diff --git a/pages/tokipona/0.md b/pages/tokipona/0.md index a46b154..d5fca89 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/0.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/0.md @@ -1,52 +1,55 @@ -% toki pona page 0 - introduction +% toki pona page 0 - spelling and pronunciation % /dev/urandom % march 2020 -# About toki pona +The language *toki pona* only uses 14 letters of the Latin alphabet, and all of +these letters have consistent pronunciations. -This is the first (or 0th, in this case) in a series of pages about the *toki -pona*, a constructed language originally designed in 2001 and then gradually -revised over the years by Sonja Lang. +These are: a,e,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,s,t,u,w. -The language is designed around the ideas of minimalist design and simplifying -one's thoughts, with complicated ideas being broken into their basic components. -As a result, the language is considered to be incredibly easy to learn, with -some people claiming to be able to read it after only days and achieving fluency -within a week or two. +You might have noticed that all these letters are lowercase. This is because all +toki pona words are spelled in lowercase, even at the start of sentences. -With an official vocabulary of around 120 words (plus some new additional -words created in the community), a simple grammar and an easy-to-learn phonology, -learning toki pona is, in fact, a relatively simple challenge, even compared to -other simplified constructed languages, such as Esperanto. +The consonants use the same sounds as those in English, with the exception of +"j", which instead sounds like the English "y". -However, with that simplicity also come limitations. Many words have multiple -meanings, and a lot of phrases or sentences are ambiguous without context. -Expressing many concepts and ideas in toki pona will require one to come up with -their own phrases or rephrase them completely (which, as mentioned before, is -part of the language's idea). +The vowels are a bit more complicated (or more simple, depending on your view). +Unlike English, every vowel uses the same sound in all words. If you know how +to pronounce the vowel sounds in Spanish, Japanese or Esperanto, then you can +pronounce them the same way in toki pona. -The language is also designed to be easy to use regardless of one's native -language. The sounds and syllable structure used in toki pona are distinct from -one another and common across many languages, whereas the vocabulary features -words borrowed from many languages across the world. +For examples of English words with corresponding pronunciations: -# About this course +* **a** sounds like the "u" in the word "up" or (in some variants of English) + the "a" in "bath". -There are several good sources to educate yourself about toki pona available -already. The most important (and best, in my opinion), is the [official toki -pona book](https://tokipona.org/) (also known as "pu") published in 2014 by -Sonja Lang herself. It is not free, but it's a well-written book with lots of -additional texts to read and it explains the language very well. +* **e** sounds like the "e" in the word "bet". -Another useful resource is the online course ["o kama sona e toki -pona!"](http://tokipona.net/tp/janpije/okamasona.php) (learn -toki pona!) by Bryant Knight (aka "jan Pije"). It has some differences in how it -uses certain words, and the past versions of the course have attracted some -controversy, but it's also a well-made course. +* **i** sounds like the "i" in the word "win". -My goal here is to try and present a version that tries to account for the -different ways people speak and write toki pona and the way it is being used -now. My personal style is mostly based on "pu", but with slight adjustments, but -other styles will be covered as well. +* **o** sounds like the "o" in the word "long". + +* **u** sounds like the "oo" in "oops" or "moon". + +Since there are so few sounds, different speakers may pronounce it with some +differences. For example, some might substitute the sounds "p,t,k" with "b,d,g". + +All toki pona words are pronounced with stress on their first syllable. + +## Exercises + +Here are some toki pona words that are derived from, or sound similar to, other +English words: + +| toki pona | sounds similar to | +|-----------|-------------------| +| jaki | yucky | +| jelo | yellow | +| ken | can | +| mani | money | +| mi | me | +| mun | moon | +| tu | two | +| wan | one | [Next page](1.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/1.md b/pages/tokipona/1.md index 6b713dc..35bf32a 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/1.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/1.md @@ -1,55 +1,72 @@ -% toki pona page 1 - spelling and pronunciation +% toki pona page 1 - basic sentences % /dev/urandom % march 2020 -The language *toki pona* only uses 14 letters of the Latin alphabet, and all of -these letters have consistent pronunciations. +The vocabulary for this page: -These are: a,e,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,s,t,u,w. +| word | meaning | derived from | +|-------|---------------------------------|------------------------------| +| mi | i, me, us | Esperanto "mi" (I, me) | +| sina | you | Finnish "sinä" (you) | +| ona | he, she, they, it | Serbo-Croatian "ona" (she) | +| li | (between subj. and verb/adj.) | Esperanto "li" (he) | +| pona | good, simple, to improve, to fix| Esperanto "bona" (good) | +| ike | bad, evil, complex, unnecessary | Finnish "ilkeä" (bad) | +| suli | big, great, important, to grow | Finnish "suuri" (big, great) | +| lili | small, few, young, to shrink | Tok Pisin "liklik" (small) | +| kili | fruit, vegetable, mushroom | Georgian "xili" (fruit) | +| soweli| land mammal, animal | Georgian "cxoveli" (beastly animal)| -You might have noticed that all these letters are lowercase. This is because all -toki pona words are spelled in lowercase, even at the start of sentences. +Let's start with the most basic sentence structure in toki pona: -The consonants use the same sounds as those in English, with the exception of -"j", which instead sounds like the English "y". +> [noun] li [noun / adjective]. -The vowels are a bit more complicated (or more simple, depending on your view). -Unlike English, every vowel uses the same sound in all words. If you know how -to pronounce the vowel sounds in Spanish, Japanese or Esperanto, then you can -pronounce them the same way in toki pona. +In English, this would mean: -For examples of English words with corresponding pronunciations: +> [Noun] is (a) [noun]. -* **a** sounds like the "u" in the word "up" or (in some variants of English) - the "a" in "bath". +or -* **e** sounds like the "e" in the word "bet". +> [Noun] is [adjective]. -* **i** sounds like the "i" in the word "win". +For example: -* **o** sounds like the "o" in the word "long". +> ona li suli. - (He/she/it/they) is (big/great/important). -* **u** sounds like the "oo" in "oops" or "moon". +As you can see, a single word can have multiple related meanings. In practical +usage, both "ona" and "suli" will be more clear based on context. -Since there are so few sounds, different speakers may pronounce it with some -differences. For example, some might substitute the sounds "p,t,k" with "b,d,g". +> kili li pona. - (Fruit/vegetable/mushroom)(s) (is/are) good. -All toki pona words are pronounced with stress on their first syllable. +And in this case, it doesn't make a lot of sense to use any meaning of "pona" +other than "good". -## Exercises +There is one exception to the rule. If the subject is "mi" or "sina", then it is +not necessary to add the word "li". So, instead of -Here are some toki pona words that are derived from, or sound similar to, other -English words: +> sina li suli. - You are important. -| toki pona | sounds similar to | -|-----------|-------------------| -| jaki | yucky | -| jelo | yellow | -| ken | can | -| mani | money | -| mi | me | -| mun | moon | -| tu | two | -| wan | one | +it's -[Previous page](0.html) [Next page](2.html) +> sina suli. - You are important. + +## Exercises + +Now, how would you express the following ideas? + +* Animals are important. +* He is little. +* I am great. +* It is a dog. +* You are bad. + +Reveal answers + +> %spoiler% +> * soweli li suli. +> * ona li lili. +> * mi suli. +> * ona li soweli. +> * sina ike. + +[Next page](2.html) [Previous page](0.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/10.md b/pages/tokipona/10.md deleted file mode 100644 index d9fd3ea..0000000 --- a/pages/tokipona/10.