From jjllambias2000@yahoo.com.ar Thu Mar 25 04:47:18 2004 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list lojban-list); Thu, 25 Mar 2004 04:47:18 -0800 (PST) Received: from web41901.mail.yahoo.com ([66.218.93.152]) by chain.digitalkingdom.org with smtp (Exim 4.30) id 1B6UGM-0004JC-5s for lojban-list@lojban.org; Thu, 25 Mar 2004 04:47:10 -0800 Message-ID: <20040325124639.57745.qmail@web41901.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [200.49.74.2] by web41901.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Thu, 25 Mar 2004 04:46:39 PST Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 04:46:39 -0800 (PST) From: Jorge "Llambías" Subject: [lojban] Re: reply to a negated selbri To: lojban-list@lojban.org In-Reply-To: <20040324214821.GH19914@skunk.reutershealth.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-archive-position: 7320 X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 Sender: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org Errors-to: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org X-original-sender: jjllambias2000@yahoo.com.ar Precedence: bulk Reply-to: lojban-list@lojban.org X-list: lojban-list --- jcowan@reutershealth.com wrote: > xahlee.org scripsit: > > > So for example, if someone asks: > > > > This is not white? > > > > and i wanted to reply that it is white, i think average English speaker > > would answer "yes". (more likely: "that's right!"). > > Not at all. The answer would be "no" in this case, i.e. "No, that is not > white". The presence of "not" in the question is completely disregarded. Aren't you agreeing with him then? > In the other case, one says "It *is* white", as "Yes" by itself would be > confusing: one might instead say "On the contrary". I think if the question was just "Isn't this white?", then "Yes" means "yes, it is white" and "No" means "no, it isn't white" without any possible confusion. "This is not white?" seems to be more than just a question, so that may bring confusion. mu'o mi'e xorxes __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html