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[lojban] pacna is kind of broken.
The definition of pacna is amazingly polysemous.
pacna pa'a hope
x1 hopes/wishes for/desires x2 (event), expected
likelihood x3 (0-1); x1 hopes that x2 happens
Even in the main definition we're conflating "desire" (which is
djica) with expectation (the x3 place), but the notes make this
much, much worse:
[also: x1 is hopeful of x2; x2 will hopefully occur,
as hoped for by x1; the value of x3 is a subjective
estimate of likeliness according to x1, and is the
basic determinant of whether pacna means ' hope ' or
'wish' or 'expect': hoping for objects/states with
negligible expectation is "wishing"; if the state is
plausibly likely, it is "hoping"; when the probability
is subjectively near 1, the attitude is described as
"expecting"; the value will usually be expressed using
inexact numbers ("li piso'u" to "li piro"); wish (=
sotpa'a), hope (= sorpa'a), expect (= sojypa'a)];
(cf. djica)
This seems to make it clear that pacna means "x1 expect x2 with
subjective likelihood x3", but the keyword is "hope", which means
expectation *and* desire. Desire is even mentioned in the
definition.
There is no other word that I can find that has a subjective or
expected likelihood, and it's a very, very nice thing to have.
My belief is that only the expectation meaning was intended by the
founders, but I would like to have that confirmed.
I consider this level of polysemousness in a Lojban word to be a
serious error.
-Robin
--
http://www.digitalkingdom.org/~rlpowell/ *** http://www.lojban.org/
Reason #237 To Learn Lojban: "Homonyms: Their Grate!"
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