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,105 +0,0 @@ -% toki pona page 10 - complex adjectives and contexts -% /dev/urandom -% march 2020 - -The vocabulary for this page: - -| word | meaning | derived from | -|-------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------| -| pi | "of" (groups adjectives) | Tok Pisin "bilong" (of) | -| la | "if/when" (introduces context) | Esperanto "la" (definite article)| -| luka | hand, arm | Serbo-Croatian "ruka" (arm) | -| linja | long flexible object, hair | Finnish "linja" (line) | -| palisa| long solid object, branch, stick | Serbo-Croatian "palica" (rod) | -| selo | outer form, shell, skin, boundary| Esperanto "ŝelo" (skin) | -| sijelo| body, physical state, torso | Serbo-Croatian "tijelo" (body) | -| len | cloth, clothes, layer of privacy | Acadian French "linge" (clothing)| -| lete | cold, raw | Acadian French "frette" (cold) | -| musi | entertaining, artistic, fun, game| Esperanto "amuzi" (have fun) | - -Time to introduce two another particles in this language: "pi" and "la". - -## pi - -The word "pi" works by grouping several adjectives together. Normally, all -adjectives in a phrase apply to the first word. - -For example: - -> jan wawa -- strong person - -> jan wawa ala -- no strong people - -If you need to say "weak people", you need to negate "wawa", but not "jan". -That's where "pi" comes in handy: - -> jan pi wawa ala -- weak person/people ("of no strength") - -It is also useful for phrases that use unofficial words. - -> ma tomo Wasintan li ma tomo lawa pi ma Mewika. -- (the city of) Washington is -> the capital ("main city") of the United States. - -## la - -The word "la" allows to combine two sentences to form conditions and introduce -context. - -> [sentence A] la [sentence B]. - -This translates to something like: - -> If [sentence A], then [sentence B]. - -## Dialectal differences - -> %info% -> This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in -> explaining certain ideas. - -The official book, the "o kama sona e toki pona!" course and my personal style -differ on how to place punctuation in sentences that use "la". - -The official book sometimes uses a comma before "la" and sometimes uses no -punctuation. - -The online course doesn't use any punctuation. - -I personally prefer using the comma after "la". - -## Exercises - -Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. - -* -* -* -* -* - -And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. - -* -* -* -* -* - -Reveal answers - -> %spoiler% -> * -> * -> * -> * -> * - -> %spoiler% -> * -> * -> * -> * -> * - -[Next page](11.html) [Previous page](9.html) - diff --git a/pages/tokipona/2.md b/pages/tokipona/2.md index 218d32b..534db47 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/2.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/2.md @@ -1,72 +1,86 @@ -% toki pona page 2 - basic sentences +% toki pona page 2 - adjectives % /dev/urandom % march 2020 The vocabulary for this page: -| word | meaning | derived from | -|-------|---------------------------------|------------------------------| -| mi | i, me, us | Esperanto "mi" (I, me) | -| sina | you | Finnish "sinä" (you) | -| ona | he, she, they, it | Serbo-Croatian "ona" (she) | -| li | (between subj. and verb/adj.) | Esperanto "li" (he) | -| pona | good, simple, to improve, to fix| Esperanto "bona" (good) | -| ike | bad, evil, complex, unnecessary | Finnish "ilkeä" (bad) | -| suli | big, great, important, to grow | Finnish "suuri" (big, great) | -| lili | small, few, young, to shrink | Tok Pisin "liklik" (small) | -| kili | fruit, vegetable, mushroom | Georgian "xili" (fruit) | -| soweli| land mammal, animal | Georgian "cxoveli" (beastly animal)| +| word | meaning | derived from | +|---------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------| +| ala | no, not, zero | Georgian "ara" (no) | +| ale/ali | all, everything, universe | Dutch "alle" (all) | +| utala | fight, battle, challenge | Serbo-Croatian "udarati" (hit)| +| wawa | strong, powerful | Finnish "vahva" (strong) | +| suwi | sweet, cute, adorable | Tok Pisin "suwi" (sweet) | +| jan | person, people, humanity | Cantonese "jan" (person) | +| mama | parent, ancestor, creator, origin| Georgian "mama" (father) | +| meli | woman, female, feminine, wife | Tok Pisin "meri" (woman, wife)| +| mije | man, male, masculine | Finnish "mies" (man, husband) | +| moku | food, to eat | Japanese "mogumogu" (munching)| -Let's start with the most basic sentence structure in toki pona: +To define subjects and adjectives more clearly, you can add extra words as +adjectives. In toki pona, an adjective that modifies a noun stands after the +noun in question. This is unlike English, where adjectives go before nouns. So, +for example: -> [noun] li [noun / adjective]. +> jan wawa - strong person -In English, this would mean: +Many of the nouns covered before can also function as adjectives. For example, +the pronouns "mi", "sina" and "ona" can serve as possessives. -> [Noun] is (a) [noun]. +> mama mi - my parent -or +Of note is the phrase "jan pona", which literally means "good person", but is +widely (and officially) accepted to also mean "friend". -> [Noun] is [adjective]. +Here are some example sentences that demonstrate this: -For example: +> mama mi li pona. - My parents are good. -> ona li suli. - (He/she/it/they) is (big/great/important). +> kili suwi li moku pona. - Sweet fruits are good food. -As you can see, a single word can have multiple related meanings. In practical -usage, both "ona" and "suli" will be more clear based on context. +> jan utala li wawa. - The warrior ("fighting person") is strong. -> kili li pona. - (Fruit/vegetable/mushroom)(s) (is/are) good. +> jan lili mi li suwi. - My children ("young people") are cute. -And in this case, it doesn't make a lot of sense to use any meaning of "pona" -other than "good". +> soweli lili li wawa ala. - Little animals are not strong. -There is one exception to the rule. If the subject is "mi" or "sina", then it is -not necessary to add the word "li". So, instead of - -> sina li suli. - You are important. - -it's - -> sina suli. - You are important. +> %warning% +> It is worth noting that the particle "li" is only removed if the subject is +> just the word "mi" or "sina". If it has any adjectives added to it, then the +> particle is used. ## Exercises -Now, how would you express the following ideas? +Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* Animals are important. -* He is little. -* I am great. -* It is a dog. -* You are bad. +* meli mi li pona. +* mije sina li suli. +* mama mije mi li wawa. +* soweli ale li pona. +* kili li moku suli. + +And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. + +* My wife is adorable. +* All warriors are bad. +* My friends are your friends. +* Your son is strong. +* The small fruit is sweet. Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * soweli li suli. -> * ona li lili. -> * mi suli. -> * ona li soweli. -> * sina ike. +> * My wife is good. +> * Your husband is (big/important). +> * My dad is strong. +> * All animals are good. +> * Fruits are important food. + +> %spoiler% +> * meli mi li suwi. +> * jan utala ale li ike. +> * jan pona mi li jan pona sina. +> * jan lili mije sina li wawa. +> * kili lili li suwi. [Next page](3.html) [Previous page](1.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/3.md b/pages/tokipona/3.md index 0636318..1b65569 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/3.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/3.md @@ -1,86 +1,101 @@ -% toki pona page 3 - adjectives +% toki pona page 3 - verbs and objects % /dev/urandom % march 2020 The vocabulary for this page: -| word | meaning | derived from | -|---------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------| -| ala | no, not, zero | Georgian "ara" (no) | -| ale/ali | all, everything, universe | Dutch "alle" (all) | -| utala | fight, battle, challenge | Serbo-Croatian "udarati" (hit)| -| wawa | strong, powerful | Finnish "vahva" (strong) | -| suwi | sweet, cute, adorable | Tok Pisin "suwi" (sweet) | -| jan | person, people, humanity | Cantonese "jan" (person) | -| mama | parent, ancestor, creator, origin| Georgian "mama" (father) | -| meli | woman, female, feminine, wife | Tok Pisin "meri" (woman, wife)| -| mije | man, male, masculine | Finnish "mies" (man, husband) | -| moku | food, to eat | Japanese "mogumogu" (munching)| +| word | meaning | derived from | +|-------|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------| +| e | (specifies an object) | unknown origin | +| ijo | thing, object | Esperanto "io" (something) | +| ilo | tool, machine, device | Esperanto "ilo" (tool) | +| lipu | book, document, paper | Finnish "lippu" (flag, banner) | +| lukin | eye, to look, to see, to seek to | Tok Pisin "lukim" (see, look at) | +| olin | love, compassion, affection | Serbo-Croatian "volim" (I love) | +| pali | to do, to work, to make, labor | Esperanto "fari" (do, make) | +| pana | to give, to send, to emit | Finnish "panna" (put, set, place) | +| telo | water, fluid, to water, to clean | Acadian French "de l'eau" (water) | +| tomo | home, room, structure | Esperanto "domo" (house) | -To define subjects and adjectives more clearly, you can add extra words as -adjectives. In toki pona, an adjective that modifies a noun stands after the -noun in question. This