Re: [lojban] Broken Phone, round 2

[Invent Yourself <xod@sixgirls.org>]

On Sun, 21 Oct 2001, Rob Speer wrote:

> On Sun, Oct 21, 2001 at 04:38:06PM +0100, And Rosta wrote:
> > > ganai do djica gi ko mrilu fi le mi'a tavla
> >
> > "Either don't desire something or send mail to our talkers"
>
> Considering you're translating the idiom "if you desire...", why not
> just use {e'u} or {e'a}?
>
> When we say "if you desire" or "if you wish" in English, we really mean
> something more, since even without explicit instructions to do so,
> people tend to do what they wish. It's really a mild suggestion. Or,
> possibly, the listener would otherwise assume that you do not want them
> to do that, in which case the "if you wish" statement grants permission.
>
> We don't need to take the baggage of English with us - since we can
> translate "Could you possibly" as {ko}, we can certainly translate "If
> you desire" as {e'a}.



You are correct!

e'a ko mrilu fi le mi'a tavla




-- 
It's said that Mullah Omar has met two non-Muslims in his life. Others say
even that's not true.

Sami ul-Haq, Osama bin Laden's closest friend in Pakistan, runs the
"University for the Education of Truth," a fundamentalist institution that
educated and trained nine out of the Taliban's top 10 leaders.