User:ItMarki/Chemical nomenclature in Toki Pona

Preface

This is an attempt to establish a system of inorganic and organic chemical nomenclature in Toki Pona. It is written to test how good Toki Pona is at naming scientific (specifically chemical) concepts using as few neologisms as possible.

To aid reading, Toki Pona text or text meant to be written in Toki Pona will be marked in a template, such as toki pona li lon lipu ni. The reader may set a custom CSS syntax for the language code if italics text is insufficient.

Standard examples are shown in green, while nonstandard examples are shown in red and acceptable but not favored examples are shown in gray. All occurences of nimisins (Toki Pona neologisms, see nimisins) used in this document are linked to their definitions in nimisins.

The names of all chemical elements and compounds will follow the IUPAC standard unless otherwise stated. The reader is reminded that this nomenclature set out in this page is not the only option, and that lexicalization is discouraged. However, should any consistency errors appear in this document, please inform me.

Basic nomenclature

Elements

An element (ijo nasin) is a substance in which all of its atoms have the same number of protons.

The Toki Pona names of all 118 known elements are shown in the table below (Z = atomic number).

Z	Symbol	Toki Pona name
1	H	Itoken
2	He	Elijun
3	Li	Lisijun
4	Be	Pelilijun
5	B	Polon
6	C	Kapon
7	N	Nitoken
8	O	Osiken
9	F	Polin
10	Ne	Nejon
11	Na	Nasijun (from Latin natrium)
12	Mg	Manesijun
13	Al	Aluminijun
14	Si	Silikon
15	P	Popolu
16	S	Supu
17	Cl	Kolin
18	Ar	Akon
19	K	Kalijun (from Latin kalium)
20	Ca	Kakijun
21	Sc	Kansijun
22	Ti	Sitanijun
23	V	Wanasijun
24	Cr	Komijun
25	Mn	Mankane
26	Fe	Pelun (from Latin ferrum)
27	Co	Kopa
28	Ni	Nike
29	Cu	Kupun (from Latin cuprum)
30	Zn	Sinku
31	Ga	Kalun
32	Ge	Kemanijun
33	As	Aseni
34	Se	Selenijun
35	Br	Pomin
36	Kr	Kiton
37	Rb	Lupisijun
38	Sr	Tonsijun
39	Y	Isijun
40	Zr	Sikonijun
41	Nb	Nijopijun
42	Mo	Molitenun
43	Tc	Tenesijun
44	Ru	Lutenijun
45	Rh	Losijun
46	Pd	Palasijun
47	Ag	Akentun (from Latin argentum)
48	Cd	Kamijun
49	In	Insijun
50	Sn	Tanun (from Latin stannum)
51	Sb	Sipijun (from Latin stibium)
52	Te	Telulijun
53	I	Ijosin
54	Xe	Senon
55	Cs	Kesijun
56	Ba	Palijun
57	La	Lantanun
58	Ce	Kelijun
59	Pr	Pasejosimijun
60	Nd	Nejosimijun
61	Pm	Pomesijun
62	Sm	Samalijun
63	Eu	Elopijun
64	Gd	Katolinijun
65	Tb	Tepijun
66	Dy	Siposijun
67	Ho	Omijun
68	Er	Epijun
69	Tm	Tulijun
70	Yb	Itepijun
71	Lu	Lutesijun
72	Hf	Anijun
73	Ta	Tantalun
74	W	Opan (from German wolfram)
75	Re	Lenijun
76	Os	Osijun
77	Ir	Ilisijun
78	Pt	Pasinun
79	Au	Alun (from Latin aurum)
80	Hg	Mekuli/Itakilun (Mekuli is from English "mercury"; Itakilun is from Latin hydragyrum)
81	Tl	Talijun
82	Pb	Punpun (from Latin plumbum)
83	Bi	Pimu
84	Po	Polonijun
85	At	Atasin
86	Rn	Laton
87	Fr	Pankijun
88	Ra	Lasijun
89	Ac	Asinijun
90	Th	Tolijun
91	Pa	Potasinijun
92	U	Ulanijun
93	Np	Netunijun
94	Pu	Putonijun
95	Am	Amelikijun
96	Cm	Kulijun
97	Bk	Pekelijun
98	Cf	Kaliponijun
99	Es	Ensenijun
100	Fm	Pemijun
101	Md	Mentelewijun
102	No	Nopelijun
103	Lr	Lalenkijun
104	Rf	Luteposijun
105	Db	Tunpijun
106	Sg	Sepokijun
107	Bh	Polijun
108	Hs	Asijun
109	Mt	Menelijun
110	Ds	Tantasijun
111	Rg	Lonkenijun
112	Cn	Kopenikijun
113	Nh	Nijonijun
114	Fl	Pelowijun
115	Mc	Mokowijun
116	Lv	Liwemowijun
117	Ts	Tenesin
118	Og	Okaneson

When referring to these elements, ijo nasin [name] or ijo [name] can be used. This document will use ijo [name] throughout.

