Re: [lojban] reply to a negated selbri

[Pierre Abbat <phma@webjockey.net>]

On Wednesday 24 March 2004 16:19, xahlee.org wrote:
> i find this quite unclear about what it means, because:
> * it is not well-known how average English speaker responds to negated
> question. (assuming that average English speaker does in fact respone in
> one way.) * I find the passage confusing as is written. For example, it is
> not clear to me what "double negative" means as used. * it didn't give
> example to illustrate one way or the other.

"double negative" means e.g. "this is not not white", which means "this is 
white".

> So for example, if someone asks:
>
> This is not white?
>
> and i wanted to reply that it is white, i think average English speaker
> would answer "yes". (more likely: "that's right!").

I would answer "it is" or "it isn't", because I don't know what the listener 
would understand by "yes" or "no".

> According to the "What is lojban" paragraph cited above, if we have a
> conversation thus: A: "xu ti na blabi"
> B: "na go'i"
>
> what B is means is that "it is not white". Am i right here?

Yes, and "go'i" would mean the same, and "ja'a go'i" would mean "it is white".

phma
-- 
li fi'u vu'u fi'u fi'u du li pa