Hi!
Chris Peters <beta_leonis@...> writes:
> The only natlang I can think of with two entirely different sets of
> roots is Japanese. The different sets of roots don't carry the
> cardinal-ordinal distinction, but it *is* the only natlang I know
> about that has two unrelated sets of roots in the first place.
Korean. It also has a native + a Chinese (or better 'Sino-Korean') set.
What I found particularly funny was that Korean uses both systems for
specifying the time: native Korean for hours, Sino-Korean for minutes.
I would not be surprised to find similar systems in other Asian langs
that borrowed from Chinese. Japanese is not unique in this respect.
**Henrik