Proposed definitions

lo'e (LE)

Typical article. It converts a selbri, selecting its first argument, into a sumti. The resulting expression indicates that the individuals that satisfy the selbri typically also satisfy the predicate for which the sumti is an argument. Quantifiers do not have a clear meaning with this gadri.

lo'e glipre cu xabju le fi'ortu'a na.e le gligugde
The typical English person dwells not in Africa but in England.

ju'o cu'i mi milxe simsa lo'e makcu prenu
Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups.

le'e (LE)

Stereotypical article. It converts a selbri, selecting its first argument, into a sumti. The resulting expression indicates that the individuals that the speaker describes with the selbri typically satisfy, from the point of view of the speaker, the predicate for which the sumti is an argument. Quantifiers do not have a clear meaning with this gadri.

le'e xelso merko cu gusta ponse
Lots of Greek-Americans own restaurants.

le'e rozgu cu xunre
Roses are red.

Formal definitions

Notes

• The contextual definitions of lo'e and le'e are given as a starting point towards their formalization, but many questions remain unanswered:
  • Negation: Is lo'e broda na brode equivalent to lo ka ce'u na brode cu mutce kampu lo'i ro broda or to lo ka ce'u brode cu na mutce kampu lo'i ro broda?
  • Expansions: Is lo'e broda cu brode gi'e brodi equivalent to lo ka ce'u brode gi'e brodi cu mutce kampu lo'i ro broda or to lo ka ce'u brode e lo ka ce'u brodi cu mutce kampu lo'i ro broda?
  • Multiple lo'e: Is lo'e broda cu brode lo'e brodi equivalent to lo ka ce'u brode ce'u cu mutce kampu lo'i ro broda pi'u lo'i ro brodi or to something else?
  • Subordination: Is lo nu lo'e broda cu brode cu brodi equivalent to lo ka lo nu ce'u broda cu brode cu mutce kampu lo'i broda or to lo nu lo ka ce'u brode cu mutce kampu lo'i broda cu brodi?
  • ...

Usage convention suggestions

• lo'e se with the word for a kind of organism can refer to the taxon containing all members of the kind and no others, if that exists. So lo'e se guzme means the family Cucurbitaceae, while lo se guzme can be Cucumis, Sicyos, Luffa, or any of several others. lo'e se jesymabru, however, has no clear meaning, as jesymabru can refer to both spiny anteaters and hedgehogs.