Re: Ironic Use of Attitudinals

["Mark E. Shoulson" <shoulson@CS.COLUMBIA.EDU>]

Actually, I think the strongest point against using attitudinals ironically
was made by Ashley Yakeley, in noting the cultural ramifications.  Not all
cultures use irony the same way, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were
some that hardly used it at all.  Just as Lojban "legislates" against using
culturally-specific idioms and metaphore (without marking or explaining
them), so too it should discourage using its attitudinals in a
culturally-biased way.  If my culture regularly uses irony, and so does my
Lojban (unmarked), how can a listener from a less ironic culture follow?  I
might as well, as Lojbab says, be speaking English (after all, there are
English dictionaries, right?)  I think the ironic or non-ironic use of
attitudinals falls under cultural neutrality, and unless there's actually a
reason to determine a neutral use of irony, it seems a lot simpler not to
have it.

~mark