Numeral 2 as an indicator of repetition?

[YAMBU]

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Numerals are used in Nepal Bhasa and Nepali also. E.g., yakwa2 (yakwa yakwa 
= lots); Jay3 (Jay! Jay! Jay! = hail, hail, hail).


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Witzel" <witzel at FAS.HARVARD.EDU>
To: <VYAKARAN at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 8:26 AM
Subject: Re: Numeral 2 as an indicator of repetition?


> 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
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>
> The use of 2 for the plural is common in Indonesian:
> orang2  = orang orang  "humans, people"
> or most spectacular : knalpot2 = "exhausts (of car)"  ...
>
> Cheers,
> Michael
>
>
> On Jun 16, 2008, at 10:11 PM, Richard Barz wrote:
>
>> VYAKARAN: South Asian Languages and Linguistics Net
>> Editors:  Tej K. Bhatia, Syracuse University, New York
>>          John Peterson, University of Osnabrueck, Germany
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>> 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 
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>>>
>>> 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
>
> Michael Witzel
>> Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University,
>> 1 Bow Street , 3rd floor, Cambridge MA 02138
>> 1-617-495 3295           Fax: 496 8571
>> direct line:       496 2990
>> <http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm>
>> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indo-Eurasian_research/>
>> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/compmyth>
>> <http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/>
>