Message-Id: <199601022001.WAA02160@xiron.pc.helsinki.fi>
Date:         Tue, 2 Jan 1996 15:22:24 -0500
Reply-To: John Cowan <cowan@LOCKE.CCIL.ORG>
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From: John Cowan <cowan@LOCKE.CCIL.ORG>
Subject:      Re: {ga'inai} error
To: Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
In-Reply-To:  <199512281408.JAA28223@locke.ccil.org> from "Robert J. Chassell"
              at Dec 28, 95 08:46:48 am
Content-Length: 1532
Lines: 40

la bob. cusku di'e

>     3. "But the others already came!" said the butler meekly.
>                                                       ^^^^^^
>
>       lu .i .ue ku'i lei drata prenu ba'o vitke li'u
>       Surprise, however, the mass of other people are in the
>         aftermath of visiting.
>
>       la'e di'u se cusku le zdase'u ga'inai
>                                     ^^^^^^^
>       the last utterance was said by the house-type of servant meekly.
>
>
> As I wrote, it is I, the author who is speaking humbly.  It actually reads:
>
>       Your humble and unworthy author notes that the
>       the last utterance was spoken by the butler.

Everything in the rest of this posting is quite correct except for one
point.  In "le zdase'u ga'inai" the speaker expresses his inferiority
to the referent of "le zdase'u" rather than to things-in-general, in
accordance with the rule that a UI following some construct expresses
attitude toward the referent of the construct.  So a good translation
would be:

        The last sentence was spoken by His Highness, Count of the Table.

Another point not brought up by Bob:  "la'e di'u" tells us that the
referent of the sentence was said by H.H.C.o.t.T., whereas "di'u" alone
would mean that the actual sentence was said by him.  Direct quotation
demands "di'e se cusku" etc.

> (Certainly, I ought be humble, for making this mistake! :)

So ought we all to be.

--
John Cowan                                      cowan@ccil.org
                e'osai ko sarji la lojban.