Re: orthographic borrowings

In a message dated 2000/05/09 10:42:39 PM, Nik quoted me & wrote:

>Jonathan Chang wrote:
>> as _hommage_ to the Hindu mathematicians who
>> came up with the earliest, workable theory of zero/null/void]
>
>Earliest in the West, but the Maya had zero long before they did, even
>incorporating it into their calendar <<SNIP>> There's
>evidence that they were using the Long Count as far back as 355 BC.  I
>don't know how accurate that evidence is, but it was definitely in use
>during the Maya Classical Period, around AD 200-900.
Yes I read that in a book on ethnomathematics. But what I mean to say is
the Hindu idea influenced the Chinese & Arabs, then Arabs transmitted the
idea further to "the West" (the current number system used almost worldwide
now is accurately called "Hindu-Arabic").  Hence this particular _hommage_.
    I wonder what the Mayan word is for 0. Maybe the Mayan word & _Sunya_
then can be portmaneau'ed into one _hommage_ word in my conlang SynThrax =)

    lingua numera fracti-person,
    zHANg