Subject: Re: [lojban] re : translation challenge: "If today is Monday..."

From: And Rosta <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 13:57:02 +0100

pc:
[email-masked] writes:
#> On Sat, Oct 13, 2001 at 01:28:12PM +0200, G. Dyke wrote:
#> > I don't like {mu'ei} ! (I had written a long paragraph explaining why, 
#> but I
#> > erased it 'cause much of what I said doesn't make sense - I suppose I just
#> > don't like the idea of lojban not being able to express something which is
#> > so obvious in natural language)
#> 
#> ... what?
#> 
#> Because you don't like the idea of Lojban not being able to express the
#> subjunctive, you argue _against_ the thing which would make it
#> expressible?
#
#I suppose the point is that Lojban can *already* deal with subjunctives; we 
#just have not yet worked out how to do it. Running off after new devices 
#before we have exhausted the capabilities of the ones we have is a vile 
#practice of the lazy. (I made that last part up myself). Notice that there 
#are at least two solutions to &'s question provided within standard Lojban.

This is why I posed the question: to find out what solutions there might be
within standard Lojban. I think Greg does best, by rendering 'if' as {nibli}.
I haven't seen any other adequate solution yet, but it's early days.

Btw, running off after new devices before we have exhausted the 
capabilities of the ones we have is a good way of framing the nature of the
locution we seek, and a spur to the community to suggest solutions using
old devices.

--And.