Re: Numbers from 1-10
| From: | Andrew Patterson <endipatterson@...> |
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| Date: | Sunday, August 31, 2003, 22:14 |
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On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 22:04:59 +0200, =?iso-8859-1?Q?J=F6rg?= Rhiemeier
<joerg_rhiemeier@...> wrote:
>Are there base-12 systems in natlangs? I am considering one for Q,
>but I am not sure whether that is realistic or not in a human language.
Joerg,
Yes, they do. Mainly in West African languages centred around Nigeria. The
languages Janji, Kahuga, Gure, Piti, Mumuye and the Nimbia dialect of
Gwandara are all base twelve.
Peter Clark already posted something on this in "Other bases was Re:
Numbers from 1-10.
http://www.zompist.com/families.htm
Another good site is:
http://www3.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~P_aflang/TEXTS/oct98/decimal.html
I would be interested to know if base twelve languages exist outside of
Africa. I suspect that proto-Germanic might have had because eleven and
twelve don't end in -teen.
Andrew Patterson.
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