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A.2.29: kala kule mute

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 10:06 am
by jan Jon
Hi, I hope this hasn't been asked before. I couldn't find anything in the forum.

I tried to read the text A.2.29 "kala kule mute" from the book "Toki Pona, the language of good - the simple way of life".
I had quite some difficulties and I think I found out why:

Doesn't "kala kule mute" mean "many colorful fish"?
The supposed meaning "rainbow fish" should be "fish of many colors", thus "kala pi kule mute", shouldn't it?

Same thing with "kala luka mute". Doesn't this mean "many fish with arm", or maybe "fish 5 + 20". OK, that last one is pretty far fetched, but it certainly cannot mean "fish with many arms", can it?

Am I right here?

Re: A.2.29: kala kule mute

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:27 am
by janKipo
Yes, you are right on all counts (the number case should be 'mute luka' since tp numbers go in descending order). I don't know what happened here. I expect it comes from Pije having a restricted view of 'pi', but even that doesn't help, since these cases fit within his restricted view.
I need to read all the textbooks again with a more critically. Thanks for the heads-up.