Halloween

Language learning: How to speak Toki Pona, translation problems, advice, memory aids, tools and methods to learn Toki Pona and other languages faster
Lingva lernado: Kiel paroli Tokiponon, tradukproblemoj, konsiloj, memoraj helpiloj, iloj kaj metodoj por pli rapide lerni Tokiponon kaj aliajn lingvojn
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aikidave
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Halloween

Post by aikidave »

tenpo kama lili la ona li lon tenpo pimeja Alowen. jan lili li len e len musi. jan lili li pana e ijo musi selo sinpin ona. jan li lukin e ni: ona li pilin pona ala. jan lili li kalama lon lupa tomo. jan lili li kama jo e suwi. jan suli pi ali ala li len e len musi kin. jan ali li moku e suwi. jan li wile kon pona en sewi kon. jan lili li pali e sinpin kepeken kili jelo loje. jan li pana e ilo suno lon insa kili jelo loje.

Comments / corrections please.

In a little while it is the night of Halloween. Children wear costumes. They put masks on their face. People see them; they are frightened. Children knock on the doors of houses. They collect candy. Some adults wear costumes also. Everyone eats candy. We wish for good weather. Children make faces in pumpkins. People put candles inside pumpkins.
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jan Ote
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Re: Halloween

Post by jan Ote »

aikidave wrote:tenpo kama lili la ona li lon tenpo pimeja Alowen.
I think "ona" is not good here. There hasn't been any "he/she/it" mentioned before, to point at. Shouldn't it be something like: 'tenpo kama lili la tenpo pimeja Alowen li lon.' ? (if 'lon' can be used for periods of time.)
aikidave wrote:jan li wile kon pona en sewi kon.
The word "en" is not an universal equivalent of English "and". It's for joining two or more subjects of sentence. Did you mean: 'jan li wile kon pona li wile sewi kon'? But 'sewi kon' means 'heaven, sky', if I remember correctly, and you put it without 'pona' :)
aikidave
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Re: Halloween

Post by aikidave »

pakala ! I meant to write 'kon pona en sewi pona' for 'good weather'. In the old vocabulary lists, weather was listed as 'kon en sewi'. I meant to add 'pona' after both air and sky. But looking at it again, I don't know if I can use 'en' since weather is a compound word in the object position. But is weather a direct object? Wishes do not strictly act on weather. Should I be using 'e' ? jan li wile e kon pona e sewi pona.
Or maybe just wish for good skies and forget about the good air - jan li wile sewi pona.
jak Ote wrote:Shouldn't it be something like: 'tenpo kama lili la tenpo pimeja Alowen li lon.' ?
Good catch on the 'ona'. I like your suggestion and will try to remember this in the future.
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jan Ote
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Re: Halloween

Post by jan Ote »

One more interesting thing. What is the difference between:
tenpo kama lili la...
and
tenpo lili kama la... ?
I prefer the latter. For me it's a "small time to come la...". Short time will pass, then...
janKipo
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Re: Halloween

Post by janKipo »

Sorry, I should read the English too. So I misread several things.

jan li lukin e ni: ona li pilin pona ala.
I don't feel bad about missing this: it says "people see that they (I presumed the children, you meant the people, but not in this construction) are not feeling good"
I took it mean "People see that they (children) are evil, " i.e. look evil. Better -- for your sense -- 'jan li lukin e ona lili' jan ni li pilin ike. The 'e ni: Sentence' construction is pretty much for indirect discourse.

a so des' The dictionary "weather" is one of the grave mysteries of this business; I can't trace it back to a usage that explains what it means. In any case, the phrase is the direct object and so need 'e' and then the conjoined expression is also introduced by 'e' I am not sure how to handle a conjoined expression when the whole is to be modified 'kon en sewi pona' is ambiguous (I think) and nothing else is available. I would go for 'kon pona' (stupid jokes -- but maybe not the possibility of"laugh" -- aside).

Again "put/place a in/at b" is 'lon b e a'
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