Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 06:36:12 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199711211136.GAA10951@locke.ccil.org> Reply-To: Logical Language Group Sender: Lojban list From: Logical Language Group Subject: Re: Indirect questions X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: John Cowan X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 2039 X-From-Space-Date: Fri Nov 21 06:36:15 1997 X-From-Space-Address: LOJBAN@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU >>I think "danfu" is very broad; the x1 or the x2 could be a person >>as well. > >Could you give an example? I can't imagine a person as >an answer, and even less as a question. I hope you're >not suggesting something like *{mi danfu le fonxa}! la .iv. cu danfu la .adam. zo'o More seriously le skami certu cu danfu lenu le skamu cu broda If the problem is an event, then the solution can be a thing or an event or a person. There may be an embedded sumti-raising here, but I'll admit that I am not sure that you need a specific event to necessarily specify a solution to a problem that is somewhat non-specific. If the problem is the asking of a question, then the solution is lik ely to be the giving of an answer (an event). If the problem is the question itself, then the answer to the question is the normal x1 for danfu. But ther e could be an event in x1 anyway, as somne events may render the question moot. lenu lemi bersa cu vimcybevri le festi cu danfu lu ma bazi vimcu le fes ti li'u My son removing the garbage is an answer to "Who is going to (right now) remove the garbage?" I can imagine mi terspuda le fonxa easily (and I amend by immediate prior post by using terspuda instead of spuda in altenration to danfu). On has to be a bit metaphorical to say that a person is an answer to the problem a problem that is only described as "the phone". It works, but I think primarily because of the looseness of "le". Better would be mi danfu tu'a le fonxa which leaves open lots of play as to exactly which problem involving the phone is the one which "I" answer. lojbab ---- lojbab lojbab@access.digex.net Bob LeChevalier, President, The Logical Language Group, Inc. 2904 Beau Lane, Fairfax VA 22031-1303 USA 703-385-0273 Artificial language Loglan/Lojban: ftp.access.digex.net /pub/access/lojbab or see Lojban WWW Server: href="http://xiron.pc.helsinki.fi/lojban/" Order _The Complete Lojban Language_ - see our Web pages or ask me.