twoth

[LanDi Liu]

Chinese has  $BBhQ\ (B, di4ji3.  "di4 is an ordinal marker, like English "-th", and
"ji3" means how many.

I think Japanese has one too, but I can't remember what it is, and my books
are in another room where someone is sleeping at the moment.

I think I've heard kids say "what-th", and may have said it myself.

Randy

On Jan 24, 2008 10:10 PM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: twoth
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> How common is it in natural languages to have an ordinal interrogative
> word?
> Esperanto has "kioma", derived by adjectivizing "kiom"  'how much/many"?
>
> m a m
>
> On Jan 17, 2008 8:48 PM, Bill Le May <blemay0 at mchsi.com> wrote:
>
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf
> > > Of Joel S. Berson
> > > Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 10:42 AM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > > Subject: Re: twoth
> >
> > > Thank heaven this is not likely to lead to oneth and thirdth.  (If I
> > > come across speakers of these, I won't stand too close.)
> >
> > In childhood I remember saying "what-th". Wondering the day of the
> month,
> > I
> > would ask a parent "what day is it" and inevitably get an answer like
> > "Wednesday". Frustrated, I'd reply, "No, I mean today is that what-th of
> > January?"
> >
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--
Randy Alexander
Jilin City, China

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