[lojban-beginners] Re: New lojbanist asking about "po'e" and "lo"

["komfo,amonan" <komfoamonan@gmail.com>]

On 4/22/07, Rob Hughes <robert.c.hughes@gmail.com> wrote:

First, I'm puzzled about the relationship between "po'e" and "po".  I
understand that "po'e" can be used for unique inalienable possession.
My hands are only mine and can't stop being mine, so I say "lo xance
po'e mi".  Is "po'e" used for inalienable possession that isn't
unique?  My father can't stop being my father, but he's also my
sister's father.  Can I say "lo patfu po'e mi", or should I say "lo
patfu pe me" (or "lo mi patfu")?

The short answer is: { lo patfu be mi }. That pretty much covers most all meanings of "my father".

{ lo patfu pe mi }/{ lo mi patfu } is common, correct, and less precise.

I would say { po'e } is definitely wrong and { po } almost definitely wrong, because they imply ownership, and it's hard to imagine a scenario in which one wishes to assert ownership over one's father.

There are perhaps some cultures where some familial relationships have an ownership dynamic. But the place structures of those gismu release us from such thorny issues.

Remember that although English bids us say "my book", "my novel", "my liver", "my father", Lojban urges us to make finer distinctions.

mu'o mi'e komfo,amonan