Toki Pona Dictionary
The Toki Pona Dictionary, also known as lipu ku or simply ku, is the second official book about Toki Pona. It is a descriptive collection of how surveyed speakers expressed common English words in Toki Pona, consisting of about 11,000 example translations[1] compiled by Sonja Lang. It was published on 18 July 2021.
Contents[edit | edit source]
The dictionary includes an English–Toki Pona section of 169 pages, and a Toki Pona–English section of 196 pages. There is also an introduction to the dictionary which includes a warning against lexicalization, notes about grammar and endonyms, an explanation of the frequency index used in the book, notes about new ku words, and a list of attributions for the creators of ku words.
Cover and illustrations[edit | edit source]
The cover of the dictionary depicts a denim jacket with an embroidered Toki Pona logo in front of a dark background. The jacket was created by Lucy Deacon (jan nanpa Lusi).[2][3] The illustrations in the book are created by Vacon Sartirani, an Italian visual artist and illustrator.
Notes on lipu pu[edit | edit source]
The section "Notes on lipu pu" is a collection of corrections for the original book, ranging from correcting mistakes to noting evolution in usage. This section has been made freely available on Lang's website under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.[4][5]
Creative works[edit | edit source]
At the end of the book, jan Sonja included the poems "laso tu" by jan Ne and "lon ma tomo pi tenpo pini suli" by jan Kapilu (which was later renamed to "kiwen walo")[6], as well as an explanation of the satirical number system nasin nanpa kijetesantakalu by soweli nata.
The two poems featured were jan Sonja's favorite poems from utala pi toki musi, a Toki Pona poetry contest held in ma pona pi toki pona in 2020. The two poems and all other submissions are available for free at the contest's webpage.[7]
kijetesantakalu tonsi li lanpan ala lanpan e soko?[edit | edit source]
| kijetesantakalu+tonsi li lanpan ala lanpan e soko | |
| Origin | nimi ku suli |
|---|---|
| Book | ku |
"kijetesantakalu tonsi li lanpan ala lanpan e soko?" is a sentence designed to showcase several nimi ku suli, featured in the back cover of the dictionary. The sentence means "does the non-binary procyonid steal mushrooms?".
The sentence is sometimes referenced as an inside joke. In ma pona pi toki pona, it is also associated with memes about a Shadwell man who reportedly took fungi from a neighbor's lawn and was "unrepentant" when spoken to.
Methodology[edit | edit source]
| Part of a series on |
| Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) |
| Toki Pona Dictionary (2021) |
| lipu su |
| Contributors |
Data[edit | edit source]
The data as presented in the book is ranked with a frequency score ranging from ½ to 5.[a]
| Frequency index |
Percentage of respondants |
|---|---|
| 5 | [81, 100]% |
| 4 | [61, 80]% |
| 3 | [41, 60]% |
| 2 | [21, 40]% |
| 1 | [11, 20]% |
| ½[a] | [1, 10]% |
Errata[edit | edit source]
There are a few minor errors in the book:
Related words[edit | edit source]
ku[edit | edit source]
  | |
| Pronunciation | /ku/ |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2024: Common (67% ↘︎ )2023: Common4, Widespread6 (70% ↘︎ )2022: Widespread (80%) |
| Book and era | nimi ku suli (post-pu) |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1988 |
The word ku is defined as "interacting with the Toki Pona Dictionary".[10] It was inspired by the word pu, meaning to interact with Toki Pona: The Language of Good.
Notes[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Sonja Lang. "Toki Pona (official site)". tokipona.org. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 2.
- ↑ jan nanpa Lusi [@lucyg00se]. (29 July 2021). Message in
#toki-pona. ma pona pi toki pona. Discord. - ↑ Sonja Lang. (18 July 2021). "Notes on lipu pu". tokipona.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024. (Mirrored on 29 January 2022.)
- ↑ jan Sonja. (1 January 2022). "Pages 5 to 13 of Toki Pona Dictionary (Notes on lipu pu) are now licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.". Mastodon. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja; trans. van der Meulen, Spencer (2022). Tokipono: La lingvo de bono. Self-published. p. 99.
- ↑ utala pi toki musi #MAM/#LLW/#LLW. utala.pona.la. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. pp. 68, 91.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 86.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 256.
External links[edit | edit source]
Freely available data[edit | edit source]
Notes on lipu pu[edit | edit source]
- "Notes on lipu pu" (PDF) on tokipona.org
- "Notes on lipu pu" (PDF) on Wikimedia Commons
- "Notes on lipu pu" on Wikisource
| Development and usage | jan Sonja · Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) · Tokiponidos · Software (Tools · Fonts) · suno pi toki pona · Toki Pona census · Toki Pona Dictionary (2021) · UCSUR · Linku · ISO 639-3 |
|---|---|
| Conventions | Phonology (Phonotactics) · Words (Tokiponization) · Grammar (Word order) · Social conventions · Writing systems (sitelen Lasina · sitelen pona · sitelen sitelen) · luka pona (sign language) · Number systems · Calendar systems · Styles (Category:pu · pu-rism · Category:ku · Nonstandard) |
| Philosophy | Minimalism · Context · Circumlocution · Expression · Lexicalization · Multiple sentences · Comparisons |
| Resources | Frequently asked questions · Courses · Dictionaries · Cheat sheets · Visual aids · Communities · Websites · Media |