jansegersSyllable Structure
Syllables have a very simple structure: consonant + vowel + (optional n)
Examples: kama, pona, kepeken, nasin, sinpin, Sonko, sewi
The first syllable of a word can begin without a consonant. n cannot occur at the end of a syllable if the next one begins with m or n. The following syllables are impossible: ji(n) wu(n) wo(n) ti(n). (The ungrammatical sequence ti becomes si in loan words.)
Theoretically, these rules allow a total of 92 possible one-syllabe words, 6624 possible two-syllable words, and 476,928 possible three-syllables. In practice, however, the entire language has only 118 words.
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