Toki Pata

General Information
As famed French poet, author, and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said: "'In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away...'"The creator of The Little Prince is referring above to airplane design, but let us never allow the context of quotations to reduce the feelings that such quotations create within us! Anyways, such was the guiding philosophy behind this project of mine. I call it the "minimized minimalist language" in that it is a smaller and more versatile version of another conlang: toki pona. If you haven't heard of toki pona before, I highly recommend you read more about it here and here. Much of what I reference and refer to may be confusing without this context. Plus, toki pona is simply an elegant and beautiful language worth learning.

Classification
toki pata is a tokiponido, which is to say that it is a child or offspring language of the artlang toki pona, created by linguist Sonja Lang (born Sonja Elen Kisa) in 2001 and finalized in 2014. In toki pona, the words 'toki pata' mean "sibling language."

It is very much like a dialect of the original mother tongue, reflecting my own usage of words and grammar, yet enough changes to toki pona (hereafter referred to as 'TP Classic') are present that it may justly be called a language in its own right. And while it is largely mutually intelligible for speakers and readers of TP Classic (with a lexicon consisting entirely of TP Classic words, two extinct TP Classic words, and just two new ones), it allows for new possibilities in minimalism by reducing the total word count (from 123 to a mere 91) and by permitting clearer negation and free word order. Just four words are added, and thirty-six words are taken away.

Allophones and Free Variation

 * /m/ and /n/ may be pronounced as /n/ when preceding /n/, /t/, /s/, or /l/; as /m/ when preceding /m/, /p/, or /w/; as /ŋ/ when preceding /k/; and as /ɲ/ when preceding /j/ or any vowel


 * /p/, /t/, /k/ may be pronounced as the voiced consonants /b/, /d/, /g/, respectively


 * /s/ may be pronounced as the voiced consonant /z/ or as the post-alveolar consonants /ʃ/ and /ʒ/


 * /w/ may be pronounced as /v/, /β/, or /ʋ/


 * /l/ may be pronounced as /ɹ/, /ɾ/, or /r/


 * /j/ may be pronounced as /ʎ/


 * /ä/ may be pronounced as any open or near-open vowel


 * /e̞/ may be pronounced as /e/ or /ɛ/


 * /i/ may be pronounced as /ɪ/


 * /o̞/ may be pronounced as /o/ or /ɔ/


 * /u/ may be pronounced as /ʊ/, /ɯ/, or /ʉ/

Phonotactics
toki pata's syllable structure is (C)V(N), with the sequences /ji, jin, ti, tin, wo, won, wu, wun/ being prohibited phonotactically. The are zero diphthongs, consonant clusters, or phonemic vowels lengths.

Prosody
Stress always falls on the initial syllable of a word, without exception. There are no phonemic distinctions between intonations or tones.

Morphology
The only type of morphological modification present in toki pata is the agglutination "-(a)la" that may added to the end of words to indicate negation. Whereas the word ala means not/zero, the "-(a)la" suffix means "un" or "anti." Thus, pimeja (black, dark) can be made into white by writing/saying pimejala.

Syntax
Normal word order is SVO (Subject, Verb, Object) but can also be in any order that a writer or speaker desires. To accomplish this, four particles are used for marking the sentence components. The word u will come before the subject or subjects, li will come before the predicate, e will come before the direct object or objects, and i will come before the indirect object or objects. Note that u may be omitted in SVO sentences, if desired.

Adverbs come after their modified verbs, and adjectives come after their modified nouns or pronouns. Like in TP Classic, the word la is used at the start of sentences to offset adverbial phrases or context phrases from the remainder of the sentence. Also as in TP Classic, the word pi is used for establishing complex adjective phrases by dividing a second adjective group that describes a first adjective group.

Grammatical Differences with Toki Pona
All grammar from TP Classic is maintained, with the following exceptions:
 * The first-person pronoun mi can also be realized as mina in both writing and spoken communication, to be more consistent with the visual aesthetics of sina and ona. Its meaning stays the same, regardless of whether mina is used as a simple pronoun or as a possessive one. Example sentence—jan Misali li utala e mama mina. (Mitch challenges my parents.)


