Subject: Re: [lojban] Request for grammar clarifications

From: John Cowan <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 10:42:46 -0400

Rob Speer wrote:

> It seems that aulun wanted to say "the dead cat is me", but with {me} it just
> means "the dead cat pertains to me" - a weaker sentence. If {du} had been
> used, it would make a powerful (though very unlikely to be literally true)
> claim.

No, that was so formerly, but is not true now. "me <sumti>" means that
the x1 is one or more of the referents of <sumti>. This is not the
same as "du"; it is the same as ordinary predication, if the <sumti>
is veridical: ko'a me lo mlatu = ko'a mlatu.

> Perhaps a better example would be the Walt Kelly quote, "We have met the enemy,
> and he is us." Is there any better way to translate that than {mi'o puzi penmi
> le bradi .ije ri du mi'o}?

Sounds good to me.

-- 
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