From lojbab@lojban.org Wed Sep 11 20:45:05 2002 Return-Path: X-Sender: lojbab@lojban.org X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_1_1_3); 12 Sep 2002 03:45:04 -0000 Received: (qmail 84852 invoked from network); 12 Sep 2002 03:45:04 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.218) by m3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 12 Sep 2002 03:45:04 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO lakemtao02.cox.net) (68.1.17.243) by mta3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 12 Sep 2002 03:45:04 -0000 Received: from lojban.lojban.org ([68.100.206.153]) by lakemtao02.cox.net (InterMail vM.5.01.04.05 201-253-122-122-105-20011231) with ESMTP id <20020912034503.XRUJ12192.lakemtao02.cox.net@lojban.lojban.org> for ; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 23:45:03 -0400 Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.0.20020911233552.0398f930@pop.east.cox.net> X-Sender: rlechevalier@pop.east.cox.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1 Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 23:41:18 -0400 To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [lojban] word for "www" (was: Archive location.) In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed From: Robert LeChevalier X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=1120595 X-Yahoo-Profile: lojbab At 10:55 PM 9/11/02 +0000, Jorge Llambias wrote: >la lojbab cusku di'e > > >Can {pa prenu} ever mean "one people"? I've never seen > > >it used like that. > > > >We're English speakers (for the most part), and hence tend to base our > >usage on Englishs singular/plural distinctions. > >I try not to do that. But I would never use {pa prenu} for >"one people". > > >I've never seen "pa djacu" > >used to refer to 1 molecule of water. > >I would never use {pa djacu} for one molecule. That would >be {pa selci be lo'e djacu}. {pa djacu} for me is a quantity >of water, normally in its liquid state. But then why isn't a person "pa selci be lo'e prenu", with pa prenu being a quantity of persons (i.e. a people) > >No one ever uses a lujvo for "United States", one of the only concepts in > >English with a historical record of switching from plural to singular. > >I have seen {mergu'e} used often, which is a lujvo for "United States". Has it ever been quantified? Is there pa mergu'e or muno mergu'e? > >In short, there hasn't been a lot of usage to decide %^) > >Nothing is ever decided, since everything can change with more >usage, but if there is no hint yet to suggest that {pa prenu} can >mean "one people", why would we say so? I don't think we can say one way or another until we see how people translate the concept of "one people" in some context where it would use prenu. (I suspect that I would usually use natmi or the x2 of one of the places that has a people in that place like bangu). lojbab -- lojbab lojbab@lojban.org 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