 * The particle li is placed before all verb phrases without exception, even if the first-person or second-person pronouns precede it, to make predicate marking more regular. Example sentence—sina li lukin e akesi kon. (You look at the bird.)


 * The new particle i can be placed before words to indicate that they are indirect objects, as with direct objects and the particle e. Example sentence—mina li pana e moku ko i jan pona mina. (I give bread to my friend.) i also takes on the more prepositional functions of the word tawa such that tawa now only refers to physical movement.


 * The new particle u can be placed before the sentence subject to clearly identify it. This is unnecessary in SVO sentences but enables free-word-order when u is employed. Example sentence—i jan Lisa li pana e lipu lili u ona. (He gives the little book to Lisa.)


 * The particle en is also used between multiple verbs and multiple objects, in addition to multiple subjects. Example sentence—jan San en jan Jun li lukin en kute e jan lawa en jan moli. (John and June look at and listen to leaders and dead people.)


 * In the first significant break with TP Classic’s core fundamentals, toki pata uses mild agglutination by permitting the addition of the bound morpheme -(a)la to the end of words. As the word ala by itself means “not” or “zero,” the agglutinative affix -(a)la means “anti” or “un.” Words like pimeja can be rendered as pimejala (meaning un-black, or white.) Example sentence—akesi lili pona mina li kama jo e moku samala. (My good little animal comes to have [gets] different food.)

Due to the high prevalence of s-initial words in TP Classic (even after toki pata removes six s-words, there are still 11 remaining), a conscious effort was made to prioritize the removal of these words when possible, especially when a similar or opposite word began with a different letter. This is why akesi and lete remain in toki pata, while soweli and suli were removed.

Words Removed

 * alasa (hunting and foraging are covered by the “to look for” definition of lukin)
 * ante (can be indicated as samala)
 * awen (can be indicated as wekala)
 * ike (can be indicated as ponala)
 * jelo (can be indicated as kule suno [sun-colored])
 * kala (as “animal” in the general is indicated by akesi, any sea creature can be indicated by akesi telo)
 * kalama (can be indicated as toki; while there is a distinction difference between uttering/producing a noise and talking, this difference is not so great as to warrant two different words in a minimalist language)
 * kepeken (its prepositional meaning can be indicated with kan; its verbal meaning can be indicated by ilo)
 * kili (can be indicated as kasi moku)
 * kin (in TP Classic a synonym for a, toki pata also gives kin 's meaning of “indeed” to a)
 * kiwen (can be indicated as kola [or, as a noun, it may alter natively be indicated as wawa ma])
 * laso (can be indicated as kule kasi [green/blue])
 * loje (can be indicated as kule uta [mouth-colored])
 * oko (the word for “eye(s)” can be indicated as lukin)
 * meli (toki pata removes gender words)
 * mije (toki pata removes gender words)
 * mu (this animal noise onomatopoeia can be indicated by akesi toki [until such time as animals gain the ability to speak to humans or humans gain the ability to decipher animal noises, these noises will justly be tantamount to animal speech])
 * mun (this word is problematic, in that it refers both to Earth’s celestial satellite and to every other object in the cosmos that is not the Sun; to resolve this, toki pata recommends using either suno pimeja [dark Sun] or suno lape [sleeping Sun] to indicate “the Moon” and using suno samala [different Sun] to indicate “star”)
 * musi (its meanings are merged with the word nasa)
 * mute (can be indicated as lilila [for its meaning of "many/several"] or as a [for its meaning of "very"])
 * namako (if namako ever had a meaning distinct from sin, it was the definition “spice”; this definition is simply added to sin)
 * noka (this word was almost eliminated back in 2010, when it was on the chopping block to be replaced with anpa; this is just as well, because I have a[n unfortunate] penchant for the so-called “extinct” words, and it allows me to replace it with anpa now)
 * olin (as this is a type of/stronger variant of emotion [already covered by the word pilin], an appropriate approximate can be indicated by pilin lilila, pilin anpala, or pilin sewi)
 * pan (can be indicated as moku ko)
 * pini (can be indicated as openala)
 * pipi (as “animal” in the general is indicated by akesi, any insectoid and similar creature can be indicated as akesi lili [lili])
 * poki (can be indicated as tomo lili)
 * pu (perhaps the most unnecessary and most misused word in TP Classic [after pi, of course], pu has no place in toki pata)
 * seli (can be indicated as letela)
 * selo (can be indicated as insala)
 * sinpin (can be indicated as monsila)
 * soweli (as “animal” in the general is indicated by akesi, any land mammal can be indicated by akesi ma, or simply akesi)
 * suli (can be indicated as lilila)
 * suwi (can be indicated as pona)
 * walo (as TP Classic and toki pata both use subtractive colors and the color wheel model, “white” can be indicated as either kule ala [no color] or pimejala)
 * waso (as “animal” in the general is indicated by akesi, any creature of the skies can be indicated by akesi kon [air animal])

