RE: [lojban] Siver threads among the mold

["And Rosta" <a.rosta@dtn.ntl.com>]

pc to xorxes:
> Back to an earlier problem:  You say quite confidently, having seen that the
> Lojban works out badly or some other how, that "He believes what he hears" is
> just a relative clause, not an indirect question.  How do you tell?

By trying to replace it with interrogative clauses that can't be read as
relatives:

*He believes what the fuck he hears.
*He believes why she came.
*He believes who came.
*He believes what.

where * = not English.

> Consider
> "He knows what he likes," where the ambiguity hinges on "know" -- which is
> this one?  or, wihtout ambiguity in the verb, "He sees what he likes."

a poor choice. See also means "understand", and allows an interrogative
complement in that sense.

> I am still worried that this question/relative ambiguity underlies a problem
> here,though it may not be the 1-2 contrast you are working on.

The interrogative/relative distinction is a problem only in that it confuses
some people who fail to recognize it. That is, it's a very superficial
problem.