Change

This section introduces changes in state and place, as well as difference and contrast. It also talks about how to chain things together with la, and how to add multiple objects and predicates in one sentence. All of the grammar here will be familiar to TP speakers - but pay attention to the word taka.

1) Movement and change

A very important word in Tuki Tiki is taka. It can be used to talk about changes in position: moving or being moved, coming, going...

1. • ka tu li taka.
   • Many people are going/moving.
2. • mi taka i kati tila.
   • I moved your plant.
3. • taka pula!
   • Welcome! / Farewell! / Nice moves! / ...

It can also express a change of state: becoming, changing, altering... It'll become easier to tell apart becoming and moving once you can talk about space (part 4). For now, just know that the central concept of taka is change and transience; movement is just one example of that, as opposed to a non-spatial change.

4. • mi taka i kati tila.
   • I moved your plant.
   • Or: I changed your plant.
5. • ka li taka.
   • The creature moves.
   • Or: The creature changes.
6. • kati li taka.
   • The plant changes.
   • Or: The plant moves.

Here, I tried showing how the presence of other words can make one interpretation more likely: for example, ka are more likely to move than kati. If you talk about a liquid like water (tilu) or about your feelings, then change usually implies motion (or emotion).

7. • tilu li taka.
   • Water moves/changes.
8. • muku pula li taka i mi.
   • Good food moves/changes me.

With all these nuances to its meaning, taka does not have a perfect opposite (antonym) in the lexicon. A few words could work like opposites in the right situation: tiki can be about repeating, staying and continuity, and also involves an idea of motion (see part 1). Another good word for continuity is tama: it can be used when something is similar or equal to something else, or is (staying) the same.

9. • tila ka tama.
   • You're the same person.
10. • tiki a mi li tama.
    • All my days are alike.
11. • muku tila li pula. muku mi li pula tama.
    • Your food is good. My food is equally/similarly/also good.

2) The word la

Just like in Toki Pona, the word la is used to add context/topical information in front of a sentence. This could be a condition, a thing or person, something happening at the same time...

1. • muku tila li pula la muku mi li pula tama.
   • If your food is good, mine is similarly good.
2. • muku li la muku mi li pula tu.
   • Given that food, my food is very good.
3. • tila pali la mi pali.
   • When/If/... you work, I work.
4. • tilu la lika lili li taka.
   • Considering the water, waves/lines are moving.

In (d), the word lika means a line (linja); it can also refer to sticks (palisa) and limbs (luka/noka). The word lili is also the same as in Toki Pona: small, little, few.

5. • mi taka i lika mi.
   • I move my hand.
6. • tila la mi lili tu.
   • To you, I'm small.
7. • mi la tila lili ala.
   • To me, you're not small.

3) And

Sometimes, a sentence has more than one object or predicate. In English, you handle this with 'and'; in Tuki Tiki (and Toki Pona), you repeat the word that starts the predicate/object.

1. • li muku i kati i ka.
   • They're eating plants and animals.
2. • li lili li pula.
   • It's small and good.
3. • mi tu mi pali i muku mi muku i li.
   • We make food and eat it.

Note that you could just as easily write

4. • mi tu. mi pali i muku. mi muku i li.
   • We are many. We make food. We eat it.

without changing the meaning substantially. 'Coordinated predicates' act a lot like new sentences that have the same person/thing acting as the subject; you can pause or punctuate where it feels right. (Also, I did interpret mi tu as a subject in (c): 'we'; but as a subject and predicate in (d): 'we are many'. For mi/tila/li, this doesn't make a big difference.)

To get multiple subjects in one sentence, you have to do something else: put the word lu in between them (like TP en). This word will come up more in the next section.

5. • mi lu tila mi lili tu.
   • I and you are very small.

New words:

taka

change, move, go, come, time

tama

same, similar, also, stay the same

tilu

water, liquid

la

used for context

lili

little, few, small

lika

line, stick, limb