From LOJBAN@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU Thu Sep 25 17:36:10 1997
Message-Id: <199709252235.RAA22488@locke.ccil.org>
Date: Thu Sep 25 17:36:10 1997
Reply-To: John Cowan <cowan@DRV.CBC.COM>
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From: John Cowan <cowan@DRV.CBC.COM>
Organization: Lojban Peripheral
Subject:      Re: LE and VOI
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To: John Cowan <cowan@LOCKE.CCIL.ORG>
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la .and. cusku di'e

> So the following combos are useful:
>
> 1 nonspecific, veridical
> 2 specific, veridical, "indefinite" (= referent not (necessarily)
>    identifiable by addressee)
> 3 specific, nonveridical, "definite" (= referent not (necessarily)
>    identifiable by addressee)
>
> Function 1 is performed by {lo}. Functions 2 & 3 are both
> performed by {le}. Both 2 & 3 are useful, & it wd be nice to
> think of an easy way to distinguish them.

The closest analogue is "lebi'u" for 2 and "lebi'unai" for 3.
"bi'u" signals "new information", so "lebi'u nanmu" =
"a man, a certain man", whereas "lebi'unai nanmu" =
"the (previously mentioned) man".

--
John Cowan      http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
                        e'osai ko sarji la lojban