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``No'' Problems: On Lojban Negation
The Lojban Reference Grammar |
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There is an explicit positive form for both selma'o NA (``ja'a'') and selma'o NAhE (``je'a''), each of which would supplant the corresponding negator in the grammatical position used, allowing one to assert the positive in response to a negative question or statement without confusion. Assuming the same context as in Section 8:
9.1) xu na go'i
Is-it-true-that [false] [repeat previous]?
or equivalently
9.2) xu la djan. [cu] na pu klama
la paris. .e la rom.
Is it true that: John [false] previously-went-to
[both] Paris and Rome.]
The obvious, but incorrect, positive response to this negative question is:
9.3) go'i
[repeat previous]
A plain ``go'i'' does not mean ``Yes it is''; it merely abbreviates repeating the previous statement unmodified, including any negators present; and Example 9.3 actually states that it is false that John went to both Paris and Rome.
When considering:
9.4) na go'i
[false] [repeat previous]
as a response to a negative question like Example 9.2, Lojban designers had to choose
between two equally plausible interpretations with opposite
effects. Does Example 9.4 create a double
negative in the sentence by adding a new ``na'' to the one
already there (forming a double negative and hence a positive
statement), or does the ``na'' replace the previous one,
leaving the sentence unchanged?
It was decided that substitution, the latter alternative, is the preferable choice, since it is then clear whether we intend a positive or a negativ sentence without performing any manipulations. This is the way English usually works, but not all languages work this way --- Russian, Japanese, and Navajo all interpret a negative reply to a negative question as positive.
The positive assertion cmavo of selma'o NA can also replace the ``na'' in the context, giving:
9.5) ja'a go'i
(John truly-(previously went-to) [both] Paris and Rome.)
``ja'a'' can replace ``na'' in a similar manner wherever the
latter is used:
9.6) ja'a go'i
John indeed previously went-to [both] Paris and Rome.
``je'a'' can replace ``na'e'' in exactly the same way, stating
that scalar negation does not apply, and that the relation
indeed holds as stated. In the absence of a negation context,
it emphasizes the positive:
9.7) ta je'a melbi
that is-indeed beautiful.
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Previous
Truth questions |
``No'' Problems: On Lojban Negation
The Lojban Reference Grammar |
Next
Metalinguistic negation forms |