Re: ZAhO tenses

[Jorge LLambias <jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU>]

lojbab:
> One thing to bear in mind in thinking about ZAhO tenses is that there are
> a lot more than just pu'o and ba'o, and they all revolve around the paradigm
> of thinking of the selbri as an event, and then putting the speaker or
> reference point relative to that event with the ZAhO.  Some of these other
> ZAhO tenses are not symmetric.  In particular, the ones regarding completion,
> and za'o itself do not have a complete set of corresponding contours at the
> beginning of the event (super-inchoative =? starting too soon).
>

All of them can be expressed in English as relative to the event, or relative
to the reference point. I think the meaning does not depend on how you express
it in English.


> Regardless of other arguments, the necessity of making these tenses work
> properly, and in the most useful way, sets the tone for the whole system.
>
> I would assume that if we were to consider reversing ba'o and pu'o, that they
> could no longer be interpeted consistently with the other ZAhOs.
>

This is wrong, the rest of the ZAhO would not be affected, and the relationship
between them has nothing to do with the etymologies of pu'o and ba'o. Their
meanings, of course, would also remain the same, it's just their name that is
wrong.

Jorge