Toki Pi Jan Sin

This is a short story from the point of view of Kiwenawen, a member of a Toki Pona-speaking primitive semi-nomadic community. One day, some strangers come to the village where Kiwenawen's band is staying.

Toki Pi Jan Sin
toki! nimi mi li Kiwenawen. mi jan lawa pi kulupu mi. mi mute li awen lon ma tomo Mapikasisulijala. ma tomo mi li suli li jo e jan mute.
tenpo suno luka luka pini la, jan sin mute li kama tawa ma tomo ni. ona li toki tawa jan pi ma tomo ni kepeken toki nasa. mi ken ala sona e toki ona. ona li toki e ni: "su ili ala luwi" tawa mi. mi toki e ni: "o toki pona sona!" tawa ona. ona li sona ala. ona li toki e ni: "e tosu japuka." mi kama sona. ona ken ala toki e toki mi! mi wile pana e sona pi toki mi tawa ona. mi tawa e luka mi tawa mi. mi toki e ni: "mi jan Kiwenawen". jan ni li tawa e lawa ona li toki e ni: "mi Tajenatamiselo. e jankiwenawen." mi tawa e lawa mi. mi toki e ni: "mi jan Kiwenawen. sina jan Tajenatamiselo" tawa ona. jan Tajenatamiselo li tawa e lawa ona. ona li toki e ni: "lupa name kiwenawen kasana?" tawa jan pona ona. ona li open e luka li toki "su jan Linalanesoni." mi sona ala. *nimi 'su' li toki seme?* mi toki e ni: "ale li jan pona". jan Tajenatamiselo li toki e ni: "ale li jan Linalanesoni." Ken la nimi 'Linalanesoni' li nimi tu 'jan pona' kepeken toki mi.
jan Tajenatamiselo li kama jo e kiwen suli pi kule walo pimeja tawa poki len ona. ona li toki e ni: "sina sana mikuka." mi sona ala la, mi tawa e lawa mi. mi toki e ni: "mi sona ala." mi lukin e kiwen ni. mi toki e ni: "ona li kiwen." jan Tajenatamiselo li toki e ni: "kiwen li naka." kiwen ni li pona tawa mi. mi toki e ni: "naka sina li pona lukin." *lawa pi jan Tajenatamiselo li kama e lawa jan pi sona ala. tenpo nanpa tu la mi toki e ni: "kiwen sina li pona lukin." ona li tawa e palisa luka ona tawa mi li toki e ni: "kiwen." ken la ona wile e ni: mi kama jo e kiwen ante. mi kama jo e kiwen walo tan ma li* pana e kiwen ni tawa jan Tajenatamiselo. ona li tawa e lawa ona li pana e kiwen walo tawa mi. ona li toki e ni: "ja." mi sona ala. ona li toki e ni: "ja ala." mi kama sona. nimi 'ja' pi toki ona li nimi 'ala' pi toki mi. jan Tajenatamiselo li toki e ni: "mi wesana kiwen luwi. sina mi kiwen linaka." mi sona ala. mi toki e ni: "sina wile ala wile kiwen sama pi kiwen sina?" ona li lukin sama sona ala. ona li tawa e palisa luka ona tawa ona li toki e ni: "mi luwilo." Ona li tawa e palisa luka ona tawa kiwen ni li toki e ni: "kiwen". ona wile kiwen sama. mi kama sona. mi toki e ni: "o kama jo e kiwen sama pi kiwen pi jan sin!" tawa jan pona mi. jan Teloloje li kama sona e ni: ona jo e kiwen mute pi kule walo pimeja. jan Selinsa li kama sona e ni: ona jo e kiwen suli ni tu wan. ali ante li jo e kiwen li kama. kulupu kiwen li suli sama jan. mi kulupu e kiwen ni sinpin mi. mi toki e ni: "o jan Tajenatamiselo, sina luwilo ja luwilo kiwen mi?" ona li nanpa e kiwen ni.
uta ona li anpa li toki tawa jan pona ona e ni: "lisa kipalisana?" jan ante li toki e ni: "miselo tosusuli." jan Tajenatamiselo li toki e ni: "puwawi sipelijaja." jan ante li tawa. ona li jo e ilo kiwen tu li kama. ilo ni li suli, li kule walo. ona li lukin sama nena. sike tu li lon poka ona. mi sona ala e ni: kepeken ona li seme. mi toki e ni: "kepeken pi ijo ni li seme?" tawa jan Tajenatamiselo. ona li sona ala e toki mi. mi tawa ijo nasa. mi lukin sama sona ala li toki e ni: "seme?" jan Tajenatamiselo li toki e ni: "sulosaso." mi toki e ni: "kepeken pi ijo Sulosaso li seme?" ona li toki e ni: "sulosasopa tunijasi palisana?" tawa jan ona. jan tu li jo e linja tu li kama. ona li pana awen e linja ni lon ijo Sulosaso. ona li jo e linja li tawa sinpin. ijo Sulosaso li pali e lupa lon ma. ona li tawa li pali e lupa sama linja. mi tawa e palisa luka mi tawa lupa ni li toki e ni: "kepeken pi lupa ni li seme?". jan Tajenatamiselo li toki e ni: "keke lupa kali tekikusi meju kasi." mi sona ala. lupa lon ma li pona seme? ona li tawa e lawa ona li toki e ni: "kalawi mesona?" jan ante li pana e ijo lili mute tawa ona. ona li pana e ijo lili ni lon lupa li pana e ma anpa lupa ni. ona li nasa. ona li toki e ni: "mikuka." mi sona ala la, ona li toki e ni: "miku ja miku." mi toki e ni: "mi sona ala". ona li tawa e kon tawa uta. ona li toki e ni: "sulosaso kajekan. ala." ijo Sulosaso li ike pi pana luka la, mi tawa monsi. ona li toki e ni: "alan." mi awen. ona li kama pilin ike li toki e ni: "sulosaso sina." mi toki e ni: "mi jo ja jo e ijo Sulosaso?". tenpo pi nanpa tu la ona li toki e ni: "sulosaso sina." ona li toki e ni: "ponaku ojalatu janijosinasata. samiwijamatu nijena." tawa jan pona ona. mi toki e ni: "sina mute wile e ni: sina li awen en mi mute la, o awen! kulupu mi li suli li ken kama jo e sina." jan Tajenatamiselo li toki e ni: "mi na. lilisin." ona mute tawa. tenpo suno ni pini la, jan li lukin ala e jan Tajenatamiselo anu jan pona ona.
