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On Tue, 5 Nov 2002, And Rosta wrote: > xod: > > > > It seems we're down to two uses of ni: ni + ce'u, used for counting the > > > > valid sumti in a tergi'u, and ni without any ce'u, which is like jei, but > > > > not restricted to [0, 1] > > > > > > Yes. I am in favour of the latter > > > > {ni + ce'u} solves a problem (counting) that is hard to do any other way; > > {ni - ce'u} is conceptually redundant with jei, differing only in the > > number, a number (-00, 00) which in most cases can be mapped onto [0, 1] > > without damage > > I know I'm asking you to repeat things that have been said before, but > can you give examples of ni + ce'u that are hard to say any other way? > I'd like to check that this is true. If it is, we should document it > on the wiki. Go to the post I just directed pc to. It's in this thread, written by John. > > I'm a bit uncomfortable, though with ni + ce'u and du'u + ce'u. I've > taken to using ka when I want a ce'u. The reason is that one tends > to gardenpath: you read it as a straight ni or du'u and then when you > hit the ce'u you have to backtrack and revise your interpretation of > what sort of abstraction is involved. Why don't you complain about du'u + makau then? > Regarding the conceptual redundancy, I don't find "extent to which" > and "whether" to be redundant. Sometimes it is useful to be able to > restrict "extent to which" to Yes or No (= "whether"). This distinction > needn't be made be ni vs jei, but it's not redundant (and I don't know > how else to make it). Since jei is fuzzy, it does not give you the boolean you seek! You have a choice between "the extent to which (-00, 00)" and "the extent to which [0, 1]". -- "In the Soviet Union, government controls industry. In the United States, industry controls government. That is the principal structural difference between the two great oligarchies of our time." -- Edward Abbey