I'm a beginner to
lojban but the way I would explain some of these sentences like
this:
(1) I respect you as a friend.
It does not seem
to me that you are directly qualifying "you" as a friend.
It is "respect" that is being qualified. It could be: "I
have a friend's respect for you."
It is only by
implication that we take the person being spoken to to be a
friend.
Imagen the phrase, "I respect you as a friend, even
though you are not my friend."
(2) I study my dreams
as symbolic imagery.
I think this is the same. You are
studying your dreams in a way suitable for symbolic imagery, whether
or not they are symbolic imagery.
(3) We kept this day as
a holiday.
This is different, holiday qualifies day. It looks
like it's only complicated at all because "kept" is being
used strangely.
"We reserved this day as a holiday."
"In
the past we defined this day as a holiday and we continued to do
so."
(4) She appeared to them as a fairy this
time.
I'm not sure about this one, I think it could be
interpreted in different ways.
I'm sorry if this overlapped with what you were saying, klaku; I didn't entirely understand.
This construction has come up a lot more recently, and I am drawing a blank how to translate it. It might not be translatable at all, but maybe someone has a good solution. Here are some examples using this particular usage of "as":--
(1) I respect you as a friend.
(2) I study my dreams as symbolic imagery.
(3) We kept this day as a holiday.
(4) She appeared to them as a fairy this time.
I've tried a few things, among other things {kai} and {fi'o tarmi}, but I'm not content. Suggestions and ideas are welcome.
mu'o mi'e la selpa'i