taso

taso
Pronunciation	/ˈta.so/ (listen)
Usage	2023: Core (99% → ) 2022: Core (99%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Semiparticle, content word
Codepoint	󱥨 U+F1968

taso is a core semiparticle that means "only". Grammatically, it works similarly to kin.

Etymology

The word taso is derived from Tok Pisin tasol, meaning "but, only", from English that's all.

Semantic space

The semantic space of taso is very similar to the English word "only". For example, toki pona taso often means "Toki Pona only", which can etymologically be remembered as "Toki Pona, that's all". When used as a content word, taso expresses the idea of being alone in a category or qualification, or filtering options to the stated one.

Moreover, taso can be used at the start of a sentence; this is similar to the conjunction sense of "only", which can also be translated as "but" or "however".

mi wile lape　taso mi ken ala

mi wile lape. taso, mi ken ala.

I want to sleep, only I can't.

Sentence-initial use

This section may be misleading or lack nuance. Learners should not assume this information to be correct.

There is some debate over whether to follow sentence-initial taso with la, treating it as a context phrase. Some speakers argue that taso la would have the separate meaning of "in the context of loneness", while others resist the use of taso without la as a conjunction. The same arguments apply to kin.

pu

In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines taso as:

PARTICLE  but, however
ADJECTIVE  only

ku

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as taso:

only⁵81–100% of respondents, but⁵81–100% of respondents, solely⁵81–100% of respondents, however⁵81–100% of respondents, exclusively⁴61–80% of respondents, although⁴61–80% of respondents, though⁴61–80% of respondents, just⁴61–80% of respondents, exclusive⁴61–80% of respondents, despite⁴61–80% of respondents, nonetheless⁴61–80% of respondents, mere⁴61–80% of respondents, merely³41–60% of respondents, except³41–60% of respondents, yet³41–60% of respondents, sole³41–60% of respondents, nevertheless³41–60% of respondents, whereas³41–60% of respondents, regardless²21–40% of respondents, exception²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

According to jan Sonja, the sitelen pona glyph for taso (󱥨) was created synaesthetically.

^{[citation needed]} This claim needs references to reliable sources.

It is notably similar to the symbol for "but, except" in Blissymbols, which represents the halting of a free flow of speech, but this has been stated to be a coincidence.

^{[citation needed]} This claim needs references to reliable sources. (Oct 2023)

The glyph could possibly be an alteration of the Latin letter T.