Toki Pona Analysis: Parts of Speech
pisceyo | 2019
Heads up: This is a long post!
So, I think there are some misunderstandings of internal / meta Toki Pona structures in the community on both ends. Regarding parts of speech (hereon referred to as PoS), many beginners may get caught up in "can this word be a noun?" or "how do I say X if Y is a verb?" Every language has its parts of speech, and while there are lots of similarities, there are plenty that deal with this matter differently than say, English (a language I believe most in thus sub speak). In this post I'm going to be breaking down what the actual distinct parts of speech are in toki pona. Thank you to my friends on ma pona for helping me clear up some blockages!
1. Content Words
Def.: A word with its own semantic value and range that cannot be used to perform any specialty grammatical or syntactic functions.
Content words are the majority of the dictionary in Toki Pona. Examples include moku, telo, and sinpin. Content words can be the head of a phrase [moku pona], they can modify heads [moku pona], they can be in verb slots [mi moku], etc. They cannot, however, act as particles or any other specialty part of speech to function as anything other than semantic value.
2. Prepositions
Def.: A word that can form new prepositional phrases and heads in a clause, but can also function as a content word and holds semantic value when mediating grammatical functions.
Prepositions are a closed class of the following words: tawa, lon, sama, kepeken, and tan.
These words, as stated in the definition, are unique in that they can function as grammatical/syntactic units, however they also have semantic value. For example: mi moku kepeken ilo trans.: I eat with a fork. mi moku tawa ilo trans.: I eat for a fork. or ona li jan pona sama moku trans.: She is a friend akin to food.
Whether or not prepositions can directly modify heads in all slots is up for debate between differing perspectives. I've seen convincing proof for them modifying heads (plus its not uncommon for people to already do), but I won't discuss that in this post. The semantic value of prepositions also allows them to function as content words, such as: mi tawa (I go) or mi sona ala e tan (I don't know why)
3. Preverbs
Def.: A word that can precede a verb, in contradiction to typical modifier order, to add additional semantic or aspectual information, but can also function as a content word.
Preverbs are very similar to prepositions in some regards. They are specialty words that hold function, while also holding semantic value and the capacity to be a content word.
Some examples of preverbs: wile, kama, lukin. Example sentences: mi wile moku // mi kama lape. As content words: sina wile e seme? // mi kama.
Preverbs are slightly more open, in that there are certain preverbs not explicitly listed that are commonly in use. For example, the usage of alasa as "to try/attempt at," open for "to start to/begin to," etc. Even with these examples, preverbs are still a relatively small closed class of set words.
4. Particles
Def.: A word that can perform grammatical or syntactic functions that has no semantic value or capacity to take on another part of speech
Particles include li, e, en, pi, etc. They function solely for grammatical and syntactic operations. Although each particle performs a separate function, they all demonstrate this behavior. Examples: ona li moku // sina lukin e ni.
Note: pi is the particle equivalent of a neutral preposition. It starts new heads in phrases, but has no additional semantic value between operations. Similarly, li could be said to be the particle equivalent of preverbs.
5. Semiparticles
Def.: A word that performs as a content word, but can also perform specialized grammatical or syntactic functions akin to a particle.
This class of words is much smaller, but because of a few outliers in the behavior of vocabulary, it exists! The semiparticles are: taso and nanpa. Additionally, kin could be said either to be a semiparticle or in the category with a later on, depending on the speaker's usage (more later).
A particle cannot hold any semantic value or act as a content word, right? So then, how does nanpa function in jan nanpa wan ? It is a semiparticle, because nanpa is a content word (meaning numeral, etc), but also performs specialized grammatical function without syntax in converting numerals into ordenals ("first person").
Then there is taso, which is also a content word such as in mi wile e moku taso ("I want only food"). However, it can also act as a conjunction/link between sentences at the beginning of a sentence such as in taso mi wile ala.
Where kin fits in is its usage as a head. The usage of kin varies from speaker to speaker, either being identical in semantics to a, separate in usage but identical in syntactic behavior to a, or as a potential content word and semiparticle.
6. Interjections
Def.: A word or phrase that when isolated can act as an exclamation, response, reaction, etc.
Interjections are potential functions of content words and some particles.
The potential interjections are:
pona, ike, lon, nasa, jaki, pakala, a, o, mu, ken, [content word] pona, sama, suwi, toki, (answer to a yes/no question)*
Example: pona! // lon! // a! sina lon
As in the list of interjections, phrases such as moku pona, tawa pona, etc. that would typically break some kind of grammatical rule (such as the dropping of o) can stand alone.
7. Loaned Adjectives
Def.: A proper name or word that is loaned and acts solely as a modifier to a native Toki Pona content word.
These are pretty self explanatory. Examples include names and proper place names. ma Sonko or jan Salan
Lastly... a or the Emphatic Particles !
a is a special word, in that it is partially an interjection, partially a particle, and maybe a little of something else! It often acts like a modifier, adding emphasis to a word or sentence with a hint of emotional comment as well. However, because it can modify an entire sentence when at the end, this behavior says its not just a content word. It also cannot form its own heads or phrases as all content words can. a doesn't really perform a syntactic operation either. Thus, it gets its own category. One could potentially call it an emphatic particle.
However, a isn't necessarily alone. As most of the community uses it, kin is nearly identical to a in where it appears, except it offers a separate kind of emphasis than a does, without the emotional content.
And that's it! The parts of speech in Toki Pona and their functions. There's a lot of stuff I didn't touch on in this that can break down even further, so I plan on making some more of these analysis posts for different topics. Hopefully this was helpful, feel free to leave questions, comments, or let me know if I left anything out!
https://www.reddit.com/r/tokipona/comments/df0zbi/toki_pona_analysis_parts_of_speech/