Words Added

 * i (PARTICLE: before the indirect object); (PREPOSITION: going to, toward; for; from the perspective of)
 * kan (PREPOSITION: with, among, in the company of; with the help of, with use of)
 * pata (NOUN: brother, sister, sibling)
 * u (PARTICLE: before the sentence subject [in non-SVO sentences])

Words with Additional/Modified Meanings

 * a (ADJECTIVE: also, too, even, indeed, additionally; very)
 * akesi (NOUN: animal)
 * anpa (NOUN: foot, leg, organ of locomotion; bottom, lower part)
 * en (PARTICLE: [between multiple subjects, verbs, and/or objects])
 * ilo (VERB: to use; to tinker with)
 * kon (VERB: to breathe, to inhale gaseous material)
 * moku (VERB: to eat, to consume food, to swallow food, to ingest solid material)
 * nasa (MODIFIER: artistic, frivolous, funny)
 * open (NOUN: beginning, birth, inception, initial point)
 * sin (NOUN: spice)
 * sitelen (VERB: to draw, to write)
 * sona (ADJECTIVE: knowledgable, wise)
 * tawa (VERB: to go, to move, to travel); (ADJECTIVE; going to, moving)
 * telo (VERB: to drink, to swallow liquids, to ingest liquid material)
 * tomo (NOUN: indoor space; building, home, house, room; vessel, container)

Lexicon
a akesi ala
 * PARTICLE: (emphasis, emotion or confirmation)
 * MODIFIER: also, too, even, indeed, additionally; very
 * NOUN: animal
 * MODIFIER: no, not, none
 * NUMERAL: zero

ali

anpa
 * NOUN: abundance, everything, life, universe
 * MODIFIER: all; abundant, countless, bountiful, every, plentiful
 * NUMERAL: 100
 * NOUN: foot, leg, organ of locomotion; bottom, lower part
 * MODIFIER: bowing down, downward, humble, lowly, dependent

anu
 * PARTICLE: or

e en esun i
 * PARTICLE: (before the direct object)
 * PARTICLE: (between multiple subjects, verbs, and/or objects)
 * NOUN: market, shop, fair, bazaar, business transaction
 * PARTICLE: (before the indirect object)

ijo ilo
 * PREPOSITION: going to, toward; for; from the perspective of
 * NOUN: thing, phenomenon, object, matter
 * NOUN: tool, implement, machine, device
 * VERB: to use; to tinker with

insa jaki
 * NOUN: center, content, inside, between; internal organ, stomach
 * NOUN: trash, filth
 * MODIFIER: disgusting, obscene, sickly, toxic, unclean, unsanitary

jan jo kama
 * NOUN: human being, person, somebody
 * VERB: to have, carry, contain, hold


