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more info about usage and analysis
(Created page with "{{nimi |sp=N - sitelen pona tan lipu pu pi toki Epelanto.png |PoS=particle }} '''{{tp|n}}''' is a word used to represent any {{wp|Filler (linguistics)|filler}} or {{wp|Humming|hum}}, like "um", "mmm", or "hmm". It can indicate {{wp|Speech disfluency#Thoughtful absorption|thoughtful absorption}}, recognition, and agreement. ==Pronunciation== {{tp|n}} violates Toki Pona's phonotactics. Speakers may accept this because they consider it easy to pronounce, or not tec...") |
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'''{{tp|n}}''' is a word used as an [[Interjections|interjection]] to represent any {{wp|Filler (linguistics)|filler}} or {{wp|Humming|hum}}, like "um", "mmm", or "hmm". It
{{tp|n}} is frequently written with multiple letters (e.g. "{{tp|nnn...}}") to indicate a drawn out sound.
==Pronunciation==
The word {{tp|n}} violates [[Toki Pona]]'s [[phonotactics]]. Speakers may accept this because they consider it easy to pronounce, or not technically a word in the first place, but e.g. more like an {{wp|onomatopoeia}}. {{tp|n}} arguably does not have to be pronounced {{IPA|/n/}} but can stand in for any hum or nasal sound, regardless of phonotactics.
Some compare the word {{tp|n}} to the [[coda n|coda "n"]] sound (sometimes written as {{IPA|/N/}} when analyzed as a separate phoneme from {{IPA|/n/}}), which can also be pronounced as several different nasal sounds depending on context. (For example, {{IPA|[änpä]}} and {{IPA|[ämpä]}} are both correct pronunciations of {{tp|anpa}} ({{IPA|/aNpa/}}), and {{tp|Sonko}} ({{IPA|/soNko/}}) is often pronounced {{IPA|[so̞ŋko]}}.)
{{Words}}
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