[lojban] Re: reply to a negated selbri

[Jorge "Llambías" <jjllambias2000@yahoo.com.ar>]

--- jcowan@reutershealth.com wrote:
> xahlee.org scripsit:
> 
> > 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!").
> 
> Not at all.  The answer would be "no" in this case, i.e. "No, that is not
> white".  The presence of "not" in the question is completely disregarded.

Aren't you agreeing with him then?

> In the other case, one says "It *is* white", as "Yes" by itself would be
> confusing: one might instead say "On the contrary".

I think if the question was just "Isn't this white?", then
"Yes" means "yes, it is white" and "No" means "no, it isn't white"
without any possible confusion. "This is not white?" seems to be
more than just a question, so that may bring confusion.

mu'o mi'e xorxes


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