#toki pona logo

[tokiponaalanguageofgood]

Toki Pona: The Language of Simplicity

Toki Pona, created by Canadian linguist Sonja Lang in 2001, is a minimalist constructed language with a vocabulary of only 120-137 root words. Its design encourages simplicity, positivity, and mindful communication.

Philosophy

Inspired by Taoist principles, Toki Pona promotes minimalism and essentialism. It aims to simplify thoughts and speech, fostering a positive and deliberate way of thinking.

Structure

Vocabulary: Each root word in Toki Pona is versatile, with meanings shaped by context. Complex ideas are conveyed through word combinations.

Phonology: The language uses just 14 phonemes (9 consonants, 5 vowels) and has a simple (C)V(n) syllable structure.

Grammar: Toki Pona features a straightforward grammar, typically following a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order. There are no tenses, cases, or genders.

Community and Usage

Toki Pona has an active global community. It's used in online forums, social media, and meetups, fostering creativity and mindfulness among speakers.

Benefits

Cognitive: Enhances problem-solving and creativity by encouraging simplified thinking.

Cultural: Promotes a minimalist and positive lifestyle.

Educational: Serves as a valuable tool for studying linguistic relativity and cognitive science.

Toki Pona is more than a language—it's a way of life that celebrates simplicity and mindfulness. Whether for linguistic curiosity or a desire for a simpler existence, Toki Pona offers a unique and enriching perspective on communication.

[janknabobfdi]

pixel art of the chainsaw man logo in several languages

English "CHAINSAW MAN"

Japanese "チェンソーマン"

Korean "체인소 맨"

Toki Pona "jan pi ilo kipisi wawa"

[robinsonprojection]

Diagram of a Train Portal

A diagram I drew explaining the systems involved to send a train careening through a portal to its destination, involving forcing magic into a plane and then ordering this field into a portal at the same time as the receiving station.

Located throughout the southern continents massive forest, these stations allow for extremely quick transport between large cities, but have limited use for freight and trade due to the tremendous energy cost of maintaining and creating a portal.

Primarily consists of a circular frame which orders the portal and a supply of energy in the form of energy saturated saline.

This drawing contains five writing systems which I transcribed English with, from the top left to the bottom right, they are Runic, Linear, Whirlic, Logos, Glyphic. In addition, the small symbols which denote material are based off of the symbology present in the toki pona logographic writing system.

M-111-1 DEP "Go White Boy Go - The Train"

[io-archival]

from under cut:

toki pona is a minimalist conlang, which this post assumes very basic knowledge of. if youd like, u can read the wikipedia page (linked above), or this article from the atlantic, "Toki Pona: A Language With a Hundred Words."

some background on the creation of 'tonsi' - toki pona started development around 2001, and was 1st published in 2014, with 120 "canon" words - including the 2 gender words, meli & mije. however , toki pona is a living language, + words come about as the community needs them - the community came together to create 'tonsi' in a grassroots effort c. 2019 to fill a lexical gap that existed for describing ppl who fell outside the meli-mije duality.

etomologically, the word is from mandarin 同志 'tóngzhì' (meaning "comrade", & commonly used to mean gay / LGBTQ - though "tonsi" itself is generally agreed refer to gender.) some people use it exclusively to mean "nonbinary / genderqueer" , but expanded usage to also include all trans & gnc people (who choose to identify as tonsi) is very common, + is a definition i endorse ( & created the flag in mind with ! ) the word was officialized as an essential word in 2021 w./ the release of the toki pona dictionary

the sitelen pona ( logographic / hieroglyph writing system ) glyph for 'tonsi'

as for the design & symbolism of the flag - the central blue symbol represents the sitelen pona glyph for tonsi (shown above), in the blue of the toki pona logo - the 3 segments (colored pink, green, and purple) were roughly inspired by colors on the trans, gq, & nonbinary flags - as a whole, the flag symbolizes the way the tonsi community unites people of all different gender experiences & primary-language terms.

toki pona philosophy is all about capturing universal concepts in a way that allows for clear and simple communication, and gender variance is absolutely a universal concept. tonsi is a beautiful + necessary word, & with this flag, i wanted 2 focus not on granular inclusions of which groups fall under tonsi , but rather the unity the term presents, and how it allows us to unite by what we have in common , rather than pick over the terminology we choose.

