janPiteJansekeWould a language with just 123 words be easy to learn?
Tuesday, 28 July, 2015
Made up of just one hundred and twenty three words, Toki Pona, created by Toronto based linguist Sonja Lang, sounds exactly like the minimal sort of language I could get into. While communicating clearly through a language with so few words might sound like it is fraught with peril, it is still possible to express just about any concept:
"While the Oxford English Dictionary contains a quarter of a million entries, and even Koko the gorilla communicates with over 1,000 gestures in American Sign Language, the total vocabulary of Toki Pona is a mere 123 words. Yet, as the creator Sonja Lang and many other Toki Pona speakers insist, it is enough to express almost any idea. This economy of form is accomplished by reducing symbolic thought to its most basic elements, merging related concepts, and having single words perform multiple functions of speech."
https://www.disassociated.com/2015/07/28/would-a-language-with-just-123-words-be-easy-to-learn/