Message-Id: <m0pgFWC-0000R5C@xiron.pc.helsinki.fi>
Date:         Mon, 14 Mar 1994 10:52:39 -0500
Reply-To:     Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Sender:       Lojban list <LOJBAN%CUVMB.bitnet@FINHUTC.hut.fi>
From:         Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Subject:      Re: "late"
To:           Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
Content-Length: 1361
Lines: 31

la matius. cusku di'e

> I discovered "lerci" in the gismu list before asking the question in the
> previous post, but concluded that it meant "late" as in "late delivery".  It
> seems to me that "late" meaning "at an hour somewhere vaguely between 9.00pm
> and 4.00am" and "late" meaning "delayed; after the expected time" are two
> different concepts (saying "We met at a late hour" doesn't imply that the
> hour was delayed in arriving :-)
>
> So, is there a link between these two meanings that I'm missing?

I think that these are both "lerci", but with different x2's implicit.
The latter is the simpler case: the x2 is simply an event, with respect
to which x1 is late.  So in the case of a "late delivery", it is late
with respect to the (non-existent) event of expected delivery.

However, the x2 can be vaguer than an event; it can be a cultural or
personal standard.  So "lerci be mi" means "late by me", as in

        ca le purlamdei mi cikna lerci mi
        Yesterday I was up late.

A "late hour" is clearly more cultural than personal; we could speak of
"lerci be loi merko", e.g.

A modest change from "by standard x2" to "relative to event x2/by standard x2"
would be worthwhile for both "lerci" and its partner "clira".

--
John Cowan              sharing account <lojbab@access.digex.net> for now
                e'osai ko sarji la lojban.