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Re: ni
> I think the place structure of klani, which ought to be somewhat defining
> of ni as ckaji is of ka and fasnu of nu and lifri of li'i ... should govern
> in the event of uncertainty.
Agreed, but we're already dropping the first place if {lifri}: {li'i broda}
is a {se lifri}, not a {lifri}, so why shouldn't {ni} do the same
thing if it's the more useful and more in line with the refgram usage?
If we let {ni} be the raised meaning, then the second "scale" place
becomes meaningless since we have no quantifier, and there's no way to
get a quantifier in. I think the "number" meaning of {ni} is more
consistent with the refgram's examples, twice as useful as the raised
meaning, simpler, and we can get the raised meaning in other ways with
no hassle: either {to'e ni} or a full {du'u...}.
I realize that we want to treat the refgram as "correct by definition",
but where the definition is unclear or contradictory, we should clarify
with the most rational, useful interpretation; and in this case, the
one that causes least disruption to the refgram. If we choose the raised
meaning, then all the number examples are wrong, and the definition
itself (with the x2 scale place) makes no sense. If we choose the number
meaning, then both of those make sense and the others are just sumti
raising that we didn't catch: no big deal.
>>In most cases ni is used in its raised meaning. Very rarely,
>>as in the refgram's 1-B example, is it used as a number.
I disagree. I think in practice the number meaning will be much more
useful and common, after all, quantities are meant to be measured and
compared. And no need for {du}: {ni broda} is a selbri, so you can
quantify simply with, e.g., {li piso'i ni broda}.
I think it's important that we get this right, otherwise I'd let it
slide as {li rau ni ma'a cusku}.
--
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC