Date:  Thu, 11 Dec 1997 11:24:32 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <199712111624.LAA21402@locke.ccil.org>
Reply-To: Jim Carter <jimc@MATH.UCLA.EDU>
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From: Jim Carter <jimc@MATH.UCLA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: indirect Qs (was Re: On logji lojbo discussions)
X-To:         lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu
To: John Cowan <cowan@LOCKE.CCIL.ORG>
In-Reply-To:  Your message of "Wed, 10 Dec 1997 00:30:07 -0300." 
              <9712110230.AB22418@julia.math.ucla.edu>
X-Mozilla-Status: 0011
Content-Length: 911
X-From-Space-Date: Thu Dec 11 11:24:40 1997
X-From-Space-Address: LOJBAN@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU

> Lojbab:
> >> But I am not sure that "whether" is a yes/no question.
> And:
> >Broadly, yes. Definitely if a tea-or-coffee question counts as a
> >yes-no question.
> Jorge:
> I'd say it counts as two yes-no questions:
>
>         i ta vasru lo tcati ji lo ckafi
>         Does that contain tea or coffee?
>
> There we want to know the answer to two questions: [snip] ...
>      Does that contain tea?   Does that contain coffee?
> The most helpful answers would be: {e}, {enai}, {na.e} or {na.enai},
> which are the ones that answer both questions, corresponding to
> "yes/yes", "yes/no", "no/yes" and "no/no". Other answers are
> possible, but less informative.

Actually I see this class of questions as selection from a list, rather
than a necessarily binary choice.  The prototype is "[Which do you want
from] coffee, tea or milk?", to which the answer is "[Please give me}
milk."

                -- jimc