Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 12:40:17 -0500
From: Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Subject: Re: some help needed
In-reply-to: <199412141717.AA18778@nfs2.digex.net> from "Roberto Ricci" at Dec
 14, 94 04:27:07 pm
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To: Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
Reply-to: Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
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> How do I refer to some sentence as a whole? I want to translate something
 like:
>
> Let P be the sentence "..."
>
> needing to be able to refer to the propositional constant P for later use.
 
It depends on whether you want to use P later as a term, or as a functor.
If the former, then it's easy:
 
        daxipy. poi du'u ... [kei] zo'u .......
        bound-variable-P such-that [it-is] the-predication "..." :
 
and then you use "daxipy." thereafter.  This literally means "da-sub-P";
since only "da", "de", "di" are available as bound variables, people who
want more subscript them.
 
As a functor, you say:
 
        su'o bu'axipy. cei "..." zo'u ........
        there-exists-at-least-one predicate-variable-P with-value "..." :
 
and then "bu'axipy." is a functor ("bu'a" is the predicate equivalent of "da",
and is Lojban's gateway to 2nd-order predicate calculus).
 
--
John Cowan              sharing account <lojbab@access.digex.net> for now
                e'osai ko sarji la lojban.