Subject: Re: [lojban] A defense of dead horse beating

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 20:16:30 EDT

In a message dated 00-06-17 19:30:27 EDT, xorxes writes:

<< As an example, I
still haven't been able to figure out a comfortable way
of saying "even", as in "even the cat wants to go". >>

Stop me if I've said this before. (too late) That even means 1) everybody 
else is doing it 2) the cat is doing it, 3) I'm surprised the cat is doing 
it. I think that 3 (with 2) of course is the crucial part, so just a good 
surprise mark ought to do in most situations. Maybe strategically placed: {le 
mlatu ue cu gasnu} 

<<It occurs to me that sometimes the le/lo distiction is
treated as if it was a gender difference: veridical and
non-veridical gender.>>

It is not quite that it has nothing to do with that, only that that is not 
the important thing. The important thing is specific v. general and then the 
specific, since we (or at least the speaker) know what we're talking about, 
does not HAVE TO (but usually does anyhow) meet the strictest standards 
(after all, the best reason for calling something a broda is that it is one). 
But it is good to have that point driven home every once in a while, even if 
we have to go through the damned unicorn problems again (and I still like the 
intensional context solution for that -- or the later places of {zasti}). 
Can we set up a RECORD to call up after a day or two on this one.
And we still need a few go'rounds on {loi}. And most other things that have 
to wait for real speakers to settle. (Baselining is just to allow some real 
speakers to emerge, after all.)