ijo Sulosaso li suli ike. mi mute li tawa tan ma tomo Mapikasisulijala la, mi weka e ijo Sulosaso lon ni. jan Tajenatamiselo li nasa. ona li wile e kiwen mute pi pona lukin li pana e ijo tu nasa en suli ike. kiwen pi pona lukin li suli ala. ijo sin en nasa li suli ala. jan Telosuwi o! sina kute e toki mi la, sina sona e tan ijo tu nasa li lon ma tomo Mapikasisulijala. mi tawa.
Tale of the Foreigners
Hello! My name is Kiwenawen. I am the chief of my group. We stay in the village of Mapikasisuliyala (treeless land). It is large and has many people.
Ten days ago, many new people came to this village. They spoke to the people of the village in a strange tongue. I could not understand their speech. He said to me, "Su ili ala luwi."¹ I said to him, "Speak intelligibly*!" He did not understand. He said, "E tosu yapuka."² I understood. He could not speak my speech! I wanted to teach him my speech. I pointed at myself. I said, "I am Kiwenawen." He nodded and said, "Me Tayenatamiselo. E Yankiwenawen."³ I nodded. (I need a new word for 'to nod', or a new expression.) I said to him, "I am Kiwenawen. You are Tayenatamiselo." Tayenatamiselo nodded. He said to his men, "Lupa name kiwenawen kasana?"⁴ He opened his hand and said, "Su jan Linalanesoni."⁵ I did not understand. *What does the word 'su' mean?* I said, "We are all friends." Tayenatamiselo said, "We are all Linalanesoni." Maybe the word 'Linalanesoni' is the word 'friend' in my speech.
Tayenatamiselo took a big stone of a dark white color from his pocket. He said, "You sana mikuka."⁶ I did not understand, so I shook my head (need better word for that). I said, "I do not understand." I looked at the stone. I said, "It is a stone." Tayenatamiselo said, "Stone is naka."⁷ I liked the stone. I said, "Your naka is pretty." Confusion passed over Tayenatamiselo's face. I said again, "Your stone is pretty." He pointed his finger at me and said, "Stone." Maybe he wanted me to take a different stone. I picked up a white stone and gave the stone to Tayenatamiselo. He shook his head and gave me the white stone. He said, "Ya."⁸ I did not understand. He said, "Ya no."⁹ I understood. The word 'ya' in his speech is the word 'no' in my speech.¹⁰ Tayenatamiselo said, "I wesana stone luwi. You me stone linaka."¹¹ I did not understand. I said, "Do you want a stone like your stone?" He looked like he did not understand. He pointed at himself and said, "Me luwilo."¹² He pointed at me and said, "Stone." He wanted a similar stone. I understood. "Get stones like the newcomers' stone!" I said to my friends. Teloloye realized that he had many gray stones. Selinsa remembered that she had three big stones. All the others found stones and came. The group of stones was as big as a man. I gathered the stones beside me. I said, "Tayenatamiselo, do you want my stones?" He counted the stones.
His jaw fell open and he called to his men, "lisa kipalisana?"¹³ Another man said, "Miselo tosusuli."¹⁴ Tayenatamiselo said, "Puwawi sipeliyaya."¹⁵ The others left. They came carrying two metal objects. They were big and white. They were vaguely hill-shaped. There were two wheels on its sides. I did not know what their purpose was. I asked Tayenatamiselo "What is the purpose of this thing?" He did not understand what I said. I went up to the strange thing. I looked confused and asked, "What?" Tayenatamiselo said, "Sulosaso."¹⁶ I said, "What is a sulosaso for?" He said, "Sulosasopa tuniyasi palisana?" to them.¹⁷ Two people took two ropes and came. They tied (pana awen 'make stay') the ropes to the sulosaso. They took the ropes and moved forward. The sulosaso made a hole in the ground. It moved and made a hole like a line. I pointed at the hole and asked, "What is the purpose of this hole?" Tayenatamiselo said, "Keke hole kali tekikusi meju kasi."¹⁸ I did not understand. What is a hole in the ground good for? He shook his head and said, "Kalawi mesona?"¹⁹ Someone gave many small things to him. He put them in the hole and covered the hole with earth. He was crazy. He said, "Mikuka."²⁰ I did not understand, so he said, "Miku ya miku."²¹ I said, "I do not understand." He sighed. He said, "Sulosaso kayekan. No."²² Since the sulosaso was bad to touch, I backed up. He said, "Alan?"²³ I stood still. He grew angry and said, "Sulosaso you." I asked, "Is the sulosaso mine?" He said again, "Sulosaso you." He said to his friends, "Ponaku oyalatu yaniyosinasata. Samiwiyamatu niyena."²⁴ I said, "If you want to stay with us, stay! My group is large and can support you." Tayenatamiselo said, "Me na. Lilisin."²⁵ They left. After that day, no one saw Tayenatamiselo or his friends.
The sulosaso were too big. When we left the village of Mapikasisuliyala, we left the sulosaso there. Tayenatamiselo was crazy. He wanted many pretty stones and gave two strange, over-large things. Pretty stones aren't important. Strange new things aren't important. Telosuwi! Now that you have heard my story, you know the reason why two strange objects are at Mapikasisuliyala. Farewell.

