Proper names #
As already mentioned, the Bible contains many proper names. Write proper names in exactly this format: &<English name>. This allows us to easily replace the names with their Toki Pona equivalents later. Example: jan &John
Note that some “proper names” are actually titles. Titles should be translated. This applies, for example, to “Christ”.
Sometimes, even this is not entirely clear. For example, the Egyptian “Pharaoh” is a proper name, but also some kind of a role model. In such cases, the headnoun plays an important role. You can discuss names also in our #names channel.
Numbers #
Even though there are different ways to express numbers in Toki Pona, we always write numbers using Arabic numerals. This also applies to small numbers. Again, the point is that the Arabic numerals can later be easily and automatically replaced with Tokipona number words.
Example: tenpo suno nanpa 3 la …
Quotation marks, direct speech #
Although Toki Pona technically allows the use of quotation marks, we consistently omit them since the original text doesn’t include them either. The context is sufficient. Direct speech (toki e ni:) is typically introduced with a colon.
Very special words #
Finally, there is a group of very special words that follow a specific convention.
Sela #
The word “Selah” appears in the book of Psalms. Its original meaning remains uncertain, though it was most probably a musical direction. We translate it as: a Sela.
Amen #
“Amen” is an affirmation meaning essentially “so be it.” It is related to the words “faithful” and “trustworthy.” We translate it as: a Amen.
“Talita kum” et al. #
There remains yet another classification of lexical items – those of Aramaic provenance, for instance, which have entered the biblical text as direct discourse or cited material. While these could theoretically be translated, there may be justification for presenting them as tokiponized citations, requiring individual evaluation in each occurrence.