Language replacement misconception

From sona pona, the Toki Pona wiki
Essay: This is an essay. It may argue a specific position or include original research.

When first learning about Toki Pona, many people jump to the false conclusion that the goal is to replace other languages. This may result from hasty comparisons with Newspeak and Esperanto (or more specifically, the increasingly uncommon ideology of finvenkism). In reality, Toki Pona is not intended, designed, or promoted as a replacement for other languages.

Arguments against language replacement[edit | edit source]

On the whole, Toki Pona's speakers are not advocating for it to replace other languages. Few, if any, Tokiponists want everyone to "switch to Toki Pona".

In fact, many Tokiponists:

The result is to treat Toki Pona as a hobby, for personal fulfillment rather than conversion.

Not a contest[edit | edit source]

Toki Pona is not in direct "competition" with other languages, nor does it seek to be. It is much more experimental and constrained than natural languages. Thus, Toki Pona adds a bit of linguistic diversity to the world.

Many speakers are content with any perceived impracticalities of Toki Pona, because there will still be better-established languages to fall back upon.

It is generally agreed that you can say anything in Toki Pona, with enough practice at circumlocution and establishing context. This says nothing about whether everyone should do so, or whether doing so would be better than using other languages. Learning this way of speaking can provide unique new insights, but so can learning any language.

See also[edit | edit source]