Re: TECH: query re. selcmavo NU

[Logical Language Group <lojbab@GREBYN.COM>]

John Cowan replies to And
JC> > I am an event in the Lojban sense - I have duration, and can be
JC> > located in time. So "mi nu prenu" would seem to be true, and,
JC> > for that matter, the "nu" seems redundant, since every person
JC> > is an event.
JC>
JC> Well, if so, then every predication whatsoever is an event.  All I can
JC> say is that "mi" is -ABSTRACT, whereas "le nu ..." is +ABSTRACT, and
JC> that this is a mandatory category of Lojban.  You are not an event.

Actually, I think the ZAhO tenses in effect make it a truism that any
 predication in Lojban may be considered as an event.

I think I agree with John that prgamatics will cause the use of -ABSTRACT
where +ABSTRACT is expected to at least cause a double-take, and might, even
if we would rather otherwise, cause one to presume that the speaker really
intends "tu'a X" where X is the -ABSTRACT sumti.  Any such case of
pragmatics overriding the clear grammar is a BAD THING (tm), since it stands
in the way of Lojban being usable to express nonsense clearly when appropriate,
which is essential in a logical language according to JCB's assumptions (and
mine).  Thus we must discourage -ABSTRACT being used lightly when the
+ABSTRACT is more accurate, so that -ABSTRACT will be taken literally when
it really is the correct value for the sumti.

lojbab