 * VERB: to arrive, summon
 * PRE-VERB: to become, manage to, succeed in
 * MODIFIER: arriving, coming, future, summoned

kan kasi ken
 * PREPOSITION: with, among, in the company of; with the help of, with use of
 * NOUN: plant, vegetation; herb, leaf
 * VERB: to allow, to permit
 * PRE-VERB: to be able to, be allowed to, can, may
 * MODIFIER: possible

ko kon
 * NOUN: clay, clinging form, dough, semi-solid, paste, powder
 * NOUN: air, breath; essence, spirit; hidden reality, unseen agent

kule
 * VERB: to breathe, to inhale gaseous material
 * NOUN: color
 * MODIFIER: colorful, pigmented, painted

kulupu kute la lape
 * NOUN: community, company, group, nation, society, tribe
 * NOUN: ear
 * VERB: to hear, listen; pay attention to, obey
 * PARTICLE: (between the context phrase and the main sentence)
 * VERB: to sleep, rest
 * MODIFIER: sleeping, resting

lawa len lete li lili linja lipu lon luka lukin
 * NOUN: head, mind
 * VERB: to control, direct, guide, lead, own, plan, regulate, rule
 * NOUN: cloth, clothing, fabric, textile; cover, layer of privacy
 * MODIFIER: cold, cool; uncooked, raw
 * PARTICLE: (before the sentence predicate)
 * MODIFIER: little, small, short; few; a bit; young
 * NOUN: long and flexible thing; cord, hair, rope, thread, yarn
 * NOUN: flat object; book, document, card, paper, record, website
 * PREPOSITION: located at, present at, real, true, existing
 * NOUN: arm, hand, tactile organ
 * NUMERAL: five
 * NOUN: eye


 * VERB: to look at, look for, see, examine, observe, read, watch

lupa ma mama mani mi/mina moku
 * PRE-VERB: to seek, to look for; to try to
 * NOUN: door, hole, orifice, window
 * NOUN: earth, land; outdoors, world; country, territory; soil
 * NOUN: parent, ancestor; creator, originator; caretaker, sustainer
 * NOUN: money, cash, savings, wealth; large domesticated animal
 * PRONOUN: I, me, my, we, us, our
 * NOUN: food
 * VERB: to eat, to consume food, to swallow food, to ingest solid material

moli
 * NOUN: death
 * VERB: to die, kill
 * MODIFIER: dead, dying

monsi
 * NOUN: back, behind, rear

nanpa
 * NOUN: number
 * PARTICLE: -th (ordinal number)

nasa nasin nena ni nimi o ona open
 * MODIFIER: unusual, strange; foolish, crazy; drunk, intoxicated; artistic, frivolous, funny
 * NOUN: way, custom, doctrine, method, path, road
 * NOUN: bump, button, hill, mountain, nose, protuberance
 * MODIFIER: that, those; this, these
 * NOUN: name, word
 * PARTICLE: hey! O! (vocative or imperative mood)
 * PRONOUN: he, him, his; she, her, hers; they, their
 * NOUN: beginning, birth, inception, initial point
 * VERB: to begin, start; open; turn on

pakala pali palisa
 * MODIFIER: botched, broken, damaged, harmed, messed up
 * VERB: to do, try to, take action on, work on; build, make, prepare
 * NOUN: long hard thing; branch, rod, stick

pana pata pi pilin pimeja poka
 * VERB: to give, send, emit, provide, put, release
 * NOUN: brother, sister, sibling
 * PARTICLE: of (used to divide a second adjective group that describes a first adjective group)
 * NOUN: heart (physical or emotional)
 * MODIFIER: feeling (an emotion, a direct experience)
 * MODIFIER: black, dark, unlit
 * NOUN: hip, side; next to, nearby, vicinity

pona
 * VERB: to improve, to fix, to repair, to make good
 * MODIFIER: good, positive, useful; friendly, peaceful; simple

