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Date:         Thu, 8 Dec 1994 12:54:24 EST
Reply-To: jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From: Jorge Llambias <jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU>
Subject:      Re: plural
To:         lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu
Status: RO

> >English forces us to distinguish between singular and plural.
> >
> >Lojban forces us to distinguish between individual and group.
>
> The point is that in Lojban it is optional to make such a distinction.
> You CAN use the "individual" article on a "group", and you CAN use the
> "group" word on an individual.

How do you say "the men carried the piano" in Lojban WITHOUT making
the individual/group distinction?

> The fact that you see no reason to do so
> is a product of your thinking, not of the inherent nature of the
> language.

I don't see how can you avoid using one or the other. For a given
broda, {le broda} refers to individual broda while {lei broda} refers
to a group/mass of them. You could use {lei broda} for a single broda,
but if there are more than one you have to be explicit whether you are
referring to them individually or as a group.

Jorge