Re: Putting hands into pockets

[CJ FINE <cbmvax!uunet!BRADFORD.AC.UK!cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu!C.J.Fine>]

Bruce answers John Cowan:
>
>
> John Cowan writes:
>
> >(Note that English is over-specific by Lojban standards in saying "his
 cousin".
> >and "his nose".  Likewise, English idiomatically says "He put his hands in
 his
> >pockets": to speakers of other languages, the question naturally arises
> >"Whose pockets would he put his hands in?", and even more peculiar, "Whose
> >hands would he put in his pockets?".)
>
> Well, although the normal thing for me to do is move my _own_ hands and put
 them
> in my _own_ pocket, if I was a pickpocket, I'd be putting my hands into
 someone
> else's pocket. And if I was annoyed with a child waving his hand constantly, I
> could conceivably grab the child's hand and jam it into his pocket. (I could
> even jam Billy's hand into Mike's pocket if they were side by side, though
> that _would_ be a little peculiar!) So "X puts Y's hand into Z's pocket" does
> not require identity of X, Y, and Z even in practical situations, and Lojban
> allows even for impractical situations (remember an earlier discussion about
> "You're looking very Canadian today"?).
>
>                                                   Bruce
>
I think you've misunderstood John's point. I believe John's questions
were meant as "Who else's pocket..." and "Who else's hand..." Of course
you could specify somebody else's - in English, French or Lojban.
 The point is that this is an example where Lojban is like many
languages, and unlike English, in allowing a detail to be omitted.
                        Colin