Re: EAK numerals

Mark J. Reed wrote:
> On 5/21/07, R A Brown <ray@...> wrote:
>
>> I am undecided about 20, 30, 40 etc. - whether to use analytic forms
>> like 'duó déka', 'tría déka etc., or to use forms derived from the
>> ancient language, namely: eíkosa, triákonta, tessarákonta, pentêkonta,
>> eksêkonta, ebdomêkonta (70), ogdoêkonta, enenêkonta.
>>
>> In view of the irregularity of the formation of 10x words, I am inclined
>> towards the purely analytic forms, despite the criticisms leveled at
>> Esperanto's _du dek_, _tri dek_ etc.
>
>
> Why not, as a compromise,  retroactively regularize the ancient forms?
> Perhaps adopt -konta as a standard x10 suffix,
I had considered whether to abstract a word _kónta_, meaning "a group of 10"

> say with
> monophthongization before suffixation, giving something like dukonta,
> trikonta, tetrakonta, pentakonta, eksakonta, eptakonta, oktakonta,
> ennekonta?
I'd prefer to keep duó, tría and ennéa - the two vowels at the end of
these words should not be diphthongs, but two separate vowels, i.e. the
first two words are bisyllabic, and the 3rd trisyllabic.

--
Ray
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ray@carolandray.plus.com
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
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Nid rhy hen neb i ddysgu.
There's none too old to learn.
[WELSH PROVERB]

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