[lojban-beginners] Re: Introduction

[Jorge Llambías <jjllambias@gmail.com>]

On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 3:46 PM, Zachary Felix <zf2153@messiah.edu> wrote:
>
> What is the difference between the contradictory negation "na" and the scalar negation "na'e"?  According to the book, "na" is saying that the selbri-relation is false, and "na'e" is saying "other-than", but how are these really different?  The only conclusion I came to was that "na'e" is meaning that something else is true, though I think for most cases they would have relatively similar meanings...

They are indeed very similar. The most important difference is their
scope: "na" negates a whole proposition, while "na'e" only negates the
word that follows. Compare these:

    ta na'e blanu karce
    "That is a non-blue car."

We are told that it is non-blue, but it is definitely a car.

    ta na blanu karce
    That is not a blue car.

NowiIt may be a red car, but it also may be a blue house, or a red
house, etc. We don't know whether it is a car at all.

You will discover other important effects of scope when you consider
quantifiers, but that should give you a taste for how "na" and "na'e"
differ.

mu'o mi'e xorxes