sona pona

te and to

Obscure Toki Pona particles

"te" redirects here. For the obsolete form of teje, see Left and right § Dedicated words.
Caution: The subject of this article is nonstandard and will not be understood by most speakers.
If you are a learner, this information will not help you speak the language. It is recommended to familiarize yourself with the standard style, and to be informed and selective about which nonstandard styles you adopt.

te and to are obscure quotative particles and nimi ku lili. The word te opens a quotation and to closes it.[1][2]

Pronunciation /te/ 🔊
Usage 2023: Obscure4, Rare6 (14% ↗︎ )Caution: Most speakers don't use this word.2022: Rare (11%)
Book and era nimi ku lili (post-pu)
Part of speech Particle
Pronunciation /to/ 🔊
Usage 2023: Obscure4, Rare6 (14% ↗︎ )Caution: Most speakers don't use this word.2022: Rare (11%)
Book and era nimi ku lili (post-pu)
Part of speech Particle

Etymologies Edit

The words te and to were coined in 2020 by kala kala (jan Salan) and jan Lakuse in the ma pona pi toki pona community.[3][4] The word te is derived from Japanese って (Hepburn: tte), and to from と (Hepburn: to).[5]

Function Edit

These words serve to set off quoted or indirect speech.

ona li toki sama te jan [TAMO] en jan [SALA] lon ma [TANAKA] to.

ona li toki sama te jan Tamo en jan Sala lon ma Tanaka to.[6]

They'd say, like quote Tamo and Sala in Tanaka unquote.

Definitions Edit

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as te and to, respectively:[7]

(opening quotation particle)½

(closing quotation particle)½

References Edit

  1. ↑ jan Lakuse [@raacz106]. (27 August 2020). [Message posted in the #sona-musi channel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  2. ↑ jan Lakuse [@raacz106]. (27 August 2020). [Message posted in the #sona-musi channel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  3. ↑ kala kala. (2 April 2020). [Message posted in the #sona-musi channel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord. Retrieved 23 December 2023.

    musi concept word:
    Quotative Particle: te
    Function: Follows a quote to indicate it is one rather than modifiers or additional info.

    Ex.1: jan li toki e pona te la ale li awen ni kin.
    If someone says 'pona', everything will stay as such.

    Ex. 2: ona li kama! soweli li m[u]: "mi lukin e noka kala a a a" te. taso, soweli ante li lukin li mu e 'o weka e ona' te.
    "They're coming. The bear roared. "I see the legs of a fish! Haha!" However, the other bear looked over and roared, "Get rid of it!""

  4. ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 24.
  5. ↑ jan Lakuse [@raacz106]. (27 September 2021). [Message posted in the #toki=-pona channel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord. Retrieved 3 March 2024. "to functions how te/to function in japanese. it's basically directly ripped from japanese".
  6. ↑ jan Juli. (4 May 2021). "nanpa open (1)". kalama sin.
  7. ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. pp. 360, 369.

Further reading Edit

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