is unlike English, where adjectives go before nouns. So, -for example: +To add a verb to the sentence, use the following structure: -> jan wawa - strong person +> [noun] li [verb] -Many of the nouns covered before can also function as adjectives. For example, -the pronouns "mi", "sina" and "ona" can serve as possessives. +For example, -> mama mi - my parent +> mije li pali. - A man is working. / A man works. -Of note is the phrase "jan pona", which literally means "good person", but is -widely (and officially) accepted to also mean "friend". +Both the noun and the verb can have adjectives added after it. -Here are some example sentences that demonstrate this: +> jan wawa li pali pona. - A strong person is working well. -> mama mi li pona. - My parents are good. +> %info% +> Verbs don't have any tense information in them. A way to specify time will be +explained in a later page. -> kili suwi li moku pona. - Sweet fruits are good food. +To add an object -- the thing that the verb applies to -- use the particle "e" +for a following structure: -> jan utala li wawa. - The warrior ("fighting person") is strong. +> [subject] li [verb] e [object] -> jan lili mi li suwi. - My children ("young people") are cute. +> jan wawa li pali e tomo. - A strong person is (building/working on) a house. -> soweli lili li wawa ala. - Little animals are not strong. +Objects can also have adjectives added to them. + +> jan pali li pana e moku pona. - A worker gives out good food. + +Here are some sentences: + +> jan pona mi li pona e ilo lukin. - My friend is (improving/fixing) a looking +> instrument (glasses, binoculars, microscope, etc.). + +> mi telo e moku. - I clean the food. + +> mi olin e meli mi. - I love my wife. > %warning% -> It is worth noting that the particle "li" is only removed if the subject is -> just the word "mi" or "sina". If it has any adjectives added to it, then the -> particle is used. - +> +> Since the word "lukin" itself describes the act of seeing someone, rather than +> their appearance, complimenting someone on the latter would usually be expressed +> as: +> +> > sina pona lukin. - You look good (are "good visually"). +> + ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* meli mi li pona. -* mije sina li suli. -* mama mije mi li wawa. -* soweli ale li pona. -* kili li moku suli. +* jan lili li pana e telo lukin. +* ona li lukin e lipu. +* soweli ike li utala e meli. +* jan utala li moku e kili suli. +* soweli lili li moku e telo. +* mi telo e ijo suli. And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. -* My wife is adorable. -* All warriors are bad. -* My friends are your friends. -* Your son is strong. -* The small fruit is sweet. +* She loves every person. +* The bathroom (house of water) is good. +* I hand out documents. +* An evil warrior is looking at your house. +* My instrument is working well. Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * My wife is good. -> * Your husband is (big/important). -> * My dad is strong. -> * All animals are good. -> * Fruits are important food. +> * A child is crying (emitting eye water). +> * (He/she/they) look at a document. +> * The bad animal is attacking a woman. +> * The warrior is eating a big (fruit/vegetable/mushroom). +> * Little animals are drinking water. +> * I am (watering/cleaning) something big. > %spoiler% -> * meli mi li suwi. -> * jan utala ale li ike. -> * jan pona mi li jan pona sina. -> * jan lili mije sina li wawa. -> * kili lili li suwi. +> * ona li olin e jan ale. +> * tomo telo li pona. +> * mi pana e lipu. +> * jan utala ike li lukin e tomo sina. +> * ilo mi li pali pona. [Next page](4.html) [Previous page](2.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/4.md b/pages/tokipona/4.md index b8ec79a..385dfdd 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/4.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/4.md @@ -1,101 +1,103 @@ -% toki pona page 4 - verbs and objects +% toki pona page 4 - oh no! more vocabulary % /dev/urandom % march 2020 The vocabulary for this page: -| word | meaning | derived from | -|-------|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------| -| e | (specifies an object) | unknown origin | -| ijo | thing, object | Esperanto "io" (something) | -| ilo | tool, machine, device | Esperanto "ilo" (tool) | -| lipu | book, document, paper | Finnish "lippu" (flag, banner) | -| lukin | eye, to look, to see, to seek to | Tok Pisin "lukim" (see, look at) | -| olin | love, compassion, affection | Serbo-Croatian "volim" (I love) | -| pali | to do, to work, to make, labor | Esperanto "fari" (do, make) | -| pana | to give, to send, to emit | Finnish "panna" (put, set, place) | -| telo | water, fluid, to water, to clean | Acadian French "de l'eau" (water) | -| tomo | home, room, structure | Esperanto "domo" (house) | +| word | meaning | derived from | +|---------|----------------------------------|--------------------------------| +| jo | to have/carry/contain/hold | Mandarin "yǒu" (have) | +| kala | fish, marine animal, sea creature| Finnish "kala" (fish) | +| kasi | plant, grass, herb, leaf | Finnish "kasvi" (plant) | +| pipi | insect, bug | Acadian French "bibitte" (bug) | +| sitelen | symbol, image, writing, to draw | Dutch "schilderen" (paint) | +| toki | speech, to talk, language | Tok Pisin "tok" (talk) | +| waso | bird, flying creature | French "oiseau" (bird) | +| ma | earth, land, outdoors, territory | Finnish "maa" (earth/land) | +| kiwen | hard object, metal, stone, solid | Finnish "kiven" (of a stone) | +| ko | powder, clay, semi-solid | Cantonese "gou" (cream/paste) | -To add a verb to the sentence, use the following structure: +This page will only cover the ten new words and a few small concepts. -> [noun] li [verb] +> jan pali li telo e kasi. - The worker is watering the plants. -For example, +> jan wawa li jo e kiwen suli. - The strong person is carrying big rocks. -> mije li pali. - A man is working. / A man works. +> telo suli li jo e kala. - The sea/ocean (big water) has fish. -Both the noun and the verb can have adjectives added after it. +> mi sitelen e toki sina. - I'm writing down your speech. -> jan wawa li pali pona. - A strong person is working well. +> waso lili li moku e pipi. - The small bird eats bugs. + +> ma tomo mi li suli. - My city ("housed land") is big. + +And here's some sentences that use interesting phrases. + +> jan pali li toki utala e tomo mi. - The worker criticizes ("talks in a +> fighting way about") my house. + +> ona li toki ike e jan pona mi. - They (insult / speak bad things about) my +> friend(s). + +You can put several verbs and several objects into one sentence by adding extra +particles "li" or "e" followed by their verbs or objects. + +> meli li toki e soweli, e waso. - A woman is talking about land animals and +> birds. + +> jan pali li pona e ilo, li lukin e lipu. - A worker fixes the device and looks +> at (reads) a document. + +## Dialectal differences > %info% -> Verbs don't have any tense information in them. A way to specify time will be -explained in a later page. +> This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in +> explaining certain ideas. -To add an object -- the thing that the verb applies to -- use the particle "e" -for a following structure: +If the subject is "mi" or "sina" (and therefore it doesn't have a particle +"li"), you can do one of two things to add an extra verb. -> [subject] li [verb] e [object] +* The official book ("pu") suggests that you simply duplicate the sentence: -> jan wawa li pali e tomo. - A strong person is (building/working on) a house. +> mi pali. mi moku. - I work and eat. -Objects can also have adjectives added to them. +* The "o kama sona e toki pona!" course instead suggests you add a second "li": -> jan pali li pana e moku pona. - A worker gives out good food. +> mi pali, li moku. - I work and eat. -Here are some sentences: - -> jan pona mi li pona e ilo lukin. - My friend is (improving/fixing) a looking -> instrument (glasses, binoculars, microscope, etc.). - -> mi telo e moku. - I clean the food. - -> mi olin e meli mi. - I love my wife. - -> %warning% -> -> Since the word "lukin" itself describes the act of seeing someone, rather than -> their appearance, complimenting someone on the latter would usually be expressed -> as: -> -> > sina pona lukin. - You look good (are "good visually"). -> - ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* jan lili li pana e telo lukin. -* ona li lukin e lipu. -* soweli ike li utala e meli. -* jan utala li moku e kili suli. -* soweli lili li moku e telo. -* mi telo e ijo suli. +* mi moku ala e soweli. +* jan pona sina li toki e ma, e telo. +* jan suli li lukin a ma tomo, li sitelen e ijo. +* ma li jo e kasi ike. +* pipi lili li suli, li pona. And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. -* She loves every person. -* The bathroom (house of water) is good. -* I hand out documents. -* An evil warrior is looking at your house. -* My instrument is working well. +* Your city doesn't have any workers. +* My husband doesn't work, (only) eats and fights. +* My homeland ("original land") is large. +* Your painting looks good. +* My friend has fish and fruit and makes good food. Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * A child is crying (emitting eye water). -> * (He/she/they) look at a document. -> * The bad animal is attacking a woman. -> * The warrior is eating a big (fruit/vegetable/mushroom). -> * Little animals are drinking water. -> * I am (watering/cleaning) something big. +> * I don't eat animals (i.e. meat). +> * Your friend is talking about the land and the water. +> * An important person is looking at the city and writing things down. +> * The land has weeds ("bad plants"). +> * Small bugs are important and good. > %spoiler% -> * ona li olin e jan ale. -> * tomo telo li pona. -> * mi pana e lipu. -> * jan utala ike li lukin e tomo sina. -> * ilo mi li pali pona. +> * ma tomo sina li jo ala e jan pali. +> * mije ma li pali ala, li moku, li utala. +> * ma mama mi li suli. +> * sitelen sina li pona lukin. +> * jan pona mi li jo e kala e kili li pali e moku pona. [Next page](5.html) [Previous page](3.html) + diff --git a/pages/tokipona/5.md b/pages/tokipona/5.md index 199f431..2a75af7 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/5.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/5.md @@ -1,52 +1,54 @@ -% toki pona page 5 - oh no! more vocabulary +% toki pona page 5 - this and that % /dev/urandom % march 2020 -The vocabulary for this page: +The vocabulary for this page: -| word | meaning | derived from | -|---------|----------------------------------|--------------------------------| -| jo | to have/carry/contain/hold | Mandarin "yǒu" (have) | -| kala | fish, marine animal, sea creature| Finnish "kala" (fish) | -| kasi | plant, grass, herb, leaf | Finnish "kasvi" (plant) | -| pipi | insect, bug | Acadian French "bibitte" (bug) | -| sitelen | symbol, image, writing, to draw | Dutch "schilderen" (paint) | -| toki | speech, to talk, language | Tok Pisin "tok" (talk) | -| waso | bird, flying creature | French "oiseau" (bird) | -| ma | earth, land, outdoors, territory | Finnish "maa" (earth/land) | -| kiwen | hard object, metal, stone, solid | Finnish "kiven" (of a stone) | -| ko | powder, clay, semi-solid | Cantonese "gou" (cream/paste) | +| word | meaning | derived from | +|---------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------| +| ante | different, changed, to change | Dutch "ander" (other, different) | +| awen | keep, stay, endure, protect | Dutch "houden" (keep, care for) | +| en | and (combines subjects) | Dutch "en" (and) | +| kalama | sound, noise, to read/make sound| Serbo-Croatian "galama" (noise) | +| kulupu | group, community, society | Tongan "kulupu" (from "group") | +| lape | sleep, rest | Dutch "slapen" (sleep) | +| mute | many, more, quantity | Esperanto "multe" (a lot) | +| ni | this, that | Cantonese "ni" (this) | +| pakala | break, mistake, (generic curse) | Tok Pisin "bagarap" (accident) | +| seli | heat, warmth, chemical reaction | Georgian "cxeli" (hot) | -This page will only cover the ten new words and a few small concepts. +Before we discover a whole new type of words and new grammar, let's fill in some +blanks. -> jan pali li telo e kasi. - The worker is watering the plants. +The word "en" lets one combine several subjects in one sentence: -> jan wawa li jo e kiwen suli. - The strong person is carrying big rocks. +> mi en sina li moku. -- Me and you are eating. -> telo suli li jo e kala. - The sea/ocean (big water) has fish. +Note that it is _not_ used to combine several verbs or objects. -> mi sitelen e toki sina. - I'm writing down your speech. +The word "mute" allows to specify whether the subject (or object) is singular or +plural. -> waso lili li moku e pipi. - The small bird eats bugs. +> jan utala mute -- many warriors -> ma tomo mi li suli. - My city ("housed land") is big. +> mi mute -- we, us -And here's some sentences that use interesting phrases. +Here are some example sentences: -> jan pali li toki utala e tomo mi. - The worker criticizes ("talks in a -> fighting way about") my house. +> jan lili mute li lape. -- The children are sleeping. -> ona li toki ike e jan pona mi. - They (insult / speak bad things about) my -> friend(s). +> kulupu ni li pona mute. -- This community is very good. -You can put several verbs and several objects into one sentence by adding extra -particles "li" or "e" followed by their verbs or objects. +> kiwen suli li pakala e tomo lipu. -- A big rock damaged the library ("house of +> books"). -> meli li toki e soweli, e waso. - A woman is talking about land animals and -> birds. +> mi pakala lili. -- I made a little mistake. -> jan pali li pona e ilo, li lukin e lipu. - A worker fixes the device and looks -> at (reads) a document. +> ilo sina li kalama mute ike. -- Your instrument is making lots of bad noise. + +The word "ni" is also used to create more complex sentences. + +> jan lili toki e ni: sina pona. -- The child said that you're good. ## Dialectal differences @@ -54,50 +56,44 @@ particles "li" or "e" followed by their verbs or objects. > This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in > explaining certain ideas. -If the subject is "mi" or "sina" (and therefore it doesn't have a particle -"li"), you can do one of two things to add an extra verb. - -* The official book ("pu") suggests that you simply duplicate the sentence: - -> mi pali. mi moku. - I work and eat. - -* The "o kama sona e toki pona!" course instead suggests you add a second "li": - -> mi pali, li moku. - I work and eat. +There doesn't seem to be an agreement whether or not "en" can be used within +phrases that use the particle "pi" (will be explained later). In addition, Sonja +Lang herself said that using "en" to combine several objects is "not completely +wrong", but rather stylistically inelegant. ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* mi moku ala e soweli. -* jan pona sina li toki e ma, e telo. -* jan suli li lukin a ma tomo, li sitelen e ijo. -* ma li jo e kasi ike. -* pipi lili li suli, li pona. +* kulupu sina li ante mute. +* jan ike li pakala e ilo mi. +* mi pali e tomo ni. +* jan utala pona mute li awen e kulupu ni. +* kulupu suli li awen, li suli e ona. And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. -* Your city doesn't have any workers. -* My husband doesn't work, (only) eats and fights. -* My homeland ("original land") is large. -* Your painting looks good. -* My friend has fish and fruit and makes good food. +* Warm food is very good. +* Sleeping children don't make noises. +* The workers said that they are strong and tough. +* You look different. +* This house preserves the heat. Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * I don't eat animals (i.e. meat). -> * Your friend is talking about the land and the water. -> * An important person is looking at the city and writing things down. -> * The land has weeds ("bad plants"). -> * Small bugs are important and good. +> * Your community is very different. +> * A bad person broke my tools. +> * I built this house. +> * The good warriors protect this community. +> * The large community endures and grows itself. > %spoiler% -> * ma tomo sina li jo ala e jan pali. -> * mije ma li pali ala, li moku, li utala. -> * ma mama mi li suli. -> * sitelen sina li pona lukin. -> * jan pona mi li jo e kala e kili li pali e moku pona. +> * moku seli li pona mute. +> * jan lili lape li kalama ala. +> * jan pali mute li toki e ni: ona li wawa, li kiwen. +> * sina ante lukin. +> * tomo ni li awen e seli. [Next page](6.html) [Previous page](4.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/6.md b/pages/tokipona/6.md index 48cfabe..adf96c6 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/6.