too well for "man in general" even -- and is more > > > likely to be something acted upon than something acting -- or having > > > properties > > > > How do we talk about: > > > > 1. A shark that is man-eating (even if it hasn't eaten a man) > > 2. A shark that isn't man-eating but maybe could be in exceptional > > circumstances (e.g. facing starvation) > > > > 1 = ca'a citka lo'ei remna = ca'a jinzi kakne tu'o du'u citka lo remna > > 2 = ka'e citka lo'ei remna = ka'e jinzi kakne tu'o du'u citka lo remna > The generalization applies to the shark, not the man. If the > abstract/typical/archetype/whatever/you-know-what-I-mean shark eats > people, that doesn't give you the ability to apply any sort of abstraction > or generalization to the man. Rest assured, the men that are eaten are lo > remna, and not Mr. Man. Only the tiniest fraction of people are eaten, not > the general Man in any sense at all Right. But the problem was that it was not necessarily the case that citka lo remna. But I answered my own question, above. --And.