Re: [lojban] Re:reply to a negated selbri

[John Cowan <cowan@ccil.org>]

xahlee.org scripsit:

> Can anyone explain a bit why lojban choose to be the way it is? How do i view it in a positive light? :)

The idea of "go'i" is that it repeats any part of the sentence not
explicitly overridden (except of course the question word "xu").  So
if we have a question "xu mi na klama le zarci" ("Are you not going
to the store?"), then saying "go'i" by itself leaves the "na" in
place, and means that you are not going.  "na go'i" overrides the
"na" with another "na" (as opposed to adding a "na", which would be
a self-canceling double negative) and again means that you are not
going.  "ja'a goi" overrides the "na" with a "ja'a" and means that
you are going.

But the simplest way is to avoid "na" in questions altogether.

-- 
John Cowan  jcowan@reutershealth.com  http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
Does anybody want any flotsam? / I've gotsam.
Does anybody want any jetsam? / I can getsam.
        --Ogden Nash, No Doctors Today, Thank You