Questions
A question is a sentence that solicits some information from the listener. There are three main ways to form questions in toki pona.
Forms of questions in toki pona[edit | edit source]
verb ala verb[edit | edit source]
To form a yes-or-no question, repeat the main word of the predicate, and add the word ala between the repetitions.
- sina moku ala moku?
- Do you eat?
- ona li pona ala pona tawa sina?
- Are they good to you?
anu[edit | edit source]
The particle anu can be used to ask question about alternatives. See the article on anu for more details.
- ona li lukin e waso anu soweli?
- ona li lukin e waso.
anu seme[edit | edit source]
The form anu seme asks a "tag question," prompting an answer for confirmation, and expecting the answer to be "yes". Sonja Lang introduced this form in a forum post on 2003-02-12:
- sina kama anu seme?
- (literally: you're coming or what?)
- I think you're coming, but please correct me and tell me what is really happening.
- aren't you coming?[1]
According to Sonja, this structure is parallel to "the way 'oder' can be used in colloquial German."[1] In German, "oder" at the end of a sentence is used to form a tag question, [2] which "may suggest confidence or lack of confidence, or may be confrontational, defensive, tentative, or rhetorical (not expecting an answer)."[3] In toki pona, anu seme is typically used in all of these ways and is extremely common in speech.
seme[edit | edit source]
The particle seme can be used to form general questions. It replaces the word in the sentence the speaker wants information about.
- sina moku e seme?
- What are you eating?
- sina seme e kili?
- What do you do with the fruit?
- seme li moku e kili?
- Who/What is eating the fruit?
The word seme can also modify other words.
- jan seme li moku e kili?
- Who (what person) eats the fruit?
- jan li moku seme e kili?
- How is the person eating the fruit?
- jan li moku e kili seme?
- What kind of fruit is the person eating?
Answering questions in toki pona[edit | edit source]
yes-or-no[edit | edit source]
A positive answer to a yes-or-no question can be given by repeating the word asked about:
- akesi li suwi ala suwi?
- suwi.
- Are lizards cute?
- Yes.
To say no, repeat the word asked about followed by ala, or use the word ala on its own.
- sina wile ala wile moku e pipi?
- wile ala.
- ala.
- Do you want to eat bugs?
- No.
General questions[edit | edit source]
A question asked with seme can be answered with a sentence providing the information that was asked for.
- ona li pali e seme?
- What are they doing?
- ona li kepeken ilo.
- They are using a tool.
History[edit | edit source]
Yes-or-No questions[edit | edit source]
Though in theory the X-ala-X structure of toki pona questions could be used to ask about any part of the sentence, in pu it is only used for the head of a predicate and this use has become standard in the period since.
One of the very oldest toki pona lessons from 2001[4] includes these examples, which may seem strange to modern readers:
- meli ala meli li lawa e ma ni?
- A woman / not a woman rules that country?
- Does a woman rule that country?
- iki li jan pona sina ala jan pona sina?
- She not-your friend / your friend?
- Is she your friend?
iki is an archaic form of the pronoun ona. By 2005, the form was restricted to the head of a predicate,[5] and the same form is used in pu.[6] As of 2023, the form anu seme is used for questions about the subject or object of a sentence.
anu seme[edit | edit source]
In 2005, the anu seme form was still a tag question.[7] In pu, however, the form is described as identical to the X-ala-X form and is presented as a synonymous alternative.[8] As of 2023, the anu seme form is still used as a tag question, though the question of whether pu's synonymous style was ever widely used is still unanswered. An avenue for future research.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 New question type
- ↑ Wiktionary
- ↑ Wikipedia
- ↑ toki pona Yes-or-No Questions
- ↑ jan Pije Lesson 8
- ↑ pu Lesson 7
- ↑ jan Pije Lesson 12 (original)
- ↑ pu Lesson 7