2020-03-17 16:05:14 +03:00
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% toki pona page 0 - spelling and pronunciation
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2020-03-15 22:59:02 +03:00
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% /dev/urandom
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% march 2020
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2020-03-17 16:05:14 +03:00
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The language *toki pona* only uses 14 letters of the Latin alphabet, and all of
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these letters have consistent pronunciations.
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These are: a,e,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,s,t,u,w.
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You might have noticed that all these letters are lowercase. This is because all
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toki pona words are spelled in lowercase, even at the start of sentences.
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The consonants use the same sounds as those in English, with the exception of
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"j", which instead sounds like the English "y".
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The vowels are a bit more complicated (or more simple, depending on your view).
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Unlike English, every vowel uses the same sound in all words. If you know how
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to pronounce the vowel sounds in Spanish, Japanese or Esperanto, then you can
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pronounce them the same way in toki pona.
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2020-04-03 00:02:36 +03:00
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> %info%
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> The "International Phonetic Alphabet" (IPA) is a common way to write
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> down specific pronunciations of words and phrases in any language.
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>
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> It uses a version of the Latin alphabet with lots of additional characters
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> added. For example, the IPA pronunciation of the English word "language" is
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> /ˈlæŋɡwɪd͡ʒ/, but in toki pona, every single letter's pronunciation _is_ its
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> IPA symbol! So "toki pona" is pronounced /toki pona/.
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2020-03-17 16:05:14 +03:00
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For examples of English words with corresponding pronunciations:
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* **a** sounds like the "u" in the word "up" or (in some variants of English)
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the "a" in "bath".
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* **e** sounds like the "e" in the word "bet".
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* **i** sounds like the "i" in the word "win".
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* **o** sounds like the "o" in the word "long".
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* **u** sounds like the "oo" in "oops" or "moon".
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2020-04-03 00:02:36 +03:00
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Since there are so few sounds, the way they can be pronounced can be very
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flexible. For example, some might substitute the sounds "p,t,k" with "b,d,g".
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Such a shift would cause a lot of ambiguity or confusion in other languages, but
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toki pona's sounds were chosen to be easy to distinguish, regardless of one's
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native tongue.
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2020-03-17 16:05:14 +03:00
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All toki pona words are pronounced with stress on their first syllable.
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## Exercises
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Here are some toki pona words that are derived from, or sound similar to, other
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English words:
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| toki pona | sounds similar to |
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|-----------|-------------------|
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| jaki | yucky |
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| jelo | yellow |
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| ken | can |
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| mani | money |
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| mi | me |
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| mun | moon |
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| tu | two |
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| wan | one |
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2020-03-15 22:59:02 +03:00
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2020-04-03 00:02:36 +03:00
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