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xorxes:
> If we consider the four members of TAhE, it seems to me that {ru'i},
> "continuously", indicates one uninterrupted occurrence or an
> uninterrupted series of occurrences such that at no point along
> the interval the event is not happening. {di'i}, "regularly"
> indicates as you say that the occurrences along the interval
> follow some pattern. So {ru'i} and {di'i} are clear enough
>
> I take one of {ta'e}/{na'o} to mean that the occurrences along
> the event are such that they are not quite "continuously", but
> that they cover a significant/enough/representative part of the
> interval. Most {roi}'s talk about number of times, {ta'e} or
> {na'o} would talk about coverage of the interval, assuming they
> are, like {ru'i} and {di'i}, purely a matter of distribution of
> the occurrences in a given interval. Relative {roi}'s like
> {so'a} and {so'e} are similar to this, but they focus more on
> the number of times than on the distribution of those times
>
> Let's say we give that meaning then to {ta'e}. That leaves
> {na'o}. Is it just that one covers more of the interval than
> the other? But which one? And do we really need to make such
> a fine distinction?
[...]
> The main reason I introduced typicality across possible worlds
> is that I cannot think of any other possibility in terms of
> distribution along a time interval
>
> If {na'o} works as I say, we can say things like:
>
> mi na'o djica le nu kansa do i ku'i mi mutce le ka tatpi
> Normally I would want to accompany you, but I'm really tired
> Typically across possible worlds, I want to accompany you,
> however in this world I am very tired. (So you can deduce
> that this particular world is atypical in that I don't
> want to accompany you.)
>
> This seems like a useful meaning.
> Is there a competing candidate meaning for {na'o}?
Yes. Make na'o = your ta'e.
ta'e would mean simply 'recurrently'.
John is na'o ill. = It is usually the case that John is ill.
John is ta'e ill. = It is recurrently the case that John is ill.
The mahoste gloss 'habitually' would be explicable as a misrendering
of 'habitual aspect', the more usual term for 'consuetidinal'.
This is a competing candidate meaning, though it happens to coincide
with the interpretation I have always had.
I do think that ta'e should mean 'recurrently', differing from
{so'i roi} in that it would express an ongoing state characterized
by the recurrence of the situation.
But if the meaning you propose for na'o can be said as 'so'e mu'ei',
then the meaning I propose for 'na'o' can be said as 'so'e roi' (and
indeed is listed as such in the mahoste). Accordingly, I would
suggest that {na'o} covers both time and space, as in 'birds typically
fly':
ro da na'o ga na cipni gi vofli
ro cipni na'o vofli
This has the useful consequence of dealing with those lions in
Africa cases:
ro cinfo na'o xabju le friko
In summary:
ta'e = recurrently
na'o = typically/generally in the world
so'e roi = usually1
so'e mu'ei = usually2
--And.