Subject: [lojban] Re: cmavo for emphasis?

From: And Rosta <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 13:42:17 +0100

Jay:
#On Mon, Sep 23, 2002 at 01:26:08AM +0100, And Rosta wrote:
#> Viktoro [mailto:[email-masked]] 
#> > Are there particles for showing emphasis?
#> > 
#> > In English, we use a stronger voice to show emphasis in sentences 
#> > like:
#> > 
#> > "The *dog* bit the postman."
#> > 
#> > "The dog bit the *postman*."
#> > 
#> > "The dog *bit* the postman."
#> > 
#> > How does one indicate emphasis? By word order or what?
#
#ba'e before the word, in all these cases. Only And's third example
#would actually suggest emphasis to those using the language. The
#others appear as simply being contorted.

Whereas to speakers of natural languages the world over, the kind
of 'contortion' used in my examples is one of the most common strategies
of focus marking. 

It must be remembered that "those using the language" are using it at
a level comparable to beginners level in natlangs, and without the
advantage of models of fluent 'native-like' usage to emulate.
Learning Lojban by emulating current usage is like going to learn
English in, say, a ghetto in London populated by people who have
immigrated from Kurdistan in the last five years.

#Attitudinals could be used instead of 'ba'e' (going after the
#word in question). Depending on the circumstances, anyways.
#
#> No single method. The one I favour is:
#> 
#> da poi ke'a batci le mrilu prenu du le gerku
#> 
#> da poi le gerku batci ke'a du le mrilu prenu
#
#Missed a 'cu'. And the 'du' is dreadful.

I find it annoying that pointless prejudices, such as that in English against split infinitives, have taken root in Lojban culture too. Such a prejudice is
that against {du}.

--And.