Subject: Re: "which?" (was: RE: [lojban] centripetality: subset vs component

From: John Cowan <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 17:01:48 -0400 (EDT)

On Thu, 6 Jul 2000, And Rosta wrote:

> BTW, does nonveridicality extend to the end of the sumti? That is,
> in "le broda poi brode", is "brode" nonveridical? I was assuming,
> perhaps incorrectly, that "le mo broda" is approximately equivalent
> to "le broda poi mo", but if it is in fact instead approximately
> equivalent to "le broda voi mo", then of course my suggestion is
> useless.

This distinction is made by having two attachment points for relative
clauses: inside the descriptor (lo broda poi brode ku) and outside
(lo broda ku poi brode). The former is the default, since elidable
terminators are inserted only when they absolutely must be, i.e.
as late as possible. Of course, this is a distinction without a difference
unless the description and the relative clause introducers disagree
in veridicality or some other such property.

> As for "xomoi", which I see in a different thread, I don't understand
> it and have not come across a decent explanation of it. But it sounds
> promising.

"You see here door number one, door number two, and door number three.
Which [xomoi] door do you choose?" In any choice situation in which the
choices are or plausibly could be numbered, "xomoi" is reasonable
for "which?".

-- 
John Cowan [email-masked]
"You need a change: try Canada" "You need a change: try China"
--fortune cookies opened by a couple that I know