[lojban] Re: Principles

["Adam D. Lopresto" <lojban-out@lojban.org>]

On Tue, 8 Jun 2004, John Cowan wrote:

> Jorge Llamb?as scripsit:
>
> > {soi} works for "and vice versa", but not for "or vice versa".
>
> It can't imagine anyone using "or vice versa" in a flat declarative
> sentence like "Fido bit Rover or vice versa": to say that is to admit
> an ignorance too profound for words.

I've seen plenty of times when that ignorance is unavoidable.  "John and Mary
were bickering in the back seat of the car, as usual, and then John hit Mary,
or vice versa, and soon there was pulling of hair and biting.  So I turned the
car right around and drove us all home."

> I think that "or vice versa"
> is far more likely when in the scope of a negation (as here) or
> perhaps in a contrastive question ("Did Fido bite Rover, or [was it]
> vice versa?").
>
> I don't have the solution here, but I feel it has something to do
> with negation scope.
>
>

-- 
Adam Lopresto
http://cec.wustl.edu/~adam/

Dogs come when called.  Cats take a message and get back to you.