Re: CHAT: Icelandic Numbers (was: Re: CHAT: San Marino)

>From: DOUGLAS KOLLER <LAOKOU@...>
>Subject: Re: Icelandic Numbers (was: Re: CHAT: San Marino)
>Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 01:39:26 -0700
>Haven't you answered your own question? I find it very hard to believe that
>there's no citation form for numbers. With a noun in the equation, I can
>see
>kids saying, "One apple, two apples, three apples..." or "One paper clip,
>two paper clips, three paper clips" and having that noun invoke the
>appropriate gender-specific nominative form. But if you said, "Hey kids,
>let's count from one to thirty." I can't imagine someone saying: "counting
>apples or paper clips?. Masculine? Okay. 2x2=4? Surely, students don't stop
>a class and say, "Okay, I need to know if we're multiplying dogs or
>chairs."
I forgot to answer this one. I found this very funny :) Well, no, we don't
have that much trouble. When counting in mathematics, we always use
masculine. So it's "tvisvar sinnum tveir eru fjórir".

> > So, anybody still interested in learning Icelandic? ;)
>
>It's a *cool* Nordlang. Mere mention of copious, arcane noun declensions
>sends erotic shivers down my spine.
Hehe. It's remarkable how the arcane declensions survive in our language. I
don't remember ever having had problems with the number declensions. They
don't show signs of changing soon, either, unless the wave of immigrants
would manage to force a simplification of the language.
  Regarding the "coolness", I mostly find its phonology (which is rather
un-Nordic) and lexis (which is kind of artificial, actually) to be cool. I
don't love its complex inflectional system at all, as it's quite impractical
and over-complex. But nonetheless, I'd say yes, it's a "cool" Nordlang, if
not only through its peculiarity.

Oskar
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