pi: Difference between revisions
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==Function== |
==Function== |
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By default, each modifier applies to the whole phrase before it:<ref group="lower-alpha">Some speakers analyze all modifiers as applying to the first word instead, but the distinction often doesn't matter.</ref> |
By default, each modifier applies to the whole phrase before it:<ref group="lower-alpha">Some speakers analyze all modifiers as applying to the first word instead,{{Citation needed|This is a plausible analysis, but who proposes it?}} but the distinction often doesn't matter.</ref> |
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{{Example|jan pona|good person}} |
{{Example|jan pona|good person}} |
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Revision as of 03:00, 9 November 2023
  | |
| Pronunciation | /pi/ |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (99% ↗︎ )2022: Core (98%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Particle |
| Codepoint | U+F194D |
pi is a particle used for regrouping or rebracketing modifiers. The resulting phrase that follows it is called a pi phrase.
Function
By default, each modifier applies to the whole phrase before it:[a]
jan ponajan pona
good person
jan pona mutejan pona mute
many good people
pi marks the next word as a new head, which takes its own modifiers.
jan pi(pona mute)jan pi pona mute
very good person
The effect can be similar to hyphenating an adjective phrase in English:
tomo telo nasatomo telo nasa
strange water room (the room, perhaps a washroom, is weird)
tomo pi(telo nasa)tomo pi telo nasa
strange-water room (the liquid is weird; perhaps a pub)
pi needs to be followed by at least two content words: the new head and a modifier applying to it. If there would only be one word after it, you don't need the pi.
There is no way to "close" a pi phrase, beyond using a higher-priority particle or preposition, or ending the sentence. Instead, modifiers that apply to the first word should be moved before the pi:
jan pi(pana sona)jan pi pana sona
knowledge-giving person (teacher)
jan-ike pi(pana sona)jan ike pi pana sona
knowledge-giving bad person (bad teacher)
Notes
- ↑ Some speakers analyze all modifiers as applying to the first word instead,[citation needed] but the distinction often doesn't matter.
Multiple pi
While not defined in pu, some speakers do use multiple pi in a single phrase. However, this carries a risk of ambiguity as to whether the second pi is contained within the first or not:
lipu pi sona mute pi toki [ijo ni li ike]lipu pi sona mute pi toki Inli
English much-knowledge book (is the book in English or is the knowledge about English?)
The possible structures are:
- Flat pi
- lipu pi sona mute pi toki Inli
- Nested pi
- lipu pi sona mute pi toki Inli
jan Lope argues that, like li and e, both pi phrases apply equally to the first noun in the phrase, rather than nesting.[1] As an example, he gives:
kulupu pi kalama musi pi ma [ijo ni li ike] li ponakulupu pi kalama musi pi ma Inli li pona.
The English rock band is good.
The ambiguity is whether it's an English band that plays some sort of music, or a band from somewhere that plays English music. There is no consensus on this matter, and in practice both interpretations are possible. In fact, many speakers want it to be ambiguous so that clearer phrasing is used instead.
Using a single word between the pi does prevent the ambiguity, as the flat structure would contain an invalid single-word pi phrase. However, if you feel the need to stack this many modifiers, you might be better off rephrasing the phrase into a sentence:
kiwen pi(soweli pi kute suli)kiwen pi soweli pi kute suli
big-eared animal rock
kiwen ni li sama soweli pi(kute suli)kiwen ni li sama soweli pi kute suli.
This rock is like a big-eared animal.
soweli pi(kute suli) li lawa e kiwen nisoweli pi kute suli li lawa e kiwen ni.
A big-eared animal rules over this rock.
Misconceptions
pi is not "of"
Some dictionaries, most notably the one in pu, define pi as the English word "of". This is misleading, as most senses of "of" don't translate into pi:
tokipiponatoki
piponathe language of good
It may be more helpful to think of every modifier as having an implied "of" before it:
kala utala sulikala utala suli
fish of fighting of bigness
Possession
pi is not a possessive particle. It does not necessarily indicate ownership or translate the English "'s" ending. Any adjective can be interpreted as indicating possession regardless of the presence or absence of pi. pi serves the same purpose in a possessive context as it does in any other: to separate a group of modifiers from those preceding them.
tomo onatomo ona
their house
In this case, the word ona could name the owner of the house.
tomo pi(jan Tanja)tomo pi jan Tanja
jan Tanja's house
Here, jan Tanja owns the house; pi is used to separate the phrase jan Tanja from the word tomo, preventing confusion:
tomo ona aletomo ona ale
all their houses
tomo pi(ona ale)tomo pi ona ale
all-of-them house; house belonging to all of them
Possession is one of many possible interpretations of pi: what comes after pi simply modifies, describes, qualifies, or alters what comes before it.
Controversy
pi is controversial. To many speakers, it feels too engineered for Toki Pona's natural design, it creates more complexity and misconceptions than it is worth, and it encourages learners to find "the phrase" for any given word.[citation needed] Avoiding pi is a common nasin called pin't.
External links
Resources
- Toki Pona: The Language of Good: Lesson 11
- jan Kekan San: Modifiers and pi
- jan Lentan: Lesson 9
- soweli Tesa: Lesson 6
- nasin toki pona: the particle pi
- Jonathan Gabel: Descriptions and Possesives