Re: [lojban] Numbers and fractions

[Richard Curnow <richard@rrbcurnow.freeuk.com>]

On Sun, Nov 12, 2000 at 09:02:55PM -0500, Pierre Abbat wrote:
> How many dogs bite me in each of these sentences?:
> 
> re le pano gerku cu batci mi
2 dogs (out of some pre-understood group of 10 dogs)

> i pimu le pano gerku cu batci mi
0.5 dog (!) (again, out of a pre-understood group of 10)

> i repimu le pano gerku cu batci mi
2.5 dogs

> i fi'u le pano gerku cu batci mi
1.6... dogs

> i re le pimu gerku cu batci mi
2 dogs out of a pre-supposed 0.5 dogs - I don't think this makes any
sense.

Most of these convey the gruesome image of part of a dog being involved
(presumably in retaliation for the act that put it in that state ?!).
Perhaps the following kind of usage is more useful...

pimu lei pano gerku cu batci mi

meaning half the group of 10 dogs bite me.

-- 
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Richard P. Curnow                                       rpc@myself.com
Weston-super-Mare
United Kingdom                            http://go.to/richard.curnow/