Date: Sat, 17 Dec 1994 14:23:28 -0500 (EST)
From: jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU
Subject: Re: Esperanto word order (was: Q-kau)
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
To: Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
Reply-to: jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU
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la djan cusku di'e

> My reading of this is that the surface order of sumti doesn't matter, whereas
> the presence or absence of a "se" conversion does matter.

That's what I seemed to be saying, but actually it's probably not true.

"Iu amas cxiun" probably means the same person is loved by everyone,
but it's hard to say. It will depend a lot on context and intonation.

> This is precisely
> the notion you say "would be really confusing, and [you] don't see the point
> of it" in response to Lojbab.

It would be confusing. Will "se prami" behave differently from "selprami"?

> Now admittedly,
>
> > Esperanto certainly does not claim to reflect predicate logic.
>
> but what's sauce for one might well have some piquancy for the other, no?

I doubt it. Even if I was right in what I wrote the first time, context can
override any such interpretation in Esperanto. Can we allow that in Lojban,
with something that is so much at the root of predicate logic?

Jorge