I was under the impression, until recently, the la
in Toki Pona is a topic marker of sorts similar to the Japanese topic marker wa
but used less frequently since Toki Pona is not topic-prominent.
In particular, I thought that la
- Requires the noun phrase it marks to appear at the beginning of the clause.
- Does not give the noun phrase it marks a particular semantic role.
However, a section about it on Wikibooks suggests that its usage is much more limited.
Time-Manner-Place Schema
Time comes first in a la fragment, manner is a modifier to the main verb, and place is always last in a lon prepositional phrase.
Time la S li V Manner lon Place
What is la
in Toki Pona? What are the limits on the noun phrases la
can mark and the roles they can have in the clause?