There's a thing that some people do that I think hurts the community. Toki pona is an ambiguous language. You can almost always mistranslate the simplest of phrases. If you insist on doing that all the time, you will drive people away. Rather than looking at only what people write about toki pona, look also at what they write in toki pona.
Yes. All of this.
It's wonderful to discuss a tool, but eventually what you make with it needs to become more interesting.
@RussSharek @sowelinasa @nena_esun @Thunderfree speaking of "interesting", on a long drive last night I was listening to an episode of The Boring Talks, a BBC podcast on random boring topics which the speakers bring to life through personal obsession, in which Keith Kahn-Harris shared his fascination with the linguistic politics of how the Kinder Egg warning label is translated (currency 34 languages).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p067kw4x
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@RussSharek @sowelinasa @nena_esun @Thunderfree around 14:30 he invites listeners to contribute translations in other languages (like Klingon or Old Norse). I immediately thought of you guys.
"WARNING, READ AND KEEP. Toy not suitable for children under 3 years. Small parts might be swallowed or inhaled"
I was wondering if this kind of specific and direct warning would translate well in Toki Pona.
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@cheesegrits @sowelinasa @nena_esun @Thunderfree
I took a quick crack at it. It's close:
"WARNING, READ AND KEEP. Toy not suitable for children under 3 years. Small parts might be swallowed or inhaled"
o lukin, o jo e lipu ni:
ijo musi li ike tawa jan lili lili.
ijo lili li moku ala.
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look! Hold this document:
toy is bad towards tiny children
small things are not food.
jan Ne
soweli nasa
Russ Sharek
Hugh Messenger