mirror of
https://github.com/mrrpnya/lipu-sona.git
synced 2025-02-13 16:44:39 +00:00
4aa626d0a1
* Fix unordered list formatting * Fix links * Use page-nav widget * Remove NEW sticker where not relevant anymore * Fix whitespace next to commas
91 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
91 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
% page 7a - creating toki pona unofficial words
|
||
% /dev/urandom
|
||
% march 2020
|
||
|
||
To learn how to adapt names into unofficial words, first you have to know how
|
||
toki pona's phonology works. The language's words consist of a series of
|
||
syllables assembled under a \(C\)V\(N\) system. This means that each syllable
|
||
consists of an optional consonant, then a vowel, then an optional nasal (the "n"
|
||
sound).
|
||
|
||
In addition, the sequences "ji", "ti", "wo" and "wu" turn into "i", "si", "o"
|
||
and "u".
|
||
|
||
Here's a table of all possible syllables.
|
||
|
||
| a | e | i | o | u | an| en| in| on| un|
|
||
|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|
|
||
| a | e | i | o | u | an| en| in| on| un|
|
||
|ja |je | |jo |ju |jan|jen| |jon|jun|
|
||
|ka |ke |ki |ko |ku |kan|ken|kin|kon|kun|
|
||
|la |le |li |lo |lu |lan|len|lin|lon|lun|
|
||
|ma |me |mi |mo |mu |man|men|min|mon|mun|
|
||
|na |ne |ni |no |nu |nan|nen|nin|non|nun|
|
||
|pa |pe |pi |po |pu |pan|pen|pin|pon|pun|
|
||
|sa |se |si |so |su |san|sen|sin|son|sun|
|
||
|ta |te | |to |tu |tan|ten| |ton|tun|
|
||
|wa |we |wi | | |wan|wen|win| | |
|
||
|
||
Another rule is that you can't follow a vowel sound by a vowel sound and you
|
||
can't follow an "n" sound with an "m" or another "n".
|
||
|
||
> %info%
|
||
> The rule about not following "n" with "m" or "n" is not mentioned in
|
||
> the official book,
|
||
> but all proper names for countries introduced in it happen to follow it (for
|
||
> example, Myanmar is "ma Mijama", not "ma Mijanma").
|
||
|
||
Consonant sounds that don't exist in toki pona are replaced with similar sounds.
|
||
For example, Rome (Roma) turns into "ma tomo Loma" and Jakarta turns into "ma
|
||
tomo Sakata".
|
||
|
||
| consonant | sounds it can represent |
|
||
|:---------:|:--------------------------------|
|
||
| j | y |
|
||
| k | k, g, sometimes h, French r |
|
||
| l | l, r |
|
||
| m | m |
|
||
| n | n, syllable-final m |
|
||
| p | p, b, f, sometimes v |
|
||
| s | s, z, j, ch, sh, zh, ts, x |
|
||
| t | t, d |
|
||
| w | v, w, sometimes r |
|
||
|
||
To deal with several consonant or vowel sounds in a row, it's best to remove
|
||
one of them, but as an alternative, you can add an extra syllable.
|
||
|
||
If you're adding a syllable for a vowel sound, it usually goes with a "j" or "w"
|
||
consonant, since they make the least sound (examples: the continent of Asia is
|
||
"ma Asija" and the country of Eritrea is "ma Eliteja").
|
||
|
||
If you're adding a syllable for a consonant, the vowel is either repeated from
|
||
the last syllable or "u" (examples: Iceland(Ísland) is "ma Isilan" and Scotland
|
||
is "ma Sukosi").
|
||
|
||
For names of cities, it's best to use pronunciations that people _in_ that city
|
||
would use. For example, the city of Toronto, Canada is transcribed in the
|
||
official book as "ma tomo Towano", not "ma tomo Tolonto".
|
||
|
||
Names for countries can be derived from the genitive case or the forms used to
|
||
refer to their country's people or language. For example, the native name for
|
||
Japan is pronounced "Nippon", but the one for Japanese people and the language
|
||
is "Nihonjin" and "Nihongo" respectively. The latter two are used to create the
|
||
unofficial word "Nijon". Similarly, the name for Sweden is "Wensa", derived from
|
||
"svenska" ("Swedish").
|
||
|
||
If a country or city is often referred to by its abbreviation or initialism, an
|
||
unofficial word can be derived from that. For example, Los Angeles (L.A.) is "ma
|
||
tomo Ele" and the United Kingdom (U.K.) is "ma Juke". This rule can be extended
|
||
to other languages -- say, calling the Soviet Union (СССР,"es-es-es-er") "ma Sesesele".
|
||
|
||
A rule some people use is that, if the resulting unofficial word sounds exactly
|
||
like a native toki pona word, then the unofficial word is modified. For example,
|
||
the name "Mary" (from which "meli" is already derived from) is typically turned
|
||
into "jan Mewi" instead to avoid confusion.
|
||
|
||
There are other rules, and interpretations of them differ. The official book
|
||
has its own list, which is shorter, but less exhaustive.
|
||
|
||
> %page-nav%
|
||
> [Back to page 7](en/7)
|
||
> [Top page](.)
|