Message-Id: <9201260545.AA24282@relay1.UU.NET>
Date:         Sun, 26 Jan 1992 16:41:36 +1100
Reply-To: cbmvax!uunet!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!nsn
Sender: Lojban list <cbmvax!uunet!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!LOJBAN>
From: cbmvax!uunet!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!nsn
Subject:      NUhI
To: John Cowan <cowan@snark.thyrsus.com>
Status: RO

Mark Shoulson asks:


>There is, to my knowledge, no way to conjoin numbered places or BAI
>_phrases_ (not just BAIs) with anything other than an implied "and"..

There is. That is NUhI's job. NuhI unfortunately seems to be the best kept
secret in the grammar (I believe Lojbab explained it to me only accidentally).

>mi ga darxi do bai la bab. gi darxi do ki'u lenu do palci
>I [either/both] hit you compelled-by Bob [or/and] hit you justified-by
>the-event: you're evil.

mi darxi do nu'i bai la bab. nu'u.a ki'u lenu do palci

or in forethought:

mi darxi do nu'iga bai la bab. (nu'u)gi ki'u lenu do palci

It seems uncolloquial, doesn't it? But it's there. What we need is for
John to come up with an example phrase for each BNF rule. Well, just a
thought, John :)

>But shouldn't it make sense that I
>should be able to say something along the lines of:
>
>*mi klama fejonaifi le zdani be mi
>*I go/come to-xor-from the house-of-me

Tell you the truth, I think it should. This is another of the features sure
to explode the machine grammar when more fluency eventuates. We humans work
on analogy, make an analogy between BAI and FA, and as a result simplify
the grammar conceptually, but probably complicate its mechanics. User beware.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nick Nicholas, Melbourne Uni, Australia.  nsn@{munagin.ee|mullauna.cs}.mu.oz.au
"Despite millions of dollars of research, death continues to be this nation's
number one killer"      - Henry Gibson, Kentucky Fried Movie
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