Numeral 2 as an indicator of repetition?

[Richard Barz]

VYAKARAN: South Asian Languages and Linguistics Net
Editors:  Tej K. Bhatia, Syracuse University, New York
          John Peterson, University of Osnabrueck, Germany
Details:  Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say: INFO VYAKARAN
Subscribe:Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say:
          SUBSCRIBE VYAKARAN FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
          (Substitute your real name for first_name last_name)
Archives: http://listserv.syr.edu

Dear Suren,

Your question brought back the past.  I remember the numeral 2 used in 
Hindi for the distributive in phrases like "baRe 2 log.." for 'baRe baRe 
log..' mainly in very cheap popular and ephemeral literature.  I don't 
remember that usage in any work of literary or academic pretension or 
even in newspapers, though it may have come in cheap magazines.  I can't 
remember seeing any example of this usage since the 1970s or maybe 
1980s.  I'm pretty sure that I never saw the 2 usage in Urdu and I don't 
recall it in any language but Hindi, but my experience with ephemeral 
literature in languages other than Hindi or Urdu is very limited.

I'm sure that the 2 usage was never as wide-spread or respectable in 
Hindi as it evidently is or was in indicating repetition of a word for 
the plural in Indonesian.

In my memory the numeral 2 used in Hindi was always the international 
"Arabic" form and never the Devanagari form.

Please let me know what your findings are.

With Best Wishes,
Richard

Suren Gambhir wrote:

> VYAKARAN: South Asian Languages and Linguistics Net Editors: Tej K. 
> Bhatia, Syracuse University, New York John Peterson, University of 
> Osnabrueck, Germany Details: Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu 
> and say: INFO VYAKARAN Subscribe:Send email to 
> listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say: SUBSCRIBE VYAKARAN FIRST_NAME 
> LAST_NAME (Substitute your real name for first_name last_name) 
> Archives: http://listserv.syr.edu
>
> Dear members of the Listserv,
>
>  
>
> In what contexts and in which Indic languages do you remember the 
> numeral 2 being used to indicate the repetition of the preceding word 
> or the preceding line?
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Thank you very much.
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Surendra Gambhir
>
> University of Pennsylvania
>

-- 
Dr Richard Barz
South Asia Centre
Faculty of Asian Studies
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Building 110, Baldessin Precinct Building
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200