non-time related conditionals using la

[aikidave]

I am trying to learn some of the other idioms using 'la' besides the ones for time. Here is my current list, mostly gleaned from jan Kipo's spreadsheet.

ante la - otherwise, on the other hand, on the contrary
ike la - unfortunately
kama la - afterwards, later
ken la - maybe
kin la - likewise, similarly
lawa la - mainly
lukin la - apparently, obviously, clearly
lon la - therefore, really, truly, currently
lon ni la - here
mi la - as for me, as far as I am concerned
ni li ken la - if possible
ni li pini la - after this
open la - to begin with
pana lukin la - for example
poka la - besides
poka ni la - by the way
pona la - happily, fortunately
sama la - similarly, likewise
sike la - periodically, from time to time
sin la - yet again, to start afresh
sona kama ala la - suddenly, unexpectedly
tan ni la - for this reason, this is why
tawa nasin pona la - going on the right path
tenpo ijo kama la - one of these days (future)
tenpo ijo la - once upon a time (past)
tenpo mun tu la - for two months
tenpo wan la - In the first place, at first

Comments / additions / discussion ?
Thanks

[jan-ante]

kin la - likewise, similarly

this is my "favorite". jKipo translated it as moreover. not the same to similarly, but i am not sure as i am not a native speaker. jan Pusa also used it, but without translation. as i could unserstand it mean really or indeed for him. also different from other meanings. there were some other usages, but i can`t remember right now. but to me kin la is nonsence, because kin is modifier only, emphasising the preceeding word

[jan Ote]

First, a part before "la" sets up a context for the sentence.

tenpo ijo kama la - one of these days (future)
tenpo ijo la - once upon a time (past)
tenpo mun tu la - for two months
tenpo wan la - In the first place, at first

These are time related.

ike la - unfortunately
pona la - happily, fortunately
tan ni la - for this reason, this is why
ken la - maybe

Unambigous, well established, quite often used.

ni li ken la - if possible
ni li pini la - after this
sama la - similarly, likewise

Clear.

mi la - as for me, as far as I am concerned

Rather unambigous, but doesn't seem to be really useful. It's an equivalent of "mi pilin e ni:...", used in other languages, but in fact redundant (it's me who is speaking, speaking my thoughts, no need to say it).

Toki Pona is also an introspective language, in that many idioms focus on the self. For example, a statement like sina pona, literally "you are good", always recognizes the speaker's values first, i.e. "In my experience, you are good." or in plain English "I like you".

kin la - likewise, similarly

As jan-ante said, "kin" is an intensifier. It emphasises the preceeding word, and has nothing in common with "similarity". So "kin la" emphasises all the sentence it stands before. English words "indeed", "verily" have the same function:
 kin la soweli suli pi nena tu li tawa insa lupa lili pi palisa pi pali len.

The rest is ambigous or not very clear.

[janKipo]

Why the 'ijo' in the first couple of examples? "coming thing time" doesn't seem to mean much. I suppose that the idea is to get the indefinite in, but the bare word 'tenpo' does that already.
'tenpo wan la' looks like "at one time" (and only one?). 'tenpo nanpa wan' is more standard. And, of course, 'open la'.
I take 'mi la' as a disclaimer, "In my opinion" or some such. It may be implicit in the fact that I say it, but it sometimes needs to be emphasized. Notice, it is useful in any case, when the opiner is not the speaker 'jan Sonja la' for example, when I disagree (implicitly, perhaps).
I read 'kin la' as in a sense emphasizing the whole sentence preceding it, by adding further support of some sort (another example, a parallel case, and the like). But it seems to be mainly rhetorical, hence the usually vacuous "moreover".
From Aikdave's list, I think that 'ante la', 'lon ni la' (it's nice to get some spatial locations as well) are probably pretty firm. So is 'lon la' in the "truly" sense, but "therefore" is mainly 'tan ni la.' The rest leave many questions, especially worries about merely taking in Englishisms

[jan-ante]

i can suggets a generic rule for such constructions. i normally use this rule myself
*** la = *** li lon la
the official exapmles do satisfy this rule:
tenpo (e.g.) pini la = tenpo pini li lon la
ken la = ken li lon la verbally: if there is a possibility/opportunity = possibly, may be
ante la = ante li lon la = if there is an alternative = otherwise

in this manner one can try non-standard exaples: nasin la nasin li nasin ala = nasin li lon la nasin li nasin ala - the same meaning but the first version is shorter and fits the rythm of original