Nineteen Eighty-Four: Difference between revisions

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|blurb='''''[[Special:MyLanguage/Nineteen Eighty-Four|Nineteen Eighty-Four]]''''' is a dystopian novel by {{w|George Orwell}}. In the book, a totalitarian surveillance superstate enforces '''{{w|Newspeak}}''', a simplified controlled language with a limited vocabulary, to suppress free and critical thinking. Hasty comparisons to ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' are very common, to the point that {{a category|owe}} {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/nimi sin|nimi sin]]}}, '''{{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/owe|owe]]}}''', has been coined to [[Special:MyLanguage/Joke words|joke]] about it.

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'''''Nineteen Eighty-Four''''' or '''''1984''''' is a dystopian novel by {{w|George Orwell}}. In the book, a totalitarian surveillance superstate (Oceania) enforces '''{{w|Newspeak}}''', a simplified controlled language with a limited vocabulary, to suppress free and critical thinking. Hasty comparisons to ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' are very common,<ref group="lower-alpha">In general, but also about Toki Pona specifically.</ref> to the point that {{a category|owe}} {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/nimi sin|nimi sin]]}}, '''{{tp|owe}}''' ("Orwellian"), has been coined to [[Special:MyLanguage/Joke words|joke]] about it. Whether Newspeak portrays government propaganda realistically in the first place is debatable. The {{w|Linguistic determinism|strong}} [[Special:MyLanguage/Sapir–Whorf hypothesis|Sapir–Whorf hypothesis]] is generally discredited, and [[Special:MyLanguage/Toki Pona|Toki Pona]] calls into question whether a language can be used to constrain expression.

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* Toki Pona is learned by choice, not by force. It is meant for self-control, not controlling others. It is specialized and is not an [[Special:MyLanguage/international auxiliary language|international auxiliary language]] (IAL); it is not meant to displace any other language.

* Newspeak would only be practical as the speaker's only language; through their other languages, a polyglot would know concepts that Newspeak intends to destroy. Toki Pona is meant as a temporary reprieve from other languages. The community specifically '''does not support''' raising a child as a Toki Pona monolingual, considering this {{w|language deprivation}}, mainly because not being able to use Toki Pona with most people would cause the child to miss the {{w|Critical period hypothesis|critical period to acquire language faculty}}.

* Newspeak is a thought experiment with no known speakers. It only has a limited description in ''1984'' and its appendix, "The Principles of Newspeak". Without making noncanonical additions, Newspeak cannot be realized to the extent that its fictional speakers use it. You may take Orwell's word that Newspeak would have the effects described in ''1984'', but this is speculation. Toki Pona is a full, [[Special:MyLanguage/Is Toki Pona a real language?|real]], [[Toki Pona: The Language of Good|well-defined]] language with a speaking community, so it is possible to conduct actual, safe research on its effects.

* Newspeak has a continually diminishing vocabulary. Toki Pona's vocabulary has expanded since the publication of the book ''[[Toki Pona: The Language of Good|lipu pu]]''. [[Special:MyLanguage/nimi sin|Words made and revived by the community]] have entered widespread use. 17 such words, the {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/nimi ku suli|nimi ku suli]]}}, are officially endorsed in the ''[[Special:MyLanguage/Toki Pona Dictionary|Toki Pona Dictionary]]''.

* Words "that could be dispensed with" are removed from Newspeak. [[Special:MyLanguage/Minimalism|Toki Pona has many redundant words]], including [[Special:MyLanguage/antonym|antonym]]s: {{tp|ike}} ("bad") instead of {{tp|pona ala}} ("ungood"). [[:Category:Styles of Toki Pona|Styles of Toki Pona]] that experiment with removing words are generally not motivated by minimizing redundancy.

* In Newspeak, many words and phrases mean the opposite of what they appear. Toki Pona tries to draw attention to apparent contradictions and encourage speakers to investigate them more deeply. For example, translating "bad friend" as {{tp|jan pona ike}} ("bad good person") could motivate you to rethink a friendship. {{tp|utala li utala ala}} ("War is peace") would have a similar effect.

* It is trivial, and perfectly allowed, to construct Toki Pona phrases that contradict Ingsoc orthodoxy. {{tp|nasin pi lawa ma li ken ike.}} "A government's ways can be bad." {{tp|sona ala li wawa ala.}} "Ignorance is not strength."

* Toki Pona encourages critical thinking <em>because</em> of its limitations. [[Special:MyLanguage/mi ken ala toki pona e ijo la mi sona ala e ijo|To discuss something well, you must understand it well]] and figure out an informative way to describe it. This provides new insights and makes it clear when there is an opportunity to learn more about the world.

* Unlike Newspeak, Toki Pona avoids euphemism. The English "downsized for profitability" might be rendered {{tp|lawa esun li wile awen jo e mani mute li weka e jan mute}} ("The head of the business wanted to keep having a lot of money and removed a lot of people"; "mass firing for greed"). Even if you do find a way around saying what you mean directly, it may be [[Special:MyLanguage/Politeness|considered rude]] to obscure the true meaning.

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'''{{tp|owe}}''' is {{a category|owe}} [[Special:MyLanguage/joke word|joke word]] used to satirize Orwellian and totalitarian concepts and accusations. It was coined by {{tok|nano}} in 2021.<ref name="nano2021" /> Its {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/sitelen pona|sitelen pona]]}} glyph ({{sp|owe}}) is derived from the glyph for {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/lukin|lukin]]}} with [[Special:MyLanguage/emitters|emitters]] above, representing the {{w|global surveillance}} of the fictional {{w|Oceania (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|Oceanian}} government in ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''.

As a number word, it may refer to the quantity of 1984, especially when referring to the year, as in {{tp|tenpo sike nanpa owe}}.<ref>{{cite Discord|url=https://discord.com/channels/301377942062366741/340307145373253642/1191265875043557467|name={{tok|jan Sonja}}|username=sonjalang|channel={{tok|pali-musi}}|server={{tp|ma pona pi toki pona}}|access-date=2024-01-02}}</ref>

It may be considered an [[Special:MyLanguage/antonym|antonym]] of another obscure word, {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/kamalawala|kamalawala]]}}.

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{{Wikipedia|Nineteen Eighty-Four}}

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<ref name="nano2021">{{cite Discord|url=https://discord.com/channels/301377942062366741/599425762990358528/814971646007312434|name={{tok|nano}}|username=nano?|channel={{tok|ijo-ante}}|server={{tp|ma pona pi toki pona}}|access-date=2023-12-20}}<blockquote>new word: owe<br />means 1984</blockquote></ref>