On 8/5/08, A. PIEKARSKI <totus@rogers.com> wrote:
Can anybody tell me if there is there any difference, no matter how subtle,
between {pe'u) and {e'osai}? When would one use one or the other?
Likewise (ki'e) and {i'o}.
The first main difference I can point out to you is both grammatical and semantic, which is that {pe'u} and {ki'e} are in selma'o (se cmavo) COI. That means that they not only change the mood of the sentence, but also *address* it, usually to someone present. So for instance:
"mi surla .i'o" -- I relax, which I appreciate and am grateful for.
"mi surla ki'e" -- I relax-- thanks [someone, who's probably present, or is otherwise addressable]!
Another difference is how quickly & deeply the speaking community has adopted those various words. They've all come and gone in popularity over time, but I would say that on the whole {ki'e} is much more popular than {.i'o} (though {.i'o} has gained a bit of attention recently), and {.e'o} is much more popular than {pe'u} (though {pe'u} has gained a bit of attention recently).
One important historical difference is that {.e'o} is used in the famous saying ".e'o sai ko sarji la .lojban." (which probably causes {.e'o} to take a {sai} more often than other UIs..)
There's a relationship in fact between all three of {pe'u}, {.e'o}, and {ko}. {pe'u} addresses someone, putting them into the sentence as the addressee, and is clearly asking them for something. Definitely a sense of {ga'i nai}, at least for me. {.e'o} changes the mood of the statement, giving everything about it a requestiness. It's kind of near {.a'o} in my mind-- {.a'o} you hope the bridi will happen, {.e'o} you hope that someone will help make it happen. {ko} actually puts the listener into the bridi, and clarifies the others-- it shows exactly what the request/command/desire is. (Otherwise you're guessing, and {gau ko} is usually the right guess.)