[lojban-beginners] Re: lo nanmu poi na va

[Jorge "Llambías" <jjllambias2000@yahoo.com.ar>]

--- Matt Arnold wrote:
>  I thought attitudinals, such as
> "a'o" were meta-linguistic, in other words interjections that are the
> equivalent of "ouch" or "wow" or chat-room smilies.

Many attitudinals are just interjections, yes, but some can change a
sentence from the default indicative mood of assertion to some 
other mood. 

> But if what you've said
> is correct, "a'o" can actually subsitute for the content word "pacna," which
> seems like a very bad idea. 

It doesn't quite substitute. With {a'o} you express your hope.
With {pacna} you assert that you hope for something.

> I want to say "I wish for the event of him
> leaving." This is a statement about me. 

Yes. But "Oh that he leave!" is an expression of hope that
he leaves (probably not in common use in English nowadays). 
It is neither an assertion that he leaves nor an assertion 
that you hope he leaves. It is not an assertion at all. 
{a'o ko'a cliva} is like that. 

> If I say "a'o ri cliva," what I'm
> saying is "I am full of hope when I say: he DOES leave." A statement about
> him. But it's not true. I dont' know if he's leaving.

{a'o} overrides the usually understood {ju'a}. That would be
something like {a'o i ju'a ri cliva}.

A bare sentence is normally but not necessarily used to
make an assertion. With {ju'a} you can indicate unambiguously
that you are making an assertion.

mu'o mi'e xorxes



		
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