tonsi
  | |
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| Pronunciation | /ˈton |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Common4, Widespread6 (83% ↘︎ )2022: Widespread (86%) |
| Book and era | nimi ku suli (post-pu, "honorary nimi pu") |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F197E |
tonsi is a post-pu word mainly relating to non-binary gender, coordinate with meli for femininity and mije for masculinity. It was coined in 2019 by jan inwin.[1]
Etymology
The word tonsi is derived from Mandarin Chinese 同志 (tóngzhì), originally meaning "comrade" as in a member of the Communist party, but nowadays also used to mean a member of the LGBT community. The word was coined by jan inwin on 17 January 2019 as a proposal for a nimi sin for non-binary gender.[1] It was informally voted on in a series of polls in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server.[2]
Semantic space
tonsi generally means non-binary or gender-nonconforming.
Some speakers use tonsi with the alternative meaning of transgender. This is contentious as some non-binary people do not identify with the trans label, and they and binary trans people may not want their experiences to be conflated. Due to the core definition of tonsi, describing binary trans people as meli tonsi or mije tonsi might be construed to imply that they are not fully women or men, especially as there is no coordinate term to specify cisgender meli and mije.
According to the data in the Toki Pona Dictionary, tonsi has also been used to describe intersexuality.[3]
Adoption
The speaking community widely considers tonsi to be a crucial addition to Toki Pona, referring to it as an honorary nimi pu to give it equal consideration to meli and mije in spite of pu-rism. In the "Notes on lipu pu" section of the Toki Pona Dictionary, jan Sonja endorses the effort:[4]
At this point, meli and mije have been taught. A third word, tonsi, has been created by the community of Toki Pona speakers in a grassroots project, and I support it. See the dictionary part of this book for definitions.
This is not to say that all non-binary and gender-nonconforming people identify with tonsi. Beyond personal opinions on the word, some speakers don't use tonsi by virtue of avoiding gender words altogether.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 jan inwin (@orsetto) (17 July 2019). Message posted on the
#sona-musichannel of ma pona pi toki pona. Discord. - ↑ jan inwin (@orsetto) (18 July 2019). Message posted on the
#sona-musichannel of ma pona pi toki pona. Discord.let's redo the vote between the 2
1️⃣ mapu ← Hawaiʻian māhū
2️⃣ tonsi ← Mandarin tóngzhì 同志Option Votes mapu 1 tonsi 5 - ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 381.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 6.