Confused? You can read the story from Tayenatamiselo's (Dainada Mizelo) point of view here (Tale of the Ponaku). Dainada is a Retiku, a member of my race of spacefarers, and he understands the odd device he gives Kiwenawen.

Language Notes:

There are three languages spoken in this story; Toki Pona (Kiwenawen's native language), Ziotaki (Dainada Mizelo's native language), and Alaretiki (a simplified version of Ziotaki used as a trade jargon, spoken by Dainada).

If, for some reason, you read this story despite not knowing Toki Pona, two very good sites are www.tokipona.org and Pije's Toki Pona Page. They explain Toki Pona much better than I can.

Ziotaki and Alaretiki are my own creations; click here for my site on Ziotaki. Both Ziotaki and Alaretiki use SOV word order, prepositions, and place adjectives before nouns. Dainada Mizelo's attempts at Toki Pona use Ziotaki/Alaretiki word order, which sounds as mangled to Kiwenawen as it does to an English-speaker. An interesting detail of Ziotaki is that it uses rising intonation on commands and falling intonation on questions, which is why Kiwenawen hears Dainada's orders as questions and Dainada's questions as statements.

1) Alaretiki Su yi li ala lui 'We with you trade want'

2) Alaretiki He tozu yabu ga? 'You what speak?'

3) Alaretiki Mi Dainada Mizelo, he Yankiwenawen 'Me Dainada-Mizelo, you Yankiwenawen'

4) Ziotaki Rupa namei Kiwenawen gača na! 'His name is Kiwenawen!'

5) Alaretiki-Toki Pona Su jan Linaranesauni 'We are (the) Linaranesauni'

6) Alaretiki-Toki Pona Sina sana miku ga? 'You this know?'

7) Alaretiki-Toki Pona Kiwen lina ga? 'Stone have?'

8) Alaretiki/Ziotaki ya 'no'

9) Alaretiki ya ala 'no trade'

10) By sheer coincidence, he is right, though that is not what Dainada meant to say!

11) Alaretiki-Toki Pona Mi ve sana kiwen lui. Sina mi kiwen lina ga? 'I like this stone want. You my stone have?'

12) Alaretiki Mi lui-lo 'that I want'

13) Ziotaki Lisa kyə pališana! 'let the merchandise be shown to them'

14) Ziotaki Mizelo, tozu suli? 'Mizelo, how much?'

15 Ziotaki fuahi, tipeliaha 'less than 216, 12 less'

16 Ziotaki surošažo 'plow'

17 Ziotaki Surošažopa θuniyasi pališana 'let the way to use a plow be shown'

18 Alaretiki-Toki Pona Keke lupa gari tekikuti mevu gati 'in hole seed drop-if, plant grow'

19 Ziotaki Garai mečona 'let the seeds be brought'

20 Alaretiki Miku ga? 'do you know?'

21 Alaretiki-Toki Pona Miku ya miku? 'do you know?'

22 Ziotaki-Alaretiki Surošažo kaixan. Ala. 'Take plow. Trade.'

23 Alaretiki Alan 'trade!'

24 Ziotaki Ponaku o alatu yaniosinaičata. Samihiama tu, nieina. 'The Pona people do not understand trade. We have fufilled our duty; let's go.'

25 Alaretiki Mi na. Lilizin. 'I am going. Goodbye.'