Return-Path: id AA00726; Sun, 26 May 91 12:49:39 EDT Date: Sun, 26 May 91 12:49:39 EDT Message-Id: <9105261649.AA00726@grackle.UUCP> To: cbmvax!snark.thyrsus.com!lojbab Cc: ai-lab!lojban-list@snark.thyrsus.com Subject: lojban negation: summary Reply-To: cbmvax!uunet!gnu.ai.mit.edu!grackle!bob From: cbmvax!uunet!gnu.ai.mit.edu!grackle!bob Sender: cbmvax!uunet!gnu.ai.mit.edu!grackle!bob Status: RO X-From-Space-Date: Sun May 26 13:52:50 1991 X-From-Space-Address: cbmvax!uunet!ai.mit.edu!grackle!bob Lojbab's essay on lojban negation is both long and dense. Here is an attempt to summarize the five major types types of negation that he describes. I think I have got them right, but am not sure; corrections please! The five types of negation are 1. Assert "it is false that ..." bridi negation 2. Assert "there are no ..." zero quantification of sumti 3. Assert "...other-than..." scalar negation 4. Assert "...opposite-than..." opposite scalar negation 5. Assert "presuppositions are false that ..." metalinguistic negation Here are short descriptions of each: 1. Falsehood assertion (for bridi) La lojbab calls this: bridi negation Falsehood assertions state that the sentence is false. There are two variations, both meaning exactly the same. 1a. external bridi negation A prenex-using falsehood assertion (an external bridi negation) states that the sentence following the header is false. The header is called a "prenex" and is the phrase: "naku zo'u", meaning, "it is false that". naku zo'u lo mlatu cu vofli it is false that at-least-one-that-really-is-a cat flies 1b. internal bridi negation An internal bridi negation denies the truth of a sentence *exactly* as does an external bridi negation. The only difference is that internal bridi negation does not use a prenex, but places "na" before the selbri. It is strongly recommended that novice Logban speakers never use internal bridi negation form, since it is easily confused with an English form of apparently similar but actually different meaning. lo mlatu na vofli it is false that at-least-one-that-really-is-a cat flies Note that the English translation of the internal bridi negation is exactly the same as the translation of the similar sentence with external bridi negation. 2. Absence assertion (for sumti) La lojbab calls this: sumti negation by zero quantification Absence assertion states that there are zero or no instances of the sumti. le no mlatu ca sipna Zero of that-described-as-(by- me,-presumably) cat now sleep i.e., none in the set of those described by me as cats now sleep. Note that "lo no mlatu cu sipna" states that "zero of those that actually are cats sleep"; while a rambunctious cat may lead one to believe this, this statement is claiming that no cat anywhere in the world ever sleeps, which is false. However, if I refering to a single entity that I describe as a cat, and it is not sleeping, then the " le no mlatu ca sipna" sentence is true. 3. Other-than assertion 3a. scalar selbri negation Other-than selbri assertion states that the sentence is true of a different selbri. le mlatu cu na'e xunre that-described-as-a cat is other-than red Sometimes, "na'e" is translated as "non-" as "non-red". Listeners are expected to use their cultural knowledge to determine what might be the category to which a different selbri could belong. For example, when referring to an entity other-than-red, the other-than-red entity could be "black"; a listener would not expect that the other-than-red entity be "rock". If a listener is unable to determine the expected group of other-than entities, the speaker may specify the group, for example: le mlatu cu na'e xunre ci'u lo ka skari that-described-as-a cat is other-than red on-a-scale-of colorness 3b. scalar sumti negation with na'ebo Other-than sumti assertion states that the sentence is true of a different sumti. na'ebo le mlatu cu xunre something-other-than that-described-as-a cat is red In this form of negation, some grouper must be used with "na'e", lest the listener become confused as to what "na'e" is modifying. Novices are urged to use "bo", the short scope joiner, which limits the range of "na'e" to the following sumti. 4. Polar opposite assertion with "nai" also known as: opposite or contrary scalar negation Polar opposite assertion states that the culturally-defined opposite is true; or if no opposite is evident, that something other than the assertion is the case. "nai" is a suffix modifying the immediately preceding word; in writing, "nai" is often joined to the preceding word. ienai emotional-state-is-opposite-that-of-agreement-concord-or-harmony i.e., disagreement-disharmony u'enai emotional-state-is-opposite-that-of-wonder-or-amazement i.e., boredom All attitudinals and discursives have lojban-creator defined opposites; it will be interesting to see whether fluent lojban speakers understand the opposites in the same way or whether they redefine the semantic space of each word. le mlatu ca nai sipna that-described-as cat opposite-than now sleep Note that "opposite-than now" could be either past or future, so in this case, you cannot deduce a single polar opposite meaning. 5. Metalinguistic negation Metalinguistic negation states that something is wrong with the presuppositions of the sentence. Given the true or false question: xu lo mlatu Is-it-the-case-that at-least-one-that-really-is-a cat ca sisti lo nu vofli stops the-event/process-of flying An answer is: na'i Something-is-wrong-with-the-statement-that lo mlatu ca sisti lo nu vofli a cat stops flying 6. Natural language negation with "naku" It is possible to express the forms of natural language negation in lojban by using "naku", but the process is confusing. Novices are urged to avoid any such attempts. 7. Answering yes and no. You can say the equivalent of "yes" in Lojban by saying "ja'a go'i". You can say the equivalent of "no" in Lojban by saying "na go'i". "ja'a" is the bridi affirmer; "na" is the bridi negator The cmavo "go'i" means "the preceding bridi". Simply stating "go'i" is a way of repeating the preceding sentence. Often you can express a meaning of `yes' by simply repeating a preceding sentence, but beware! A plain "go'i' quotes the preceding sentence exactly as is. This may not be what you want. If you utter a "go'i" and something else, the `something else' is added to or substituted into the preceding sentence in the appropriate grammatical position in place of whatever was there. Thus, a "na go'i" will add or substitute "na" into the preceding sentence, thus making sure the repeated sentence is negated. A "ja'a go'i" will add "ja'a to a sentence, substituting "ja'a" for "na" if the sentence has a "na", thereby making sure the repeated sentence is affirmed. You can use the phrase "na'i go'i" to metalinguistically negate the preceding sentence. Given the true or false question: xu lo mlatu ca sisti lo nu vofli Has the cat stopped flying? You can answer either na'i lo mlatu ca sisti lo nu vofli or na'i go'i ================ That all. Robert J. Chassell bob@gnu.ai.mit.edu Rattlesnake Mountain Road (413) 298-4725 or (617) 253-8568 or Stockbridge, MA 01262-0693 USA (617) 876-3296 (for messages)