nimisin
nimisin[note 1] are extra words in Toki Pona, especially those created or promoted by the speaking community. They are mostly "new words" created after Toki Pona: The Language of Good (lipu pu) or Toki Pona Dictionary (lipu ku). With sin taking on the meaning of namako, the term can also refer to "additional words", which predate the first book but were not included in it (nimi pu). The nimi ku consist of both kinds of nimisin, old and new.
Many speakers warn against learners using or creating nimisin too early. You should probably be able to fall back on the core vocabulary before you try to fill in perceived gaps. Overzealousness with nimisin can make communication more difficult, as many nimisin are obscure and will not be understood.
Purposes
Experimentation with nimisin is a common form of tinkering with Toki Pona. It can be done with many goals in mind, such as:
- Historic and traditional usage: Many nimisin are traditional words that have continued to be used, or have had revivals, despite their removal (or framing) as of pu. Many nimi ku suli fall under this, like kin, kipisi, leko, monsuta, namako, and oko.
- Personal preference: There is something fun about nimisin that encourages many speakers to try using and making them. Specific nimisin may also be coined to describe concepts that are important to the creator, without expecting or wanting others to adopt their nimisin.
- High-frequency concepts: Some nimisin are coined for common concepts that aren't covered in the base vocabulary. For example, linluwi reflects the amount of Toki Pona usage that takes place online.
- Grammar extensions: Experimental particles can show what Toki Pona might be like with extra grammatical features.
- These seem less likely to catch on than nimisin with their own semantic value. They would make the grammar more complex, and would challenge accepted techniques for building sentences.
- Jokes: There are many joke nimisin. The joke is often that the meaning[note 4] or word itself[note 5] is unsuited for Toki Pona.
- Despite this, some joke words are introduced to enough people to pick up momentum and get used in earnest. This and the subjective nature of humor have generated resistance.
Public opinion
It seems that nimisin became more popular between the publication of pu and ku, as speakers wanted to experiment with diverting from pu-rism. After ku, the speaking community was left to grapple with whether the nimi ku should become permanent fixtures of the language, drawing more criticism of specific nimi ku suli and of nimisin in general.
Recommendations for coining nimisin
Notable nimisin
While relatively few nimisin have caught on longterm, Toki Pona Dictionary argues that those that do should be considered "essential words" to the language[note 6].
As of 2022, no other nimisin have met the 41% usage threshold of the nimi ku suli, according to that year's Linku survey.
Notes
- ↑ Portmanteau of nimi + sin, and a common semi-lexicalization. Other phrasings exist: nimi namako, nimi pi pu / ku ala, etc.
- ↑ Deprecated before the first version of Toki Pona was shared in 2001
- ↑ Perhaps deprecated words could be used in fiction for an archaic dialect, though.
- ↑ Irrelevant to general conversation, too specific, etc.
- ↑ Unpronounceable, too long, etc.
- ↑ Toki Pona Dictionary does tacitly exclude yupekosi, however.