These were short lessons in toki pona which I posted daily on FB
*What I have posted on FB*:
7/23 - Toki Pona is a simple constructed language consisting of 123 words and 18 basic sounds. It is a minimal language. Like a pidgin, it focuses on simple concepts and elements that are relatively universal among cultures. Toki Pona aims to express maximal meaning with minimal complexity. There are five vowels and nine consonants (j, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w).
7/24 1st vocabulary
mi = I, we; sina = you; ona = he, she, it; jan = person, someone, anyone; ijo = thing, something; pona = good, to fix; lukin = to look at; jo = to have; moku = food, to eat; kili = fruit; pipi = insect; tomo = house, room; lili = small, little, young; suli = big, tall, long, important
All vocabulary available here: https://files.pbworks.com/download/dr97JbukFA/aiki/1595300/TP%20words.pdf
7/25 Basic sentence structure:
'li' separates subject from verb (except when subject is mi or sina). 'e' separates verb from direct object. Basic structure is: subject li verb e direct object.
Adjectives come after the noun they describe. mi lukin e pipi = I see the bug. jan li moku e kili = people eat fruit. ona li jo e tomo lili = he/she has a little house.
7/26 More vocabulary
moli = death, to kill; ilo = tool; telo = water, liquid; suno = sun, light; ike = bad, evil, complicated; utala = war, to fight; nasa = crazy, weird, stupid; olin = to love (a person); mute = much, many
7/27 toki pona combines root words for additional meaning: jan pona = friend; jan lili = child; jan utala = soldier; ilo moku = fork, knife; ilo utala = gun; tomo tawa = car (moving constructed thing).
7/28 toki pona does not have a word for 'to be'. pipi li lili = the bug is small. jan li suli = the person is big.
7/29 ni means this and that, can refer to a thing or sentence.
7/30 there are no tenses. Use a time expression with la before the subject to indicate when the action occurs. tenpo ni la mi moku = I eat now. tenpo pini la mi moku = I ate earlier. tenpo kama la mi moku = I will eat later. Vocab: tenpo = time; pini = finished; kama = coming.
7/31 More vocabulary: mun = moon; jaki = dirty, disgusting; ko = semi solid substance; wile = want, wish, to need to; musi = fun, to play, game, recreation, art; sona = knowledge, to know, to understand; toki = speak, talk, language; ma = field, country, open space; sewi = high, holy, heaven, above; len = clothing; meli = woman; mije = man; pakala = accident, to mess up, swear word.
8/1 For compound sentences with one subject and multiple verbs, 'li' is repeated. suno li suli li pona = the sun is big and good. ona li ike li nasa = he is bad and crazy.
8/4 yes/no questions:
are in the form of verb ala verb. sina wile ala wile e suwi = do you want a cookie?
Yes/No questions are answered "Yes" by repeating the sentence. sina wile ala wile? mi wile.
Yes/No questions are answered "No" by ala. sina wile ala wile? ala.
8/2 How to say you like something. kili li pona tawa mi. I like fruit. (fruit is good to me). sina pona tawa mi. I like you.
8/3 Toki Pona roots come from many languages: English, Finnish, Georgian, Dutch, Acadian French, Esperanto, Croatian, and Chinese. Roots are modified to fit the toki pona alphabet. For example - kala = fish, from Finnish: kala; kepeken = to use, from Dutch: gebruiken; luka = hand, arm, from Croatian: ruka; kute = to listen, from French: écouter; jo = to have, from Chinese 有 yǒu; seme = what, from Chinese 什么 shénme.
8/5 lon as a veb means "to be present", "to be there". mi lon. - I am present, I exist, I am alive. jan mute li lon. - there are many people
8/6 as a preposition, lon means "in, at, on". suno li lon sewi. - the sun is in the sky. jan lili li lon tomo sona. - the children are in the school. ona li musi lon ma. - she plays in the field. mi wile moli lon telo suli. - I wish to die at sea.
8/7 More vocab: nena = bump, nose, hill, mountain, button; kon = air, wind, smell, soul; lupa = hole, window, door; palisa = long cylindrical thing, rod, stick, branch; lawa = main, leading, head, control, steer; linja = string, rope, hair, cord; selo = surface, skin, shell, outside, shape
8/8 wile (to wish, to want) can be used as a verb or with another verb: mi wile moku. = I wish to eat. mi wile e moku. = I want food. mi wile moku e telo. = I wish to drink water. ona li wile mute e ni. = he wants that very much. ona li wile jo e tomo. = she wishes to have a house. mi wile mute lukin e sina. = I wish to see you very much. jan nasa li wile moli! = crazy people wish to die!
8/9 we can say many things... mi nasa! = I am crazy! mi olin e sina. = I love you. jan utala li utala e ona li moli e ona. = the soldier fought him and killed him. sina jan lili! = you are a child! jan suli li moku e telo nasa. = the adults drink alcohol. mi mute li moli e pipi = we kill the insects. sina ike mute. = you are very bad. ike! = that's wrong ! oh dear ! pona! = great ! OK ! yay !
8/10 Describing temperature: seli li lon. = It is hot. lete li lon. = It is cold. seli mute li lon. = It is very hot. seli lili li lon. = It is warm. lete lili li lon. = It is cool.
8/12 Toki Pona has 6 prepositions: lon = to be in, at or on; sama = like; poka = with, alongside; kepeken = using; tawa = to, for; tan = from, because of.
8/13 Time is expressed in tenpo X la phrases, e.g. tenpo ni la, tenpo kama la, tenpo pini la - Past: tenpo pini la jan li pali = He worked. Future: tenpo kama la jan li pali = He will work. Present: tenpo ni la jan li pali = He is working. (tenpo = time; kama = coming; pini = finished; ni = this; pali = to work)
8/16 "ala" negates the previous word ; mi musi ala = I am not having fun ; mi sona ala = I do not know ; jan ala = nobody.
8/17 link to jan Pije's pages http://bknight0.myweb.uga.edu/toki/lesson/lesson0.html
8/20 Toki Pona words for basic human activities: moku = to eat, to drink; lape = to sleep; musi = to have fun; sona = to know; pali = to work, to do; jo = to have; pana = to give; kepeken = using; pakala = to mess up, to damage; utala = to fight; unpa = to have sex; olin = to love; moli = to die
8/21 Colors in Toki Pona: kule = color; walo = white; pimeja = black, dark; loje = red; jelo = yellow; laso = blue. You combine primary colors for different shades - walo pimeja = gray.
8/25 Words for body parts in Toki Pona: sijelo = body; luka = hand, arm; noka = leg, foot; oko = eye, lawa = head; monsi = back, rear; pilin = heart; nena = nose; uta = mouth; sinpin = front, chest, face, torso.
Forming questions in Toki Pona with 'seme', which means 'what'. seme li utala e sina? = What attacked you? seme li lon tomo mi? = What is in my house? seme li pona tawa sina? = What do you like?
More questions in Toki Pona: sina pakala e seme = What did you hurt (You hurt what)? sina lon seme = Where are you (You are where)? ona li jo e seme = What does he have (He has what)? sina lukin e seme = What are you watching (You are watching what)?
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