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/6.md @@ -1,54 +1,100 @@ -% toki pona page 6 - this and that +% toki pona page 6 - prepositions and locations % /dev/urandom % march 2020 -The vocabulary for this page: +The vocabulary for this page will be divided into two groups. Prepositions: | word | meaning | derived from | |---------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------| -| ante | different, changed, to change | Dutch "ander" (other, different) | -| awen | keep, stay, endure, protect | Dutch "houden" (keep, care for) | -| en | and (combines subjects) | Dutch "en" (and) | -| kalama | sound, noise, to read/make sound| Serbo-Croatian "galama" (noise) | -| kulupu | group, community, society | Tongan "kulupu" (from "group") | -| lape | sleep, rest | Dutch "slapen" (sleep) | -| mute | many, more, quantity | Esperanto "multe" (a lot) | -| ni | this, that | Cantonese "ni" (this) | -| pakala | break, mistake, (generic curse) | Tok Pisin "bagarap" (accident) | -| seli | heat, warmth, chemical reaction | Georgian "cxeli" (hot) | +| kepeken | to use, using, with the help of | Dutch "gebruiken" (to use) | +| lon | in, at, on, true, present, exist| Tok Pisin "long" (at, in, on) | +| sama | same as, similar, like, sibling | Esperanto/Finnish "sama" (same) | +| tan | from, because of, cause, reason | Cantonese "tsung" (from) | +| tawa | to, for, moving, from persp. of | English "towards" | -Before we discover a whole new type of words and new grammar, let's fill in some -blanks. +And regular words (which in this case all relate to locations): -The word "en" lets one combine several subjects in one sentence: +| word | meaning | derived from | +|---------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------| +| sewi | up, above, sky, divine, sacred | Georgian "zevit" (upwards) | +| noka | foot, leg, bottom, under | Serbo-Croatian "noga" (foot/leg) | +| poka | hip, side, next to, nearby | Serbo-Croatian "boka" (of side) | +| monsi | back, behind, rear, butt | Acadian French "mon tchu" | +| sinpin | face, foremost, front, wall | Cantonese "tsin bin" (in front) | -> mi en sina li moku. -- Me and you are eating. +Prepositions are words that are attacked to other parts of the sentence in order +to express a place or time (more on that in the future) or a specific detail +about the action. -Note that it is _not_ used to combine several verbs or objects. +In toki pona, the words "kepeken", "lon", "sama", "tan" and "tawa" can be +prepositions -- in which case they're added at the end of the sentence without +any extra particles -- or as regular words with related meanings. -The word "mute" allows to specify whether the subject (or object) is singular or -plural. +Here are some examples of all five of these words, both as prepositions and as +regular words: -> jan utala mute -- many warriors +> mi pona e tomo kepeken ilo mi. -- I am repairing the house using my tools. -> mi mute -- we, us +> mi toki kepeken toki pona. -- I speak in toki pona. -Here are some example sentences: +> sina kepeken e ilo sitelen. -- You are using a writing/drawing tool (pen, +> pencil, brush). -> jan lili mute li lape. -- The children are sleeping. +> mi lon tomo sina. -- I am in your house. -> kulupu ni li pona mute. -- This community is very good. +> jan ike li kalama mute lon tomo lipu. -- A bad person is being very noisy +> in the library. -> kiwen suli li pakala e tomo lipu. -- A big rock damaged the library ("house of -> books"). +> ona toki e ijo lon. -- He/she/they speak the truth ("talk about things that +> exist"). -> mi pakala lili. -- I made a little mistake. +> mi en sina li sama. -- You and I are similar. -> ilo sina li kalama mute ike. -- Your instrument is making lots of bad noise. +> meli sama mi li pona. -- My sister is good. -The word "ni" is also used to create more complex sentences. +> kiwen lili li sama lukin pipi. -- The pebble ("small rock") looks like a bug. -> jan lili toki e ni: sina pona. -- The child said that you're good. +> mi lape tan ni: mi jo ala e wawa. -- I sleep, because i don't have any energy. + +> mi tawa tan tomo mi. -- I am leaving my house. + +> tomo tawa mi li pona. -- My car ("moving house/structure") is good. + +> mi tawa lon tomo moku. -- I am going to the restaurant ("house of food"). + +The word "tawa" can also express perspective. + +> sina li pona tawa mi. -- I like you. ("You are good for me.") + +> %warning% +> Since "tawa" can be both an adjective and a preposition, certain phrases can +> be ambiguous. For example, "tomo tawa mi" can mean both "my car" and "a house, +> from my perspective". The specific meaning will depend on context. + +And here are some examples of the location words: + +> waso mute li lon sewi. -- Many birds are in the sky. + +> mi toki tawa jan sewi. -- I speak to a (deity/angel/someone divine/(possibly +> literally) man in the sky). + +> mi tawa kepeken noka mi. -- I am moving on foot ("using my legs"). + +> kiwen lili li lon noka mi. -- A small rock is below me. + +> mi tawa lon poka sina. -- I walk beside you. + +> jan poka li ike tawa mi. -- I don't like my neighbor. + +> poka mi li pakala. -- My hip/side is broken. + +> ona li lon monsi sina. -- They are behind you. + +> jan utala mute li lon sinpin. -- Warriors are standing in front of me. + +> lipu suli li on sinpin ni. -- An important document is on this wall. + +> sinpin ona li pona lukin. -- Their face looks good. ## Dialectal differences @@ -56,44 +102,47 @@ The word "ni" is also used to create more complex sentences. > This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in > explaining certain ideas. -There doesn't seem to be an agreement whether or not "en" can be used within -phrases that use the particle "pi" (will be explained later). In addition, Sonja -Lang herself said that using "en" to combine several objects is "not completely -wrong", but rather stylistically inelegant. +The official book uses "lon" with a wider meaning, also including "with". For +example, "I speak in toki pona" is translated as "mi toki lon toki pona". This +does not seem to be a common usage of the word. + +Other courses also use "anpa" instead of "noka" to mean "below" (using "noka" +only to specifically mean "leg" or "foot".) The word "anpa" will be covered in +[page 7](7.html). ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* kulupu sina li ante mute. -* jan ike li pakala e ilo mi. -* mi pali e tomo ni. -* jan utala pona mute li awen e kulupu ni. -* kulupu suli li awen, li suli e ona. +* ona li toki tawa mama mije ona kepeken ilo toki. +* moku suwi li ike tawa mi. +* ma mama mi li utala e ma poka. +* meli sama sina li jan pona mi. +* pipi lili li lon sinpin sina. And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. -* Warm food is very good. -* Sleeping children don't make noises. -* The workers said that they are strong and tough. -* You look different. -* This house preserves the heat. +* You broke my car. +* The man gives out food to children. +* I dislike this chat room ("talking structure"). +* I fixed the house because of you. +* They are reading books in the library. Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * Your community is very different. -> * A bad person broke my tools. -> * I built this house. -> * The good warriors protect this community. -> * The large community endures and grows itself. +> * They are speaking to their father on a phone. +> * I don't like sweet food / Sweet food is bad for me. +> * My homeland is fighting (against) a neighboring country. +> * Your sister is my friend. +> * A small bug is on your face. > %spoiler% -> * moku seli li pona mute. -> * jan lili lape li kalama ala. -> * jan pali mute li toki e ni: ona li wawa, li kiwen. -> * sina ante lukin. -> * tomo ni li awen e seli. +> * sina pakala e tomo tawa mi. +> * (jan) mije li pana e moku tawa jan lili. +> * tomo toki ni li ike tawa mi. +> * mi pona e tomo tan sina. +> * ona li lukin e lipu lon tomo lipu. [Next page](7.html) [Previous page](5.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/7.md b/pages/tokipona/7.md index 47fed7a..82bda2e 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/7.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/7.md @@ -1,148 +1,160 @@ -% toki pona page 7 - prepositions and locations +% toki pona page 7 - interjections, questions, commands and names % /dev/urandom % march 2020 -The vocabulary for this page will be divided into two groups. Prepositions: +The vocabulary for this page: -| word | meaning | derived from | -|---------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------| -| kepeken | to use, using, with the help of | Dutch "gebruiken" (to use) | -| lon | in, at, on, true, present, exist| Tok Pisin "long" (at, in, on) | -| sama | same as, similar, like, sibling | Esperanto/Finnish "sama" (same) | -| tan | from, because of, cause, reason | Cantonese "tsung" (from) | -| tawa | to, for, moving, from persp. of | English "towards" | +| word | meaning | derived from | +|-------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------| +| a | (emotional interjection) | n/a | +| anu | or (for yes/no questions) | Georgian "an" (or) | +| mu | (any animal sound) | "moo" onomatopoeia | +| o | (addressing people, commands) | Georgian "-o" (vocative case) | +| seme | what? (for questions) | Mandarin "shénme" (what, smth) | -And regular words (which in this case all relate to locations): +| word | meaning | derived from | +|-------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------| +| kute | listen, hear, obey, ear | Acadian French "écouter" (listen)| +| nimi | word, name | Finnish "nimi" (name) | +| lawa | head, control, own, rule, main | Serbo-Croatian "glava" (head) | +| anpa | lowly, humble, to conquer/defeat | Acadian French "en bas" (below) | +| insa | inside, contents, center, stomach| Tok Pisin "insait" (inside) | -| word | meaning | derived from | -|---------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------| -| sewi | up, above, sky, divine, sacred | Georgian "zevit" (upwards) | -| noka | foot, leg, bottom, under | Serbo-Croatian "noga" (foot/leg) | -| poka | hip, side, next to, nearby | Serbo-Croatian "boka" (of side) | -| monsi | back, behind, rear, butt | Acadian French "mon tchu" | -| sinpin | face, foremost, front, wall | Cantonese "tsin bin" (in front) | +## Interjections and commands -Prepositions are words that are attacked to other parts of the sentence in order -to express a place or time (more on that in the future) or a specific detail -about the action. +The word "a" functions like a emotional interjection. It is usually either added +at the end of a sentence or functions as a sentence on its own. -In toki pona, the words "kepeken", "lon", "sama", "tan" and "tawa" can be -prepositions -- in which case they're added at the end of the sentence without -any extra particles -- or as regular words with related meanings. +> sina suwi a! -- You are so cute! -Here are some examples of all five of these words, both as prepositions and as -regular words: +More specifically, laughter is indicated with the sentence "a a a!" (ha ha ha!). -> mi pona e tomo kepeken ilo mi. -- I am repairing the house using my tools. +The word "mu" substitutes for any sound made by any animal. -> mi toki kepeken toki pona. -- I speak in toki pona. +The word "o" is used to address people and issue commands. -> sina kepeken e ilo sitelen. -- You are using a writing/drawing tool (pen, -> pencil, brush). +When used on its own at the beginning of a sentence, it turns the rest of the +message into a command. -> mi lon tomo sina. -- I am in your house. +> o kute e mi! -- Listen to me! -> jan ike li kalama mute lon tomo lipu. -- A bad person is being very noisy -> in the library. +When used after a noun phrase, it addresses a person. -> ona toki e ijo lon. -- He/she/they speak the truth ("talk about things that -> exist"). +> sina o! -- Hey, you! -> mi en sina li sama. -- You and I are similar. +Both uses can be combined. -> meli sama mi li pona. -- My sister is good. +> jan pali o, kepeken e ilo awen! -- Worker, use protective equipment! -> kiwen lili li sama lukin pipi. -- The pebble ("small rock") looks like a bug. +## Questions -> mi lape tan ni: mi jo ala e wawa. -- I sleep, because i don't have any energy. +There are two ways to ask questions in toki pona. -> mi tawa tan tomo mi. -- I am leaving my house. +If you want to ask a yes-or-no question, you phrase the sentence normally, but +replace the word being questioned with a "[word] ala [word]" structure. -> tomo tawa mi li pona. -- My car ("moving house/structure") is good. +> sina pona ala pona? -- Are you okay? -> mi tawa lon tomo moku. -- I am going to the restaurant ("house of food"). +There are no words for "yes" and "no", so to answer positively, you repeat the +verb, and to answer negatively, you add "ala". -The word "tawa" can also express perspective. +> pona. -- Yes. -> sina li pona tawa mi. -- I like you. ("You are good for me.") +> pona ala. -- No. -> %warning% -> Since "tawa" can be both an adjective and a preposition, certain phrases can -> be ambiguous. For example, "tomo tawa mi" can mean both "my car" and "a house, -> from my perspective". The specific meaning will depend on context. +(From what I understand, this structure is similar to what is used in Mandarin.) -And here are some examples of the location words: +> ona li pali ala pali? -- Are they working? -> waso mute li lon sewi. -- Many birds are in the sky. +> jan lili li moku ala moku? -- Are the children eating? -> mi toki tawa jan sewi. -- I speak to a (deity/angel/someone divine/(possibly -> literally) man in the sky). +Alternatively, you can add "anu seme" ("or what?") instead. -> mi tawa kepeken noka mi. -- I am moving on foot ("using my legs"). +> sina pona anu seme? -- Are you okay? -> kiwen lili li lon noka mi. -- A small rock is below me. +For freeform questions, you start with a regular sentence, but replace the word +you're interested in with "seme". -> mi tawa lon poka sina. -- I walk beside you. +> sina pali e seme? -- What are you (doing/working on)? -> jan poka li ike tawa mi. -- I don't like my neighbor. +## Names (unofficial words) -> poka mi li pakala. -- My hip/side is broken. +So far, these pages only relied on native toki pona words to refer to things and +people. But this is clearly not enough when you need to call someone by their +name. For proper names, toki pona uses so-called "unofficial words". These are +usually names of people, cities, countries, etc., taken from their native +languages and adapted to toki pona's pronunciation rules. Unlike all toki pona +words, they're spelled with the first letter capitalized. -> ona li lon monsi sina. -- They are behind you. +Unofficial words are always treated as adjectives, which means that before them +is always a noun or a noun phrase describing what is being referred to. -> jan utala mute li lon sinpin. -- Warriors are standing in front of me. +> jan Mimi -- (the person) Mimi -> lipu suli li on sinpin ni. -- An important document is on this wall. +> ma Kanata -- (the country) Canada -> sinpin ona li pona lukin. -- Their face looks good. +> ma tomo Napoli -- (the city) Naples -## Dialectal differences +Alternatively, the unofficial words can actually be used as adjectives: + +> jan Kanata -- a Canadian person + +Thanks to different people interpreting both the native names and toki pona's +sounds in different ways, there may ultimately be several different unofficial +names for the same city or country's name. + +Also, people speaking toki pona are free to pick their own personal toki pona +names, either by adapting the name from their native language or coming up with +something new. > %info% -> This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in -> explaining certain ideas. +> The [page 7a](7a.html) contains some more information about how +> unofficial words are created. -The official book uses "lon" with a wider meaning, also including "with". For -example, "I speak in toki pona" is translated as "mi toki lon toki pona". This -does not seem to be a common usage of the word. +## Examples -Other courses also use "anpa" instead of "noka" to mean "below" (using "noka" -only to specifically mean "leg" or "foot".) The word "anpa" will be covered in -[page 8](8.html). +> o toki ala a! -- Shut up! + +> sina pali ala pali e ni? -- Did you do this? + +> mi jan San. mi lon ma Mewika. -- I am John. I live in the United States. + +> nimi sina li seme? -- What is your name? + +> jan lawa mi li ike mute. -- (My boss / our leader) is very bad. ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* ona li toki tawa mama mije ona kepeken ilo toki. -* moku suwi li ike tawa mi. -* ma mama mi li utala e ma poka. -* meli sama sina li jan pona mi. -* pipi lili li lon sinpin sina. +* o moku ala e kili ni a! +* kulupu Kensa li anpa e kulupu ale ante. +* o toki insa ala e ni: jan pali li anpa tawa jan lawa. +* sina pali e ni tan seme? +* insa mi li pakala. o pona e mi a! And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. -* You broke my car. -* The man gives out food to children. -* I dislike this chat room ("talking structure"). -* I fixed the house because of you. -* They are reading books in the library. +* I don't think gods exist. +* Don't make noise in the library. +* My boss tells me not to sleep in the office. +* Your brother looks just like you. +* Don't go outside. Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * They are speaking to their father on a phone. -> * I don't like sweet food / Sweet food is bad for me. -> * My homeland is fighting (against) a neighboring country. -> * Your sister is my friend. -> * A small bug is on your face. +> * Don't eat this fruit/vegetable/mushroom! +> * The Kansas team defeated all other teams. +> * Don't think that workers are lowly before the leaders. +> * Why did you do this? +> * My (stomach / internal organs) are hurt. Help me! > %spoiler% -> * sina pakala e tomo tawa mi. -> * (jan) mije li pana e moku tawa jan lili. -> * tomo toki ni li ike tawa mi. -> * mi pona e tomo tan sina. -> * ona li lukin e lipu lon tomo lipu. +> * mi toki insa e ni: jan sewi li lon ala. +> * o kalama ala lon tomo lipu. +> * jan lawa mi li toki e ni: o lape ala lon tomo pali. +> * jan sama mije sina li lukin sama mute sina. +> * o tawa ala lon ma. [Next page](8.html) [Previous page](6.html) - diff --git a/pages/tokipona/8a.md b/pages/tokipona/7a.md similarity index 97% rename from pages/tokipona/8a.md rename to pages/tokipona/7a.md index ed90017..9233c16 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/8a.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/7a.md @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -% page 8a - creating toki pona unofficial words +% page 7a - creating toki pona unofficial words % /dev/urandom % march 2020 @@ -68,4 +68,4 @@ toki pona!" course features [this list of rules](http://tokipona.net/tp/janpije/tpize.php), and the official book has its own. -[Back to page 8](8.html) +[Back to page 7](7.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/8.md b/pages/tokipona/8.md index 07c39df..749d6b9 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/8.