Re: A question about space tenses

[Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>]

>Logical Language Group wrote:
>> I would have no problem with
>> le xrabo cu mo'izu'a ciska
>>
>> >Well, there are examples in the refgrammar that use mo'i in the bridi
>> >to show motion of a sumti.
>>
>> I'd have to look them over, but in many cases, movement of x1 implies
>> movement of the event.  I guess this may be cultural, but of you are
>> talking to me as you approach, I could see the event of talking as
>> approaching me as well.
>
>How would the reader know, in your example, that you don't mean
>that le xrabo (is that really the right gadri?) is writing
>something while moving to the left?

Well, it is the event of writing that is moving to the left.  One could
presume that the writer and the thing being written on are both moving to
the left, but this would be unlikely for the context - and I admit that the
above form is the shorter and potentially more ambiguous one.

But then maybe the scribe is writing largely on the wall, and indeed MUST move
along the wall from right to left to do the inscription.

Interetsingly, i suspect that the English way of saying it "Arabic writing
goes from right to left" is at least as ambiguous.  One can picture that there
is something inherent about writing in Arabic that causes the TEXT to move
from right to left after being inscribed %^)

le xrabo is the thing which I have in mind that pertains tot he Arabic
culture/language, and thus could be a person writing in Arabic.

Other gadri would also work.

lojbab