Approaches that do not use proper names exist, such as this Reddit post by jan Melon.

Numerals

See the article Number systems for more information.

There are four official numerals in pu, ala (no; zero), wan (one), tu (two) and mute (at least three). A more systematic number system is used by a big part of the Toki Pona community, in which luka is redefined as five, mute as twenty, and ale/ali as one hundred. Numerals are strung together and ordered from largest to smallest. For example, seven is luka tu, and thirty six is mute luka luka luka wan.

However, two more numerals are featured in ku, san and po, as nimi ku pi suli ala. They mean three and four, and replace tu wan and tu tu, respectively. This document will use the numerals ala, wan, tu, san, po, luka, mute and ale throughout.

The reader is reminded that any number system is acceptable as long as it can be understood.

Tokiponization

See the section Names for more information.

Tokiponization is the act of transcribing a foreign word into Toki Pona's phonology and phonotactics. All words created this way act as adjectives and must describe another word, usually a noun. For specific rules about Tokiponization, see Rules for transcription into Toki Pona.

When Tokiponizing chemical terminology, make sure it can be expressed as other words (Tokiponized or not), so although ijo Itokapon and ijo Itoken Kapon are both acceptable names for hydrocarbon, ijo Itoken Kapon is prioritized.

If, however, a term must be Tokiponized and it cannot be expressed with other Tokiponized terms, Latin (or New Latin) takes precedence over any other language, so alkane, alkene and alkyne use Akan, Aken and Akin respectively, and not Aken, Akin and Akan as in English.

According to Tokiponization rules, related proper nouns become the same adjective in Toki Pona. Therefore, as sulphur is ijo Supu, sulphuric acid is apo Supu instead of apo Supuli.

The special rules for Tokiponizing words through Latin (or New Latin) are as follows:

• b, f and ph become p.
• d and th become t.
• g and c become k.
• y becomes j.
• r becomes l, from the trilled [r].
• x, z and sh become s.
• h becomes w or j depending on the next vowel. If the next vowel is a or e, h becomes w. Any h at the start of a word is omitted.

Vowel clusters

The table below shows which syllable(s) should be used when merging a vowel cluster between two roots.

		Second vowel
		a	e	i	o	u
First vowel	a	a/aja	aje	awi	ajo	aju
	e	eja	e/eje	ewi	ejo	eju
	i	ija	ije	i/iwi	ijo	iju
	o	owa	owe	owi	o/ojo	oju
	u	uwa	uwe	uwi	ujo	u/uju

For two identical consecutive vowels, the shorter combination is to be used unless doing so would compromise interpretability.

Inorganic chemistry

Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that focuses on compounds that are not carbon-based.

Ions and salts

An atom turns into an ion (wan Ijon) when it gains or loses electrons, from which it is called an anion (wan Ijon monsi) or cation (wan Ijon sinpin) respectively.

Ions can be referred to with wan Ijon [element]. For example, the sodium ion (Na⁺) is wan Ijon Nasijun, while the fluoride ion (F⁻) is wan Ijon Polin.

Anions and cations bond together to form salts (namako). When naming salts, put the cation first and the anion last, excluding any head nouns. namako or any other suitable word can be used as the salt's head noun. For example, sodium chloride (NaCl) is (namako/kiwen/...) Nasijun Kolin.

If the salt is formed from an acid (see #Acids and bases), its anion is simply the name of that acid. The anion formed from an acid is called wan Ijon [name of the acid]. For example, the sulphate ion (SO₄^-) is wan Ijon apo Supu, while copper sulphate (CuSO₄) is kiwen Kupun apo Supu.

Acids and bases

Acids and bases have varying definitions, each for its own purpose. The simplest definition is that an acid (apo) is any compound that dissociates in water to yield hydronium ions, and a base (enki) is any compound that dissociates in water to yield hydroxide ions.

When naming acids, use their IUPAC preferred names as a reference. If only one element is used in its English name, then include it in the Toki Pona name too. If there are multiple elements, include all of them in the order they are given. All acids have apo as their head noun. For example, sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) is apo Supu, hydrochloric acid (HCl) is apo Itoken Kolin, and chromic acid (H₂CrO₄) is apo Komijun.

