Re: Ebisedian number system (I)

JS Bangs wrote:
> People learn to count long before they
> learn a whit about physics, and people generally start counting with their
> fingers.
There are languages that use bases other than 5-10-20, tho.  Some
samplings from Mark Rosenfeld's numbers page
(http://www.zompist.com/families.htm)

Bam, a Sepik-Madang language, is curious for being a 4-based system. 10
is 'four-two and two', 12 is kiki tuol 'four-three', and so on.
Curiously 20 kiki lim uses the usual Austronesian morpheme for 5, but 5
itself doesn't: 5 is kiki be kubua 'four and one'.

The Kewa numbers represent just the beginning of a 24-member counting
sequence. The first five numbers name the little finger through the
thumb; but instead of continuing with the other hand the Kewa keeps
indicating points a few inches along on the body: 9 = 'forearm', 15 =
'shoulder', 20 = 'ear', 24 rikaa = 'between eyes'.

Kanum and Kimaghana seem to be base 6 systems.

Northern Pame is interesting for being a consistent base-8 system.

Some Amazonian languages, like Yanomami, have number roots only for 1 to
3. This doesn't at all mean (as hasty observers conclude) that the
people can't count past 3. They have fingers and toes and know how to
use them; and if a Yanomami leaves 20 arrows by you, and there aren't 20
when he returns, woe to you. A lack of roots just limits the numbers
that can be named out loud-- or at least named out loud the same way
every time, since speakers may be able to come up with ad hoc names.

The Bakairi have a binary system; numbers above 2 (ahage) are formed by
combinations of the words for 1 and 2 (though they stop at 6 and after
that count by repeating mera 'this one').

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