Learning a new language: Toki Pona

tokipona · note · September 26, 2024 · 225 words

I’ve been learning Toki Pona for the last week. It’s a really interesting language.

A post I read the other day describes Toki Pona better, so please read the explanation there if you wish to know more. But to quote:

Toki Pona is a constructed language invented by linguist Sonja Lang in 2001. Its defining feature is its incredibly limited vocabulary – there are only around 120 words in the entire language. It has a very limited set of grammatical rules and is easily learned within a week or so.

It really is easy to learn. I picked it up in a few hours by calling a friend who also wanted to figure out how it works, and we translated sentences and went through the dictionary together. I also watched a video by RobWords as sort of a primer on the language’s history and community. I really like jan Kekan San’s lessons and jan Polijan’s vlogs for learning.

The community is very friendly, too.

I find it really fun to try translating things. It’s almost like a puzzle to describe complex concepts in the limited selection of words.

I haven’t spoken to anyone in Toki Pona yet. I hope I can do that soon.

mi wile a sitelen e lipu kepeken toki pona!

(short unorganized post because I just wanted to get these thoughts out)