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

>From: DOUGLAS KOLLER <LAOKOU@...>
>Subject: Icelandic Numbers (was: Re:  CHAT: San Marino)
>Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 23:33:03 -0700
>I can understand an einn/eitt distinction, but does this go on for other
>numbers as well?
>Tveir/tvö (masc/fem [or common] as opposed to neuter?) Just for one and
>two?
>One, two, and three? All the non-combinable forms? Across all cases? Please
>expound.
Hehe. You just touched on a subject you might not have wanted to touch on
after all ;) Icelandic number declension is, to say the least, highly
archaic. Numbers 1-4 (!) are declined in all four cases and three genders.
Let's see...

1
       masc        fem      neut

nom    einn        ein      eitt
acc    einn        eina     eitt
dat    einum       einni    einu
gen    eins        einnar   eins

2

nom    tveir       tvær     tvö
acc    tvo         tvær     tvö
dat          *tveimur*
gen          *tveggja*

3

nom    þrír        þrjár    þrjú
acc    þrjá        þrjár    þrjú
dat          *þremur*
gen          *þriggja*

4

nom    fjórir      fjórar   fjögur
acc    fjóra       fjórar   fjögur
dat          *fjórum*
gen          *fjögurra*


Yes, this is indeed an absolute nightmare for foreigners learning Icelandic.
Very few languages, even Indo-European ones, preserve such an elaborate
number declension system. When reading about IE, I also somehow got the
understanding that even in that language, the number 4 was undeclined. But
couldn't be true, I mean, how could Icelandic/Old Norse just make up such a
declension? It usually goes the other way, right?

This also creates us (Icelanders) a dilemma, when we're asked to count to
ten in our language. In which gender should we count? (case isn't a
question, we'd always choose nominative). Usually we count in masc, but if
we're quantifying an item, we're of course required to make the genders
agree.

So, anybody still interested in learning Icelandic? ;)

Oskar
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