a version of the tonsi flag made in a 16:9 aspect ratio 4 convenience

to my knowledge, no one else has made an effort 2 create a dedicated tonsi flag, but reception to having one has been positive thru the toki pona speakers i've shown the design - much thnx to the people on discord who gave their thoughts, as well as @/epikulupu for consulting - sina ale li epiku mute a ( i'll also be posting a lili version of this post on r/tokipona soon + will add a link when i do)

im passionate about toki pona + its community, + am an advanced speaker myself - if you have questions / comments , dm me, send an ask, or leave a reply - id always love 2 chat in / about toki pona if u.r interested in learning, i recommend using this free course (lipu sona pona) & joining the discord , ma pona pi toki pona. as always, my flags are free to use, w./ credit appreciated but not required - stay pona

introducing - our tonsi flag ( len sitelen pi kulupu tonsi ! ) 'tonsi' is a toki pona word that, roughly, means "a gender experience not fully described by 'mije' [man] or 'meli' [woman]." context + design explanation under the cut 🌈❤️

🗣❗️ : toki pona is a minimalist conlang, which this post assumes very basic knowledge of. if youd like, u can read the wikipedia page (linked above), or this article from the atlantic, "Toki Pona: A Language With a Hundred Words."

some background on the creation of 'tonsi' - toki pona started development around 2001, and was 1st published in 2014, with 120 "canon" words - including the 2 gender words, meli & mije. however , toki pona is a living language, + words come about as the community needs them - the community came together to create 'tonsi' in a grassroots effort c. 2019 to fill a lexical gap that existed for describing ppl who fell outside the meli-mije duality.

etomologically, the word is from mandarin 同志 'tóngzhì' (meaning "comrade", & commonly used to mean gay / LGBTQ - though "tonsi" itself is generally agreed refer to gender.) some people use it exclusively to mean "nonbinary / genderqueer" , but expanded usage to also include all trans & gnc people (who choose to identify as tonsi) is very common, + is a definition i endorse ( & created the flag in mind with ! ) the word was officialized as an essential word in 2021 w./ the release of the toki pona dictionary

the sitelen pona ( logographic / hieroglyph writing system ) glyph for 'tonsi'

as for the design & symbolism of the flag - the central blue symbol represents the sitelen pona glyph for tonsi (shown above), in the blue of the toki pona logo - the 3 segments (colored pink, green, and purple) were roughly inspired by colors on the trans, gq, & nonbinary flags - as a whole, the flag symbolizes the way the tonsi community unites people of all different gender experiences & primary-language terms.

toki pona philosophy is all about capturing universal concepts in a way that allows for clear and simple communication, and gender variance is absolutely a universal concept. tonsi is a beautiful + necessary word, & with this flag, i wanted 2 focus not on granular inclusions of which groups fall under tonsi , but rather the unity the term presents, and how it allows us to unite by what we have in common , rather than pick over the terminology we choose.

a version of the tonsi flag made in a 16:9 aspect ratio 4 convenience

to my knowledge, no one else has made an effort 2 create a dedicated tonsi flag, but reception to having one has been positive thru the toki pona speakers ive shown the design - much thnx to the people on discord who gave their thoughts, as well as @epikulupu for consulting - sina ale li epiku mute a ❤️ ( ill also be posting a lili version of this post on r/tokipona soon + will add a link when i do 🌈 )

im passionate about toki pona + its community, + am an advanced speaker myself - if you have questions / comments , dm me, send an ask, or leave a reply - id always love 2 chat in/about toki pona 😁 if u.r interested in learning, i reccomend using this free course (lipu sona pona) & joining the discord , ma pona pi toki pona. as always, my flags are free to use, w./ credit appreciated but not required - stay pona ❤️

[nachocheezos21]

Meet Elizah! 🌸

das me chat .:3 // {[Z-257-2] variant here}

Some things to know/fun little facts:

Self-insert — depending on the fandom I’m in, there’s bound to be a variation of my sona one way or another.

