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xod: > 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 It's a pain hunting through the online archives (-- very hard to find stuff), & I don't archive everything myself. From memory, his ex was something like {le ni la djan cilre ce'u} = "the amount of things read by John". Would this be an example of what you have in mind? > > 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? You can take that complaint as given. My preferences: ka + ce'u ... instead of: du'u + ce'u du'au + ce'u ... instead of: du'u + makau > > 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]" I seek: (a) a way to do "the extent to which", ranging from infinitely much to infinitely not-at-all (b) a way to do "whether", ranging from completely true to completely false. -- which seems to correspond to the choice you offer me. Now, according to you, how would I express (a) and (b) in Lojban? --And.