Subject: Re: Binary Language

From: "thinkit41" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2001 01:46:05 -0000

--- In lojban@y..., pycyn@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 12/22/2001 10:28:06 PM Central Standard Time, 
> thinkit8@l... writes:
> 
> 
> > I listed the conventions, so perhaps the muck will have some 
meaning 
> > now
> 
> Where is the new version? The one at 
> http://home.earthlink.net/~thinkyad/bl.txt is unchanged and the 
root page 
> gives no alternates.

I'm going to try to refine it more before I present it to this group 
again.

> <Give is simple, the subject (arg1) is the giver, and the object 
> (arg2) is the object given. A sentence tag defines the 
recipient. 
> Are there any really ternary verbs in English? You only get 
things 
> like "give me the object" because we are shortening from "give the 
> object to me">
> 
> Well, no -- the "to" is added to show that the place of "me" has 
been shifted 
> from its usual (compare French).
> 
> <I changed it to indicate that intial assignment involves both a 
> backcount and an ID>
> 
> How can an *initial* reference have a backcount? Or does this 
just mean that 
> that each reference is flagged by how deep it is in the 
discourse. Is that 
> its ID? No, since it has both this and an ID. What is the ID? A 
name? An 
> external reference? If so, how done?
> 
> <Because tags involve operations, and all operations have two 
argument 
> (even if some are just a placeholder).>
> 
> Example please. How, e.g., would the "me" of "Give me the book" 
be attached? 
> What concept (no better than "idea" -- maybe worse, since more 
overtly 
> abstract) would it be an argument to?

Ok, as I see it, you want to say "Give the book to me". To be 
simpler, make it "The man gives the book to the dog." 
Concept/idea/widget "give" has arguments x1 gives x2. "Receive" has 
arguments x1 receives x2. This sentence is then op "give" 
arg1 "man" arg2 "book", with tag op "receive" arg1 "dog" arg2 
unspecified (or you can reference the book).