Portal:Constructed languages/Language of the month/August 2015

Toki Pona is a constructed language, first published online in mid-2001. It was designed by translator and linguist Sonja Lang (formerly Sonja Elen Kisa) of Toronto.

Toki Pona is a minimal language. Like a pidgin, it focuses on simple concepts and elements that are relatively universal among cultures. Lang designed Toki Pona to express maximal meaning with minimal complexity. The language has 14 phonemes and 120 root words. It is not designed as an international auxiliary language but is instead inspired by Taoist philosophy, among other things.

The language is designed to shape the thought processes of its users, in the style of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, in Zen-like fashion. Find out more...