Re: Fw: [tied] Re: IE right & 10

> >> 1. Binary (e.g. Jawony, the Gunwinyguan family of Australian
> macro-phylum)
> >> (i.e. 1, 2, 2+1, 2+2, 2+2+1, ...)
> >> 2. Organized in pairs (e.g. Old Japanese: 1/2 fitö/futa, 3/6 mi/mu, 4/8
> >> yö/ya, 5/10 i-tu/töwo; Nama of the Khoi-San m-p.: /gui & /gaw "1" & "2",
> >> etc.)
> >> 3. Ternary (e.g. Yukaghir: 1,2,3,3+1,...,3+3,...)
> >>
> >>What? Yukaghir ternary?? Do you have a source for this? Kolyma or Tundra?
>
> Kolyma, Waldemar Jochelson, 1905: Essay on the grammar of Yukaghir language.
> Annals of the N.Y. Academy of Sciences, XVI.5,II,pp.97-152

Thanks, I will check it. My E. Maslova "Kolyma Yukaghir" 2003 says nothing
of the sort though..

> >> 4. Qaternary (e.g. Chumash of Santa Barbara: 1, 2, 3, 4, 4&1, 4&2, 4&3,
> >> 8...)
> >> 5. Quinary (e.g. Sumerian, where the ternary system was also used, etc.)
> >In what sense do you mean the ternary system was also used?
> >
> >Harald
>
> Sumerian: See Igor M. Diakonoff, 1983: Some reflections on numerals in
> Sumerian towards a history of mathematical speculation. Journal of the
> American Oriental Society 103, pp. 83-93; Dombrowski F.A. & B.W.W., 1991:
> Numerals and numeral systems in the Hamito-Semitic and other language
> groups. In: Semitic Studies in honor of W. Leslau, ed. A.S. Kaye. Wiesbaden:
> Harrassowitz, pp. 340-81
>
> I won't give you any examples, but in short, there was one system which used
> quinary counting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5+1, 5+2, 5+3 etc., higher numeral follow
> different patterns) and another one which used ternary counting (1,2,3,3+1
> and similar), and even ternal count of days (be, be-be, PES, PES-be,
> PES-be-be etc...I've just found myself giving examples, ha ha :-))

I have those papers, but this ternal system was used for special purposes
or counting special items and not, like the 5-10-20-60 system, for
counting an open class of objects. These special systems are not so interesting
I think and occur anywhere. For example I count beers in sixpacks because they
are sold that way. Four sixpacks is a "platta" (carton) btw, and some say
it's no coincidence that there are 24 hours in a day and 24 beers in a
platta ;-).

Harald