our goalsto teach you toki ponato explore toki pona’s cultureto help you break down wordsto have fun!
why learn toki pona?first second languagesecret communicationwonderful communityart has an audienceintrospect your mindsimplify complex ideasit’s easy and fun!
how can toki pona work?words talk about general ideascontext helps identify meaningextra sentencesmost distinctions are unimportant
letters & pronunciationconsonants (j k l m n p s t w) are like Englishexception: j is pronounced as yvowels (a e i o u) are similar to Spanishah eh ee oh ooeverything is lowercase except namesstress the first syllable: it’s LUkin, not luKINtry pronouncing the words on the right.bonus challenge: most of the words on the right either come from English or from Tok Pisin, an English-based creole. try guessing their meanings!enmilukinkenmuntokituwan
sitelen ponatoki pona has two main writing systemsthe Latin alphabet uses one letter per soundsitelen pona uses one symbol per wordboth systems are very commonDiscuss:guess the meanings of the sitelen pona below. remember: toki pona words are quite general!ala alasa ale ike jan kasi kili mun pakala pilin seme tenpo
questions are valuablethe goal is to teach you, not to confuse you.don’t understand something? ask!need clarification? ask!confused by grammar? ask!confused by vocab? ask!
review: welcome!goal: teach toki pona (a 130-word language)toki pona was created in 2001 by Sonja Langconsonants: j k l m n p s t wvowels (a e i o u) are like ah eh ee lot uueverything is lowercase except namesstress the first syllable: it’s LUkin, not luKINtoki pona often uses sitelen pona to writesitelen pona uses one symbol per word:ala alasa ale jan kasi kili mun pakala seme tenpo
“mi” and “sina” subjectsa basic sentence is just “mi” or “sina” and a predicate.mi jan.I’m a person.we are people.sina toki.you’re talking.you spoke.try some translations!sina pona.mi toki.miI, we, me, ussinayou, listener, addresseejanperson, peopletokicommunicate, talkponagood
any word can be a predicatetoki pona has no noun/adjective/verb distinction. all¹ words can be used as subjects and predicates.mi pona.I am good.mi sina.I am you.I am yours.try some more translations!you understand.you are knowledge.sonaknowledge, know, memory
context saves the day!“you understand” and “you are knowledge” are the same??that’s right! however, most of the time, you can easily distinguish this!this person to the right is asking the raccoon in the tower “raccoon! raccoon! let down your long and flexible thing!”Discuss:what do you think the person wants? come up with a few ideas and decide on the one you think is most reasonable.
more subjects with “li”if you want a subject other than “mi” or “sina”, put “li” between the subject and predicate.sona li pona.knowledge is good.ni li lon.that’s true.that’s wonderful!that’s running away.tenpo li tawa.ni li mi.sonaknowledge, know, memorynithis, thatlonexist, true, real, be presenttenpotime, situation, eventtawamotion, vibrate, walk
some grammatical termscontent words are meaning-words like “sona”particles are grammar-words like “li”these terms are often used in the toki pona community, so they’re useful to know.Discuss:is “mi” a content word or a particle?is “lon” a content word or a particle?is “tawa” a content word or a particle?li[marks sentence predicate]
review: basic sentences“mi” or “sina” followed by a predicate (any content word) makes a complete sentence.mi toki.I speak.sina sona.you know.for subjects other than “mi” and “sina”, say “li” in between the subject and the predicate.sona li pona.knowledge is good.ni li lon.that’s true.miI, we, me, ussinayou, listener, addresseejanperson, peopletokicommunicate, talkponagoodsonaknowledge, know, memorynithis, thatlonexist, true, real, be presenttenpotime, situation, eventtawamotion, vibrate, walkli[marks sentence predicate]
recap: basic sentencesmi sona.lon li pona.tenpo li tawa.there are people.you yelled at your friends.facts are mine.
