Re: Argument Structures

On Thu, 24 Aug 2000, JJ wrote:

> From: daniel andreasson <daniel.andreasson@...>
>
> > Why couldn't you have numbers as verbs? You can have "to be one
> > in number" as a verb, and probably do just fine. Chickasaw does,
> > IIRC, and they seem to manage. I think having numbers as verbs
> > is a really cool feature to have in a language.
> >
> > Daniel
>
> I could. But verbs tend to be at least 3 syllables long, and the
> number system involves reading (e.g.) 12,345 as one, two, three, four,
> five.    I feel it's a bit much to inflict a fifteen syllable word on
> speakers for 12,345!
Ditto here.  <wry g>  Numbers and colors may be exception classes simply
because I'm getting sick of three- or four-syllable words....

> When at school, it always struck me as odd that it was necessary to
> work out long addition, subtraction and multiplication "backwards" ie
> starting at the right. And so one of the things I was DETERMINED to
> include was a number system written "backwards", units on the left,
> tens to the right, then hundreds, etc.
> So if the numbers are as follows -
That has occurred to me in the past, too.  However, since Chevraqis is
written up-down, "10" would be written

0
1

so you can start from the top.  :-)  (It's also written in columns going
from right to left.)

YHL