4 ms·
> But unfortunately in natural language even when a language is correctly parsed in terms of syntax--which is all Lojban seeks to accomplish--there are still ma
by schoen 3y ago
> But unfortunately in natural language even when a language is correctly parsed in terms of syntax--which is all Lojban seeks to accomplish--there are still many different possible semantic implications. For example, the sentence "Spot didn't bark" could mean
> 1. There is no event in which Spot has ever barked, or 2. In the case of a specific event, Spot did not bark.
Or maybe even a third case:
3. There exists an event in which Spot did not bark.
English pragmatic usage would make this interpretation rare, but you could still imagine a case in which it was valid.
For example, suppose that Spot normally barks 100% of the time (and never sleeps?).
Then there is a fortunate day in which Spot only barked 70% of the time, and was quiet 30% of the time.
Someone who witnessed this might say "Spot didn't bark [today]!" to emphasize the unusual event, even though Spot did bark the majority of the time on that day.
I just mean to distinguish this from your second case because I think in the second case the "specific event" is possibly already one which is known to the listener or already under discussion.
- adastra22 3y agoMy intended reading of (2) is the same as your (3), but that just goes to show how ill suited English is for making these sorts of exact inferences.
- schoen 3y agoI guess I was distinguishing them in terms of whether the event in question has already previously been specified, or is being newly introduced and specified now.