Magic Words
>
> Exceptions are all in how you look at it.
Agreed.
> The naive explanation of "si"
> is "erases the word in front of it".
Right. But in Lojban, normally, everything is processed
on a first come first served basis. That's the meta-rule
I'm starting with. Then in {ba'e si}, ba'e is served first,
and then this emphatic si, considered as a single thing,
does erase the word in front of it.
> Under Jorge's Exceptionless Rules
> (as distinct from some other set of exceptionless rules, and it seems
> strange to call rules "exceptionless" when each begins with "Unless",
> but hey, whatever)
That's probably not the ideal wording, agreed.
> it's more like "erases the word in front of it,
> except when ... and when ... and when ..."
When we are describing the word in isolation, that's true.
When we describe how the whole thing works together, they
are not exceptions.
> Simplicity, too, is all in how you look at it.
Yes, I agree. I find the "first come first served" meta-rule
the simplest among the alternatives considered so far.
mu'o mi'e xorxes
__
Do you Yahoo!?
Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page.
www.yahoo.com