Subject: Re: [lojban] Non-logical (incidental) "if"?

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 13:25:48 EST

In a message dated 10/28/2002 4:15:51 PM Central Standard Time, 
[email-masked] writes:

<<
> On a distantly related note, how would "in case" be translated, e.g.,
> "I'll bring a blanket in case it gets cold." I say this is related,
> because many people might say the first sentence as "I'm going to the
> store in case you want to come along," which is not strictly what they
> mean to say. They mean "I'm going to the store, and I'm telling you
> this in case you'd like to come along."
>>
I see how the second of these is related to the "if" discussed earlier, but I 
am less clear about how it is related to the first "in case," other than 
having the same surface format. The first is pretty clearly causal, giving a 
reason for the action in terms of possible (even significantly probable) 
events. The second does not seem causal at all -- for the event describe, 
going to the store. I may be indirectly causal for my telling you and thus 
be like the first case almost exactly. It is not, however, asking you 
whether you want to go along nor even -- I think -- inviting you to go along. 
It is at best giving pre-permission to go along, possibly as much as "and 
you are welcome to come along."