Subject: Careful with noi!

From: "Mark E. Shoulson" <[email-masked]>
Date: 16 Aug 2000 13:59:29 -0000

la xorxes. cusku di'e:

>>"I gave my love a cherry That had no stone; I gave my love a chicken That 
>>had no bone; I gave my love a ring That had no end; I gave my love a baby 
>>With no cry-in'."

>lu mi dunda fi le mi selpa'i lo grutrcerasu
>noi claxu lo tsiju
>i mi dunda fi le mi selpa'i lo jipci
>noi claxu lo bongu
>i mi dunda fi le mi selpa'i lo djine
>noi claxu lo fanmo
>i mi dunda fi le mi selpa'i lo cifnu
>noi claxu lo nu klaku li'u

Careful. If I read my Codex Woldemar aright, on page 178 (Section 8.6),
what you have here is a "noi" clause in the "inner" relative clause
position of "lo", which is pretty dangerous. The inner quantifier of "lo"
is "ro", so "lo grutrcerasu noi claxu lo tsiju" means that you're giving
one or more cherries, of which *all* incidentally lack seeds. Ditto for a
chicken out of all chickens (which by the way lack bones), and so on.

You either need the "ku" before the "noi", or better, use a restrictive
relative clause ("poi"), which makes more sense anyway. I gave her a
cherry... which one? One of those that lack stones. And so on.

co'omi'e .mark.