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==Benefits and applications==
{{Main|Benefits and applications}}
===Managing thoughts===
Toki Pona has many alleged [[benefits and applications]] across fields such as therapy, communication science, computer science, language learning, and teaching. These are often cited as reasons to learn the language.
Toki Pona was created to help manage thoughts during depression, and its therapeutic applications have been studied in professional contexts. In 2007, Pekka Roponen, working as a psychiatrist in Finland, had patients track their thoughts in Toki Pona and claimed that "negative thought patterns and cognitions can be transferred and eliminated by simply using the language."<ref name="Canadian has people talking about lingo she created">{{cite web|url=//theglobeandmail.com/technology/canadian-has-people-talking-about-lingo-she-created/article20399052|title=Canadian has people talking about lingo she created|author=Roberts, Siobhan|username=|date=July 9, 2007|website={{w|The Globe and Mail}}|publisher=|access-date=2023-12-28|quote=}}</ref>
According to {{tok|jan Sonja}}, the lack of superfluity in Toki Pona can make it useful for problem-solving: "It helps you see patterns, and how things are connected in different ways".<ref name="Canadian has people talking about lingo she created" />
===Simplifying speech===
Toki Pona can often simplify manners of speech, requiring that the speaker [[mi ken ala toki pona e ijo la mi sona ala e ijo|provide a clear explanation of nontrivial concepts]].
On the wiki formerly hosted at [[tokipona.org]], {{tok|jan Sonja}} suggested that this lack of "jargon or fluff" could even be used to reveal the honest meaning of "the {{w|doublespeak}} that large organizations use to manipulate and dehumanize people".<ref>{{cite web|url=//en.tokipona.org/wiki/What_is_Toki_Pona%3F|url-status=unfit|title=What is Toki Pona?|website=Toki Pona|archive-url=//archive.is/UkIZ|archive-date=4 Dec 2012|access-date=2024-01-23}}<blockquote>
A classic example of this can be seen when translating to plain English the doublespeak that large organizations use to manipulate and dehumanize people:
{|style="margin-left:20px;"
|"downsizing"
|mass firing of employees
|-
|"collateral damage"
|killing of civilians
|-
|"pre-emptive war"
|invasion of a foreign country
|}
Toki Pona eliminates this excess jargon or fluff and instead points to the centre and nature of things. It can become a sort of "yoga for the mind". Instead of getting caught in negative thoughts and anxiety, you learn to relax, meditate and explore your relationship to life itself. Many of these principles were inspired by Taoism, which values a simple, honest life and non-interference with the natural flow of things, as well as other spiritual paths.
</blockquote></ref>
===Language strategies===
According to an experiment by Paolo Coluzzi while teaching Italian at the {{wp|University of Malaya}}, Toki Pona can improve speakers' [[circumlocution]] and other communication strategies when learning additional languages. Use of these strategies makes up for unknown or forgotten words and expressions in the unfamiliar language.<ref>Coluzzi, P. (2022). "How learning Toki Pona may help improving communication strategies in a foreign or second language." ''Language Problems and Language Planning'', ''46''(1), 78–98. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.00086.col.</ref>
Toki Pona has also been proposed as a microcosm of the language learning experience that is easier to accomplish than learning a full natural language.
===Computer science===
Toki Pona has been studied in computer science. The {{w|Robot Interaction Language}} was initially based on Toki Pona; according to tests in 2010, the modified Toki Pona vocabulary outperformed English in speech recognition accuracy.<ref>Mubin, Omar; Bartneck, Christoph; Feijs, Loe (2010). "[//researchgate.net/publication/221418730 Towards the Design and Evaluation of {{abbr|ROILA|Robot Interaction Language}}: A Speech Recognition Friendly Artificial Language]". ''Advances in Natural Language Processing''. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. LNCS 6233/2010. pp. 250–256. [//doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14770-8_28 doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14770-8_28].</ref>
== History ==
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