waso
  | |
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| Pronunciation | /ˈwa |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (99% → )2022: Core (99%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1974 |
| Part of a series on |
| Core words |
| Widespread words |
| Nonstandard animal words |
waso is a core content word relating to birds and flying animals.
Etymology[edit | edit source]
The word waso is derived from Acadian French oiseau, meaning "bird".[1]
Semantic space[edit | edit source]
The semantic space of waso includes flying and winged animals, including but not limited to birds. It includes other animals, such as bats and pterodactyls.[2][3]
waso mama li pali e tomo kasi li awen e waso liliwaso mama li pali e tomo kasi li awen e waso lili.
Mother birds build nests and protect smaller birds.
There are many edges cases to this definition. Flightless birds are one such case. Ostriches and emus have adapted to living on the ground and moving around very fast. Hence, some speakers describe them as soweli rather than waso. As marine birds, penguins may also be described as kala.
Gliding animals such as the flying squirrel are another edge case. It is not clear whether gliding qualifies something as waso, or it must be powered flight specifically.
Some speakers extend waso to refer to anything that is in the air at a given moment. For example, a ball thrown into the air might be described as waso. This style is often humorous, but is also used seriously for objects and vehicles designed to fly, rather than being in midair for other reasons. By extension, waso is used as a verb, "to fly". The word kala has a similar use relating to anything in water.
tomo tawa wasotomo tawa waso
airplane (lit. 'flying moving-room')
pu[edit | edit source]
In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines waso as:
NOUN bird, flying creature, winged animal
ku[edit | edit source]
For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as waso:[4]
bird5, chicken3, duck2, turkey2, eagle2, bat2
sitelen pona[edit | edit source]
The sitelen pona glyph for waso () represents the beaked face of a bird.
sitelen sitelen[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Word Origins. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Toki Pona.
- ↑ jan Ono [@onmonopia]. (2 July 2022). [Informal poll posted in the
#sona-kulupuchannel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord.Are the following options considered under the semantic space of waso in your opinion? Option Votes
(n = 105)Flying birds 105 Flightless birds 94 Bats 94 Flying dragons 74 Flying squirrels in flight 39 Flying fish in flight 28 Cow being launched in the air 15 Flying vehicles 69 Butterfly 73 Person hand gliding 29 - ↑ jan Ono [@onmonopia]. (2 July 2022). [Informal poll posted in the
#sona-kulupuchannel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord.Are the following options considered under the semantic space of waso in your opinion? Option Votes
(n = 89)Bird fossil 83 The Moon 1 The Sun 2 Flying ghost 26 Hoverboard (which actually hovers) 10 Cloud 3 Objects launched in the air 6 Golden snitch (magical object from Harry Potter) 72 Helicopter 56 Drone 57 Rain droplets 2 - ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 385.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- "waso" on lipu Linku
- "waso" on lipu Wikipesija
- "waso" on English Wiktionary