I’ve been looking to tackle a new language for some time. I narrowed down the options to Estonian (mostly because it feels dumb not to know a language that would be so easy for a Finn to learn) and French. While I am still on the fence about which one to choose, I encountered a diversion: [Toki Pona](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toki_Pona#:~:text=Toki%20Pona%20(rendered%20as%20toki,simplicity%20and%20ease%20of%20acquisition.).

While I am not a fan of artificial languages, the pitch line “small vocabulary, simplicity and ease of acquisition” and it being a “philosophical artistic constructed language” appeals to me (also: just 123 words to learn). Risks are small, and perhaps there is something to be carried over to learning actual languages. Ever since I picked up linguistics at the university I’ve been fascinated by pidgin and creole languages. I am very, very fascinated how people solve problems and initiate communication in contexts without a common language and how it turns into a tool people share.