Friday, April 22, 2011

jan Pili lon tomo mani (a lesson on 'esun') draft, of course *185*

P: toki, jan Tan o.  mi ken pali e seme tawa sina?
T: jan Pili o, toki.  sina ken pana e mani tawa mi.

P: a a a! mi pana kin ala e mani.  mi esun e mani lili pi tenpo ni tawa mani mute kama.
T: lon!  o weka e toki ike mi.  mi wile e ni: sina esun e mani ni tawa mi tawa mani kama.

P: sina wile e mani tawa seme?
T: mi wile e ni: mi esun e tomo kepeken ona.

P: tomo ni li seme?
T: jan Jan li tawa weka tawa ma pi poka pi telo suli pi anpa suno li wile esun e tomo ona tawa jan.  mi wile esun e ona tan jan Jan.

P:  tomo ni li seme li jo e tomo pi mute seme?
T: ona li jo e tomo lape tu wan e tomo telo tu wan e tomo pali tu e tomo moku e tomo pi seli moku e tomo kulupu e tomo musi pi lon anpa..

P: ma poka ona li seme?
T: tenpo suli la tomo pi ma poka li lon.  taso ona li awen pona tan ni: jan jo ona li pona pona e ona. jan mute pi mani pona li awen lon poka ni.

P: jan Jan li wile esun e ona tawa mani pi nanpa seme
T: ona wile kin esun e ona tawa mani pi nanpa ni.  taso mi pilin e ni: ona li kama esun e ona tawa mani pi nanpa ni taso. kin la mi jo e mani pi nanpa ni.  tan ni la mi wile esun e mani pi nanpa ni taso tan sina.

P: pona.  mi esun e mani pi mute ni tawa mani kama pi nanpa ni.  pnin kama la tenpo mun ali la sina pana e mani pi nanpa ni tawa mi.  tenpo pi mun li mute lili la sina pana ala e mani ni la mi weka e tomo tan sina.
T:  pona. tenpo suna pi nanpa seme la mi ken jo e mani.

P: nanpa wan la mi tu li wile sitelen e lipu mute.  ni pini la mi pana e lipu ni tawa kulupu lawa pi tomo mani ni.  lipu li pona tawa ona la mi tu li sitelen e lipu pi mute lili.  pini la mi esun e mani tawa sina tawa lipu pi jo tomo. sina pini pana e mani la mi pana e lipu ni tawa sina.
T: pona.  open la mi tu li sitelen e lipu seme?

You have to imagine that each time someone says 'mani pi nanpa ni' he holds up a paper that has a money amount written on it.  This is because toki pona does not have a facility for large numbers (starting somewhere around 3)  toki pona has only two number words, 'wan' and 'tu' (three, if you count 'ala' as 0) and these are to be combined only additively: tu wan = 3, tu tu = 4, and so on.  The use of 'luka', "hand", for 5 is widespread, though not officially condoned and several other words have been pressed into service for larger basic numbers (20, 100, 1000) within this system, but none of these are adequate for use in the modern world.  The additive principle alone is enough to defeat them.  Many suggestions have been made. of course, about how to break out of this mold most simply: introducing multiplication with 'pi', say, or using tresimal (base 3) notation, and so on.  But none has caught on -- though someone uses each of them sometimes.

The source of this problem (if it is one for you -- as it clearly is for Bill and Tom and John) is the ideal toki pona community, which has a basic barter economy and no stratification by wealth, so generally very little need for numbers.  The participants can tell whether a swap is fair (we assume)  and almost anything else for which we might use numbers can be handled by tallies or whatever 1-1 matching devices are to hand. And there are, of course, no street numbers nor telephones nor radio dials nor ... nor any other thing that uses numbers (and letters -- there are none of those in toki pona either) in what is practically an address sort of way (where the pointer is or goes). 

