{ga'inai} error

["Robert J. Chassell" <bob@GNU.AI.MIT.EDU>]

Oops!  In my message regarding `already', I used {ga'inai} wrongly.

I wrote as if the attitudinal were an English adverb, stated by the
author of the passage, not by the person supposed to be actually
speaking.

I wrote:

    3. "But the others already came!" said the butler meekly.
                                                      ^^^^^^

      lu .i .ue ku'i lei drata prenu ba'o vitke li'u
      Surprise, however, the mass of other people are in the
        aftermath of visiting.

      la'e di'u se cusku le zdase'u ga'inai
                                    ^^^^^^^
      the last utterance was said by the house-type of servant meekly.


As I wrote, it is I, the author who is speaking humbly.  It actually reads:

      Your humble and unworthy author notes that the
      the last utterance was spoken by the butler.

(Certainly, I ought be humble, for making this mistake! :)

{ga'inai} is an attitudinal expressed by a speaker.

I should have written:

  "But, Sir, the others left!"

  lu .i .ue ga'inai ku'i lei drata prenu ba'o vitke li'u
  "<surprise>, <subservience>, but the others left."

  la'e di'u se cusku le zdase'u
  the last utterance was said by the butler.

In English, we are more likely to say `Your Honor' or `Sir' than say
`lowly me'; or else we indicate status or rank by action or tone of
voice.


Alternatively, I could have written the adverb like this:

    .... said by the butler meekly.
                            ^^^^^^
    .... meekly said by the butler.
         ^^^^^^

  la'e di'u se cumla cusku le zdase'u
               ^^^^^
  the last utterance was a modest/humble type of saying by the butler.

    x1 is humble/modest about x2 (abstraction);
    x1 displays humility about x2
    /:/
    /=/ cumla (cul)

However, as a stylistic matter, I think the expression should be part
of the quotation, not an adverb --- Lojban is different from English.

English lacks written attitudinals; consequently, a written sentence
cannot readily express the emotions and attitudes of the speaker (of
course, a great writer picks words and circumstances so you will
accurately and readily infer them, but that is another matter).  This
means that as a practical matter, an ordinary writer of English simply
tells the audience how the person being quoted is speaking.  In my
case, I wrote that the `butler spoke meekly'.  This told you how the
butler spoke.  But in Lojban, an author can have the butler use
written words to express his attitude.

    Robert J. Chassell               bob@gnu.ai.mit.edu
    25 Rattlesnake Mountain Road     bob@rattlesnake.com
    Stockbridge, MA 01262-0693 USA   (413) 298-4725