majuna

From sona pona, the Toki Pona wiki
majuna in sitelen pona
An old man smiling
An old man smiling
Pronunciation /ˈma.ju.na/ 🔊 🔊/j/ sounds like English Y, as in "fjord" or "hallelujah".
Usage 2023: Uncommon (34% ↗︎ )Caution: Most speakers don't use this word.2022: Uncommon (32%)
Book and era nimi ku lili (pre-pu)
Part of speech Content word
Codepoint 󱦢 U+F19A2

majuna is an uncommon pre-pu content word relating to oldness. It is a nimi ku lili, and the only word with this designation currently used in lipu su.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The word majuna is derived from Esperanto maljuna, meaning "old", itself from French mal- ("un-") and German jung or French jeune, both meaning "young".

Semantic space[edit | edit source]

The semantic space of majuna includes that which is aged, elderly, and ancient. It may also refer to classical and traditional things. This word is an antonym of sin in the sense of "new, young". suli is sometimes used with a similar meaning.[1]

jan li kama majuna2 la ona li kama sona

jan li kama majuna la ona li kama sona.

As people get older, they get smarter.

ku[edit | edit source]

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as majuna:[2]

elderly2, old2, senior2, historical1, ancient1, elder1

sitelen pona[edit | edit source]

"sin" majuna

The oldest sitelen pona glyph for majuna (󱦢) is composed of three short rays facing left, right, and down. It is derived by turning the glyph for sin. It was designed sometime before August 2020.[3]

[citation needed…]
Lotus majuna

Another common glyph (majuna), often called lotus majuna or sunset majuna,[4] depicts five rays in an upper semicircle, derived by subdividing the glyph for sin. It may represent a lotus flower, sunrise, sunset, or an open book, among other interpretations. It was designed by kili pan Juli in 2021.[5] This style is used in su, with the turned-sin glyph not being used.[4]

A rarer alternative glyph represents a "moon" shaped crescent (majuna1). The glyph for okepuma, an obscure joke word, is derived from this glyph version in combination with the glyph for jan. It was designed in July 2020 by nimi Elemenopi on Reddit.[6]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Moniz, C. Ryan (jan inwin); van der Meulen, Spencer H. (jan Pensa); lipamanka. (8 October 2020). "nimi ale pona (2nd ed.)". Google Docs.
  2. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 281.
  3. nimi Elemenopi [u/ElemenopiTheSequel]. (15 August 2020). "Here are the official glyphs for the 1b words in the NA". r/OffThePu. Reddit. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sonja Lang. (6 January 2024). "Pre-Release Notes on the su Style of sitelen pona". tokipona.org. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. (Mirrored on 10 February 2024.)
  5. kili pan Juli [@kilipan]. (21 January 2022). [Message posted in the #pali-musi channel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord. Retrieved 28 January 2024. "i think i like [sin] with two additional diagonal lines [.] it looks like a book and is reminiscent of the lotus plant".
  6. nimi Elemenopi [u/ElemenopiTheSequel]. (26 July 2020). "I made a sitelen pona glyph for every non-pu word in the "nimi ale pona" dictionary". r/tokipona. Reddit. Retrieved 28 December 2023.

Further reading[edit | edit source]