tok, tokim
English: ‘talk’.See original Mihalic entry.
Noun forms
Form of communication: talk, words, speech
em i no mekim wanpela tok he did not say anything
tok bilong mi olsem what I say is this
olsem mi troimwe tok tasol I’m just saying it as a suggestion
no ken mekim kain tok olsem! you can’t talk like that!
tok i dai! enough talk!
Form of communication: things that are said, matters to discuss ® toktok
kain tok olsem bai kirap this sort of thing will be said
bai i gat tok bihain people will say things later
mipela i gat tok i stap we have an issue with this
Noun combination forms
Form of communication: various kinds of talk
gutpela tok good news, a satisfying explanation
hap tok word, quotation, passage, statement
tok amamas friendly talk
tok giaman a lie
tok gris flattery, seduction
tok gumi a tall tale
tok hait a secret
tok i go pas an introduction, a foreword
tok insait conscience
tok kros a scolding, harsh words
tok maus the spoken word
tok pilai a joke
tok ples a native language, a mother tongue
tok profet a prophecy
tok stil to divulge a secret
tok tru antap an oath
tok win idle tales, rumours
Form of communication: various languages ® pisin2
tok boi Pidgin: this is a deprecating form seldom used today unless for dramatic emphasis
Tok Pisin Papua New Guinea Pidgin: the most common name for the language
tok Inglis English
tok Jemani German
tok Saina Chinese
tok Siapan Japanese
Form of talking: tok bokis a means of talking about something without mentioning it, circumlocation, veiled speech
em i no autim stret, em i wokim tok bokis he didn’t declare it openly, he used veiled speech
meri karim boy, mipela save tok bokis olsem ‘meri karim pisin’ if a boy is born, we do not say so directly, we say ‘the woman has borne a bird’ (Wahgi Valley)
Society: tok ples a distinct language, language group ® klen, wanpisin
man i kam long narapela tok ples the man is from a different language group
Form of talking: tok piksa an explanatory analogy
em i mekim wanpela gutpela tok piksa, na nau yupela mas klia he has used a good analogy and now you should be clear
Intransitive verb forms
Form of communication: to talk, to speak
mi laik tok I want to talk
em i tok olsem he said this
tok isi to speak softly, to whisper
tok isi isi to speak slowly
tok kranki to speak incorrectly, to talk foolishly
em tok long ol, i spik he spoke to them, saying ...
Transitive verb forms
Form of communication: to tell
mipela i tokim ol pinis we told them
tokim em, em i mas kam long haus tell him he must come home
Verb phrase forms
Form of abuse: tok bilas mockery, ‘rubbishing talk’ - especially in public ® tokbilasim
narapela meri i tok bilas long em long maket another woman mocked her in the marketplace
ol soldia i tok bilas long Jisas the soldiers mock Jesus (Buk Baibel, headings to Matthew 27.27-31, Mark 15.16-20)
Form of talking: tok bilas boasting, exaggeration, elaborate but empty talk - perhaps in a politician’s campaign speechmaking ® mauswara
em i mekim kain kain tok bilas he said all kinds of fanciful things
Form of abuse: tok kros to tell off, to scold
em i tok kros long pikinini he told the child off
Form of talking: tok nating to speak without any backing; merely to give a thought; to say something without conviction
no ken harim em, em i tok nating don’t listen to him, he doesn’t know what he is saying
lusim, mi tok nating forget it, I have no basis for saying it
Form of abuse: tok nogut to swear, a verbal obscenity
em i tok nogut long stuakipa
he swore at the store keeper
‘kaikai rop’ em i wanpela tok nogut, lusim ‘kaikai rop’ is an obscenity, don’t use it
Form of talking: tok pilai to joke, to tease
em i no tru, mi tok pilai tasol it isn’t not true, I was just joking
em i tok pilai long em, na wokim pani he teased him and made jokes
Quantity: mi no ken tok so much/many I even can’t say ..., not even counting ...
taro, yam, tapiok, aibika, kaukau mi no ken tok, banana, suga - ples i pulap tru long kaikai taro, cassava, aibika, sweet potato it’s hardly worth mentioning, bananas, sugarcane: the place was full of food
Form of talking: tok antap to give a superficial explanation
samting mipela i no klia, minista i tok antap tasol we don’t know much about it, the minister skated over the subject
Form of talking: tok ples to speak in ‘language’, in the vernacular, in one’s native tongue
em i tok ples, na mi no harim gut he spoke in language, and I did’t catch it
Form of talking: tok resis to argue ® toktok planti
tupela tok resis i go i kam the two argued back and forth
Form of talking: tok tru antap to take an oath; to swear to tell the truth; to make a vow ® tok antap
yu mas tok tru antap, na autim olgeta rong yu bin mekim to must swear to tell the truth, and tell all the bad things you have done
Form of communication: various other forms of talk and speech
bekim tok to answer
bihainim tok to follow instructions, to repeat what another says
brukim tok to break a promise, to go back on one’s word
grisim tok to talk oneself out of a difficulty; to talk someone into something
tok bilong bipo yet a myth, a fable
tok bilong ol tumbuna a tradition of the ancestors
kranki long tok to speak a language poorly; to stammer; to make mistakes in speech
krungutim tok to garble a message, to misquote
mekim dai tok to settle a quarrel, to make peace, to stifle a rumour
mekim tok gumi to spin a yarn
mekim tok tru antap to take an oath, to swear
mi gat tok I have something to say, I have a complaint
no gat tok to have nothing to say; to have no complaint; to have no objection
salim tok to send a message, to give an order
senisim tok to change a message
skrapim tok to chat
stretim tok to settle a discussion, complaint, or difficulty
sutim tok long to accuse someone
Tok i no kamap gut The words are not clearly printed or written; the words are illegible
kisim tok orait to get approval
tok (i) tru truth
tromoim tok to disregard an order, to reject an order
Human behaviour: harim tok (a) to listen (b) to understand (c) to obey ® sakim tok
ol sumatim i pasim maus na harim tok bilong tisa the students stopped talking and listened to the teacher
mi no harim tok bilong yu gut I do not understand what you are saying very well
dok i no harim tok bilong masta bilong en the dog does not obey its master
Human behaviour: sakim tok (a) to disobey (b) to contradict ® harim tok
gel i sakim tok bilong papa na marit long laik the girl disobeyed her father and married her sweetheart
olgeta taim oposisen i sakim tok bilong gavman the Opposition always contradicts the Government
© Revising the Mihalic Project, 26 Jan 2005 [Home]