Re: [lojban] Re: To be polite in lojban.

[Jorge Llambías <jjllambias@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 9:37 AM, Michael Turniansky
<mturniansky@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>   The short answer is "it's never actually been used, so plainly no one
> really is comfortable with it"

Yes, that's the best answer.

>    The longer answer #1 is "According to xorxes' opinion, as a member of the
> BPFK, and expressed on the proposed definition page
> http://www.lojban.org/tiki/BPFK+Section:+Irrealis+Attitudinals, it should be
> used as an offer: .e'o nai ko lebna lo titla
> Here, have some candy."

The reason I proposed that is that we don't really have anything else
to mark something as an offer, and an offer is in some dimension the
opposite of a request:

Request: I'm asking you to please do:
Offer: I'm not asking you, but please (feel free to) do:


>   The longer answer #2 is I believe that "negative request" means an
> expression of desire that something not happen: ".e'onai do citka sepi'o lo
> degji" "I really wish you wouldn't eat with your fingers"

That could also be an opposite of a request, but we already have a
clear way to express that with "au ... na ...":

  .au do na citka sepi'o lo degji

so "e'onai" for that is not really necessary.

Neither "offer" nor "wish that not" are clear opposites of "e'o", so
"e'onai" may remain unused, but if it is used I would prefer it to be
for something that can't be expressed otherwise.

mu'o mi'e xorxes