mu Is A Word That Exists in toki pona. we all know this. but what does it *mean* exactly? let's consult pu for a base definition, in pu, "mu" is listed as thus:"(particle) animal noise or communication". alright, so mu is a kalama, specifically kalama soweli. mu is onomatopoeia, and it marks onomatopoeia for animal, a word that goes "hey look! an animal is communicating, kind of". but then you have to think about how an onomatopoeia typically phonetically resembles the sound it describes. but like, since (working with pu definition only) it represents *all* animal noises, a cats "meow" is a "mu", a frogs "ribbit" is a "mu", the "buzz" of a fly is a "mu". so one (..probably meaning me and me only) has to consider something: is "mu" supposed to be read as /mu/? the answer is - for practical purposes - yes, obviously. if you are reading a lipu pi toki pona aloud, and the word "mu" comes about, you read it as mu for pona's sake. but think about it, in most contexts, a onomatopoeias purpose is to serve as sensory detail, to paint (in an auditory manner) a more detailed picture with the material that is text. obviously, an onomatopoeia isn't supposed to be a 1:1 recreation of the sound it's trying to mimic; "bang!" isn't supposed to sound *exactly* like a gunshot, and i suppose this makes it convenient for toki pona to stretch that and make "mu" the one definitive animal onomatopoeia. but, in your head, an onomatopoeia isn't supposed to be internalized as just the way you say it, it's intended to be a fill in for your mind to visualize (or i guess, auditor-lize?) the sound itself; a bang isn't 1:1 with a gunshot, but it works as an instruction for your mind to hear it as such. oh! and obviously, we ve been working with the pu definition of "mu", in the here and now, "mu" is onomatopoeia for whatever your nasin nimi dictates it as onomatopoeia for. personally, im in the "kalama ale li mu", glass breaking can be "mu", whatever. but that begs the question: if one removes the animal-specific context to "mu", is "mu" just sensory-flavored kalama?. and, perhaps, is pu-defined mu just animal sensory-flavored kalama? now, i wouldn't remove mu for anything, mu is quite useful as a word, not just for other folks, but for myself as well. for my garfield translation project, musi pi soweli Kapi, i use "mu" all the time, it's convenient to have a marker that's basically just "hey! this is an onomatopoeia.". Additionally, having something for the specific purpose of adding sensory details is also very helpful, i use it with non-translation works as well. so, whats my point? i have no clue! am i coherent toki-wise here? i have no clue either! i only bring this to the table: "mu is a very weird word." P.S/ mi wile toki e toki sin lili: i just realized that with is onomatopoeic nature, one can argue that you shouldn't noun phrase "mu". like, in someones nasin nimi somewhere, "mu pi soweli suli" or even just "mu soweli" would be wrong tawa ona. if that makes sense.