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Re: Odd thing.

From:tim talpas <tim@...>
Date:Wednesday, July 10, 2002, 21:12
#
# Joe scripsit:
#
# > I was looking at Finninsh for a while.  As I was looking at the numbers,
# > something struck me.
# >
# > The numbers 1 and 2 are <yksi> and <kaksi> respectively.  Now, the numbers 8
# > and 9 are <kahdeksan> and <yhdeksan>.
# >
# > now, these, to me, look suspiciously indo-european.
#
# Finno-Ugric (or is it Uralic) numbers are only reconstructible up to six.
# Everything above that is a borrowing from IE.
#

Hurm.... what about hungarian 8 "nyolc" and 9 "kilenc"? Anybody? ferko? other
hungarian natives?

(i think "nyolc" is reconstructable back to at least Ob-Ugric)

There seems to be a trend in some FU langs where the words for 8 and 9
are based on the number 10... in the same manner of finnish...

like mansi 10 "lov", 9 "ontolov", 8 "nyololov" (or something like that)

i think similar patters are evident in khanty, udmurt, and komi.

-tim
http://www.zece.com/conlang/

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Wesley Parish <wes.parish@...>