esun

esun
Pronunciation	/ˈe.sun/ 🔊 🔊
Usage	2023: Core (98% ↗︎ )2022: Core (96%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Content word
Codepoint	󱤋 U+F190B

esun is a core content word relating to trade and exchanging.

Etymology

The etymology of the word esun is uncertain. In 2020, jan Sonja stated that "esun was told [to her] by a taxi driver who spoke a language from the Akan family in West Africa". However, it is unclear which language and which word it originated from.

The word might possibly originate from Twi edwom, meaning "market (place)", as noted by ale sa in 2023.

Semantic space

The semantic space space of esun includes the act or an instance of trading and exchanging, commonly but not universally relating to money. It may refer to either buying or selling depending on context.

By extension, it may refer to any kind of exchanging, it can be anything either concrete—such as barter or swapping objects—or abstract—such as exchanging knowledge.

mi esun e moku tawa sina

mi esun e moku tawa sina.

I purchased food for you.

ona li esun mute e kasi tawa ma ante

ona li esun mute e kasi tawa ma ante.

They sold plants to many lands

It includes anything relating to trading, as well as a place of business. For the place, some examples include markets, shops, fairs, and bazaars. The phrase tenpo esun is a common way to say "week", which literally means "the time relating to business".

pu

In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines esun as:

NOUN  market, shop, fair, bazaar, business transaction

ku

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as esun:

trading⁵81–100% of respondents, trade⁵81–100% of respondents, shopping⁵81–100% of respondents, deal⁴61–80% of respondents, commerce⁴61–80% of respondents, purchase⁴61–80% of respondents, sales⁴61–80% of respondents, buy⁴61–80% of respondents, transaction⁴61–80% of respondents, market⁴61–80% of respondents, sale³41–60% of respondents, exchange³41–60% of respondents, sell³41–60% of respondents, retail³41–60% of respondents, business³41–60% of respondents, shop³41–60% of respondents, store²21–40% of respondents, commercial²21–40% of respondents, financial²21–40% of respondents, enterprise²21–40% of respondents, economy²21–40% of respondents, franchise²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for esun (󱤋) is derived from the Mi'kmaq hieroglyphs, according to jan Sonja in a message from 2021. It is unknown, however, which hieroglyph it originated from. The closest thing found is the 32nd glyph in Page 5 of Buch das gut.

sitelen sitelen

This section is empty. You can help us by adding to it.

History

The subject of this section is historical information that is presented for completeness, and might not reflect current usage.

The word esun was first used in the Toki Pona Forums around 2007. In 2009, the Toki Pona Wiki defined the word as the following, focusing primarily on the sense of the place and event of market.

1. market

a community event where people trade goods; market, marketplace, bazaar, trading place

2. store

a place where goods are offered for sale; store, shop

In a forum thread, jan Ote critiqued the definitions listed for esun, commenting on this, arguing that it was a secondary meaning to the meaning of "to trade". In the thread, jan Sonja clarified that she considered the sense of the event as more culturally important than trading for itself. In 2013, the definition was subsequently clarified to the following:

1. fair

a community event where people socialize and exchange goods or information; exhibition, fair, function, get-together, market, occasion, reception, reunion, social affair, social event, social gathering

2. trading place

a place where goods are offered for trade; bazaar, farmers' market, marketplace, shop, shopping mall, store, trading place

It also clarifies the use of tenpo esun for meaning "week":

The term tenpo esun (market period) can be used to express the concept of "week". This originates from the widespread human custom of a farmers' market, a specific market day that reoccurs every so many days. If everyone in a region agrees to travel to a certain place on a certain day, it makes trading a lot simpler. In modern times, the week has been set to 7 days, but many other durations have existed in history.

See also

• mani

Further reading

• "esun" on lipu Linku
• "esun" on lipu Wikipesija
• "esun" on English Wiktionary