Tokiponization guidelines
From Toki Pona
- This page contains phonetic symbols. You may need to download an IPA font.
To use a proper name like Egbert or Titicaca in Toki Pona, you need to adapt it the sounds of Toki Pona. Follow these steps:
- Convert all the word's sounds to Toki Pona letters
- Make it fit Toki Pona syllable rules
- Apply final touch-ups
Converting sounds to Toki Pona letters
Vowels
| front | central | back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | i | u | |
| mid | e | schwa | o |
| open | a | a/o | |
In the vowel chart above, front includes near-front, back includes near-back, mid includes close-mid and open-mid, and open includes near-open.
Roundedness is ignored, except in open back vowels. Open back unrounded vowels are transcribed as a in Toki Pona. Open back rounded vowels are o.
So, for example, [y] becomes i in Toki Pona, and [æ] becomes a.
Consonants
| labial | coronal | dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nasal | m | n | |
| plosive | p | t | k |
| fricative, affricate or lateral fricative | s | ||
| trill, tap, flap or lateral flap | l | ||
| lateral approximant | l | ||
| approximant | w | ||
In the consonant chart above, labial includes bilabial and labiodental, coronal includes dental, alveolar, postalveolar and retroflex, and dorsal includes palatal, velar and uvular
