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 m0r3sIv-00005bC; Sat, 5 Nov 94 23:05 EET Message-Id: Received: from FINHUTC.HUT.FI by FINHUTC.hut.fi (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9725; Sat, 05 Nov 94 23:05:53 EET Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin MAILER@SEARN) by FINHUTC.HUT.FI (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 9722; Sat, 5 Nov 1994 23:05:52 +0200 Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin LISTSERV@SEARN) by SEARN.SUNET.SE (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 6892; Sat, 5 Nov 1994 22:02:44 +0100 Date: Sat, 5 Nov 1994 21:04:58 +0000 Reply-To: ucleaar Sender: Lojban list From: ucleaar Subject: Re: context in Lojban X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: Veijo Vilva In-Reply-To: (Your message of Sat, 05 Nov 94 14:28:39 EST.) Content-Length: 1121 Lines: 29 Jorge replying to Bob > From what you say, by contextual range you seem to mean something like > universe of discourse, i.e. all that exists for the purposes of the claim. > If that is the case, then {lo tanxe} means {lo pa tanxe}, i.e. at least > one of the one box that exists, or what is the same, every one of the > one box that exists. I agree that in this case {lo tanxe} is for all > purposes specific. Even if we agree that the set of ro broda contains only one member, I still don't think this makes "lo broda" specific. Consider the sentence: The assassin of Archduke Ferdinand started the first World War. This may be interpreted in two ways. "The assassin of A.F." can be specific, in which case it means: Gavrilo Princip (who, incidentally, is the assassin of A.F.) started WW1. Or "the assassin of A.F." can be nonspecific, in which case it means: Whoever is the assassin of A.F. started WW1. Ex, x is assassin of A.F. & x started WW1. (This, incidentally, shows that if 'definiteness' is defined as the meaning of English 'the', then definiteness doesn't entail +specific.) --- And