Asa'pili
Asa'pili is a constructed language created by the pseudonymous author P.M. in his book Bolo'bolo. On the one hand, it is an artistic language, intended to explain his concepts for a sustainable future in an original way. On the other hand, it is a neutral auxiliary language intended for use in the quasi-utopian bolo-based global community which he describes in the book. Asa'pili is not a full language, but a basic vocabulary of about thirty words, which can be used to refer to cultural institutions and concepts.
The complete list of the basic words is as follows:
Glyph | Pronunciation | Meaning |
ibu | "individual, person" | |
bolo | "community, village, tribe" | |
sila | "hospitality, tolerance, mutual aid" | |
taku | "personal property, secret" | |
kana | "household, hunting party, family, gang" | |
nima | "way of life, tradition, culture" | |
kodu | "agriculture, nature, sustenance" | |
yalu | "food, cuisine" | |
sibi | "craft, art, industry" | |
pali | "energy, fuel" | |
suvu | "water, water supply, well, baths" | |
gano | "house, building, dwelling" | |
bete | "medicine, health" | |
nugo | "death, suicide pill" | |
pili | "communication, education, language, media" | |
kene | "communal work" | |
tega | "district, town" | |
dala | "council, assembly" | |
dudi | "foreigner, observer" | |
vudo | "city, county, trading area, bioregion" | |
sumi | "region, linguistic area, island" | |
asa | "earth, world" | |
buni | "gift, present" | |
mafa | "depot, warehouse" | |
feno | "barter agreement, trade relation" | |
sadi | "market, stock market, fair" | |
fasi | "travel, transport, traffic, nomadism" | |
yaka | "disagreement, war, duel" | |
munu | "reputation" | - |
All these terms are accompanied by corresponding abstract glyphs, so that the concepts can be represented visually independently of any specific writing system. These words can be combined into modifier-modified compounds, so that asa'pili means "world language", fasi'ibu means "traveler", vudo'dala means "county-level assembly", etc. Doubling a noun changes it into a collective or abstract noun, so that bolo'bolo means "all bolos, the system of bolos".