From randall@wonderclown.com Mon Oct 28 14:12:42 2002
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Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 17:12:36 -0500
To: lojban-list@lojban.org
Subject: [lojban] Non-logical (incidental) "if"?
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From: Randall Nortman <randall@wonderclown.com>
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How would this be translated into Lojban:

  I'm going to the store if you want to come along.

This is clearly not a logical if-then statement.  This is, "I'm going
to the store now, which is relevant to your decision to go to the
store because my going to the store makes it more convenient for you
to go to the store."  Of course, one could just say:

  mi klama le zarci .i xu do klama

But this does not fully capture the sentiment of the English.  Is
there a more elegant way?

On a distantly related note, how would "in case" be translated, e.g.,
"I'll bring a blanket in case it gets cold."  I say this is related,
because many people might say the first sentence as "I'm going to the
store in case you want to come along," which is not strictly what they
mean to say.  They mean "I'm going to the store, and I'm telling you
this in case you'd like to come along."

Thanks,

Randall