English Translation
He is not my father but my uncle.
Sure, let’s break down the sentence “ona li mama mije mi ala, li mama sama mi.” for someone learning Toki Pona while explaining the grammar in English.
First, let’s list some key vocabulary used in this sentence:
ona: he/she/it
li: (used between the subject and verb; marks the verb or adjective)
mama: parent, mother, father
mije: man, male
mi: me, I
ala: not, no
sama: same, similar
In Toki Pona, a simple sentence structure is Subject li Verb/Object. However, the particle “li” is omitted if the subject is either “mi” (I/me) or “sina” (you).
Now let’s dismantle the sentence into two parts:
ona li mama mije mi ala
li mama sama mi
"ona li mama mije mi ala" translates to "He/she/it is not my father."
ona: he/she/it
li: (separator)
mama mije: father (literally "parent male")
mi: my (in Toki Pona, possessive is created by simply sticking the possessor word after the noun)
ala: not
Put together, “ona li mama mije mi ala” would be interpreted as “He/she/it is not my male parent (father).”
"li mama sama mi" translates to "is a parent like me."
li: (separator, continuing from the first statement)
mama: parent
sama: like, similar to
mi: me
The second part, “li mama sama mi,” means “[He/she/it] is a parent similar to me.”
Combining both parts, the sentence “ona li mama mije mi ala, li mama sama mi.” translates to “He/she/it is not my father, [but] is a parent like me.”
In context, this could mean that the person speaking acknowledges that the subject “ona” is not the speaker’s biological father, but plays a parental role similar to that of the speaker, possibly reflecting a step-parent, guardian, or other parental figure that is not the speaker’s biological father.