Subject: Re: [lojban] mlana

From: Robert LeChevalier <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 20:00:00 -0400

At 10:13 PM 8/24/02 +0000, Jorge Llambias wrote:
>In translating the gi'uste into Esperanto, I'm not quite
>sure what to do with this:
>
>mlana mla side 'lateral'
>x1 is to the side of/lateral to x2 and facing x3 from point of
>view/in-frame-of-reference x4
>(cf. crane, trixe, pritu, zunle which differ in that the direction
>of facing is the front and not the lateral side. The x4 of mlana
>may be either the front, or back side of x2, korbi)
>
>x3 is the direction in which x1 faces, correct? It has nothing to
>do with x2. And x4 is what corresponds to x3 of crane, trixe,
>pritu, zunle, i.e. the direction in which x2 faces (which has
>nothing to do with x1).
>
>So how do I interpret this: "which differ in that the direction
>of facing is the front and not the lateral side"?? In which case
>is there a facing of a lateral side of what?

After verifying with Nora (so this is two opinions as to what I meant), we 
were trying to deal with things like cubes which have 6 sides/faces, and 
the orientation is arbitrary. So x3 would be the direction that the side 
of the cube is facing.

The note in the cf. applies in particular to zunle and pritu, and I was 
trying to clarify how mlana differs from them. In those two, the frame of 
reference is determined by what direction is "front". In mlana, the 
orientation is not so limited, and x2 could be facing in any direction, and 
x4 could be specified independent of how x2 is facing. The wording of the 
note says that zunle and pritu ARE limited in that x3 of those words must 
be the front.

I'll accept suggestions for better wording, should clarifications be 
permitted in the dictionary. I'll agree that the wording is anything but 
clear as it is.

lojbab

-- 
lojbab [email-masked]
Bob LeChevalier, President, The Logical Language Group, Inc.
2904 Beau Lane, Fairfax VA 22031-1303 USA 703-385-0273
Artificial language Loglan/Lojban: http://www.lojban.org