If there is a number in the acid's English name (like dichromic acid), convert that number into Toki Pona and place it after the element, but place pi after apo. The reason why pi should be inserted is that not doing so would lead to potential ambiguity. Therefore, dichromic acid (H₂Cr₂O₇) is apo pi Komijun tu.

Oxyacids

Oxyacids (apo Osiken) are acids that contain oxygen, or more specifically, hydrogen, oxygen and one other element (which will be called the central atom). As some elements can form multiple oxyacids, it is necessary to differentiate them.

• When only one oxyacid can be formed from one element:
  • Name the acid apo [central element].
• When only two oxyacids can be formed from one element:
  • Name the acid with more oxygen atoms apo [central element], and the acid with less oxygen atoms apo [central element] anpa. Therefore, nitric acid (HNO₃) is apo Nitoken and nitrous acid (HNO₂) is apo Nitoken anpa.
• When more than two oxyacids can be formed from one element:
  • Take note of the oxidation state of the central element in each oxyacid. Name the oxyacids, from the one where the central atom has the highest oxidation state to the one where the central atom has the lowest oxidation state, apo [central element] sewi, apo [central element], apo [central element] anpa and apo [central element] noka. For example:
    • perchloric acid, HClO₄, is apo Kolin sewi;
    • chloric acid, HClO₃, is apo Kolin;
    • chlorous acid, HClO₂, is apo Kolin anpa; and
    • hypochlorous acid, HClO, is apo Kolin noka.

Alternatively, the Stock nomenclature, developed by German chemist Alfred Stock, can be used. In Toki Pona, oxyacids are named as apo [central element][oxidation state in Roman numerals, surrounded in parentheses]. Therefore, in this system, nitric acid is apo Nitoken(V), and the four oxyacids containing chlorine as stated above is apo Kolin(VII), apo Kolin(V), apo Kolin(III) and apo Kolin(I), in that order.

The two nomenclature systems can applied to ions from acids. In both cases, wan Ijon is added to before apo. Thus, in the Stock nomenclauture and the IUPAC nomenclature, the nitrate ion (NO₃^-) is wan Ijon apo Nitoken(VII) and wan Ijon apo Nitoken respectively. However, names of acids that are not derived through the Stock nomenclature are more common than those derived through the nomenclature, so it is recommended that the IUPAC nomenculature be used whenever possible.

Binary compounds

A binary compound is compound which consists of only two elements. Binary compounds can be divided into binary ionic compounds and binary covalent compounds, which have different naming methods.

 Binary ionic compounds

For binary ionic compounds, elements have at least one oxidation state. If an element has multiple oxidation states, it can give out or accept different numbers of electrons depending on the situation.

• When an element usually only has one oxidation state:
  • Do not place the oxidation state in Roman numerals after the element. For example, sodium chloride (NaCl) is kiwen Nasijun Kolin instead of kiwen Nasijun(I) Kolin, and beryllium fluoride (BeF₂) is kiwen Pelilijun Polin instead of kiwen Pelilijun(II) Polin.
• When an element usually has more than one oxidation states:
  • The oxidation state should always be placed in Roman numerals after the element. For example:
    • Iron(II) chloride, FeCl₂, is kiwen Pelun(II) Kolin;
    • Iron(III) chloride, FeCl₃, is kiwen Pelun(III) Kolin;
    • Manganese(II) oxide, MnO, is kiwen Mankane(II) Osiken;
    • Manganese(III) oxide, Mn₂O₃, is kiwen Mankane(III) Osiken;
    • Manganese dioxide, (or manganese(IV) oxide), MnO₂, is kiwen Mankane(IV) Osiken; and
    • Manganese(VII) oxide, Mn₂O₇, is kiwen Mankane(VII) Osiken.
  • Alternatively, in some compounds, there is an integral ratio of the amount of atoms of one element (B) to the amount of atoms of another element (A), such as manganese dioxide. In this case, [kiwen/...] [element A] [the amount of atoms of A] [element B] [the amount of atoms of B] can be used. Ones can be omitted. Therefore, manganese dioxide can be expressed as kiwen Mankane Osiken tu.
• When an element in a binary ionic compound has an oxidation state different from its usual one(s):
  • The oxidation state should always be placed in Roman numerals after the element. For example, aluminium(II) oxide (AlO) is kiwen Aluminijun(II) Osiken, while iron(II,III) oxide (Fe₃O₄) is kiwen Pelun(II,III) Osiken.
• Ions can also be named using the methods stated above. For example, iron(II) (Fe²⁺) is wan Ijon Pelun(II), while iron(III) (Fe³⁺) is wan Ijon Pelun(III).

