simple language lessons

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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Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:07 pm
Location: Boston, MA
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simple language lessons

Post by aikidave »

Here is an idea for a course in toki pona, which I found on another conlang (Kah) site.
Have multiple short lessons; maximum 8 or 10 new words per lesson. No grammar explanations, just a simple story. Story line builds as student
gains more vocabulary. Story is not translated, just presented so the student can figure out the meaning from the vocabulary. The idea is that
the short little vocabulary for each lesson is the only thing that has to be translated, to make the course tailored for ANY language. So toki pona
would be accessible to be learned by anyone.

I have attempted to translate the first 3 lessons into toki pona using this approach.
Please let me know if I have made any mistakes, or could present the ideas in a better way, especially where the characters address each other and give commands.

Lesson 1
jan Pije li lape. jan Pije li pini e lape. jan Pije li kute e mama meli ona. mama ona li toki e ni: "o Pije, sina pini e lape anu seme?" jan Pije li toki e ni: "ala. mi lape."

jan - person
lape - sleep
kama - becoming
mama - parent
meli - female
ona - his / her
kute - hear
toki - say
ni - this / that
pini - finish
anu - or
seme - what
ala - no, not
mi - I
sina - you
e - (marker separating verb from direct object)
li - (marker separating subject from verb)

Lesson 2
jan Pije li lape. tenpo kama suno li lon. jan Pije li kama pini e lape. jan Pije li kute e mama meli ona. mama ona li toki e ni: "jan Pije o pini e lape. tenpo kama suno li lon." jan Pije toki e ni: "mi kin lape". mama meli ona li toki e ni: "o, pini lape. toki!" jan Pije li toki e ni: "tenpo ni la mi pini e lape. mama meli o, suno pona." mama meli ona li toki e ni: "jan lili suwi mi o, suno pona. tenpo ni la sina o len."

tenpo - time
suno - sun
lon - is present
o - indicates a command
kin - still
pini - stop
toki - said
toki - hello
la - (marker separating a condition from the subject; condition can represent time)
pona - good
suwi - sweet
lili - little

Lesson 3
tenpo kama suno la jan Pije pini e lape. ona li anpa e monsi ona lon supa lape. ona li lukin e len ona. ona li len. ona li lukin ala e len pi noka anpa. jan Pije li toki e ni: "len pi noka anpa mi li lon seme?" mama meli ona li toki e ni: "len sina li lon anpa supa lape sina." jan Pije li lukin lon anpa supa lape ona. ona li lukin e len ona lon anpa supa lape sina. ona li len e len ona.

anpa - lower, bottom
monsi - bottom, rear end
supa - horizontal surface
lukin - look
len - clothing (n), dress (v)
noka - leg
pi - (marker which separates a noun from another noun that has an adjective; sometimes translated as 'of')
lon - at

English Translation

Lesson 001: Brian sleeps. Brian awakes. He hears his mother. His mother says: "Brian, are you awake"? Brian says: No. "I am asleep."

Lesson 002: Brian sleeps. It is morning. Brian awakes. He hears his mother. His mother says: "Brian, wake up. It is morning." Brian says: "I am still sleeping." His mother says: "Stop sleeping. Hello!" Brian said: "Yes, I am now awake. Good morning, mother." His mother says: "Good morning, dear. Now, get dressed."

Lesson 003: When Brian awakes it is morning. He sits on his bed. He finds his clothes. He gets dressed. He cannot find his shoes. Brian says: "where are my shoes?" His mother says: "Your shoes are under your bed." Brian looks under his bed. He finds his shoes under his bed. He puts on his shoes.
jan sewi kasi
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:21 pm

Re: simple language lessons

Post by jan sewi kasi »

Ni pona.

For me it would work, and I can pretty much understand what the stories say by looking at each word.

If I hadn't read already about the grammar, and didn't have a basic idea about grammar, then it might be a bit confusing at first, but since it's all fairly pona it shouldn't be hard to figure out.

I shall read through these several times. Thanks. :)
janKipo
Posts: 3064
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:20 pm

Re: simple language lessons

Post by janKipo »

ni li pona.
kama pona tawa toki pona.
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