Message-Id: <9201161939.AA14047@relay2.UU.NET>
Date:         Thu, 16 Jan 1992 18:32:38 +1100
Reply-To: cbmvax!uunet!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!nsn
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From: cbmvax!uunet!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!nsn
Subject:      Re: Semantic precision
To: John Cowan <cowan@snark.thyrsus.com>
In-Reply-To:  Your message of "Fri, 10 Jan 92 18:37:55 GMT."
Status: RO

>As I look through translations in JL or on the net, I quite often think
>"I don't like that choice of gismu, because that's not what its
>arguments mean". It's happening so often that I am beginning to wonder
>whether I'm just being over-precise.

No, you're not. We need policing. Welcome to the constabulary :)

>facki   "discover ... about ..."
>        - it seems to me that this means 'find out' and not 'find'. If
>        you want 'find', you need "facki le stuzi da"

Best thing to suggest is actually a lujvo for the mis-expressed concept.
I propose {stufacki} here, with base expression {da facki lenu de stuzi di
kei di}, compressing (someone say dikyjvo? Actually, I'm about to post
an essay on them) into: da stufacki de di

>djuno   "know ... about ..."
>        - I would not use this for 'know a person' or even 'know a
>        word'. With that definition, a seldjuno must be a (potential) fact

It's the kennen/wissen distinction in German (savoir/connaitre in French,
scii/koni in Esperanto, etc.) In days gone by, a separate gismu was suggested
for kennen. If someone doesn't come up with a good lujvo soon, I think we
should adopt one.

>zdile   "amusing to ... in ..."
>        - does this mean 'is funny to' or 'occupies ... pleasantly'?

Occupies pleasantly. funny is xajmi.

mi'e nitcion. (btw, that Esperanto for Nick)