3,600
edits
Lexicalization: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
|||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Fossilization of phrases into lexical units}}
'''Lexicalization'''
==Philosophy==
Line 6:
The goal of Toki Pona is to break complicated concepts down into their important aspects, from the speaker's own perspective. This is a dynamic process as different features will be important at different times, in different [[context]]s, and in different perspectives. The lack of lexicalization is by design.
The {{ku|en}} confirms this with a "Warning Against Lexicalization!" in its "About the Dictionary" section:<ref>{{cite ku|18}}</ref>
<blockquote>
[...] the whole point of Toki Pona is to meditate about what things mean to you personally, paying attention to the unique context around them, and to construct your own phrases using the building blocks provided by Toki Pona.
</blockquote>
The book {{lipu pu|en}} presents a car as an example against lexicalization. To a passenger, a car might be {{tp|tomo tawa}} ("moving room")<ref group="lower-alpha">Ironically, the phrase {{tp|tomo tawa}} [[Common lexicalizations|has become semi-lexicalized]]
Many concepts also come with {{w|cultural baggage}}, not fitting into Toki Pona's perspective. Any such lexicalization would lose a lot of nuance or import meaning dependent on a language not spoken by all listeners. It would also defeat the insight that Toki Pona is meant to provide.▼
For example, {{w|friendship}} means different things in different cultures.
Lexicalisation also makes it harder to refer to more specific things, making it counterintuitive. As an example, a {{w|gondola}}. That is a {{tp|tomo tawa}} ("moving room"), but that might be tied to a car. {{tp|tomo tawa kon}} would be tied to a plane. The ultimate phrase would have to be {{tp|tomo tawa kon pi sewi lili}} ("moving room of little height").
▲Many concepts also come with cultural baggage, not fitting into Toki Pona's perspective. Any such lexicalization would lose a lot of nuance or import meaning dependent on a language not spoken by all listeners. It would also defeat the insight that Toki Pona is meant to provide.
▲For example, friendship means different things in different cultures. But what if {{tp|jan pona}} ("good person") were lexicalized and always meant "friend"? Even if you think dogs aren't {{tp|jan}}, you would call "man's best friend" {{tp|jan pona}} instead of {{tp|soweli pona}} ("good animal"). You would also lose the insight that a bad friend, {{tp|jan pona ike}}, is a contradiction. This is because {{tp|jan pona}} would be read as a unit, without thinking about what the individual words mean. Lexicalisation also makes it harder to refer to more specific things, making it counterintuitive. As an example, a gondola. That is a {{tp|tomo tawa}} (“moving room”), but that might be tied to a car. {{tp|tomo tawa kon}} would be tied to a plane. The ultimate phrase would have to be {{tp|tomo tawa kon pi sewi lili}} (“moving room of little height”).
==Size constraints==
Because Toki Pona's vocabulary is so small, there are only so many phrases of convenient length to go around. In other words, Toki Pona has limited space for lexicalized compounds.
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 {{tp|sike loje}}, because that would refer to a fixed, more specific concept.
Line 34 ⟶ 30:
==Learning==
Every phrase lexicalized is another thing for everyone to memorize. 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}}
▲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.
==Notes==
Line 46 ⟶ 40:
==References==
{{Wikipedia}}
<references/>
{{General}}
| |||