anu
anu is a particle used to indicate alternatives, corresponding with the English conjunctions "or" (exclusive disjunction) and "and/or" (inclusive disjunction).
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| Pronunciation | /ˈa |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (99% ↗︎ )2022: Core (98%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Particle |
| Codepoint | U+F1907 |
Function
Tag questions
anu is most commonly used in the phrase anu seme to form tag questions. This literally means "or what?" and it is one of two ways to form yes-or-no questions in Toki Pona.
ona li jan-pona anu semeona li jan pona anu seme?
They are a good person, aren't they?
Are they a good person?
Either/or questions
It is debatable and controversial whether anu is able to form questions on its own, without seme or the X-ala-X format.
Statements
pu usage
In the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good, the word anu is defined, but not explained outside of its role in anu seme tag questions. The book only provides 2 sentences containing anu without anu seme:
mi kute e mije anu melimi kute e mije anu meli.
I hear a man or a woman. (answer to Lesson 7)
wile sona nanpa wan li ni: ale li pona anu ike?wile sona nanpa wan li ni: ale li pona anu ike?
The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile. (Quote misattributed to Albert Einstein)
Possible analyses
- In the first sentence, anu is presented as a statement. It might still act as a kind of chioce and could in some way work as a question.
- While in the second sentence, anu is presented as a question. It is not clear whether anu is responsible for forming this question, or if the phrase wile sona is. That sentence is also not question in the English translation. Although this arises out of the reformulation of format. A literal translation may include a question: "the foremost question is this: is the universe good or bad?"
Pre-pu usage
The usage of anu to form questions without seme was widespread before the publication of pu.
The course o kama sona e toki pona! by jan Pije, the most influential resource for learning Toki Pona in the pre-pu era, taught anu explicitly and exclusively as a word for marking questions. This included questions without seme, as well as tag questions ending in anu seme.[1]
This word can be used to make questions when there's a choice between two different options. For example, if you came home to find that someone had eaten all of the cookies, and you know that the person who ate them has to be either Susan or Lisa, you might ask:
- jan Susan anu jan Lisa li moku e suwi?
Semi-literally, this sentence reads, Susan or Lisa ate the cookies? In colloquial English, it reads, "Did Susan eat the cookies, or was it Lisa?" As you see, you can't necessarily translate directly from English, especially with anu. […]
anu was also used to make statements. In the Spanish-language course Toki pona en 76 lecciones ilustradas (Toki Pona in 76 Illustrated Lessons) created by Eliazar Parra Cárdena, which was translated into many languages, the usage of anu was taught in statements and questions side by side, distinguished only by the presence of a question mark or a period.[2]
Experimental usages
Content word
Some speakers use anu as a content word meaning "to choose, to decide".[3] This meaning is controversial due to the lack of content word meanings given to other particles in the language.
Pseudo-particle
In smaller communities, an experimental usage of anu was proposed to have the word resemble the placement of pseudo-particles, such as taso and kin, as modifiers of a phrase. This usage notably reduces the level of ambiguity created by anu in situations where it would otherwise be unclear to replace particles or prepositions.
sina ken tawa tomo sitelen tawa tomo moku anusina ken tawa tomo sitelen tawa tomo moku anu.
References
- ↑ jan Pije. Lesson 12: Conjunctions, kin, Temperature. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. lipu pi jan Pije.
- ↑ Cárdenas, Eliazar Parra (2009). toki pona in 76 illustrated lessons. Internet Archive.
- ↑ Aronora (jan Alonola) (6 October 2021). "anu suli pi ma Tosi". In lipu tenpo nanpa toki.
External links
Resources
- Toki Pona: The Language of Good: Lesson 7
- jan Lentan: Lesson 7
- soweli Tesa: Lesson 12
- nasin toki pona the particle anu