Re: [jboske] kau: instantiation

["Jorge Llambias" <jjllambias@hotmail.com>]

la nitcion cusku di'e

> So I would take
>
> {.i na vanji fa ledu'u makau catra la lauras}
>
> as meaning
>
> {,i na vajni fa lenu zo'e djuno ledu'u makau catra la lauras}
>
> and thereby I use a type-raising, performative salvator. And if someone
> thinks the two mean something different, let them tell me what that is.

The two are not wildly different, but I don't see them as strictly
equivalent either. In any case, I admit I am lost as to what the
point is. It is perfectly sensible to say: {noda djuno le du'u
makau catra la lauras ije na vajni fa le du'u makau catra la
lauras}, "Nobody knows who killed Laura, and it is not important
who killed Laura". In that case, {kau} is not signalling that there
is a knower, no matter how unspecified. Similarly, if I say {mi'a
ca'o jdice le du'u mi ba klama makau}, "we're deciding where to
go", there is no need for there to be a knower, we haven't decided
yet.

> And it's because I assume that {kau} always implies {djuno} or
> something like that somewhere along the line, that I see Jorge say {.i
> makau skari} for "any colour", and I freak.

i makau skari ta => "God knows what colour it is."?

Would that appease your mind? What do you think {i makau skari}
means?

> We know that {kau} is defined as something that does indirect
> questions. Indirect questions are bound up with {djuno}. I have less
> than no problem binding {kau} with {djuno} throughout its usage. Why
> the big rush to emancipate it? Why *should* it mean something disjoint
> from {djuno}?

I'm not saying it should mean something different, but I don't
see how it connects with {djuno} in many uses that don't
involve {djuno}.

mu'o mi'e xorxes


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