2010/5/16 Jorge Llambías
<jjllambias@gmail.com>
"tu'o" is the PA equivalent of "zi'o", used to fill a place when the
syntax requires an argument and the semantics require that there be no
argument. What could "za'u tu'o" mean? Maybe you're thinking of "no'o"
rather than "tu'o"?
I wasn't too sure "no'o"s sense of "typical/average value" would apply to every case. In a case where "za'u re'u" means "za'u so re'u" for example, I don't see why the numbers from "pa" to "so" (the set of numerals less than ten) would represent "typical/average" values. "tu'o" seemed more aptly generic to me.
I thought "tu'o" was more like "zo'e" than "zi'o". "tu'o"s definition: non-specific/elliptical number. This doesn't necessarily mean a non-existing value, does it? Does "pa so so tu'o" mean "199[no number]" or "199[unspecific number]"? I think the latter. Hence "1990s", in my opinion.