Toki Pona: Difference between revisions
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== Language rules ==
# '''[[Phonology]] and Modifiers''': Letters are pronounced as in the {{w}}. Stress is on the start of each word. Most of the consonants are intuitive to English speakers. {{tp|j}} is an {{tp|i}} with a swash tail, pronounced like English Y as in "fjord" and "hallelujah". Vowels are pronounced as in languages like Spanish and Esperanto. There are well-defined [[phonotactics]], but that only matters for transliterating [[name]]s. Modifiers (adjectives or adverbs) come after their heads (nouns or verbs). {{sp|toki-pona|toki pona}}, {{sp|toki}} toki (language) is the head, and {{sp|pona}} pona ("good") is the modifier. {{sp|sike loje mi|sike loje mi}} is literally "ball red my", and means "my red ball". This is typically the opposite of English, but there are counterexamples like "<u>someone</u> special", "<u>anything</u> new", and "<u>time</u> immemorial"
# '''[[Names|Proper names]]''' are modifiers and require a descriptive [[Headnouns|head]]. {{Indent|[[Sonja Lang]] becomes jan Sonja {{sp|jan [sona olin nasa jasima alasa]}}, "the person Sonja". Canada becomes {{tp|ma Kanata}}, "the place Canada".}}
# '''Phrasal modifiers''' start with {{sp|[[pi]]|[[pi]]}}, which groups the rest of the phrase. {{sp|pi|pi}} is a can of worms. Many speakers [[pin't|avoid it]].
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