sama seme sewi sijelo sike sin
 * MODIFIER: same, similar; each other
 * PREPOSITION: as, like
 * PARTICLE: what? which?
 * NOUN: area above, highest part, something elevated
 * MODIFIER: awe-inspiring, divine, sacred, supernatural
 * NOUN: body (of person or animal), physical state, torso
 * NOUN: round or circular thing; ball, circle, cycle, sphere, wheel
 * MODIFIER: of one year
 * NOUN: spice
 * MODIFIER: new, fresh; additional, another, extra, more

sina sitelen
 * PRONOUN: you, your
 * NOUN: image, picture, representation, symbol, mark, writing

sona suno supa
 * VERB: to draw, to write
 * VERB: to know, be skilled in, be wise about, have information on
 * PRE-VERB: to know how to
 * MODIFIER: knowledgable, wise
 * NOUN: sun; light, brightness, glow, radiance, shine; light source
 * NOUN: horizontal surface, thing to put or rest something on

tan taso tawa telo
 * PREPOSITION: by, from, because of
 * PARTICLE: but, however
 * MODIFIER: only
 * VERB: to go, to move, to travel
 * MODIFIER: going to, moving
 * NOUN: water, liquid, fluid, wet substance; beverage
 * VERB: to drink, ingest liquid material

tenpo toki tomo tu u unpa uta
 * NOUN: time, duration, moment, occasion, period, situation
 * VERB: to communicate, say, speak, say, talk, use language, think
 * NOUN: indoor space; building, home, house, room; vessel, container
 * NUMERAL: two
 * PARTICLE: (before the sentence subject [in non-SVO sentences])
 * VERB: to have sexual or marital relations with
 * NOUN: mouth, lips, oral cavity, jaw
 * VERB: to kiss, taste

utala wan wawa weka
 * VERB: to battle, challenge, compete against, struggle against
 * MODIFIER: unique, united
 * NUMERAL: one
 * MODIFIER: strong, powerful; confident, sure; energetic, intense
 * VERB: to leave, to be absent; to ignore
 * MODIFIER: absent, away, ignored

wile
 * NOUN: desire, will
 * PRE-VERB: must, to need to, to require to, should, to want to, to wish to

(Beautiful Woman) ~jan pona~
jan pona o a!

sina li lape lon poka mina.

linja pi kule suno sina li lon luka mina.

mina li pilin e sijelo sina.

mina li pilin e letela sina.

mina li lukin e lukin pi kule kasi sina. 

mina li lukin e insa sina.

ponala! ponala!

li kama u suno.

sina li wile tawa.

jan mina o, mina li pilin lilila e sina!

sina li pona lilila!

jan mina o tawa pona.

o tawa pona.

(Psalm 23)
jan sewi Jawe li lawa e mina sama akesi.

mina li wile e ala.

ona li kama e ni: mina li lape lon ma pi kule kasi.

ona li lawa e mina lon poka pi telo pi toki ala. ona li sin e kon mina.

ona li lawa e mina lon nasin pona; ona li pona a.

mina li lon ma anpa moli pimeja la mina li pilin ala ponala tan ni: li lon poka mina u sina. palisa sina li kama e ni: ala li ken pakala e mina.

li pali e moku lilila i mina u sina.

mina li moku la jan ponala mina ali li ken lukin e mina.

taso mina li jan pona sina.

telo lilila li lon tomo lili mina.

tenpo suno mina ali la pona sina en pilin lilila sina li lukin e mina. tenpo ali la mina li lon tomo pi jan sewi Jawe.

(Alone) ~wan taso~
li moku e mina u ijo.

mina li wile pakala.

pimeja li tawa insa kon mina.

jan ala li ken sona e pilin ponala mina.

toki nasa o, sina li jan pona mina wan taso.

telo pimeja ni li telo pi kule uta mina, li ali mina.

tenpo ali la li lon u pimeja.

(Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
jan ali li kama lon nasin ni: ona li ken tawa li ken pali. jan ali li kama lon sama. jan ali li jo e ken pi pilin lilila. jan ali li ken pali e wile pona ona.

jan ali li jo e ken pi sona pona e ken pi pali pona. jan ali li wile pali nasin ni: ona li jan pona pi samala

(Kiss Me!) ~o uta e mi!~
o pilin e uta mina kan uta sina.

o uta e mina!

taso jan li ken toki e ni: “o uta e mina” li sona e ni: “o pilin e luka mi kan uta sina.”

li wile uta u mina e uta sina.

(The Small Fruit) ~kasi moku lili~
mina li jo e kasi moku.

ona li pona li lili.

mina li moku lili e kasi moku lili.

(The Chewbacca Defense)
jan pi kulupu sona o, jan toki pi jan Chef li wile a e ni: sina li sona e ni: tenpo openala la jan Chef li pali e toki nasa “Stinky Britches.”

toki ona li wawa.

a! mina li pilin ponala i jan Chef!

taso jan pi kulupu sona ni o, mina li wile e ni: sina li sona e ijo wan pi nanpa openala.

jan pi kulupu sona o, ni li jan Supaka.

jan Supaka li pi kulupu Waki lon ma Kese.

taso tomo pi jan Supaka li lon ma Ento.

o pilin e ni. ni li nasa!

jan Waki li lilila a. tomo ona li lon ma Ento tan seme? jan Iwa li lili lilila.

ni li nasa!

taso o sona e ni: ni li lilila ala lilila i toki utala ni? lilila ala! jan pona o, ona li lili i toki utala ni!

ona li nasa!  

o lukin e mina.

mina li jan toki. mina li pali i kulupu esun pi toki nasa. taso mina li pana e sona pi jan Supaka.

ni li nasa, anu seme?

jan pona o, toki mina li nasa.

ali li nasa!  

o sona e ni: sina li lon tomo sona li toki li samala e toki Emancipation Proclamation... ona li pona ala pona?

pona ala! jan pi kulupu sona o, ona li nasa!

tomo pi jan Supaka li lon ma Ento la kulupu esun mi li pona!

mi openala toki.

(Biblical Creation) ~tenpo open~
tenpo open la jan sewi li pilin e kon sewi e ma i lon. ma ali li jo e ijo ala. pimeja lilila li lon. taso jan sewi li lon li wile pali. ona li toki e ni: suno o li lon! tenpo ala la suno li suno lon ma ali. jan sewi li nimi e ni i suno: tenpo suno. ona li nimi a e ni i pimeja: tenpo pimeja.

tenpo suno pi nanpa tu li kama. jan sewi li toki e ni: ijo sewi lilila o li lon! ijo sewi lilila li kama. jan sewi li nimi e ni i ona: ijo sewi lilila.

tenpo suno pi nanpa tu wan la jan sewi li pali e telo lilila a. ona li pali a e ma sewi en ma supa en ma lon telo lilila en ma lon poka telo. ona li pali e kasi lilila pi pona lukin.

tenpo suno pi nanpa tu tu la jan sewi li pali e suno sewi lilila en suno pimeja en suno sewi lili samala.

tenpo suno pi nanpa tu tu wan la jan sewi li pali e akesi telo ali. ona li pali a e akesi kon ali.

tenpo suno pi nanpa tu tu tu la jan sewi li pali e akesi lilila. ona li pali e akesi pi pona lukin en akesi pi ponala lukin. ona li pali e akesi wawa en akesi wawa ala. tenpo suno ni la jan sewi li pali a e jan. jan sewi li pali openala. ona li toki e ni: ali li pona.

tenpo suno pi nanpa tu tu tu wan la jan sewi li lape.

Acknowledgements
Many people were indispensable in the creation of this conlang, whom I would like to take the opportunity to thank.

jan Tumo—For numerous suggestions and feedback in the planning stages.

jan Pitelo—For first coming up with the color system that toki pata uses.

jan Sewi—For first inspiring this project.

(jan) apeja Akesi—For helping extensively with grammar improvements and typos in the later stages.