But we don't live in that community and in the one we do live in, numbers -- big numbers -- are ubiquitous.  There is little we can do without them in some form or other.  With a few specialized exceptions, the numbers we run into are the decimal in left-to-right place notation (where that is relevant) and the letters are in some form related more or less directly to the Latin alphabet.  To meet these problems in toki pona writing, of course, we can just use the numerals or letters themeselves.  But how do we pronounce these marks?  As a practical matter, most people I know, on the rare occasions when the need arises, just pronounce them as in their native languages.  That interferes somewhat with intelligibility, if the people in the conversation come from diffeent native languages.  So, a uniform device is needed.  What that device would be is not clear beyond the following:
     it is not a part of toki pona per se but is rather like the proper adjectives for names (indeed making these items adjective modifying 'nanpa' and the like seems the easiest way to introduce them)
     it contains names for all the digits 0-9 and all the letters of the Latin alphabet and for the decimal point
Beyond these minima, one might want order-of-magnitude words up and down and devices for non-Latin letters or altered ones -- as the need arose.  But no accepted system of this sort has yet been found, though several have been proposed.

But, as noted, none of this is needed in the toki pona world, where all commecial transactions are carried out by 'esun' "swap, barter, exchange." 'mi wile esun e ni poka tawa ni weka'  is the basic offer to start a deal and then the haggling can begin.  In a typical swap, the direct object is what the subject brings to the exchange and the other parties item is introduced by 'tawa' "for".  Just what is the best way to refer to the other party (if at all) is open: some say 'tawa' to indicate the direction of the trade, from the subjects point of view; others say 'poka' to indicate the mutuality of the proceedings.  If we don't mention a DO, we get "doing business," which may be more specific than "working" or may be as vague as "shopping".  When money comes into the trade -- and maybe even before -- matters get somewhat more complicated, since 'esun' means both "buy" and "sell" and so the DO is sometimes what the subject brings to the exchange and sometimes what he takes away. Were we consistent, of course, the object to be purchased would be after 'tawa' and the DO would be the price, rather than the other way around as we have it. But then 'tawa' doesn't seem right for the other party, since the flow (from the subject's point of view) goes the other way, and so 'tan' seems to work better.  Even 'tawa' for the price seems not quite right and so some folk use 'kepeken' instead.  The dialog above, for the most part, treats this all as an exchange, even though what is being exchanged is money, and then a striightforward payback without anything coming to the payer.

Monday, April 11, 2011

in tp-land lon ma pi toki pona *186*

Wu: jan Pu o.  mi wile esun e poki pan ni tawa poki pan ko
Pu:  ni li poki lili. mi wile esun e pan ko mi tawa poki suli taso.

W: tenpo ni la sina pana e pan ko la tenpo kama la mi pali e linja pan li pana e ona tawa sina.
P: linja pan li pona tawa mi.  taso mi wile e moku soweli poka ona. 

W.  sina pana e pan ko pi mute pona la mi pali e linja pan mute li esun e ona tawa jan pi pali ma Ju tawa wan pi moku soweli li pali e kulupu moku li pana e ona tawa sina.
P:  pona!  mi esun e poki suli pi pan ko tawa poki pan lili ni en kulupu moku kama.

W: jan Ju o.  mi wile pali e kulupu moki.  taso mi wile e moku soweli tawa ona.  mi esun e wan pi kulupu moku kama ni tawa wan pi moku soweli,
J: pona. taso sina pona ala e wan pi kulupu moku pi mute pona tawa mi la mi weka wawa e poki seli sina.

W: mi wile e poki ni tawa ni: mi ken pali e moku tawa ni: mi esun tawa ni: mi en kulupu mama mi li moku.
J  mi sona e ni.  mi wile moli li kipisi e soweli mi tawa sama.

ni pini:

W: jan Ju o.  ni li wan sina pi kulupu moku kepeken linja pan mi.  mi wile e ni: wan ni li mute pona.
J:  pona.  ni li pilin pona lon nena li kama pilin pona lon uta.


W: jan Pu o.  ni li wan sina pi kulupu moku.  mi wile e ni: wan ni li mute pona
P: ala tawa mi! mi jan suli.  mi wile e wan suli pi kulupu moku. ni li wan lili.

W: taso mi pana e wan suli tawa sina la wan pi mute lili taso li awen tawa kulupu mama mi.
P.  sina pakala!  mi esun e poki suli pi pan ko tawa poki lili pan sina. mi pilin pona tawa sina kin la kulupu moku li pona tawa mi.  taso sina toki kama e ni tawa mi: sina pana e wan pi mute pona pi kulupu moku.  tenpo ni la sina pana e wan pi mute lili.  mi weka wawa e poki seli.

