re : translation challenge: "If today is Monday..."

["G. Dyke" <gordon.dyke@bluewin.ch>]

Message: 22
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2001 10:08:33 +0100
From: "And Rosta" <a.rosta@ntlworld.com>
Subject: translation challenge: "If today is Monday..."



>1. If today is Monday, then tomorrow is Tuesday.

>[Translation should be true, regardless of when it is said.]

{lenu le pavdei cu cabdei kei nibli lenu le relday cu bavlamday}


>2. If today is Monday, then tomorrow is Wednesday.

>[Translation should be false, regardless of when it is said.]

{lenu le pavdei cu cabdei kei nibli lenu le cibday cu bavlamday}

>(Examples from a talk by Jim McCawley.)

>I opine that these can be lojbanned using {mu'ei} but by no
other method.

If my attempts break down because it isn't monday today, try ledu'u, leka.
If still... try lesi'o or leli'i. otherwise, we're missing a NU. If
suggesting today is monday when it isn't isn't an abstraction, I don't know
what is.

I don't like {mu'ei} ! (I had written a long paragraph explaining why, but I
erased it 'cause much of what I said doesn't make sense - I suppose I just
don't like the idea of lojban not being able to express something which is
so obvious in natural language)

Greg Dyke
--

"I have a proposal for the international community:
help us build an execution block ; then we will be able to use our stadium
for playing football"
*the afghani foreign minister*