basics of “e”to add a direct object to a sentence, write “e” followed by the object at the end of the sentence.mi wile e ni.I want that.ona li sona e mute.they know a lot.ona li toki e tan.it knows the people.wilewant, wish, desireonathey, it, she, he (3rd prsn.)mutemany, verye[before the direct object]tanreason, from, because
“make ...” predicates with “e”“e” can also mean “to give a target a quality”sina kama e ona.you make-arrive him.you bring him.ona li ken e toki.they turned on video call chat.sona li ken e sina.pilin li lili e tan.time fades memories.writing strengthens them.kamaarrive, become, happenikebadkenability, possibility, able topilinfeeling, opinion, senselilismallsitelensymbol, picture, write
review: direct objects with “e”to add a direct object to a sentence, write “e” followed by the object at the end of the sentence.mi wile e ni.I want that.ona li sona e mute.they know a lot.“e” can also mean “to give a target a quality”sina kama e ona.you make-arrive him.you bring him.wilewant, wish, desireonathey, it, she, he (3rd prsn.)mutemany, verytanreason, from, becausekamaarrive, become, happenikebadkenability, possibility, able topilinfeeling, opinion, senselilismallsitelensymbol, picture, writee[before the direct object]
basics of modifiersto modify a word, put any modifier after the base word. both must be content words.janpersonjan mutemany peoplemi pali mute e musi.I often work on art.we worked hard on the board game.ona kin li sona e ni.ni ale li kama e pilin ike.that time doesn’t work.kinalso, too, additionallypaliwork, activitymusientertain, interesting, funlukinsee, watch, eye, (pv.) tryaleeverything, all
clarifications + practiceif a subject is “mi” or “sina” but has a modifier, it isn’t just “mi” or “sina”, so you need “li”.mi lili li ni.I as a child did that.modifier order matters!jan ponagood personpona janthe person’s goodnessI also saw that.y'all really want buildings.those games aren’t fun.kinalso, too, additionallymusientertain, interesting, funlukinsee, watch, eye, (pv.) tryaleeverything, allalanot, nothing, no
negationmost modifiers add specificity to the base word. however, “ala” instead negates a phrase!tomo li lukin ala e sina.the buildings aren’t watching you.ale ala li pona.no eyes are mine.he has no opinion.alanot, nothing, notomoindoor space or shelterlukinsee, watch, eye, (pv.) trya[emphasis or emotion]aleeverything, all
multiple modifiers + practicewords can have multiple modifiers. all modifiers modify the initial base word.tomobuildingtomo musientertaining buildingtomo musi nithis entertaining buildingtomo sina ala li pona lukin.none of your houses are pretty.nimi ni li pona ala.suli ni li lili pilin e mi.your name is very nice.tomoindoor space or shelterlukinsee, watch, eye, (pv.) trysulibig, importantnimiword, namea[emphasis or emotion]
grouping modifiers with “pi”when you have multiple modifiers, every modifier applies to the first word.“pi” regroups modifiers so that an entire phrase applies to an entire other phrase.pali musi sulibig and entertaining activitypali pi musi sulivery entertaining activitynimi pali nithis activity-related namenimi pi pali nithis activity’s nameExplain the difference between:tomo ike mutetomo pi ike mutepi[regroups modifiers]musientertain, interesting, funnimiword, namepaliwork, activitysulibig, important
practice (last one!)mi lon ala e sona sina.jan pi mute ike li lon.she does her homework quite well.they all aren’t here.all-knowing people tell lies.Discuss:Do you think “mi pi li pali” is a grammatical phrase?Why or why not? If not, how could you fix it?Discuss:What about “ona pi mute”?Why or why not? If not, how could you fix it?pi[regroups modifiers]
review: modifiers and “pi”to modify a word, put a modifer after the base word. multiple modifiers all modify the first word.janpersonjan ponagood personjan pona musifunny, good peopleto make a phrase modify another phrase, use “pi”.pali musi mutemany fun activitiespali pi musi mutevery fun activitypaliwork, activitymusientertain, interesting, funlukinsee, watch, eye, (pv.) tryaleeverything, allalanot, nothing, notomoindoor space or sheltersulibig, importantnimiword, namekinalso, too, additionallya[emphasis or emotion]pi[regroups modifiers]
activity: namesnames in toki pona are like proper adjectives: they always attach to a base wordnames are always capitalized (pali Sakisa, ma Mewika)names must follow toki pona’s phonotactics (sound-rules):every syllable is a consonant, then a vowel, then an optional ‘n’the first syllable doesn’t need an initial consonantthe clusters ‘ji’, ‘ti’, ‘wo’, ‘wu’, ‘mn’, and ‘nn’ are bannedtips for converting names:‘b d g z’ become ‘p t k s’ respectivelynames are based on pronunciationkeep syllable count constant by removing sounds if you have to
our goalsto teach you toki ponato explore toki pona’s cultureto help you break down wordsto have fun!