Re: Numerals in Sohlob languages.

taliesin the storyteller skrev:
> * Benct Philip Jonsson said on 2006-03-23 11:18:58 +0100
>
>>I'm mulling over whether I should expand on the multiples of
>>twelve.  According to "Describing Morphosyntax" the only
>>known numerical bases in human languages are five, ten and
>>twenty, for obvious reasons having to do with the number of
>>digits humans possess.
>
>
> So why have humans also counted in base (3) 6, (4) 8 and 12? (Hint, use the
> space *between* the digits...)
Yes, humans have *counted* in these bases -- the Babylonians
even used baswe 60! -- but Payne says no languages use other
bases than 5, 10, 20.  It seems he's wrong however, to judge
by the evidence cited by Jörg:

> This is a question I have also pondered for long, because I use
> a base-12 system in my conlang Old Albic (which is spoken by humans).
> Base-12 systems seem to be vanishingly rare in human languages, but
> I have read about a language in Nigeria, Nimbia is its name, which
> has a base-12 system, so I think it's OK, and at any rate, I am
> quite happy with the numerals of Old Albic, and don't wish to
> change them.
Yes, base 12 has its advantages, such as 12 being divisible
by all of 2 3 4 6, while 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5.
That's why typographers traditionally have used base 12.

> There are lots of interesting numeral systems around.  A few of them
> can be found here:
>
> http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/language/number.html
Interesting.  I'll have to look at it more deeply tomorrow.

--
/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch at melroch dot se

    "Maybe" is a strange word.  When mum or dad says it
    it means "yes", but when my big brothers say it it
    means "no"!

                            (Philip Jonsson jr, age 7)