Binary covalent compounds

For binary covalent compounds, simply state the constituents and their number in the order they are given, omitting the number one if necessary. For example:

• Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is kon Nitoken tu Osiken;
• Nitric oxide or nitrogen monoxide (NO) is kon Nitoken Osiken;
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is kon Nitoken Osiken tu;
• Dinitrogen trioxide (N₂O₃) is kon Nitoken tu Osiken san;
• Dinitrogen tetroxide (N₂O₄) is kon Nitoken tu Osiken po; and
• Dinitrogen pentoxide (N₂O₅) is kon Nitoken tu Osiken luka.

Special compounds and ions

Water (H₂O) is telo, but telo Akuwa or other names are also acceptable in cases where telo alone would be ambiguous. Ammonia (NH₃) is kon Amonija, and ammonium (NH₄⁺) is wan Ijon Amonija. Hydroxide (OH^-) is wan Ijon Itoken Osiken. Cyanogen [(CN)₂] is kon Sijanoken and cyanide (CN-) is wan Ijon Sijanoken.

Acid salts

Acid salts (namako apo) are salts that produce acidic solutions. If an acid has multiple hydrogen atoms available for dissociation in one molecule, it can have any number, up to all, of its hydrogen atoms replaced by a cation to form a salt. If at least one hydrogen atom is kept for each molecule, an acid salt is formed.

To name non-acid salts derived from acids, see Ions and salts. To name acid salts, take note of how many hydrogen atoms and cations there are in each molecule, then name them as [kiwen/...] [cation] [number of cations] Itoken [number of hydrogen atoms] apo [acid element]. Drop any ones. For example, when phosphoric acid and sodium react, three different salts can be formed, sodium dihydrogen phosphate (NaH₂PO₄, kiwen Nasijun Itoken tu apo Popolu), disodium hydrogen phosphate (Na₂HPO₄, kiwen Nasijun tu Itoken apo Popolu) and trisodium phosphate (Na₃PO₄, kiwen Nasijun san apo Popolin).

Alternatively, for acid salts, the Itoken part can be omitted, but the number of cations must be shown in all cases. Therefore, the first two compounds above can be referred to as kiwen Nasijun wan apo Popolu and kiwen Nasijun tu apo Popolu respectively. Also, as already mentioned in Ions and salts, trisodium phosphate can also be called kiwen Nasijun apo Popolu. The former usages aligns with the IUPAC, and the latter with common usage.

Hydrates

In inorganic chemistry, a hydrate (namako telo) is a salt that contains water molecules in a specific ratio. Such water molecules are called water of crystallization.

Chemical formulae of hydrated salts are usually written as [hydrated compound]⋅nH₂O, where n is an integer or a fraction. When naming hydrated salts in Toki Pona, [hydrated compound] poka telo n is used.

For example, since cobalt(II) chloride is kiwen Kopa(II) Kolin, cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate (CoCl₂⋅6H₂O) is kiwen Kopa(II) Kolin poka telo luka wan. Since copper(II) sulphate is kiwen Kupun(II) apo Supu, copper(II) sulphate pentahydrate (CuSO₄⋅5H₂O) is kiwen Kupun(II) apo Supu poka telo luka.

Anhydrates (namako pi telo ala) are hydrates that have lost water. To name an anhydrate in Toki Pona, add kan/poka telo ala to the name of the compound. Therefore, anhydrous cobalt(II) chloride is kiwen Kopa(II) Kolin poka telo ala, and anhydrous copper(II) sulphate is kiwen Kupun(II) apo Supu poka telo ala.

Appendices

Dictionary

Listed below are definitions for non-pu (Toki Pona: The Language of Good) ku (the Toki Pona Dictionary) words. Definitions are taken from Linku licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareSlike Licenses 3.0 and 4.0, with definitions coined specifically for this document colored in red.

namako

namako - ~pre-pu, ku suli~ - {see sin} | ALT embellishment, spice; extra, additional | salt (a type of compound obtained from an acid reacting with a base)

← Hindi नमक namak 'salt' (← Persian نمک namak 'salt') or Persian نمک namak 'salt'

Coined: jan Sonja, 2009

po

po - ~pre-pu, ku lili~ four

← English four

Coined: jan Sonja, 2001

san

san - ~post-pu, ku lili~ three

← Japanese 三 san 'three' & Cantonese 三/叁 sāam

Coined: jan Lenoka, jan Wesu, 2019

nimisins

A nimisin is a Toki Pona neologism. The exact definition varies; it may refer to Toki Pona words not included in pu, or those outside of ku. This document considers all Toki Pona words outside of ku to be nimisins.

