Subject: Re: [lojban] tunlo

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 17:26:00 EDT

In a message dated 9/13/2002 3:46:07 PM Central Daylight Time, 
[email-masked] writes:

<<
> Well, I guess that's one word predestined to change meaning
> if it ever gets used.
>>
I would say "likely to be misused until our education program gets better", 
but I suppose our predictions at least agree. There is one case each way so 
far as I can remember, but I could turn neither of them up in my (murky) 
files.

<<
Besides, it would suggest "wink" more than "blink".
Maybe {kalgaifri} for "blink", {kalgaifru} for "wink"?
I take it that the action is the same in both cases (though a stage wink can 
get a bit more of the face involved) and the difference is in intended 
meaning (blinks don't have any). So, "wink" ought to be an extension of 
"blink" to show the meaning. Winking, unlike blinking, is not a basic action 
(I think).
I don't get {kalgaifri} "eyelid experience" for "blink" -- what is the 
metaphor involved (or the rule being used)?

<<
>in any case, you can't fire a gun, since it may misfire in a
>variety of way, but, then, you can't pull the trigger, since it might 
>stick.
>Hey, but you *can* curl your index finger when it is around that trigger.

It doesn't sound very convincing to me. What if your clumsiness/
nervousness/whatever makes you curl another finger, or your
other hand's index finger, when you meant to curl your index
finger?
That is still your doing, under your control assuming functioning plumbing. 
the other stuff is not.

<<
Anyway, if these basic actions are meant to be intentional
actions, then {senci} (sneeze) should be removed from the list,
and probably {cmila} (laugh) too. That leaves cisma (smile),
frumu (frown), bikla (whip), and tunlo (swallow). Not the
most persuasive list to justify tunlo's lack of x2.
I'm not sure whether intentions are involved or not (that is a further step 
-- after all, the person probably intended to murder the guy, not flex his 
finger). But I wasn't trying to justify {tunlo}'s place structure ("lack" 
makes it sound like a decided issue, which it obviously is not); I was just 
answering your question about what the principle involved was.