It's 2013, is toki pona suitable for general purpose use?

[janMato]

If it is suitable for general purpose use, then it is fair to expect it to be used everywhere. If it isn't, then it would only be fair to expect to be used for thing where tp is within its capabilities.

sina pilin ala pilin e ni: jan li ken kepeken toki pona tawa ijo ale anu seme?

If figure it's sort of like a domain specific language-- and outside that zone-- it isn't appropriate, sort of like a programming language.

[janKipo]

I confess I never think about this question, but since you bring it up... . Clearly tp is not going to work for major scholarly activities: science, philosophy, lit crit and the like, since does not have and cannot conveniently devise a technical vocabulary. It also lacks numbers of the sort sch enterprises require. But then, it lacks number that are required for the most ordinary activities: buying an orange or telling someone how to get in touch with you. But, were the number problem solved, tp still wouldn't do for most exchanges between strangers since so much of its success (when it has some) depends upon a mutual understanding of context and text and this cannot be generated rapidly, even within a basically same culture.

[Kuti]

It lacks nothing, because it hasn't been made for those purposes.

sina lukin ala lukin e lipu mute ni ?
http://en.tokipona.org/wiki/Category:Philosophy
http://en.tokipona.org/wiki/Category:Grammar

jan li toki kepeken nasin ni la ale li pona.

[janKipo]

lukin. taso wile sona ni li toki e ijo pi kama ali. toki pona li jo ala e nanpa suli tawa kama pi nanpa suli e nimi pi nasin sona tawa kama pi nasin sona. toki ni li namako: toki pona li jo e ali pi tawa kama pi toki pona. ante seme li sin?

[janMato]

lukin. taso wile sona ni li toki e ijo pi kama ali. toki pona li jo ala e nanpa suli tawa kama pi nanpa suli e nimi pi nasin sona tawa kama pi nasin sona. toki ni li namako: toki pona li jo e ali pi tawa kama pi toki pona. ante seme li sin?

It's a translation challenge!

"Saw it. But this question is talking (about) things of all arrivals. Tp doesn't have big numbers for arrivals of large quantity, nor names of science for arrivals of science. This speech is superflous- tp has everything for the arrivals of toki pona. What other (things) are new?"

Not groking "kama"

I favor language mixing for toki pona with occasional parallel texts so that each system of communication can be used where it seems more expressive. nasin ni li pona tawa mi: toki tu li kama wan.

[janSilipu]

Situation, context, what's happenin'

[Kuti]

as usual people just don't want to use tokipona Inside it's boundaries, and complain

|04:53:56| <xngoli> jan Kuti o, tenpo sina li tenpo ala tenpo tu tu?
|04:54:13| <xngoli> 4:53?
00|04:54:32| <Kuti> toki pona la mi kepeken ala e nanpa
00|04:55:00| <Kuti> "tenpo kama lili la suno li kama"

[janKipo]

I suppose the question is "What are tp's boundaries?" Some would confine them to what has been done or what Sonja says, others want to see how far they can be expanded toward dealing with the world of today. Both goals seem reasonable, but they do result in rather different languages at some point. Complaining about either one seems unreasonable, though: the expanders should try to solve problems conservatively, not complain that there are problems; the conservatives should critique solutions, not complain that they are attempted.