lipu mute pi jan lili

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
soweliPeka
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Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:30 pm

Re: lipu mute pi jan lili

Post by soweliPeka »

janAetherStar wrote:*sitelen
mi sona ala e toki sina ni: 'tenpo pimeja ijo'.
sina toki e ni: 'ken la sina lukin tawa nimi ike anu seme?'. taso, mi pilin e ni: sina wile toki e ni: 'ken la sina lukin e lipu mute. nimi pi lipu mute li ike la o toki e ni tawa mi.'
tenpo kama la mi ken. taso tenpo ni la mi jo e tenpo lili. o pana e lipu mute tawa mi. mi lukin e ona. :)
sina pona!
*sitelen -> thanks. :)

tenpo pimeja ijo -> some night

It was my understanding that tawa could mean either 'to' or 'for'? In which case ' 'ken la sina lukin tawa nimi ike anu seme?' would be 'possibly (la) you look for bad words or something?' You're way definitely works too.

pona!
janKipo
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Re: lipu mute pi jan lili

Post by janKipo »

jan soweliPeka o
sina ken sitelen e nimi 'mi open sitelen' taso. ken la sina sona e nimi 'mi pana e sitelen tawa ni' ("so that" rather than "because") lukin la sina wile toki e nimi 'sina lukin e nimi'
sina wile toki e nimi 'tenpo pimeja' taso e nimi 'ijo' ala. ("some" is implicit).
"look for" is probably 'alasa'
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janAetherStar
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Re: lipu mute pi jan lili

Post by janAetherStar »

Also, 'with 'ken la sina lukin tawa nimi ike anu seme?', wouldn't the 'for' mean more so that I look 'for' (um, the only English way I can describe this is 'for as in, as a favour for', like that kinda) the bad words? Just wondering. Anyhows, made another vid :) jan lili sina li meli lili anu mije lili? seme li pona mute tawa ona?
pipi Pasi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h53zTNk ... e=youtu.be
ale li pona. :)
sina o sona e ni.
soweliPeka
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Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:30 pm

Re: lipu mute pi jan lili

Post by soweliPeka »

I did some more digging for the usage of 'tawa' as 'for', and while every toki pona dictionary says it can be used for 'for', it's never really described as to which 'for' it can be. My usage may have been improper. Maybe a more experienced speaker can shed some light? I was using it as a preposition, in the sense of definition 1b in the Merriam-Webster dictionary: 1b —used as a function word to indicate an intended goal <left for home> <acted for the best>.

sitelen tawa ni li pona! mi lukin e ona poka jan lili mi. mi pana e pona tawa sina!
janKipo
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Re: lipu mute pi jan lili

Post by janKipo »

Yes, 'tawa' basically connotes a goal, target, or the like and so is proper for purposes. But the point is that bad words are not a purpose here (*finding* bad words may be), rather the "for" in English is a part of the verb "look for" [seek] and there attaches to the direct object (I like to think that tp is easier than English and this is part of the argument, but probably doesn't really help).
soweliPeka
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Re: lipu mute pi jan lili

Post by soweliPeka »

Interesting. Well, sounds good. Thanks for the advice and help, all!
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