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135 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
135 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
% toki pona page 9 - complex adjectives and contexts
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% /dev/urandom
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% march 2020
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The vocabulary for this page:
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| word | meaning |
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|-------|----------------------------------|
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| pi | "of" (groups adjectives) |
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| la | "if/when" (introduces context) |
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| luka | hand, arm |
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| linja | long flexible object, hair |
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| palisa| long solid object, branch, stick |
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| selo | outer form, shell, skin, boundary|
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| sijelo| body, physical state, torso |
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| len | cloth, clothes, layer of privacy |
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| lete | cold, raw |
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| musi | entertaining, artistic, fun, game|
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Time to introduce two another particles in this language: "pi" and "la".
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## pi
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The word "pi" works by grouping several adjectives together. Normally, all
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adjectives in a phrase apply to the first word.
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For example:
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> jan wawa -- strong person
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> jan wawa ala -- no strong people
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If you need to say "weak people", you need to negate "wawa", but not "jan".
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That's where "pi" comes in handy:
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> jan pi wawa ala -- weak person/people ("of no strength")
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It is also useful for phrases that use unofficial words.
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> ma tomo Wasintan li ma tomo lawa pi ma Mewika. -- (the city of) Washington is
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> the capital ("main city") of the United States.
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## la
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The word "la" allows to combine two sentences to form conditions and introduce
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context.
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> [sentence A] la [sentence B].
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> In the context of [sentence A], [sentence B].
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In the most common case, translates to something like:
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> If/when [sentence A], then [sentence B].
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For example:
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> moku ni li pona la mi pana e ona tawa sina. -- If this food is good, I'll give
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> it to you.
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> ona li moli la ni li ike tawa jan ale. -- If they die, it will be bad for
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> everybody.
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But there are also other uses. It can replace "lon [phrase]" when talking about
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location or time (more on that in the [next page](10.html):
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> o kalama ala lon tomo lipu. -- Be quiet in the library.
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> tomo lipu la o kalama ala. -- In the library, be quiet.
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It can also introduce perspective, much like "tawa":
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> ni li pona tawa mi. -- This is good for me. / I like it.
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> mi la ni li pona. -- (From my point of view / In my opinion), this is good.
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Or be used to link multiple sentences:
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> tan ni la... -- Because of this, ...
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> ni la... -- In the context of all this, ...
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## Dialectal differences
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> %info%
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> This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in
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> explaining certain ideas, or how communities differ in using them.
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The official book, the "o kama sona e toki pona!" course and my personal style
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differ on how to place punctuation in sentences that use "la".
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The official book sometimes uses a comma before "la" and sometimes uses no
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punctuation.
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The online course doesn't use any punctuation.
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I personally prefer using the comma after "la" for aesthetic purposes, but in
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this series, no punctuation will be used. Since commas are not used as actual
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grammatical features in written toki pona, it is possible to vary their usage.
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## Exercises
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Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences.
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* kulupu pi jan mute li ike tawa mi.
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* tomo ni la mi toki kepeken toki pona, mi toki kepeken toki Inli.
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* sina moku e soweli lete la ona li ike tawa pakala sina.
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* kalama musi ona li pona mute.
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* sina kepeken ike e ilo la ona li pakala.
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And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona.
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* If it's dark outside, stay at home.
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* He is in the bar ("house of crazy water").
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* The loud person ("person of large sounds") says weird things.
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* That blonde ("woman of white hair") is good-looking.
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* If you don't talk to people, you won't have friends.
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<a name="answers" href="#answers" onclick="revealSpoilers();">Reveal answers</a>
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> %spoiler%
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> * I don't like communities with lots of people.
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> * In this house, I speak toki pona and English.
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> * If you eat raw meat, it will be bad for your body.
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> * Their music ("entertaining sounds") is very good.
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> * If you misuse ("use badly") the tools, they will break.
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> %spoiler%
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> * sewi li pimeja la o awen lon tomo.
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> * ona li lon tomo pi telo nasa.
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> * jan pi kalama suli li toki e ijo nasa.
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> * meli ni pi linja walo li pona lukin.
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> * sina toki ala e jan la sina jo ala e jan pona.
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[Previous page](8.html) [Top page](index.html) [Next page](10.html)
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