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{{Other license|ask|it was copied from ''[[ma pona pi toki pona]]''}} |
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[[la]] is a [[:Category:Particles|particle]] of toki pona used to separate a sentence from its context. |
[[la]] is a [[:Category:Particles|particle]] of toki pona used to separate a sentence from its context. |
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== Functions of la == |
== Functions of la == |
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[[la]] indicates that what comes after it follows from or depends on what came before. It is extremely general and can indicate all sorts of antecedant/consequent relationships. For example, |
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la is a context particle. Anything that comes before la in a sentence is taken as context for the rest of the sentence. "X la Y" –> "in the context of X, Y." |
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⚫ | |||
: In the context of my land, the air is cold. |
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: The air in my country is cold. |
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It can be used to convey the same information as lon. Anything that you would say after a prepositional lon, you could put before a la and it would mean the same thing. |
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; mi pilin pona lon tenpo ni. : tenpo ni la mi pilin pona. |
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⚫ | |||
=== Fronting prepositional phrases === |
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It can also move other prepositional phrases to the front, often negating the need for the preposition (but not always). |
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[[la]] can be used to put a prepositional phrase at the front of a sentence. For example, |
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; |
;"ale ante li kama tan sina". |
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:"Now the rest depends on you".<ref>[[pu]]-en p. 62</ref> |
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: mi la ni li pona. |
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:"Dorénavant la suite vous appartient".<ref>[[pu]]-fr p. 67</ref> |
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: tawa mi la ni li pona. |
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:;kepeken toki ni la jan Sonja li pana e toki pona tawa kulupu. |
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::With these words, Sonja gave toki pona to the community. |
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:;jan Sonja li pana e toki pona tawa kulupu kepeken toki ni. |
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::Sonja gave toki pona to the community with these words. |
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When fronted, [[lon]] is dropped, |
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; sina pali e ni tan seme : tan seme la sina pali e ni. |
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;mi moku e kili lon tenpo ni. |
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:I'm eating a fruit not. |
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;tenpo ni la mi moku e kili. |
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:This time, I'm eating fruit. |
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Sometimes, [[lon]] is also used as a content word. In this case, it is retained: |
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A la-phrase can even take entire sentences under it, making a conditional phrase |
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⚫ | |||
:Lots of people are here. |
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⚫ | |||
:Around here there are lots of people. |
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=== Cause and effect === |
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; suno li loje la tenpo li pona. : When the sun is red, the time is right. |
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[[la]] can show cause and effect. The part before the [[la]] is taken to bring about or be the condition for what comes after the particle. |
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; |
:;ilo li mu la mi lukin e ona. |
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: |
::My phone rang so I checked it. |
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: |
::When my phone rings I check it. |
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::If my phone rings I'll check it. |
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:;suno li seli la mi pilin pona. |
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== Idioms == |
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::[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Mava1H8V8 "Summertime, and the livin's easy".] |
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Certain [[la]] phrases are used with particular meanings. |
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== Punctuation == |
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; ni la : so/then |
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Commas are optional, and can be placed before or after the [[la]]. [[ku]] calls this a "stylistic choice". In this article, commas are omitted. |
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; ante la : in any case/anyway |
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== External resources == |
== External resources == |