Toki Pona/Demographic information

Name of Language

In Toki Pona, the language refers to itself as "toki pona" which translates to "The Language of Good." It is abbreviated as tp, and is usually written in lower case according to the conventions of the language.

Ethnology

The people who use Toki Pona are called users, since they generally do not speak it casually. This page focuses on the community of people that speaks the language, whether casually or formally.

Demography

The language is used by constructed language fans, almost entirely in written messages across the internet. These fans are geographically spread across North and South America, Europe, Russia, Australia, Malaysia and Japan. Of these, Canada, the US and East and West Europe are most heavily represented. There is a notable lack of Toki Pona users in China, South East Asia and Africa.

Genetic Affiliation

Toki Pona is a relatively new constructed language created in 2001. Constructed languages by definition do not evolve from an existing natural language, instead being created by an individual or group. As an a posteriori language, it draws vocabulary and grammar from other world languages. Toki Pona's grammatical structure is most similar to that of the Indo-European languages, but it displays some Japonic elements as well.

Previous Research

Toki Pona has been referenced in various journals. Because the language is small and well developed, some researchers opt to use it for linguistic developments in lieu of a custom constructed language for the purpose of experimentation.

The sociolinguistic situation

Toki Pona's main community is online, so it lacks many features one would expect of naturally created creole or pidgin languages (a language based on the mixture of two or more language's speakers). In this community, most speakers do not share common interests, rather having joined the community as language, constructed language, and linguistics enthusiasts. This group contrasts a true pidgin or creole, both of which usually arise from a situation where a group of individuals is forced to quickly learn to communicate with a dominant, linguistically differing group.

Dialects

Toki Pona exhibits no formal or documented dialects apart from the various proposed vocabulary extensions, which receive mixed usage. Individuals who speak the language may have their own idiolect, or personal way of speaking, but these types of dialects do not extend over large groups of speakers.