From LOJBAN%CUVMB.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu Sat Mar 6 23:00:00 2010 Received: from uga.cc.uga.edu by MINERVA.CIS.YALE.EDU via SMTP; Thu, 3 Dec 1992 17:44:23 -0500 Received: from UGA.CC.UGA.EDU by uga.cc.uga.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 7399; Thu, 03 Dec 92 17:40:56 EST Received: from UGA.BITNET by UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (Mailer R2.08 PTF008) with BSMTP id 6873; Thu, 03 Dec 92 17:40:55 EST Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1992 22:41:02 +0000 Reply-To: And Rosta Sender: Lojban list From: And Rosta Subject: Re: The Distribution Problem: An Ambiguity? X-To: lojban@cuvma.BITNET To: Erik Rauch In-Reply-To: (Your message of Mon, 30 Nov 92 12:44:24 EST.) Status: RO X-Status: X-From-Space-Date: Thu Dec 3 22:41:02 1992 X-From-Space-Address: @uga.cc.uga.edu:LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET Message-ID: > 1) melbi je cmalu nixli > pretty and little girl > > 2) cmalu je nixli ckule > little and girl school > > 3) labno je remna dapma > wolf and man curse > werewolf curse > > Each of these tanru is susceptible of two different interpretations, which > I call "distributive" and "non-distributive". In the distributive > interpretation, "A je B C" means "(A B) je (A C)"; in the non-distributive > interpretation, it means "C of type A-je-B". It strikes me that something's wrong with the nondistrib reading. First of all, we might note that it could be expanded into "wolf and man creature curse", which is now distributive. Given this, why have the nondistrib reading. Secondly, I do not understand why _je_ should indicate "fusion" as it does with the nondistrib reading. Can the lojban equivalent of _I laughed and (I) cried_ mean something like "I was doing something that was half laughing and half crying"? I should imagine not, and that to get this meaning one would have to say "I cry laugh" or "I laugh cry". (Note that I'm not saying that in _I laugh and cry_ the _laugh_ and the _cry_ can't be understood as referring to the same event.) I know nothing at all about Lojban connectives, so this is all going just on intuition. --- And.