literature

Counting in lhaa: siri!

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SanguineEpitaph's avatar
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SanguineEpitaph
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Literature Text

You can do it too! łaá siri uses a base 5 (quinary) system of counting, and I hope it's pretty straightforward! Let me know if you have questions! 

one - saya
two - liyu
three - latłá
four - tłu
five - lar
six - lar saya’i
seven - lar liyu’i
eight - lar latła’i
nine - lar tłu’i
ten - liyu lar
eleven - liyu lar saya’i
[…]
fifteen - latłá lar
sixteen - latłá lar saya’i
[…]
twenty five - łatłaalar
[...]
fifty liyu łatłaalar
[…]
100 tłu łatłaalar
[…]
125 łilar
[…]
500 tłu łilar
[…]
625 si’ilar

Practical examples: 
(I did hardcore math for this, so appreciate it!)
465: latłá  łilar latłá łatłaalar latłá lar’i 
       [3 x 125]  + [3 x 25]+ [3 x 5] = 375 + 75 + 15 = 465

1,234: si’ilar tłu łilar tłu łatłaalar lar tłu’i
          [625] + [4 x 125] + [4 x 25] + [5 + 4] = 625 + 500 + 100 + 9 = 1,234

Note that, when using numbers ordinally, they must behave as adjectives modifying the noun that is being counted. Typically, when a number exceeds 125, it’s standard to use “sa'rarya,” which means “many.” If fact, specificity is uncommon in numbers that aren’t easily counted.

          łi                 'araá                      li     łatłaalar sałuriila'u.

          1sg.NOM.     woman-SENT.        ADJ. 25        PROG.-PROX.-PROX.-see

          “I see 25 women.” 



And now you can count like a pro! :D 
If you don't care about conlangs, you can ignore it. (~ouo)~
© 2012 - 2024 SanguineEpitaph
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mbrsart's avatar
mbrsart
Nice! I use sort of a quinary system for Hra'anh, though I don't like what I've written down. I need to come up with a race that has four arms and four fingers on each hand so that I can use a vegesimal system. :)