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'''''Nineteen Eighty-Four''''' or '''''1984''''' 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,<ref group="lower-alpha">In general, but also about Toki Pona specifically.</ref> to the point that {{a category|owe}} {{tp|[[nimi sin]]}}, '''{{tp|owe}}''' (
==Differences between Toki Pona and Newspeak==
[[File:Big Brother graffiti in France.JPG|thumb|180px|alt=Graffiti depicting Big Brother|
* 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 [[international auxiliary language]] (IAL), so it is not meant to displace any other language.
* Newspeak would only be practical as the
* While Toki Pona is designed to reflect a certain [[Philosophy|ideology]], it is possible to speak in ways that are incongruous with it. For example, the word {{tp|[[kijetesantakalu]]}} contradicts it, yet is in widespread use. While Newspeak would work to deprecate such a word, Toki Pona [[nimi ku suli|has officially endorsed learning about it]]. Toki
* Newspeak is a thought experiment with no speakers. It only has a limited description in ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' 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 might take
===Vocabulary===
* Newspeak has a continually diminishing vocabulary. Toki
* Words
* Newspeak words have
* Newspeak is famous for compound words with fixed meanings. [[Lexicalization|Toki Pona tries to avoid letting phrases solidify like this.]] Where Newspeak narrows meaning down, Toki Pona allows a combinatorial explosion of meaning.
* 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.
===Expression===
* It is trivial, and perfectly allowed, to construct Toki Pona phrases that contradict Ingsoc orthodoxy. {{tp|nasin pi lawa ma li ken ike.}}
* Toki Pona encourages critical thinking <em>because</em> of its limitations. [[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.
* By giving practice with [[circumlocution]], Toki Pona can improve your faculty with other languages, rather than erode it. This makes it easier to define terms, and to give descriptions in place of unknown or forgotten terms.
* Unlike Newspeak, Toki Pona avoids euphemism. The English
=={{tp|owe}}==
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