Message-Id: <199511102129.QAA28432@locke.ccil.org>
Date:         Wed, 8 Nov 1995 11:25:28 -0800
Reply-To: "Peter L. Schuerman" <plschuerman@UCDAVIS.EDU>
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From: "Peter L. Schuerman" <plschuerman@UCDAVIS.EDU>
Subject:      Re: pointing
To: John Cowan <cowan@LOCKE.CCIL.ORG>
In-Reply-To:  <199511081743.JAA03700@guilder.ucdavis.edu>
Status: OR

Shouldn't there be a simple way of saying "I point to something"?

I mean, Lojban *is* intended to be spoken by humans, right?  And humans
have been known to point at things...  :)

It would be like having no word for sneeze, and having to construct it as:

"I reflexively/explosively mucus-discharge from my nose."

Yuck (in more than once sense of the word).  I guess that my idea of
language aesthetics is such that common concepts should be collected into
simple symbols, for the convenience of the speakers.  Of course, which
concepts are "common" is largely a matter of culture... and it is
difficult to define "common" concepts in a language that eschews
culture by proclaiming neutrality.

What criteria might a culturally-neutral language have for determining
whether a concept is "basic" or "common"?  Any thoughts on this?

Peter Schuerman                                    plschuerman@ucdavis.edu
                        Co-editor, SPECTRA Online
          for back issues: http://www.well.com/user/phandaal/


On Wed, 8 Nov 1995, Logical Language Group wrote:

> >> How about "I am befingered by a direction-sign of the blue chair"?
> >>
> >>         mi farsniseldegji le blanu stizu
> >
> >My direction-sign-finger is the blue-thing-type-of chair??? No, it
> >isn't! :)
>
> How about
> la'e lemi degji cu farna le blanu stizu