W: o pali ala e ni.  o kama jo e wan suli.  mi ken telo e wan pi kulupu mama mi.
P: pona! 

Saturday, April 9, 2011

In a Bar lon tomo pi telo nasa *187*

P:  jan pana o pana e poki pi telo nasa jelo sin.
O: jan Pili o pini! sina moku e telo nasa pi mute pona.

P: ala!  tenpo pimeja ni la mi moku e telo nasa jelo pi lili taso.  mi ken moku e telo nasa wawa mute li kama ala nasa.
O: ala kin.  tenpo pimeja pini la sina moku e telo nasa jelo pi mute sama li utala e jan tu li pana e luka li utala e nena pi wan ona.

P: ona li toki e ijo ike mi,  jan ala li ken toku e ijo ike mi li weka e sama tan mi.  mi kama e ni: ona li esun tawa mi.
O: taso ona li toki e ni taso: sina nasa  taso ni li lon.

P: ala! tenpo ala la mi nasa.  jan li toki e ante la ona toki e lon ala.  pakala! seme li lon ni e supa.  o pana e pona ni: mi sewi sin.  ken la mi tawa tomo
O: pona!  mi lawa.  sina kama lape.

lon tomo pi jan Pili

O.  jan Jowana o pana e pona ni: jan Pili li kama tawa insa.  ona li pali wawa li kepeken e wawa ona ali.
J:  ala.  ona li nasa taso.  o lon e ona lon supa.  mi weka e len ona li selo e ona. pona

O: pona. mi tawa
J: tawa pona.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

4 Mary goes out with Oliver. jan Malija li tawa poka jan Oliwa. *188*

O: jan Malija o, toki.  mi pilin e ni: pimeja ni la sina pona mute lukin.
M: jan Oliwa o, toki.  pona.  sina kin li ike ala lukin  tempo suno ante pini la sina kama tan sona ala kama tawa mi. jan ala pini li kama tawa esun mi li toki e ni: ona li wile e ni: mi tawa poka ona.  mi sona ala e sina.  taso mi tawa tan ni: mi wile sona e sina.

O: pona.  mi kin wile sona e sina kin.  o  toki e ijo ali sina tawa mi.  sina tan seme li tawa tomo pi kama sona seme? seme li pona tawa sina?  mute li kama.
M:  mi wile sona e ijo sama sina.  mi tan ma lili Kalipornija tan ma tomo LaSanseli li tawa tomo pi kama sona Jusiwele.  mi jo e lipu pi sona pi ilo sona.  taso mi alasa li lukin ala e pali pi lipu ni.  tan ni la mi pona e ilo sona. mi wile sitelen e nasin pi ilo sona anu jan pi pana sona.  mi sona e toki mute pi ilo sona e sona kon pi ilo sona.

O: a! mi tawa tomo Makili. mi jo e lipu pi sona pi ilo sona en sona esun.  tan ni la mi esun e ilo sona.  toki la sina kama toki kepeken toki pona tan seme?  jan pi pana sona mi li toki e ijo pi toki ni tawa mi.  mi lukin e toki pona li kama sona e ni: ona li pona pi kama sona li musi.  mi pini lukin la mi sona e mute pona pi tawa ni: mi sitelen e toki lon tomo toki.  jan pi tomo toki li pona e toki mi.  tan ni la mi kama sona e mute.
M: a! toki mi li sama toki sina.  ken la mi tu li jo e jan pi pana sona sama e wan pi kama sona sama.  tenpo ala mi lukin e ni tan seme?  ken la mi tu li toki lon tomo toki.  mi jan Malipona lon tomo ni.

