26 ms·

There once was a tribe that had no idea that the sky is blue. People from afar who were more technologically and scientifically advanced tried to explain that t

There once was a tribe that had no idea that the sky is blue. People from afar who were more technologically and scientifically advanced tried to explain that the sky is blue, but the tribe members had no conception of this or capacity to really understand what it means for the sky to be blue. They had never considered what color the sky is. That is because in their language, they had no words to describe the concept of the sky having a color. So they didn't even comprehend or notice that the sky was blue. Be careful with any trend to publicize or normalize a smaller language that can be shared with everyone. It's a trap. It's a trap so that people lose sight and memory of things that exist. Who wants you to forget what exists, and why? Who wants to take away words and what words are those?

int_19h 3y ago
You seem to want us to forget that Toki Pona isn't intended to be used as a primary language.
charlieo88 3y ago
It's a trap? Double plus ungood.
pj_N 3y ago
To me, toki pona and this Newspeak-like idea feel almost like opposites. They just happened to share the characteristics of a smaller or "simpler" vocabulary than English. To speak toki pona to me is to remove jargon and surface level speech, and to think more about the real meaning of what is coming out of your mouth, while Newspeak is more like jargon taking over the whole language until you only repeat Goodthink because that's the only words you have. toki pona makes you think about what you want to say, while Newspeak makes you think about what the party wants you to think. I personally think of toki pona as a tool of self reflection and understanding because of how you have to break things down to them speak the meaning out, but maybe others use the language differently. It is in no way a trap to lose touch with reality though. It's not removing words for reality, just expressing it in a different way.

int_19h 3y ago

You seem to want us to forget that Toki Pona isn't intended to be used as a primary language.

charlieo88 3y ago

It's a trap? Double plus ungood.

pj_N 3y ago

To me, toki pona and this Newspeak-like idea feel almost like opposites. They just happened to share the characteristics of a smaller or "simpler" vocabulary than English. To speak toki pona to me is to remove jargon and surface level speech, and to think more about the real meaning of what is coming out of your mouth, while Newspeak is more like jargon taking over the whole language until you only repeat Goodthink because that's the only words you have. toki pona makes you think about what you want to say, while Newspeak makes you think about what the party wants you to think. I personally think of toki pona as a tool of self reflection and understanding because of how you have to break things down to them speak the meaning out, but maybe others use the language differently. It is in no way a trap to lose touch with reality though. It's not removing words for reality, just expressing it in a different way.