Message-Id: <m0sSJAv-0000YjC@xiron.pc.helsinki.fi>
Date:         Sun, 2 Jul 1995 03:03:29 -0400
Reply-To:     Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Sender:       Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From:         Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Subject:      Re: Lojban question (fwd)
To:           Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
Content-Length: 1487
Lines: 35

>Make one up for yourself! I pictured it as a cartoon character looking
>in the mirror.
...
>Do you really think the axe could be inside the head? I think that would
>be unlikely. How could it have gotten there? And how would the head's
>owner find out? ("Oh, my God!" implies at least surprize.)

Being that I get perverse when translatng into Lojban, the context I imagined
was indeed that the axe was "inside", and thus presumably small.  maybe the
guy was looking at an X-ray picture because he has an unexplained splitting
(groan) headache.  That would explain the surprise.  I find it harder to
imagine surprise of that sort were a full-sized axe to be embedded in the
scalp - I mean even presuming the blow didn't kill hhim, there would be this
rather obvious long handle weighting his head to one side, and he wouldn't need
a mirror to have a good idea of the problem.

>> Of course axes don't pass through heads in normal life - they cleave them.
>> So perhaps the author intended "ba'o {cleave}".
>
>What is "cleave" in Lojban? {pagre} is the closest thing I found,
>and that's what I intended.

How about {cut-insert} or  {wedge-insert}.  The key point being that the axe
was inserted into the head, and did not and probably will not pass through
it.

>No fair criticizing my translation without
>giving one of your own for me to criticize...  :)

Me write Lojban???? In the middle of the night yet (which is when I seem to
get to answer these things)???

%^) %^) %^)

lojbab