The level of acceptance of nimisins differs between each person. Some may only use words from pu or ku, while others use nimisins only if no other appropriate words exist, and some even favor the concept and usage of nimisins, even if they are obscure.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to express some chemical concepts without resorting to nimisins, which is why some have been coined for this document.

Listed below are nimisins that are used in this document, sorted in alphabetical order.

apo

apo - ~post-ku~ - acid (any compound that reacts with bases to form salts)

← Finnish happo 'acid'

Coined: jan Maku, 2022

enki

enki - ~post-ku~ - base (any compound that reacts with acids to form salts)

← Japanese 塩基 enki 'base'

Coined: jan Maku, 2022

Rules for transcription into Toki Pona

This set of guidelines was written by Sonja Lang for her book Toki Pona: The Language of Good.

General rules

• It is always better to translate the "idea" of a foreign word before attempting to create a new phonetic transcription that may not be recognizable by everyone. (Example: Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, becomes jan lawa pi ma Kanata, rather than jan Kesijen)
• Use the native pronunciation as a basis, rather than the spelling.
• If more than one language is spoken locally, use the dominant one.
• If it does not belong to any one language, use an international form. (Example: Atlantik becomes Alansi)
• Use the colloquial pronunciation that locals actually and commonly use, rather than the "proper" or standard pronunciation. (Example: Toronto becomes Towano, not Tolonto)
• If a person chooses to have a Toki Pona name, he can choose whatever he wants and does not necessarily have to follow these guidelines.
• Names of nations, languages, religions have already been established. If one is missing from the official list, make a suggestion on the Toki Pona discussion list.
• If possible, find a common root between the name of the nation, the language and the people. (Example: England, English, and English(wo)man provide Inli.)
• Cities and locations can be given a Toki Pona name, but they will only have an official name if they are internationally known.
• If full Tokiponization would compromise intelligibility, you can always leave a foreign name as is.

Phonetic Guidelines

• Voiced plosives become voiceless. (Example: b > p, d > t, g > k)
• [v] becomes w.
• [f] becomes p.
• The trilled or tapped [r] of most world languages becomes l.
• The approximant r of languages like English becomes w.
• Any uvular or velar consonant becomes k, including the French or German r.
• At the end of a word, The sh sound may be converted to si. (Example: Lush > Lusi)
• The schwa can become any vowel in Toki Pona and is often influenced by neighboring vowels for cute reduplication.
• It is better to keep the same number of syllables and drop a consonant than add a new vowel. (Example: Chuck becomes Sa, not Saku)
• When dealing with consonant clusters, the dominant plosive is generally kept, dropping fricatives such as [s] and laterals such as [l] first (Example: Esperanto becomes Epelanto). You may also choose to keep the consonant at the head of the new syllable (Example: Atling becomes Alin).
• Approximants like [j] and [w] in consonant clusters can either be converted into a syllable of their own (Swe becomes Suwe; Pju becomes Piju) or dropped entirely (Swe becomes Se; Pju becomes Pu).
• In some cases, it is better to change the letter order slightly, rather than dropping a sound. (Ex: Lubnan becomes Lunpan, not Lupan or Lunan)
• Dental fricatives such as English th can either convert to t or s.
• The illegal syllables ti, wo and wu convert to si, o and u. (Example: Antarctica becomes Antasika)
• Affricates generally convert to fricatives. (Example: John becomes San, not Tan)
• Any nasal consonant at the end of a syllable converts to n. (Example: Fam becomes Pan)
• Nasal vowels (in French and Portuguese) also convert to syllable-final n.
• If necessary to preserve proper syllable structure, the consonant w or j can be inserted as a euphonic glide. (Example: Tai bccomes Tawi; Nihon becomes Nijon; Eom becomes Ejon). It may also be possible to relocate a consonant that would have otherwise been dropped in the conversion. (Example: Monkeal becomes Monkela, not Monkeja; Euska becomes Esuka)
• Voiceless lateral consonants convert to s.
• If necessary, you may want to tweak a word to avoid a potentially misleading homonym. If possible, use a related word in the source language rather than introducing an arbitrary change.