Questions
A question is a sentence that asks for information. There are 3 main ways to form questions in Toki Pona.
verb ala verb[edit | edit source]
To form a yes-or-no question, repeat the main word of the predicate, and add the word ala ("not") between the repetitions. This is called an A-not-A question and occurs in natural languages such as Mandarin.
sina moku ala moku?
sina moku ala moku?Do you eat? (Literally "You eat not/eat?")
ona li pona ala pona tawa sina?
ona li pona ala pona tawa sina?Are they good to you? (Literally "They aren't good/are good to you?")
seme[edit | edit source]
The word seme means "what?" or "which?" and can be used to form general questions. It replaces the word in the sentence that the speaker wants information about.
sina moku e seme?
sina moku e seme?What are you eating? (Literally "You › eat » what?")
sina seme e kili?
sina seme e kili?What do you do with the fruit? (Literally "You › what » fruit?")
seme li moku e kili?
seme li moku e kili?Who/What is eating the fruit? (Literally "What › eats » fruit?")
seme can also modify other words.
jan seme li moku e kili?
jan seme li moku e kili?Who (what person) eats the fruit?
jan li moku seme e kili?
jan li moku seme e kili?How is the person eating the fruit?
jan li moku e kili seme?
jan li moku e kili seme?Which fruit / What kind of fruit is the person eating?
The Five Ws and How[edit | edit source]
If seme alone is unclear, other question words can be rephrased in terms of it. For example:
- who: what person
- when: at what time
- where: at what (place)
- why: because what
- how: in what way / using what
anu[edit | edit source]
anu seme[edit | edit source]
The form anu seme ("or what") is a tag question, added to the end of a statement to make it a question. This expects the answer to be "yes", and prompts for confirmation.
The English equivalent is taking a statement like "It's snowing." and adding a tag, like "It's snowing, isn't it?" or "It's snowing, right?"
Sonja Lang introduced this form in a forum post on 2003-02-12:
- sina kama anu seme?
- (literally: you're coming or what?)
- I think you're coming, but please correct me and tell me what is really happening.
- aren't you coming?[1]
According to Sonja, this structure is parallel to "the way 'oder' can be used in colloquial German."[1] In German, oder at the end of a sentence is used to form a tag question, [2] which "may suggest confidence or lack of confidence, or may be confrontational, defensive, tentative, or rhetorical (not expecting an answer)."[3] In toki pona, anu seme is typically used in all of these ways and is extremely common in speech.
Bare anu[edit | edit source]
Toki Pona: The Language of Good suggests that the particle anu alone can be used to ask a question about alternatives. This was very common in pre-pu Toki Pona, but today it is controversial, as some speakers consider this construction nonstandard. See anu for details.
ona li lukin e waso anu soweli zz — zz ona li lukin e waso
ona li lukin e waso anu soweli? — ona li lukin e waso.They see a bird or an animal? (Controversial) — They see a bird.
One way to rephrase this uses la:
waso anu soweli la ona li lukin e seme zz — zz ona li lukin e waso
waso anu soweli la ona li lukin e seme? — ona li lukin e waso.As for a bird or an animal, what do they see? — They see a bird.
Answers[edit | edit source]
Yes-or-no[edit | edit source]
A positive answer to a yes-or-no question can be given by repeating the word asked about. This is called an echo answer.
akesi li suwi ala suwi? — suwi.
akesi li suwi ala suwi? — suwi.Are lizards cute? — Yes. (Literally "Cute.")
Some speakers use lon for "yes".
akesi li suwi anu seme? — lon.
akesi li suwi anu seme? — lon.Are lizards cute? — Yes. (Literally "True.")
To say no, repeat the word asked about, followed by ala:
sina wile ala wile moku e pipi? — wile ala.
sina wile ala wile moku e pipi? — wile ala.Do you want to eat bugs? — No. (Literally "Do not want.")
Or use the word ala on its own:
sina wile ala wile moku e pipi? — ala.
sina wile ala wile moku e pipi? — ala.Do you want to eat bugs? — No. (Literally "Not.")
General questions[edit | edit source]
A question asked with seme can be answered with a sentence providing the information that was asked for.
ona li seme? — ona li kepeken ilo.
ona li seme? — ona li kepeken ilo.What are they doing? — They are using a tool.
History[edit | edit source]
Yes-or-no questions[edit | edit source]
Though in theory the verb-ala-verb structure could be used to ask about any part of the sentence, in pu, it is only used for the head of a predicate. This limitation has become standard in the period since. The main exception is using a pre-verb instead of the main verb.
One of the very oldest Toki Pona lessons from 2001[4] includes these examples, which may seem strange to modern readers:
- meli ala meli li lawa e ma ni?
- A woman / not a woman rules that country?
- Does a woman rule that country?
- iki[note 1] li jan pona sina ala jan pona sina?
- She not-your friend / your friend?
- Is she your friend?
By 2005, the form was restricted to the head of a predicate[5], and the same form is used in pu.[6] As of 2023, the form anu seme is used for questions about the subject or object of a sentence.
anu seme[edit | edit source]
In 2005, the anu seme form was still a tag question.[7] In pu, however, the form is described as identical to the verb-ala-verb form and is presented as a synonymous alternative.[6] As of 2023, the anu seme form is still used as a tag question, though the question of whether pu's synonymous style was ever widely used is still unanswered. An avenue for future research.
External resources[edit | edit source]
- pu Lesson 7
- soweli Tesa Lesson 11
- jan Lentan Page 7
- sitelen sitelen Yes/No questions
- sitelen sitelen Questions using seme
- kili pan questions
- jan Kekan San Asking and Answering Questions