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[lojban] Re: selsanga co ninfinti
Quoting Jorge Llambías <jjllambias@gmail.com>:
Perhaps a better translation is "it's possible that it happpens".
That's a better translation, I agree! It's always weird translating
parts of Lojban that refer to vague or distant ideas or sentences. It
seems like the only tools for doing that at all in English are "it"
and "that", and you have to keep them far away from any concrete
objects to put them into that service!
.i xu lo cribe cu cadzu lo foldi
Does a bear walk the field?
.i cumki fa lo nu go'i
It's possible that happens.
.i cumki fa lo nu co'e
It's possible that it happens.
.i cumki fa lo nu go'i
It's possible that it's possible that it happens.
{co'e} is an unspecified relationship because it must be figured
out from the context, not because it is nonspecific.
My feeling is that the "co'e" is most likely to associate with the
first bridi of the song, which is after all the only concrete idea
anywhere nearby. It also seems to me like another sensible
interpretation would be "that could have been what happened, or
something else could have happened", but given the meaning of "cumki"
that's roughly equivalent in meaning, anyway.
In the context of the song, maybe it's a question as to which animal
it was exactly in the field, in which case the "co'e" bridi could mean
"or it could have been one of the other animals mentioned." I suppose
the "co'e" could also be on a higher level, and be talking about the
"cumki" relationship of the preceding bridi.
On a subtextual level, the vagueness of the "co'e" cooperates somehow
with the uncertainties of the "cumki"s. Maybe one thing, maybe
another thing, maybe anything, maybe maybe.
"It's possible that something happens" would be closer
to {cumki fa lo nu bu'a}.
[.ua.ueru'e] I didn't know about zo "bu'a". It seems like "bu'a" is
to "broda" as "da" is to "ko'a"?
mu'o mi'e la bret.
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