Thanksgiving is in the air. It's time for National Novel Writing Month [1]. And it's time for National Novem Generation Month [2]. I was dreading this.
I thought I had no ideas for NaNoGenMo (National Novel Generation Month) this year, but I checked my NaNoGenMo ideas folder and oh look! I do have some notes for 2019. Oh. It only has one line in it: “Translate a book into Toki Pona.”
Well. There it is. Translate a book into Toki Pona [3] (which literally translated means “talk good”).
It should be simple, right? Toki Pona only has at most 120 words. How hard can that be?
Let's take a look at some Toki Pona:
mama pi mi mute o, sina lon sewi kon. > nimi sina li sewi. > ma sina o kama. > jan o pali e wile sina lon sewi kon en lon ma. > o pana e moku pi tenpo suno ni tawa mi mute. > o weka e pali ike mi. sama la mi weka e pali ike pi jan ante. > o lawa ala e mi tawa ike. > o lawa e mi tan ike. > tenpo ali la sina jo e ma e wawa e pona. > Amen.
That happens to be the Lord's Prayer, which appears twice in the Bible (Matthew 6:9-13 [4] and Luke 11:2-4 [5]). Let's translate it back and see what I might be in for.
What follows will be:
So without further ado …
mama pi mi mute o, sina lon sewi kon. > parent of many [command], you at high air. > Our Father which art in heaven, (Ma 6:9) > Our Father which art in heaven, (Lk 11:2)
nimi sina li sewi. > name you [predicate] high. > Hallowed be thy name. (Ma 6:9) > Hallowed be thy name. (Lk 11:2)
ma sina o kama. > land you [command] come. > Thy kingdom come, (Ma 6:10) > Thy kingdom come, (Lk 11:2)
jan o pali e wile sina lon sewi kon en lon ma. > person [command] do [object] want you at high air [and] at land. > Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Ma 6:10) > Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (Lk 11:2)
o pana e moku pi tenpo suno ni tawa mi mute. > [command] give [object] eat of time sun this to me many. > Give us this day our daily bread. (Ma 6:11) > Give us day by day our daily bread. (Lk 11:3)
o weka e pali ike mi. > [command] away [object] do bad me. > And forgive us our debts, (Ma 6:12) > And forgive us our sins; (Lk 11:4)
sama la mi weka e pali ike pi jan ante. > same [context] me away [object] do person different. > as we forgive our debtors. (Ma 6:12) > for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. (Lk 11:4)
o lawa ala e mi tawa ike. > [command] head no [object] me to bad. > And lead us not into temptation, (Ma 6:13) > And lead us not into temptation, (Lk 11:4)
o lawa e mi tan ike. > [command] head [object] me from bad. > but deliver us from evil: (Ma 6:13) > but deliver us from evil. (Lk 11:4)
tenpo ali la sina jo e ma e wawa e pona. > time all [context] you have land [object] strong [object] good. > For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. (Ma 6:13) > (not in Luke 11)
Amen. > Amen. > Amen. (Ma 6:12) > (not in Luke 11)
Um … okay … perhaps I better come up with a better idea.
[2] https://github.com/NaNoGenMo/2019
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toki_Pona
[4] http://bible.conman.org/kj/Matthew.6:9-13