omen

From sona pona, the Toki Pona wiki
Pronunciation /ˈo.men/
Usage 2024: N/ACaution: This word has not been surveyed for. Most speakers likely don't understand it.2023: Obscure (2% ↗︎ )2022: Obscure (1%)
Book and era No book (post-pu)
Part of speech Content word

omen is an obscure content word relating to sarcasm and irony.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The word omen is derived from o.m.e.m., an acronym of the Toki Pona sentence o moli e mi ("kill me"), possibly in reference to the English idiom "kill me now", a common sarcastic exclamation. The word was coined by jan inwin in 2017.[1]

Semantic space[edit | edit source]

The semantic space of omen includes sarcasm and irony, speech that means the opposite of its literal reading. It is often used as a tone indicator, or to clarify an earlier statement.

toki sina la oko mi li lanpan e lukin sina li sike omen 

toki sina la oko mi li lanpan e lukin sina li sike omen.[2]

[Hearing] your words, my eyes take the way you look and roll sarcastically.

sitelen pona[edit | edit source]

The most common sitelen pona glyph for omen (omen) resembles that of sina (sina) but with an extra upwards line at a slight diagonal. It may represent the OK gesture, with the circle representing the index finger and thumb touching, instead of the main part of the hand as in the pronoun glyphs. The glyph was designed by nimi Elemenopi in November 2020,[3] replacing his previous design based on lawa.[4]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. jan inwin [@orsetto]. (27 November 2017). Message in #toki-pona. ma pona pi toki pona. Discord. Retrieved 4 March 2024. "canonize 'o·m·e·m' (← 'o moli e mi') into an actuall tp word 'omen', meaning "sarcasm, sarcastic"".
  2. jan inwin [@orsetto]. (4 December 2017). Message in #toki-ale. ma pona pi toki pona. Discord.
  3. nimi Elemenopi [u/ElemenopiTheSequel]. (30 November 2020). "A better version of the 1b glyphs". r/OffThePu. Reddit. Retrieved 15 August 2024. "[Key: black] = original, made by me".
  4. nimi Elemenopi [u/ElemenopiTheSequel]. (15 August 2020). "Here are the official glyphs for the 1b words in the NA". r/OffThePu. Reddit. Retrieved 15 August 2024. "[Key: black] = original, made by me".

Further reading[edit | edit source]