I agree. Do you have a better unambiguous phrasing?

Is it possible for you to put the meaning of the constructed language you're translating from into your own native language?

If so, maybe someone can translate from Russian into English.

I'm not sure Russian will do better. I understand the meaning probably just as you.

But the problem is finding a good style, a good rephrasement.

My feeling is if you can't create a natural-sounding sentence example using a natural language, then you probably shouldn't try translating the constructed language example.

Better yet, in my opinion, is not to add a constructed language example, if you can create a useful, natural-sounding example sentence in your own language to link to it.

This sentence was uttered (in English) in an IRC chat by a native English speaker asking about how to express this in Lojban.

This sentence certainly has meaning and it is phrased that way to show a precise unambiguous meaning of what is implied.

So no matter how it is translated to Lojban from English the question is about how to phrase it better in English.

Once again, the sentence arouse as a question about unambiguity.

Though not exactly the same, we would more likely say the following.

Tom and Mary like cats, but John doesn't.


OR:

I have three friends.
Their names are Tom, Mary and John.
One of them doesn't like cats.

May be "Out of Alice, Bob and Kevin only one doesn't like cats"?

One more suggestion. If English can't do this in a nice way may be we should tag such sentences as "awkward phrasing" until a new comment to such sentence proves this tag false and the sentence is changed to a better phrasing?

Do we already have such a tag?

@gleki
I like this last suggestion. It immediately inspired context for such:
My youngest wants a cat. But out of all of them only the oldest doesn't like it.

Otherwise, it looked for me (non-native), as if we are talking about some math/logical problem. And, as we all know, most don't like math. :D

Just for fun ...

Of Alice, Bob and Kevin, one doesn't like cats. (@NNC)
Alice likes Tom and Tom likes Alice.
Tom likes Mary, too, but Mary likes Bob.
Mary and Kevin don't like dogs.
No one of Alice, Bob and Kevin doesn't like both dogs and cats. (@NNC)
Alice is a squirrel.
Tom, Mary and Bob are cats.
Who is the one who doesn't like cats?

(From the entrance exam of Tatoeba Elementary School, 2011)

>Either Alice or Bob or Kevin doesn't like cats.

Unfortunately, this can be grouped in different ways:
Either (Alice or Bob) or Kevin doesn't like cats etc...

@tommy_san
Is the correct solution Alice? Am I right? Can I finally go to school everybody is talking about?

@neron
That's not the answer I had in mind ...

@tommy_san
Well it is hard!
You are right, of course. It can't be Alice, since Tom is a cat, and Alice likes him. I think I don't want to play any more. :)

OK, lets solve this puzzle, since I have nothing better to do:
Alice isn't (see my message above).
Kevin also, since he hates dogs, and can't hate both dogs and cats.
So since one of those three must dislike cats, it has to be Bob. Strange part is that Bob is a cat, and he doesn't like (other) cats. But, that's the life. Those perv#$*beep*@ have to exists. :D

I have no idea why I feel so bad now.

Good job! Here are some more problems you can try (or translate). ☺

http://tatoeba.org/jpn/sentence.../show/3808/und

(My favorite is the last one.)

And what about solving/adding/translating this one:

Mary's father has five daughters: Chacha, Cheche, Chichi, Chocho and... What's the name of the fifth daughter? :-)

@sharptoothed,
well that can have different solutions depending of the (twodimensional) order of vowels in a language. For slavic languages, probably we will agree that solution is Chuchu. However, for Norwegian, it must be Tjåtjå. Please add it.

ummm... actually the solution doesn't depend on language :-)

Mary :)

2marafon
Ты знал, ты знал! :-)

gleki is going to kill us. Sorry. This is my last.

@tommy_san
yes, last one is interesting, luckily it has English translation (I don't know why, but today I can't quite understand those lines and figures, in that language, what's called, yes, Japanese. :) But I will. It's a promise.)

Solution is: 4 years after Mary dies from now, that's how many years it will take. If he kills her while he is still seven, his will go to juvenile detention, but it will take only 4 years until he could say that he is now older than Mary (ever was). I think it would be best if he waits, and kill her (by pushing her gently from that cliff, for example) when he is 14, and than when those 4 years had passed, he will probably be released. However, if cops find out his big wish to become older than her, he might be arrested in time to prevent that homicide ever take place. Of course, natural death is possible. But women live longer than man, and having in mind his constant inability to cope with that one mad wish that can't get out of his head - he will probably die long before Mary does. And that is how things are supposed to happen, isn't it.

I am going now to be of some use.

The sentence would be clearer if a comma were added after "Kevin".