Miguel:
>The gender disagreement in the numbers 3-10 is in fact only apparent. The
>suffix -at(u) is not only a feminine marker, but also a plural/collective.
>The noun being counted is in the genitive plural, so "3 X's" in the
>masculine was:
>
>*Tala:T-at-u X-i:-n
Hmm, thanks, Miguel. The use of a collective for the feminine mirrors the
probable origin of the IE feminine *-ax deriving from an inanimate
collective.
I've also thought about Etruscan and wondered if maybe it too does
something similar -- ie: that it actually has an animate-inanimate gender
system with nouns/names which naturally describe females as sometimes
falling under the inanimate gender. Perhaps this is part of a larger
prehistoric
areal feature to grammatically confuse inanimates and collectives with
feminines?
= gLeN
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