Re: Measurements revisited

Herman Miller wrote:
> Actually, Jarrda does use charge as a basic unit (specifically the charge
> of the electron), and there are a few other differences from SI. But I
> haven't gone into much detail describing the Jarrda system, so you might be
> thinking of someone else's system.
My apologies.

> Distance makes more sense to me as a basic unit rather than deriving it
> from speed and time, because of the relative ease of measuring distance.
Quite true, I just mentioned that as an unusual possibility.  Of course,
astronomers do that all the time: ever heard of the light-year?  That's
based on the velocity of light * time.  In fact, one could imagine a
system where the basic unit of distance was the nanolight-second
(approximately 30 centimeters), and the unit of speed was the nanocee
(approximately 30 cm/sec, or 1.08 km/hr).

For Watya'iya`isa, there is no basic unit of charge - they don't even
know what electricity *is*.  The units of measurement are thus (most of
the terms are borrowed from Tarni'f, which used a base 12 system, as
opposed to W.'s base-24):

Time.
1 day (llaza') = 4 sections (iqlalaza'i) = 24 local hours (27h 19m 42s)
1 section (llalaza') = 6 hours (iqzulaza'i) = 6 hours (6h 49m 56s)
1 hour (zzulaza') = 36 "minutes" (iqkinda^dyati) = 1 hour (1h 8m 19s)
1 "minute" (kkinda^dyati) = 36 "seconds" (iqsikikind^adyati) = 1 min, 40
sec (1 min, 54 sec)
1 "second" (ssikikinda^dyati) = 2.78 sec. (3.16 sec.)
Above the day I've already discussed in detail
Minute and second are borrowed terms

Length
1 "Mile" (ipyeta) = 1,728 iqta^lkatagai = 2.8883 km
1 Armspan (tta^lkataga) = 18 iqsa^isi (15 iqsaisi^mwi) = 167.15 cm
1 Longhand (ssaisi^mu) = 6 na^tli = 11.143 cm
1 Hand (ssa^is) = 5 na^tli = 9.2859 cm
1 Finger (nna^tli) = 1.8572
All are borrowed

Mass
1 Zabli (Zzabli') = 36 nakas (iqnaka'i) = 116.5 kg
1 Lapata (Llapata') = 9 nakas (iqnaka'i) = 29.12 kg
1 Naka (Nnaka') = 7/3 Tilautas (iqtilauta'i) = 3.2361 kg
1 Tilauta (Ttilauta) = BASE = 1.3869 kg.
1 New Nakati (Nnakati' ikli^) = 1/3 Tilauta = 462.3 g
1 Old Nakati (Nnakati' ttiki') = 1/3 Naka = 1078.7 g
1 Grishimu (ggarisi^mu)= 12 grisas (iqgari^sai) = 1/12 Naka = 49.53 g
1 Grisa (ggari^sa) = 4.128 g
All are borrowed

Most of these names are of unknown meaning, but apparantly they were the
weights of common objects, as older forms contained the element
pabutla-, from the Tarni'f pa"votlh, meaning weight.  The -ti on nakati
is from the Tarni'f diminuitive -ac (/atS/), while ggari^sa is from
ga"de`sa (grain),and ggarisi^mu from ga"de`simo, ga"de`sa + -imo,
augmentative.

Volume
1 Coffereezim* (kkapidizi^mu) = 12 coffeerizes (iqkapi^dizi) = 126.473 l
1 Coffeeree* (kka^pidi) = 12 Coffeerizaches (iqkapidi^zati) = 10.5394 l
1 Coffeerizach* (kkapidi^zati) = 6 (7) iqgida'i`gai = 878.285 ml
1 Ggida'i`ga = 6 (5) iqtli^gai = 146.381 ml (125.469 ml)
1 Itli^ga = 12 iqtli^kigai = 24.3968 ml (25.0938 ml)
1 Itli^kiga = 2.03307 ml 2.09115 ml
All are borrowed

* Anglicized
Numbers in parentheses are an older system, still sometimes in use.
Measurements below the ggida'i`ga are rarely used.  These small units
were the creation of the Tarni'f.  As is the Kkapidi^zati, which was
formed as an intermediate between ggida'i`ga and kka^pidi, originally a
ratio of 35 iqgida'i`gai to 1 kka^pidi.

Temperature
1 Bada^tla = 1/12 of difference between freezing point and boiling point
(more than 100 degrees celcius, because of higher air pressure)
Borrowed

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was hanged." - Irish proverb
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