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[[Toki Pona]]'s simplicity is often
== Problems with minimalism ==
Toki Pona tries to be natural and focus on universals of the human experience, whereas conlangs that are engineered for minimalism often feel unnatural to use. Natural languages develop basic color words for light, dark, red, yellow, and [[wikipedia:Blue–green distinction in language|grue]], so Toki Pona has
Redundancy is a failsafe, and such "inefficiency" can be a strength in language<ref>K Klein. "[//youtu.be/3B_uGsgXKdk What People Get Wrong About Language - The Ithkuil Fallacy]". YouTube. August 26, 2022.</ref>. You could design a conlang with shorter words that still follows Toki Pona's simple phonotactics. But if taken too far, this would make it easier to miss words entirely, and it would create more [[Minimal pairs|sets of words that are confusingly similar]].
Replacing words with set phrases would also be a form of [[lexicalization]]. For example, replacing
== Goals of simplicity ==
As the name suggests, Toki Pona is built around the concept of
The philosophy of Toki Pona's simplicity is discussed in {{pu|en}}. Simplifying complicated ideas provides new insights and "points to the centre of things." Contradictions obscured by specialized words and cultural baggage are exposed;
The language's simplicity aims for a happy medium where things are not overcomplicated, but not too limited for speech, understanding, or fun.
== References ==
<references />
{{General}}
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