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/8.md @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -% toki pona page 8 - interjections, questions, commands and names +% toki pona page 8 - colorful language % /dev/urandom % march 2020 @@ -6,155 +6,96 @@ The vocabulary for this page: | word | meaning | derived from | |-------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------| -| a | (emotional interjection) | n/a | -| anu | or (for yes/no questions) | Georgian "an" (or) | -| mu | (any animal sound) | "moo" onomatopoeia | -| o | (addressing people, commands) | Georgian "-o" (vocative case) | -| seme | what? (for questions) | Mandarin "shénme" (what, smth) | +| kule | color, colorful | French "couleur" (color) | +| jelo | yellow (and its shades) | English "yellow" | +| laso | blue, green (and its shades) | Welsh "glas" (blue) | +| loje | red (and its shades) | Dutch "rooie" (red) | +| pimeja| black, dark | Finnish "pimeä" (dark) | +| walo | white, bright | Finnish "valko-" (white) | +| nasa | unusual, strange, crazy, drunk | Tok Pisin "nasau" (stupid) | +| jaki | dirty, disgusting, toxic | English "yucky" | +| moli | death, dying | Acadian French "mourir" (die) | +| unpa | sexual (or marital) relations | onomatopoeia | -| word | meaning | derived from | -|-------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------| -| kute | listen, hear, obey, ear | Acadian French "écouter" (listen)| -| nimi | word, name | Finnish "nimi" (name) | -| lawa | head, control, own, rule, main | Serbo-Croatian "glava" (head) | -| anpa | lowly, humble, to conquer/defeat | Acadian French "en bas" (below) | -| insa | inside, contents, center, stomach| Tok Pisin "insait" (inside) | +## Colors -## Interjections and commands +In toki pona, there are five basic color terms: "loje" (red), "jelo" (yellow), +"laso" (blue and green), "pimeja" (black) and "walo" (white). -The word "a" functions like a emotional interjection. It is usually either added -at the end of a sentence or functions as a sentence on its own. +These terms can be combined with each other, or words referring to natural +things, to form other shades: -> sina suwi a! -- You are so cute! +> laso sewi -- blue ("sky green/blue") -More specifically, laughter is indicated with the sentence "a a a!" (ha ha ha!). +> laso kasi -- green ("plant green/blue") -The word "mu" substitutes for any sound made by any animal. +> loje jelo -- orange ("yellowish red") -The word "o" is used to address people and issue commands. +> jelo pimeja -- brown ("dark yellow") -When used on its own at the beginning of a sentence, it turns the rest of the -message into a command. +> walo pimeja -- gray ("dark white") -> o kute e mi! -- Listen to me! +## Example sentences -When used after a noun phrase, it addresses a person. +> jan lili li pana e ko jaki tan monsi ona. -- The kid pooped himself. -> sina o! -- Hey, you! +> jan Simu o, mije li moli. -- He's dead, Jim. -Both uses can be combined. +> tomo ni li jo e jaki mute. ni li ike tawa mi a! -- This room is covered in +> gross materials. I don't like it! -> jan pali o, kepeken e ilo awen! -- Worker, use protective equipment! +> mije mi li unpa ala e jan ante. -- My husband doesn't have sex with other +> people. -## Questions +## Comparative sentences -There are two ways to ask questions in toki pona. +While there are words in toki pona for "good" or "bad", there is no "better" or +"worse". While there are words for "lots" and "little", there's no "more" or +"less". -If you want to ask a yes-or-no question, you phrase the sentence normally, but -replace the word being questioned with a "[word] ala [word]" structure. +To make a comparative statement, you instead split it into two sentences: -> sina pona ala pona? -- Are you okay? +> mi wawa. sina wawa lili. -- I am stronger than you. (I am strong. +> You are slightly strong.) -There are no words for "yes" and "no", so to answer positively, you repeat the -verb, and to answer negatively, you add "ala". +Of course, the degree of comparison can be adjusted by changing the difference +between the adjectives. -> pona. -- Yes. - -> pona ala. -- No. - -(From what I understand, this structure is similar to what is used in Mandarin.) - -> ona li pali ala pali? -- Are they working? - -> jan lili li moku ala moku? -- Are the children eating? - -Alternatively, you can add "anu seme" ("or what?") instead. - -> sina pona anu seme? -- Are you okay? - -For freeform questions, you start with a regular sentence, but replace the word -you're interested in with "seme". - -> sina pali e seme? -- What are you (doing/working on)? - -## Names (unofficial words) - -So far, these pages only relied on native toki pona words to refer to things and -people. But this is clearly not enough when you need to call someone by their -name. For proper names, toki pona uses so-called "unofficial words". These are -usually names of people, cities, countries, etc., taken from their native -languages and adapted to toki pona's pronunciation rules. Unlike all toki pona -words, they're spelled with the first letter capitalized. - -Unofficial words are always treated as adjectives, which means that before them -is always a noun or a noun phrase describing what is being referred to. - -> jan Mimi -- (the person) Mimi - -> ma Kanata -- (the country) Canada - -> ma tomo Napoli -- (the city) Naples - -Alternatively, the unofficial words can actually be used as adjectives: - -> jan Kanata -- a Canadian person - -Thanks to different people interpreting both the native names and toki pona's -sounds in different ways, there may ultimately be several different unofficial -names for the same city or country's name. - -Also, people speaking toki pona are free to pick their own personal toki pona -names, either by adapting the name from their native language or coming up with -something new. - -> %info% -> The [page 8a](8a.html) contains some more information about how -> unofficial words are created. - -## Examples - -> o toki ala a! -- Shut up! - -> sina pali ala pali e ni? -- Did you do this? - -> mi jan San. mi lon ma Mewika. -- I am John. I live in the United States. - -> nimi sina li seme? -- What is your name? - -> jan lawa mi li ike mute. -- (My boss / our leader) is very bad. +> mi wawa mute. sina wawa ala. -- I am way stronger than you. (I am very strong. +> You are weak.) ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* o moku ala e kili ni a! -* kulupu Kensa li anpa e kulupu ale ante. -* o toki insa ala e ni: jan pali li anpa tawa jan lawa. -* sina pali e ni tan seme? -* insa mi li pakala. o pona e mi a! +* kule loje li pona tawa mi. +* o pana e telo kili loje jelo tawa mi. +* kasi kule sina li pona lukin tawa mi. +* mi moku ala e telo nasa. +* o moli ala e ona a! And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. -* I don't think gods exist. -* Don't make noise in the library. -* My boss tells me not to sleep in the office. -* Your brother looks just like you. -* Don't go outside. +* Your house is bigger than mine. +* I like blue sky more than gray sky. +* Ew, gross! This food is terrible! +* I'm in the red house. +* The drunk person doesn't listen to me. Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * Don't eat this fruit/vegetable/mushroom! -> * The Kansas team defeated all other teams. -> * Don't think that workers are lowly before the leaders. -> * Why did you do this? -> * My (stomach / internal organs) are hurt. Help me! +> * I like the color red. +> * Give me the orange(-colored) juice. +> * I like how your flowers look. +> * I don't drink alcohol. +> * Don't kill them! > %spoiler% -> * mi toki insa e ni: jan sewi li lon ala. -> * o kalama ala lon tomo lipu. -> * jan lawa mi li toki e ni: o lape ala lon tomo pali. -> * jan sama mije sina li lukin sama mute sina. -> * o tawa ala lon ma. +> * tomo sina li suli. tomo mi li lili. +> * sewi laso li pona mute tawa mi. sewi pimeja walo li pona lili tawa mi. +> * jaki a! moku ni li ike mute a! +> * mi lon tomo loje. +> * jan nasa li kute ala e mi. [Next page](9.html) [Previous page](7.html) diff --git a/pages/tokipona/9.md b/pages/tokipona/9.md index e641220..d5ea3e7 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/9.