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Re: [lojban] containers



At 04:15 PM 06/15/2000 +0100, E Sklyanin wrote:
There is a group of gismu describing various containers. The definition of
such gismu usually has a place (x2, sometimes x3) for the contents.
In the list of English definitions the word "contents" is used with three
prepositions: for/of/with:

"for contents":
botpi (bottle), dacru (drower), lante (can), patxu (pot), tansi (pan),
tanxe (box).

"of contents":
baktu (bucket), palne (tray)

"with contents":
dakli (sack), lanku (basket)

unique wording:
kabri (cup) "containing contents"
palta (plate) - no place for contents

I wonder if this difference in wording (for/of/with/containig) is deliberate
and serves to convey different meanings. Are we speaking in case of bottle
(botpi) only of the bottle itself, and of only potential contents? How do we
say then "a bottle of wine"?

Respectively, when we use "bucket" (baktu) are we speaking about an amount of
water contained in a bucket? How can we then refer to an empty bucket?

I would prefer to have a uniform place structure for all kinds of containers.
It is rather difficult to memorize the distibution of "for/of/with".

The preposition does not matter. It was my sloppiness in wording. The only intent was that, if there was a contents associated with the container, that the contents could be specified in the x2 or x3 place, and given the nature of containers, "nothing" (or "air" for a pedant) is a legitimate value for the contents, so that such a place was always justified. I am not sure that a plate necessarily needs to be considered as a container, hence did not include a contents place.

lojbab


--
lojbab                                             lojbab@lojban.org
Bob LeChevalier, President, The Logical Language Group, Inc.
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