Toki ma is based on another conlang, toki pona. But as the objectives of each language are different, there are some differences between them, some small, some big.
Phonology
Phonology
Phonology of toki ma is almost exactly as that of toki pona. The main difference is that the eight forbidden syllables in toki pona (ji, wo, wu, ti, jin, won, wun and tin) are allowed in toki ma, but not used in the dictionary except for wo, ti and tin.
In toki pona only li exists. Its only functions there are to separate the subject and the verb, or one predicate from the next. In toki ma it marks the imperfective aspect of the verb, while le marks the perfective. And while li is ommited both in toki pona and toki ma after first and second person pronouns, le is never ommited.
Pronouns
Pronouns
Toki pona only has three personal pronouns: mi, sina and ona, that can be both singular and plural. Toki ma splits them into singular (mi, si, on) and plural (mina, sina, ona).
la and ita
la and ita
Topic is marked in toki pona with la, with the construnction [topic] la [main clause]. Toki ma uses it the same way, but has another word, ita, to put the topic after the sentence: [main clause] ita [topic].
Numbers
Numbers
The number system in toki pona is almost non existing. That makes sense for a philoshophical language focused on simplifying thoughts and communication, but for an international auxlang numbers are necessary. The only (proper) numbers in toki pona are wan and tu; there is an extended number system which uses luka as five, mute as twenty and ale/ali as one hundred. Other numbers are created by repetition; for example, one hundred and forty eight would be ale mute mute luka tu wan. This is only practical for very small numbers, and can be ambiguous: if you say mi pana e mani Mewika ale tawa sina, do you mean I'm giving you one hundred dollars, or I'm giving you all the dollars?
Relative clauses
Relative clauses
There are no relative clauses in toki pona; when toki ma uses the particle te, toki pona would use separate sentences, probably with the construction e ni or similar. For example, the toki ma mi lukin e jan te moku e kili - I see a man eating fruit, would be mi lukin e ni: jan li moku e kili in toki pona.
Comparatives and superlatives
Comparatives and superlatives
Toki pona does not have a comparative or superlative construction. The most similar construction for the comparative splits the sentence into two sentences, and applies lili or mute: where toki ma says mi wawa alen sina, toki pona would say sina wawa lili. mi wawa mute.
Noun classes
Noun classes
In toki pona is mandatory to use proper names as adjectives (mi jan Sepeku tan ma Kanata), while in toki ma is optional if it is clear by the context (mi Sepeku tan Kanata).
Prepositions
Prepositions
In toki pona there are only five prepositions: kepeken, lon, sama, tan and tawa; and all of them are also lexical words. That can create ambiguities like mi pana e tomo tawa sina - I give you my car, if tawa is an adjective, or I give your house, if it is a preposition. To avoid this prepositions in toki ma are not used as lexical word, but are a closed word class. Of the toki pona prepositions only tan is kept in toki ma; an old preposition, kan, that dissapeared in one of the firsts versions of toki pona, is recovered, replacing kepeken; lon is replaced with in, sama with se and tawa with ki; a new preposition, alen, is added. The other prepositions in toki pona remain only as lexical words in toki ma.
Words
Words
Both toki pona and toki ma have a limited number of words; but as toki pona tries to be as minimalist as possible, many common words don't have an equivalent. And while toki ma also tries to be minimalist, it has many words that could be created by compounding. For example, in toki pona car/vehicle is usually said tomo tawa (lit. moving structure), while in toki ma there is the word kali meaning the same. This simplifies other compounds, too: in toki pona, boat is usually said tomo tawa telo (lit. water moving structure), while in toki ma it would be kali telo (lit. water vehicle).