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/9.md @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -% toki pona page 9 - colorful language +% toki pona page 9 - complex adjectives and contexts % /dev/urandom % march 2020 @@ -6,96 +6,100 @@ The vocabulary for this page: | word | meaning | derived from | |-------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------| -| kule | color, colorful | French "couleur" (color) | -| jelo | yellow (and its shades) | English "yellow" | -| laso | blue, green (and its shades) | Welsh "glas" (blue) | -| loje | red (and its shades) | Dutch "rooie" (red) | -| pimeja| black, dark | Finnish "pimeä" (dark) | -| walo | white, bright | Finnish "valko-" (white) | -| nasa | unusual, strange, crazy, drunk | Tok Pisin "nasau" (stupid) | -| jaki | dirty, disgusting, toxic | English "yucky" | -| moli | death, dying | Acadian French "mourir" (die) | -| unpa | sexual (or marital) relations | onomatopoeia | +| pi | "of" (groups adjectives) | Tok Pisin "bilong" (of) | +| la | "if/when" (introduces context) | Esperanto "la" (definite article)| +| luka | hand, arm | Serbo-Croatian "ruka" (arm) | +| linja | long flexible object, hair | Finnish "linja" (line) | +| palisa| long solid object, branch, stick | Serbo-Croatian "palica" (rod) | +| selo | outer form, shell, skin, boundary| Esperanto "ŝelo" (skin) | +| sijelo| body, physical state, torso | Serbo-Croatian "tijelo" (body) | +| len | cloth, clothes, layer of privacy | Acadian French "linge" (clothing)| +| lete | cold, raw | Acadian French "frette" (cold) | +| musi | entertaining, artistic, fun, game| Esperanto "amuzi" (have fun) | -## Colors +Time to introduce two another particles in this language: "pi" and "la". -In toki pona, there are five basic color terms: "loje" (red), "jelo" (yellow), -"laso" (blue and green), "pimeja" (black) and "walo" (white). +## pi -These terms can be combined with each other, or words referring to natural -things, to form other shades: +The word "pi" works by grouping several adjectives together. Normally, all +adjectives in a phrase apply to the first word. -> laso sewi -- blue ("sky green/blue") +For example: -> laso kasi -- green ("plant green/blue") +> jan wawa -- strong person -> loje jelo -- orange ("yellowish red") +> jan wawa ala -- no strong people -> jelo pimeja -- brown ("dark yellow") +If you need to say "weak people", you need to negate "wawa", but not "jan". +That's where "pi" comes in handy: -> walo pimeja -- gray ("dark white") +> jan pi wawa ala -- weak person/people ("of no strength") -## Example sentences +It is also useful for phrases that use unofficial words. -> jan lili li pana e ko jaki tan monsi ona. -- The kid pooped himself. +> ma tomo Wasintan li ma tomo lawa pi ma Mewika. -- (the city of) Washington is +> the capital ("main city") of the United States. -> jan Simu o, mije li moli. -- He's dead, Jim. +## la -> tomo ni li jo e jaki mute. ni li ike tawa mi a! -- This room is covered in -> gross materials. I don't like it! +The word "la" allows to combine two sentences to form conditions and introduce +context. -> mije mi li unpa ala e jan ante. -- My husband doesn't have sex with other -> people. +> [sentence A] la [sentence B]. -## Comparative sentences +This translates to something like: -While there are words in toki pona for "good" or "bad", there is no "better" or -"worse". While there are words for "lots" and "little", there's no "more" or -"less". +> If [sentence A], then [sentence B]. -To make a comparative statement, you instead split it into two sentences: +## Dialectal differences -> mi wawa. sina wawa lili. -- I am stronger than you. (I am strong. -> You are slightly strong.) +> %info% +> This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in +> explaining certain ideas. -Of course, the degree of comparison can be adjusted by changing the difference -between the adjectives. +The official book, the "o kama sona e toki pona!" course and my personal style +differ on how to place punctuation in sentences that use "la". -> mi wawa mute. sina wawa ala. -- I am way stronger than you. (I am very strong. -> You are weak.) +The official book sometimes uses a comma before "la" and sometimes uses no +punctuation. + +The online course doesn't use any punctuation. + +I personally prefer using the comma after "la". ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. -* kule loje li pona tawa mi. -* o pana e telo kili loje jelo tawa mi. -* kasi kule sina li pona lukin tawa mi. -* mi moku ala e telo nasa. -* o moli ala e ona a! +* +* +* +* +* And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. -* Your house is bigger than mine. -* I like blue sky more than gray sky. -* Ew, gross! This food is terrible! -* I'm in the red house. -* The drunk person doesn't listen to me. +* +* +* +* +* Reveal answers > %spoiler% -> * I like the color red. -> * Give me the orange(-colored) juice. -> * I like how your flowers look. -> * I don't drink alcohol. -> * Don't kill them! +> * +> * +> * +> * +> * > %spoiler% -> * tomo sina li suli. tomo mi li lili. -> * sewi laso li pona mute tawa mi. sewi pimeja walo li pona lili tawa mi. -> * jaki a! moku ni li ike mute a! -> * mi lon tomo loje. -> * jan nasa li kute ala e mi. +> * +> * +> * +> * +> * [Next page](10.html) [Previous page](8.html) + diff --git a/pages/tokipona/index.md b/pages/tokipona/index.md index cfb8a91..6b0fa20 100644 --- a/pages/tokipona/index.md +++ b/pages/tokipona/index.md @@ -2,22 +2,67 @@ % /dev/urandom % march 2020 -This is a series of pages devoted to the language "toki pona", a simple-to-learn -language that only uses 120 words. +This is the a series of pages comprising an attempt at an educational course +about *toki pona*, a constructed language originally designed in 2001 and +then gradually revised over the years by Sonja Lang. -* [page 0 - introduction](0.html) -* [page 1 - spelling and pronunciation](1.html) -* [page 2 - basic sentences](2.html) -* [page 3 - adjectives](3.html) -* [page 4 - verbs and objects](4.html) -* [page 5 - oh no! more vocabulary](5.html) -* [page 6 - this and that](6.html) -* [page 7 - prepositions and locations](7.html) -* [page 8 - interjections, questions, commands and names](8.html) -* * [page 8a - more about making unofficial words](8a.html) -* [page 9 - (WIP) colorful language](9.html) -* [page 10 - (WIP) complex adjectives and contexts](10.html) -* [page 11 - (TODO) pre-verbs and time](11.html) -* [page 12 - (TODO) numbers](12.html) -* [page 13 - (TODO) the final countdown](13.html) +The language is designed around the ideas of minimalist design and simplifying +one's thoughts, with complicated ideas being broken into their basic components. +As a result, the language is considered to be incredibly easy to learn, with +some people claiming to be able to read it after only days and achieving fluency +within a week or two. + +With an official vocabulary of around 120 words (plus some new additional +words created in the community), a simple grammar and an easy-to-learn phonology, +learning toki pona is, in fact, a relatively simple challenge, even compared to +other simplified constructed languages, such as Esperanto. + +However, with that simplicity also come limitations. Many words have multiple +meanings, and a lot of phrases or sentences are ambiguous without context. +Expressing many concepts and ideas in toki pona will require one to come up with +their own phrases or rephrase them completely (which, as mentioned before, is +part of the language's idea). + +The language is also designed to be easy to use regardless of one's native +language. The sounds and syllable structure used in toki pona are distinct from +one another and common across many languages, whereas the vocabulary features +words borrowed from many languages across the world. + +# About this course + +There are several good sources to educate yourself about toki pona available +already. The most important (and best, in my opinion), is the [official toki +pona book](https://tokipona.org/) (also known as "pu") published in 2014 by +Sonja Lang herself. It is not free, but it's a well-written book with lots of +additional texts to read and it explains the language very well. + +Another useful resource is the online course ["o kama sona e toki +pona!"](http://tokipona.net/tp/janpije/okamasona.php) (learn +toki pona!) by Bryant Knight (aka "jan Pije"). It has some differences in how it +uses certain words, and the past versions of the course have attracted some +controversy, but it's also a well-made course. + +My goal here is to try and present a version that tries to account for the +different ways people speak and write toki pona and the way it is being used +now. My personal style is mostly based on "pu", but with slight adjustments, but +other styles will be covered as well. + +The page numbered zero will provide basic info on the language's spelling and +pronunciation, and each page past that will introduce 10 new words. + +## Table of Contents +* [page 0 - spelling and pronunciation](0.html) +* [page 1 - basic sentences](1.html) +* [page 2 - adjectives](2.html) +* [page 3 - verbs and objects](3.html) +* [page 4 - oh no! more vocabulary](4.html) +* [page 5 - this and that](5.html) +* [page 6 - prepositions and locations](6.html) +* [page 7 - interjections, questions, commands and names](7.html) +* * [page 7a - more about making unofficial words](7a.html) +* [page 8 - (WIP) colorful language](8.html) +* [page 9 - (WIP) complex adjectives and contexts](9.html) +* [page 10 - (TODO) pre-verbs and time](10.html) +* [page 11 - (TODO) numbers](11.html) +* [page 12 - (TODO) the final countdown](12.html) * [page x1 - (TODO) community additions](x1.html)