Why do languages have words? (prototype theory)
Why do languages have words? And why does Toki Pona break everything? (If, only, a tiny bit?) Find out! I’ll talk about the cognitive science behind words, and how it interacts with painting, camaflouge, evolution, jargon, and the infamous Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.
discord: / discord
patreon: / lipamanka
Videos:
video of cats: • My Cats Communicate with Talking Buttons #...
ASL for “straw” from: https://www.signasl.org/sign/straw#zz...
Websites and media mentioned:
ilo Muni - https://ilo.muni.la/
Toki Pona census - https://tokiponacensus.github.io/
Toki Pona community homepage: https://tokipona.net
Rhythm Doctor (big recommend!): https://rhythmdr.com/
Cited works and further reading (in APA lol):
Győri, G. (2013). Basic level categorization and meaning in language. ARGUMENTUM 9, Pp. 149-161.
Rosch, Eleanor, and Barbara B. Lloyd. Cognition and Categorization. Routledge, 2025.
Rosch, E. H. (1973). ON THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF PERCEPTUAL AND SEMANTIC CATEGORIES In Cognitive Development and Acquisition of Language (pp. 111–144). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-505...
Rosch, E., Simpson, C., & Miller, R. S. (1976). Structural bases of typicality effects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2(4), 491–502. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.2.4...
Tanaka, J. W., & Taylor, M. (1991). Object categories and expertise: Is the basic level in the eye of the beholder? Cognitive Psychology, 23(3), 457–482. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(91)...
Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S. (1986): Ape Language. From Conditioned Response to Symbol. New York: Columbia University Press.
Boucher, J., Mayes, A., & Bigham, S. (2008). Memory, language and intellectual ability in low-functioning autism. In J. Boucher & D. Bowler (Eds.), Memory in autism: Theory and evidence (pp. 268–290). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511490...