More often, I draw the jan pona (the lil lass on the middle) variation of myself for doodles and whatnot. You’ll see it plastered EVERYWHERE on my blog.

To anyone that stared at the toki pona logo – yes, the eyes are colourpicked from it.

— The idea of colour-changing eyes stuck to me – if anyone remembers the days of emo vampire wolf sonas – but I didn’t want the typical black-and-white eyes.

— Back then, I was learning tiny bits of toki pona and I liked the colours of the logo so much. Wanting to replicate it, while also being a sort-of fun easter egg, I just…y’know.

If you can’t tell, I like plants. I try to plaster that everywhere I can uuurjnnjfrjdkke.

[Notes from the artist]: this will be updated whenever i can. i only wanted to share my sona/how i draw myself in case there would be any confusion on any new posts with my dumbass in it — any new questions/missing detail will be added. will be up on the intro post as well .:}

[pippastrelle]

A rhyming toki pona translation of Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”! (literal translation at the end)

o toki musi! o pona!

jan pepa: mi toki ala lon jan puno. ala!

mi toki ala lon ona.

a!

mi kama meli sin.

jan pelikisi: mi kama mije sin!

jan pepa: la mi open pona, la mi weka e waso sewi!

jan pelikisi: laso taso lon sewi.

jan pepa: jan puno la kulupu li kama - -

jan pelikisi: nasa!

jan pepa: jan toki li seme anu mi?

jan pelikisi: mi vida o, mi a kute~

jan pepa: ona li toki. mi sona.

jan pelikisi: wile li seme?

jan pepa: la telo lon sewi li kama.

jan pelikisi: o awen. o lon noka len.

jan pepa: pilin li kon pakala!

jan pelikisi: pilin olin. taso, o sona!

tu: mi toki ala lon jan puno. ala!

mi toki ala lon ona!

jan tolowesa: monsuta ale li toki pakala jan puno.

mi kute e ona. uta sona li insa kon.

luka en noka en kiwen telo li tawa.

a a a

wawa pana sewi li ante e mije.

mama mama li ken ala sona e ale.

tenpo tawa li nasi li awen li ante.

seme li ante?

jan kamilo: mije linja!

soweli jaki.

sina li anpa tan nimi moli.

ni li moku e sitelin lape.

mute: mi toki ala lon jan puno. ala!

mi toki ala lon ona!

jan kala: toki ona la kala mi li moli!

jan suli: toki ona la sijelo mi li suli!

jan pi tomo sewi: toki ona la linja lawa mi kama weka a!

mute: kute li pali e tenpo monsuta!

jan isapela: toki ona la lon wile mi li lon nasin pana tawa ni.

toki ona la wawa pana mi li suli sama kasi.

mama mama apuwela: jan marijano li kama!

jan tolowesa: toki ona la mije wile mi li olin ante.

uta mi li pini!

mi kute e ona.

jan ispela: sina o kalama lili ala.

jan tolowesa: mi ken kute e ona.

mi ken kute sin!

jan miwapela: jan puno...

toki lon jan puno.

mi wile sona sin e jan puno.

o pana pi sona pona lon jan puno!

jan kamilo: o jo e lukin pona a!

ale: tenpo moku!

*ale li toki musi*

ale: mi toki ala lon jan puno! ala!

nimi ala lon ona!

***

LITERAL TRANSLATION

Pepa: We don’t talk about Bruno. No!

We don’t talk about him.

Ah!

I was becoming a bride.

Félix: I was becoming a husband!

Pepa: And I was starting to be happy. I’d dispelled all the clouds!

Félix: Only blue above.

Pepa: Concerning Bruno, the town becomes - -

Félix: Wild!

Pepa: Am I the storyteller or someone else?

Félix: Mi vida, I’m listening~

Pepa: He speaks. I know.

Félix: What did he want?

Pepa: Then the rain comes.

Félix: Stay, everyone. Get under the covers.

Pepa: The feelings become a hurricane!

Félix: Feelings of love. But remember!

Both: We don’t talk about Bruno. No!

We don’t talk about him!

Dolores: Everyone’s fear is the harmful words from Bruno.

I hear him. That knowing voice is in the air.

Hands, feets, and sand are moving.

Ah, ah, ah.

