Lexicalization: Difference between revisions

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Every phrase lexicalized is another thing for everyone to memorize.

Much of Toki Pona's popularity and ~~charme~~ comes from its small lexicon. There are only 134 commonly accepted words [[Usage categories|as of 2022]]. Even if you include the 16 multi-word phrases in {{tp|pu}}<nowiki />'s [[Phrase Book]]<ref group="lower-alpha">However, several of the Phrase Book entries can be interpreted as the literal sum of their words. {{tp|ike a}}, {{tp|mi olin e sina}}, etc. are completely transparent in their given meanings.</ref>, and a couple dozen other lexicalized phrases, this would all still be well under 200 lexemes to learn.

Much of Toki Pona's popularity and charm comes from its small lexicon. There are only 134 commonly accepted words [[Usage categories|as of 2022]]. Even if you include the 16 multi-word phrases in {{tp|pu}}<nowiki />'s [[Phrase Book]]<ref group="lower-alpha">However, several of the Phrase Book entries can be interpreted as the literal sum of their words. {{tp|ike a}}, {{tp|mi olin e sina}}, etc. are completely transparent in their given meanings.</ref>, and a couple dozen other lexicalized phrases, this would all still be well under 200 lexemes to learn.

If Toki Pona were more eager to lexicalize, that count would almost certainly enter the thousands. This would make the language far more difficult to learn, while costing it the appeal of its simplicity. The phrases would also be quite arbitrarily assigned, creating even more rote memorization.