O:  a! mi sona kin e sina.  mi jan Akepili. akesi li pona tawa mi.  nimi mi li lili e nimi 'akesi pi linja'  tenpo suli la mi kepeken ike e nimi 'pi'.  sina toki e ijo pi jan olin pini sina.  tan ni la mi pilin ike.  mi pilin e ni ali: sina kama sona e sona kon.  mi kama sona e sona kepeken.  kin la mi lon sinpin sina lon tenpo pi sike suno wan.
M: mi pakala e nimi 'li'.  mi awen sona e toki sina nanpa wan. ona  li kepeken e nimi 'pi' poka ala nimi tu kama.  toki mi nanpa wan li kepeken ala e nimi 'li' lon insa pi nimi 'jan' en nimi 'kama' taso kepeken e ona lon insa pi nimi 'mi' en nimi 'tawa'. ike la akesi li jaki tawa mi. kin la mi monsuto e ona e akesi linja kin. 

 O: mi jo ala e akesi.  kin la mi pilin e ni: ni li pona ala tawa mi: mi awen poka akesi.  taso mi lukin e ona lon tomo pi kulupu soweli.  selo pi akesi linja mute li pona lukin,  akesi mute li tawa kin pona.  kin la sina wile monsuto e akesi linja pi mute lili tan ni:  ona li pana e telo moli kepeken palisa uta anu ona li sike li ko e sina.
M: jaki a!  o mi tu  li toki e ijo ante.  sitelen tawa seme li pona tawa sina?  toki pi tenpo kama en wawa pi kalama en seli  li pona tawa mi. kin la mije pona li kama olin e meli pona

O: mi kin,  sitelen pi kama lon kin li pona tawa mi.  kin la soweli li awen lon ma pakala sama soweli wawa  walo lon telo kiwen lete.  en mute pi soweli lili.  telo loje en insa sijelo li jaki tawa mi lon sitelen tawa kin.

Friday, April 1, 2011

3 Bill and Oliver go to Lunch jan Pili en jan Oliwa li tawa moku.*189*

P: jan Oliwa o. toki
O: toki jan Pili o

P: mi wile moku.  sina wile kama poka mi anu seme?
O: wile.  mi sona e esun moku lon nasin ni.  one li pali e moku pona pi ma Sinko.

P: pona mute!  moku pi ma Sinko li pona tawa mi.  waso pi jan lawa So li pona mute tawa mi.
O:  esun ni li pali pi pona mute e ona.  kin la linja pan ona li sewi. tan ni la kulupu moku ona li pona mute.

P: o mi tu tawa esun ni!
O: kin la jan lawa pi esun ni li tan ma Winan.  tan ni la ona li pali e telo pimeja wawa lete pi telo meli ko

P: telo ni li pona.  taso mi moku e telo ni la mi pini moku.  esun ni li pali ala pali e pan suwi?
O: jan lawa li kama sona e pan suwi kepeken nasin pi ma Kanse.

P: esun ni li esun ala esun pi toki sina?
O: esun . o mi tu li tawa insa.


lon supa

O: moku ni li pona pi pilin uta.
P:  li pona lukin kin.  pana e telo pimeja.

O: kama
P: pona.  o selo e sama.  telo loje ni li kama e pilin pi seli wawa.

O: pona!  ken la wan tu ni li mute pona.  a! ike a! uta mi li pini pi seli mute!
P: o moku e pan walo.  kin la ko pi telo pimeja lete li kepeken tawa ike ni.

O: a!  ike li pini.  pona.  ante la sina sona ala sona e jan meli ni: ken la mi pona tawa jan ni? 
P: ken la sona.  mi sona e meli ni: ona li pona e ilo sona li pilin ike tan ni:  mije pi musi olin li tawa wawa weka poka jan pali meli ona li toki ala e ni tawa ona: ona mije li lon seme.  jan pona meli mi li wile e ni: ona li pilin pona sin.

O: mi wile sona e ijo mute ona. ona li sona ala sona?  ona li musi ala musi?  sitelen toki pana TaliTeki li pona ala pona tawa ona? ona li lukin pona ala pona?  moku pi ma Sinko li pona tawa ona?  ona li jan seme?
P: ona li jan Malija. ona li sona li musi li lukin pona pi mute lili.  mi sona ala e ijo pi pana TaliTeki e ijo pi moku pi ma Sinko.  sina kin wile sona e ijo ni tan ona.

O: pona.  mi wile kama sona e ona.  mi ke lukin e ona lon seme?
P:  ona li pali lon tomo esun ni.  mi wile e pona tawa sina. mi tawa.

O: pona. tawa pona. 
.