A given power differentiates the man.

Grandmother can’t know everything.

The future is wild, it doesn’t change, yet it changes.

What will change?

Camilo: Stringy man!

Rats.

You bow to the deadly name.

It eats your dreams.

Many: We don’t talk about Bruno. No!

We don’t talk about him!

Fish Person: According to what he said, my fish died!

Large Person: According to what he said, my body become fat!

Priest: According to what he said, my hair disappeared.

Many: Listening creates a frightful time!

Isabela: According to what he said, my wanted life is on this given path coming.

According to what he said, my given power will grow like plants.

Abuela: Mariano’s coming!

Dolores: According to what he said, my wanted man will love differently.

My mouth will stay closed!

I hear him.

Isabela: Hey, you, not even a little sound.

Dolores: I can hear him.

I can hear anew!

Mirabel: Bruno...

Talking of Bruno.

I want to know new things about Bruno.

Give me good information about Bruno!

Camilo: Hey, put on a good look!

Everyone: Dinner time!

*Everyone sings*

Everyone: We don’t talk about Bruno. No!

No words about him!

[popittart]

mi olin e soweli Soniku. mi pali sitelen.

Poka: Toki mi pona ala seme?

[8stripe]

introducing - our tonsi flag ( len sitelen pi kulupu tonsi ! ) 'tonsi' is a toki pona word that, roughly, means "a gender experience not fully described by 'mije' [man] or 'meli' [woman]." context + design explanation under the cut 🌈❤️

🗣❗️ : toki pona is a minimalist conlang, which this post assumes very basic knowledge of. if youd like, u can read the wikipedia page (linked above), or this article from the atlantic, "Toki Pona: A Language With a Hundred Words."

some background on the creation of 'tonsi' - toki pona started development around 2001, and was 1st published in 2014, with 120 "canon" words - including the 2 gender words, meli & mije. however , toki pona is a living language, + words come about as the community needs them - the community came together to create 'tonsi' in a grassroots effort c. 2019 to fill a lexical gap that existed for describing ppl who fell outside the meli-mije duality.

etomologically, the word is from mandarin 同志 'tóngzhì' (meaning "comrade", & commonly used to mean gay / LGBTQ - though "tonsi" itself is generally agreed refer to gender.) some people use it exclusively to mean "nonbinary / genderqueer" , but expanded usage to also include all trans & gnc people (who choose to identify as tonsi) is very common, + is a definition i endorse ( & created the flag in mind with ! ) the word was officialized as an essential word in 2021 w./ the release of the toki pona dictionary

the sitelen pona ( logographic / hieroglyph writing system ) glyph for 'tonsi'

as for the design & symbolism of the flag - the central blue symbol represents the sitelen pona glyph for tonsi (shown above), in the blue of the toki pona logo - the 3 segments (colored pink, green, and purple) were roughly inspired by colors on the trans, gq, & nonbinary flags - as a whole, the flag symbolizes the way the tonsi community unites people of all different gender experiences & primary-language terms.

toki pona philosophy is all about capturing universal concepts in a way that allows for clear and simple communication, and gender variance is absolutely a universal concept. tonsi is a beautiful + necessary word, & with this flag, i wanted 2 focus not on granular inclusions of which groups fall under tonsi , but rather the unity the term presents, and how it allows us to unite by what we have in common , rather than pick over the terminology we choose.

a version of the tonsi flag made in a 16:9 aspect ratio 4 convenience

to my knowledge, no one else has made an effort 2 create a dedicated tonsi flag, but reception to having one has been positive thru the toki pona speakers ive shown the design - much thnx to the people on discord who gave their thoughts, as well as @epikulupu for consulting - sina ale li epiku mute a ❤️ ( ill also be posting a lili version of this post on r/tokipona soon + will add a link when i do 🌈 )

im passionate about toki pona + its community, + am an advanced speaker myself - if you have questions / comments , dm me, send an ask, or leave a reply - id always love 2 chat in/about toki pona 😁 if u.r interested in learning, i reccomend using this free course (lipu sona pona) & joining the discord , ma pona pi toki pona. as always, my flags are free to use, w./ credit appreciated but not required - stay pona ❤️