On 1/5/07, John E Clifford <clifford-j@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
As for the English, the words "promise" and "duty" are polysemous,
covering the making of the promise, what is promised and some
abstraction (don't we have a generic abstraction operator? Yes, {su'u})
which combines what is promised with the whole network of conditions
which making a promise calls into being. This last is probably best
summed up in "the sate of being obligated to do whatever by virtue of a
promise".
Could you give examples where the English "promise" means anything
other than what is promised, {lo se nupre}? Can it really be used for the
act of making a promise or for the state one is in after making a promise?
Could you say: "He was chewing gum during his promise" or "I can't do
that because I'm in a promise"?
Same for "duty". Except for it meaning "tax", when does it mean anything
other than {lo se bilga}?
mu'o mi'e xorxes