Received: from VMS.DC.LSOFT.COM (vms.dc.lsoft.com [205.186.43.2]) by locke.ccil.org (8.6.9/8.6.10) with ESMTP id KAA14581 for ; Wed, 27 Sep 1995 10:15:59 -0400 Message-Id: <199509271415.KAA14581@locke.ccil.org> Received: from PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (205.186.43.4) by VMS.DC.LSOFT.COM (LSMTP for OpenVMS v0.1a) with SMTP id 7422F7B0 ; Wed, 27 Sep 1995 9:52:43 -0400 Date: Wed, 27 Sep 1995 16:48:01 +0300 Reply-To: Cyril Slobin Sender: Lojban list Comments: Resent-From: "Cyril Slobin" Comments: Originally-From: "Cyril Slobin" From: Cyril Slobin Organization: Institute for Commercial Engineering Subject: Re: translation exercises:1 X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: John Cowan In-Reply-To: <199509271219.PAA24694@feast.fe.msk.ru>; from Don Wiggins at Wed, 27 Sep 1995 13:19:11 BST Status: OR X-From-Space-Date: Wed Sep 27 10:16:02 1995 X-From-Space-Address: LOJBAN%CUVMB.BITNET@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU coi > Is "turn the screw to the left" an Americanism? There is the same convention in Russian at least. And I belive it is NOT arbitrary - "turn the screw to the left" means "turn the screw in the same direction you turn you own body when you turn yourself to the left". Of course this assumes that screw axis has some natural orientation that is more or less parallel to your own axis natural orientation. But I remember when I was a child it was very difficult to learn what does it mean "turn something to the left" - it was age when I already knew where my left hand is. And till now I prefer "anti-clockwise"... So I belive it's not only international convention, but also international difficulty... :-) co'o mi'e kir -- Cyril Slobin `When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, `it means just what I choose it to mean'