Re: Hot, Cold, and Temperature

John Quijada scripsit:

> Ah! I think I see your point now.  You're saying that because the word
> translatable as "mean" is, say,  <root A + degree 1> and the word
> translatable as "nice" would be <root A + degree 9> then eventually the
> application of degree this way across the lexical spectrum from root to
> root causes a speaker to begin subjectively associating Degree 1 with
> negative or unwanted things, and Degree 9 with positive/desirable things.
> Thus, any root which utilizes Degree 1 eventually comes to be judged as an
> unpleasant thing, no matter what it means, right?
The Lojban 7-degree scales which are applied to the expression (not the
claim, but the direct expression) of emotions, are deliberately aligned
in just this way:  all the maximally positive/harmonious emotions are
at +3 and all the maximally negative/disharmonious emotions are at -3.
This is a bias, but it is a known bias that can be allowed for.

> As for the "male/female" example you spoke of, such an example would not
> apply here, since Ithkuil lexicalizes such sets based on semantic
> COMPLEMENTARITY, not opposition, i.e., binary sets with excluded middle
> such as male/female, interior/exterior, space/time, etc. are not seen as
> any sort of scalar "opposites" in Ithkuil, but rather as complements of a
> holistic meta-concept.
But this choice is not fully principled, for in nature manifest
maleness/femaleness (as opposed to the genetic kind which is concealed)
is in fact a continuum.

--
John Cowan                              <jcowan@...>
http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              http://www.reutershealth.com
                Charles li reis, nostre emperesdre magnes,
                Set anz totz pleinz ad ested in Espagnes.