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

[Ken Comer <kencomer@kencomer.com>]

on 12/1/04 3:04 PM, Llambías Jorge wrote thusly:

>> 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.

If that isn't clear, consider these two statements in English.
  I wish he would leave.
  He's leaving.

In both cases, the intonation used to vocalize them could dramatically
change the message each contains.  How about,
  He's leaving?
  He's leaving! 
  He's leaving?! (usually considered bad grammar)
Those might be used to represent someone saying "He does leave" in an a'o
manner of speaking. Picture two burglars hiding in a closet and the little
one says sotto voce "I gotta pee NOW." The big one, who is watching through
the crack of the slightly opened door, sees the victim look at the entryway
while patting the pockets of his overcoat. If the victim were to then snap
his fingers and walk out of sight toward the entryway, the second one might
say (sotto voce with hope) "He's leaving..." If not, he might say (sotto
voce with hope) "You can hold it." In English, both of those could be better
represented in written form (in my opinion) as a rhetorical question (e.g.,
"He's leaving?").

As a learning exercise, I went through the entire list of attitudinals and
tried to say "John's here" with each one. There were a couple that were
hard, but mostly it worked.