Talk:Tokiponization guidelines

From Toki Pona

Vowels

ə

If the first syllable of a word is an unstressed, neutral vowel and the second syllable is stressed, drop the first syllable entirely.

/əˈmɛɹɪkə/ → Mewika

radical (pharyngeal, epiglottal) glottal [ˈmɒɟɒr̪]

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when converting a foreign name to the sounds and syllable rules of Toki Pona. These are not absulute rules that are set in stone but rather guidelines and ideas that could be helpful.

1.Base the Toki Pona word on the native pronunciation of the native name, e.g. toki Wensa (“Swedish language”) from svenska. 2.Use the same root word to name the country, the people, the language, etc. 3.To render the neutral unstressed neutral vowel called “schwa” [ə]: a.Use the vowel a, e.g. Australia > ma Oselija, Christopher > jan Kisape, or b.Repeat the same vowel as the previous syllable for assonance, e.g. Jason > jan Sesen. 4.There are no real diphthongs in Toki Pona. a.Write Some sounds can be written as two syllables, e.g. ma Kaliponija California. b.Drop the final vowel of the diphthong, e.g nasin Ta Taoism, or c.Break the two vowels into two separate syllables. Note that a vowel cannot stand alone in its own syllable, execpt in the very first syllable; therefore, you will never see two vowels in a row in a single Toki Pona word. If you add w or j after a vowel, then another vowel must follow. i.Because 5.When the syllable wu, wo or ji is not allowed: a.Use wi instead of ji, e.g. Thai > toki Tawi, b.Repeat the same consonant from the previous syllable for consonance, e.g. ma Nunanu Nunavut. 6.The letter “r”: a.The English approximant sound // can be rendered as w, e.g. Toronto > ma tomo Towano. b.After a vowel, it is normally dropped, e.g. Portland > Polan c.The uvular French or German sound // can be rendered as k, e.g. français > toki Kanse. d.The trilled or tapped /r/ sound of many world languages can be rendered as l. 7.The syllablic ending “–le” /l/ can be rendered as o, e.g. Mable > jan Mepo. 8.The syllabic ending “-en” /@n/ or /n/ can be rendered en, e.g. Ryan > jan Wajen. 9.The English sequence “er” can be transcribed: a.As a or e at the end of a word, e.g. Peter > jan Pita, or b.As e in the middle of a word, e.g. Alberta > ma Apela. 10.“T” or “d”, normally t in Toki Pona, can sometimes be transcribed as l in American and Canadian English, e.g. Ottawa > ma tomo Alawa. 11.When a word ends in a consonant, you have two options: a.Drop it completely, e.g. Matt > jan Ma, or b.Add an extra vowel to keep the consonant, e.g. Rick > jan Wiko. i.Transliterate the final consonant is “t” as si, e.g. Kate > jan Kesi.

for a famous person's name, recognizable to most people in the world with a single name, use just the name

try to use internationally recognizable root, e.g. Christianity vs. Jesus, even though we could have technically called Christianity nasin sewi Jesus

israel isale swap two letters

francesco = panseso

chart vowels to calculate rounded ones...

if first syllable is reduced vowel and no consonant, with stress on 2 nd syllable, then you can drop the first syllable entirely

american

mewika