Return-Path: Received: by marob.masa.com (/\=-/\ Smail3.1.18.1 #18.7) id ; Wed, 30 May 90 00:50 EDT Received: by hombre.MASA.COM (smail2.5) id AA01940; 30 May 90 00:52:21 EDT (Wed) Received: from burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM by rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.3/3.06) id AA01927; Tue, 29 May 90 12:21:05 EDT Received: from gem.PRC.Unisys.COM by burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM (5.61/mls/3.0) id AA11088; Tue, 29 May 90 12:20:58 -0400 Received: from emerald.PRC.Unisys.COM by gem (5.61/Domain/jpb/2.9) id AA19140; Tue, 29 May 90 12:20:54 -0400 Message-Id: <9005291620.AA19140@gem> Received: by emerald.prc.unisys.com (5.61/Domain/jpb/2.9) id AA20322; Tue, 29 May 90 12:20:52 -0400 Date: Tue, 29 May 90 12:20:52 -0400 From: prc.unisys.com!dave To: marob.masa.com!cowan In-Reply-To: John Cowan's message of Thu, 24 May 90 11:58:48 EDT Subject: Re: PROPOSED CHANGE TO GISMU BASELINE -- PLEASE READ & RESPOND! Status: RO X-From-Space-Date: Wed May 30 00:50:25 1990 X-From-Space-Address: hombre!prc.unisys.com!dave > I believe that the use of "metaphor" to translate "tanru" is both misleading > and inaccurate. If Cowan's interpretation of "tanru" is correct, then I have certainly been misled by the translation "metaphor." However, I'm a rank beginner and don't know enough lojban to know whether he's right. His posting makes sense, and he is certainly correct about the meaning of the work "metaphor." The understanding I got from reading the first few lojban chapters was that the language got by with a relatively small vocabularly because everything was to be taken metaphorically--if something shared a few key characteristics with the literal meaning of a tanru, then the tanru could be used for it (e.g. Carter's example of "chick" for "nubile woman.") So which is it? Are lojban tanru to be taken literally or metaphorically?