Return-Path: <@FINHUTC.HUT.FI:LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET> Received: from FINHUTC.hut.fi by xiron.pc.helsinki.fi with smtp (Linux Smail3.1.28.1 #1) id m0r7v68-00006rC; Thu, 17 Nov 94 02:53 EET Message-Id: Received: from FINHUTC.HUT.FI by FINHUTC.hut.fi (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9336; Thu, 17 Nov 94 02:53:24 EET Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin MAILER@SEARN) by FINHUTC.HUT.FI (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 9333; Thu, 17 Nov 1994 02:53:23 +0200 Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin LISTSERV@SEARN) by SEARN.SUNET.SE (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 9121; Thu, 17 Nov 1994 01:50:11 +0100 Date: Wed, 16 Nov 1994 19:25:21 EST Reply-To: bob@GNU.AI.MIT.EDU Sender: Lojban list From: bob@GNU.AI.MIT.EDU Subject: quick comment on {loi} X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: Veijo Vilva Content-Length: 1268 Lines: 31 [I'll be busy again for a while and somewhat out of touch.] Someone recently spoke of {loi mlatu} as a whole mass of cats. In so far as {loi} is derived from JCB's `lo', it better to think of {loi mlatu} as a *single* manifestation of a cat. When you speak Lojban as an object oriented programmer, you could use {loi} for an instance of a class. Usually `an instance' is considered singular, although, of course you can have many instances. (I have three instances of class Window on my screen right now.) Hence, .i loi mlatu pu mo'u citka loi finpe Means something like `Mr. Cat ate Mr. fish', or `a cat ate fish' or `the cat ate the fish' or `the cat ate some fish'. (Whether to use `the' and `a' in the translation is are determined by context, as with some natural languages.) In the `sumti' paper, John Cowan translates {loi} as `part of the mass of those which really are'. This is wordy, but may be the least problematic formula. This gives a translation as: Part of the mass of those which really are cats eat part of the mass of those which really are fish. (`Which' is here being used restrictively, they way `that' is often used; people often use `which' non-restrictively, but that is not the case here.)