Subject: Re: [lojban] Re: Questions

From: Ivan A Derzhanski <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 23:24:09 +0300

Taral wrote:
> On 7 Aug, Logical Language Group wrote:
> > At 11:02 AM 08/07/2000 -0500, Taral wrote:
> > > Question 1: How does one translate "how old are you?"
> > > into lojban? There is no pure age relation in the gismu.
>
> > Probably several ways. One is:
> >
> > le do nunjmive cu nanca xo

This can just as well mean `How many years are you going to live?'.
Is pragmatics enough to show that we are only referring to the part
of the {nunjmive} that has elapsed already?

> > xo selna'a do

Or {do xo nanca}? (Probably the same problem as above though.)

> > xo ni do tolcitno

This looks rather like a calque of the English.

I note that {nanla}, {nixli} and {verba} have a slot `of age x2',
so {do ma verba} might work under appropriate circumstances.

--Ivan