Re: [lojban-beginners] How long should a word be marked with "za'e"?

[Jorge Llambías <jjllambias@gmail.com>]

On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 10:50 PM, Stela Selckiku <selckiku@gmail.com> wrote:
> In that case,
> though, isn't more than a {za'e} necessary?  What good does it do to
> mark a new word as having an unexpected meaning without saying what
> that meaning is?

What good do scare quotes do in English? They just tell you not to
take the word at face value, you will need to use the context to
figure out what it means. In some cases, of course you may need to
explain what it means, that's part of the context of use.

> Are you saying that you think it's wrong to use {za'e} when a new word
> has a predictable meaning, or just unnecessary?

To me, it's just a little bit annoying, no more than that. I don't
think I can say it's wrong, because we don't have any established
rules about it.

> Even given this smaller range of use for {za'e}, I still wonder about
> my original question.  Suppose I invent a word with an unpredictable
> meaning and mark it with {za'e}, but it doesn't catch on.  Later I
> want to use the same word again.  Should I mark it again with {za'e}
> when I bring it back out?

I don't think it really matters whether you have used it before or
not. All that matters is whether you expect your audience to take it
at face value or whether you want to warn them not to take it at face
value. To me it says "I'm not using this word with the meaning you
would normally give it if I didn't put this warning".

mu'o mi'e xorxes

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