From LOJBAN%CUVMB.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu Fri Dec 9 04:23:04 1994 Received: from uga.cc.uga.edu by nfs1.digex.net with SMTP id AA22839 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for ); Fri, 9 Dec 1994 04:22:56 -0500 Message-Id: <199412090922.AA22839@nfs1.digex.net> Received: from UGA.CC.UGA.EDU by uga.cc.uga.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9205; Fri, 09 Dec 94 04:22:49 EST Received: from UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@UGA) by UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 8000; Fri, 9 Dec 1994 04:22:33 -0500 Date: Fri, 9 Dec 1994 01:30:15 MET Reply-To: Goran Topic Sender: Lojban list From: Goran Topic Subject: Re: Subject: Re: TEXT: pemci To: Lojban Listserv Status: RO lojbab: > >What I think is malglico (but not carmi malglico) is not the decision > >not to make number distinctions obligatory, but rather the failure to > >design in a short & simple way to indicate plurality. > > But why plurality in paritcular. Why not singular/dual/su'oci? > Or why not the Russian system which is singular/2-5/su'oxa but then after > 20 cycles again on the last 1 or 2 digits so that 21 is singular? > (Russian also does have a straight plural but it is not used when there > is a specific number involved.) Croatian has the same weird system... We have several kinds of plurals, but do not distinguish between them, except morphologically: there is a short plural, long plural, and plural used for 2-5, which is, I believe, historically derived from dual. sat = hour or clock = Nom. sg. satovi Nom. long plural, = clocks sati Nom. short plural, = hours jedan sat Nom. sg. = 1 hour/clock dva/tri/cetiri sata short Gen. Pl. for 2-5, = 2/3/4 of hours/clocks pet/sest/.../dvadeset sati/satova short/long Gen. Pl. for >4 = 5/6/.../20 of hours/clocks dvadeset/trideset/... i jedan sat twenty/thirty/... and one hour/clock (Nom. SG!) dvadeset/trideset/... i dva/tri/cetiri sata twenty/thirty/... and two/three/four of hours/clocks (short Gen. Pl. <5) dvadeset/trideset/... i pet/.../devet sati/satova twenty/thirty/... and five/.../nine of hours/clocks (short/long Gen. Pl. >4) etc. BTW, And, no, I know three languages with dual (Old Irish, Sanskrt and Slovenian), and pe'i every one of them uses dual WHENEVER there is two instances of the nomen in question. E.g. (not sure if completely correct): Slov. Engl. jaz grem I go midva greva We-two go mi gremo We go I hope this wasn't too off topic. .i seljvajbo fa lu co'o mi'e. goran. li'u -- Learn languages! The more langs you know, the more incomprehensible you can get e'udoCILreleiBANgu.izo'ozo'onairoBANguteDJUnobedocubanRI'a.ailekadonaka'eSELjmi