kin
  | |
| Pronunciation | /kin/ 🔊 🔊 |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Common4, Widespread6 (83% ↘︎ )2022: Widespread (89%) |
| Book and era | nimi ku suli ("synonym" in pu) |
| Part of speech | Semiparticle |
| Codepoint | U+F1979 |
kin is a common semiparticle meaning "also".
Etymology[edit | edit source]
The word kin is derived from the Finnish suffix -kin, meaning "also".[1]
Function[edit | edit source]
The particle kin is used to modify a preceding content word to add the sense of "also, too". The word that is modified is important:
ona li pana e lipu mi kin li pana e lipuona li pana e lipu. mi kin li pana e lipu.
They handed out the papers. We too handed out the papers.
mi lukin e lipu mi pana kin e lipumi lukin e lipu. mi pana kin e lipu.
We read the papers. We also handed out the papers.
At the end of a sentence, kin can also be used to reciprocate a statement.
te mi olin e sina to te mi olin e sina kin to"mi olin e sina." — "mi olin e sina kin."
"I love you." — "I love you too."
Sentence-initial use[edit | edit source]
The word kin may be used at the start of a sentence. There is some debate over whether to follow sentence-initial kin with la, treating it as a context phrase.
According to poll in early 2023, the majority of speakers use kin la.[2] These may interpret kin as an interjection, meaning "likewise", being used as a sentence fragment in the context position.
jan-olin li lon tomo kin la mama mi li lapejan olin li lon tomo. kin la mama mi li lape.
My spouse is home. Also, my father is sleeping.
Other speakers may interpret sentence-initial kin as a semiparticle, which does not need the particle la, similarly to starting a sentence with a, and feel that kin has no content word meaning as the head of a phrase such as the context clause. Similar arguments apply to taso, although not all speakers use the same method for both kin (la) and taso (la).
jan-olin li lon tomo kin mama mi li lapejan olin li lon tomo. kin mama mi li lape.
My spouse is home. Also, my father is sleeping.
pu[edit | edit source]
In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines kin as a "synonym" of a. This sense is generally not understood. It largely does not reflect earlier use of kin either.
PARTICLE (emphasis, emotion or confirmation)
ku[edit | edit source]
For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as kin:[3]
also4, too4, indeed2, especially2
sitelen pona[edit | edit source]
The sitelen pona glyph for kin () is derived from an exclamation mark with an asterisk (*) in place of the dot. The rotation and number of spokes on the asterisk is unimportant. The shape may be influenced from the star as a symbol for birth or a means of highlighting or favoriting, and the asterisk as a multiplication sign or wildcard character; it seems to only coincidentally resemble the glyph for lete. The punctuation stem can be drawn upright (kin) or at a diagonal (kin).
The glyph for kin was designed in October 2016, at the suggestion of jan Kipo. jan Same's original proposal was a circle (from the glyph for ijo) with two horizontal lines below, which could be interpreted as emphasis underlines or the glyph for sama. jan Same later suggested using a star for kin. jan Tepan refined this into "an exclamation mark with an asterisk instead of the dot", influenced by the glyph for a, despite the contributors' hesitance to reuse the punctuation stem design.[4] This version was included in version 1.0 of linja pona.
sitelen sitelen[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
For a brief period in early 2002, kin was used to separate subjects in a sentence, the way en is used today.[5] This use was deprecated in the same poll that established the modern system for en and deprecated kan.[6]
unpa kin moku [esun lili en nena ale] li pona tawa sijelounpa kin moku Elena li pona tawa sijelo.
Sex and Greek food are good for the body.[7]
It retained its role as an emphasizing particle during this time, though it was a prefix.[8]
ona li kin lukin ala e miona li kin lukin ala e mi.
He didn't even acknowledge me.[9]
Emphasis marker[edit | edit source]
In pre-pu and early post-pu Toki Pona, kin was defined as an emphasis marker,[10] a function that has been taken over by the word a since pu's attempt to merge the two as synonyms.
This emphasis-marking function also influenced the sitelen pona design as a type of exclamation mark.[4]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Word Origins. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Toki Pona.
- ↑ jan Ke Tami. (8 February 2023). "nimi Kin en nimi A". Poll Junkie. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 249.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 jan Same. (16 October 2016). "Re: Sitelen pona glyphs for new and apocryphal words". Toki Pona Forums. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ↑ Sonja Lang. (27 October 2002). "The words "en", "kin", and "kan"". Toki Pona Forums. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ↑ tokipona@yahoogroups.com. (1 November 2002). "Poll results for tokipona". Toki Pona Forums. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ↑ Sonja Lang. (3 June 2002). "seme li sin?". Toki Pona Forums.
- ↑ Sonja Lang. (27 April 2002). "Toki Pona Word List". tokipona.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2003. "emphasizes the word that follows".
- ↑ Sonja Lang. (1 January 2002). "English-Toki Pona Dictionary". tokipona.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2002.
- ↑ "Classic Word List (Improved!)". tokipona.net.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- "kin" on lipu Linku
- "kin" on lipu Wikipesija
- "kin" on English Wiktionary