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Lexicalization: Difference between revisions
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(Created page with "'''Lexicalization''' occurs when a phrase becomes solidified as a unit with a fixed meaning. An English example is "high school", which only means a secondary school for higher education. It cannot refer to a school that is physically high up. A "pillow case" is only ever a cloth cover. It can't refer to another kind of case, such as a suitcase containing pillows. Although some lexicalized phrases have entered common use, Toki Pona tries t...") |
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If enough head–[[modifier]] phrases were reserved in this way, modifiers would become much less useful. For example, you could not translate "red ball" as ''sike loje'', because that would refer to a fixed, more specific concept.
Considering the millions of concepts and phrases from all cultures, languages, and fields and subcultures with dedicated jargon, all 1 728 000 of the 3-word phrases could conceivably be filled up. Modifiers and simple [[preposition]]al phrases would become nearly useless—you could not translate "big car" as ''tomo tawa suli'', because it would mean something else like "truck" instead.
==Learning==
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