From lojban-out@lojban.org Wed May 18 16:19:42 2005 Return-Path: X-Sender: lojban-out@lojban.org X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 79312 invoked from network); 18 May 2005 23:19:42 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.172) by m28.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 18 May 2005 23:19:42 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO chain.digitalkingdom.org) (64.81.49.134) by mta4.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 18 May 2005 23:19:42 -0000 Received: from lojban-out by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.50) id 1DYXpF-0007ZX-Bk for lojban@yahoogroups.com; Wed, 18 May 2005 16:19:41 -0700 Received: from chain.digitalkingdom.org ([64.81.49.134]) by chain.digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1DYXow-0007Z6-Oi; Wed, 18 May 2005 16:19:27 -0700 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list lojban-list); Wed, 18 May 2005 16:19:18 -0700 (PDT) Received: from nobody by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.50) id 1DYXoj-0007Yw-4r for lojban-list-real@lojban.org; Wed, 18 May 2005 16:19:09 -0700 Received: from web81310.mail.yahoo.com ([206.190.37.85]) by chain.digitalkingdom.org with smtp (Exim 4.50) id 1DYXoa-0007YP-Ta for lojban-list@lojban.org; Wed, 18 May 2005 16:19:09 -0700 Message-ID: <20050518231829.81030.qmail@web81310.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [65.69.48.37] by web81310.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Wed, 18 May 2005 16:18:29 PDT Date: Wed, 18 May 2005 16:18:29 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: 6667 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Spam-Score: -2.6 (--) X-archive-position: 9965 X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 Errors-to: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org X-original-sender: clifford-j@sbcglobal.net X-list: lojban-list X-Spam-Score: -2.6 (--) To: lojban@yahoogroups.com X-Originating-IP: 64.81.49.134 X-eGroups-Msg-Info: 1:12:0 X-eGroups-From: John E Clifford From: John E Clifford Reply-To: clifford-j@sbcglobal.net Subject: [lojban] Re: The x1 of fenki X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=116389790 X-Yahoo-Profile: lojban_out X-Yahoo-Message-Num: 24337 --- Jorge Llambías wrote: > On 5/18/05, Robin Lee Powell > wrote: > > This is really bizarre to me, because to me > only *people* are crazy. > > > > There are actions that only a crazy person > would take, but it's the > > preson that's crazy, not the actions. > > In English, "crazy" can be used both for people > or for actions. > "He's crazy" and "that's crazy" are both > perfectly idiomatic > as far as I can tell. > > In Lojban, according to the gi'uste, there are > certain gismu > places that are reserved for events and from > which people or > objects are explicitly excluded. It is very > hard to guess which > places are like that, and which will happily > take both people > and events. For example the x1 of {xajmi} > explicitly allows > both people and events. I have never quite > understood the > rationale behind the distinction. It does not seem to make much sense, since people are funny much in the same way they are crazy: what they say or do, and events are crazy in much the same way they are funny (note we even use "funny" as a euphemism for "crazy"). But even if we could come up with a rationale in this case, another case would come along equally mysterious. Languages get words in spite of someone's rational scheme, not because of it.