numbers in Arop et al.

[Rene van den Berg]

I asked John Nystrom, an SIL member who works in the Arop-Sissano area to comment on the discussion on numbers. His reply follows below. 

"I'm sitting at a large table with speakers from Arop, Serra, Sissano, and
Malol, and have asked them about numbers today. This is what these native
speakers, all men in their 30's, say: 

The data cited below are correct for Sissano up to 2. After that, they go to
Pidgin: tripela, foapela, etc. 

The date cited below are correct for Serra up to 3. After three, they go to
Pidgin: foapela, faivpela, etc. 

'tartar' is not used to mean '5' in Sissano. It means 'many,' as it does
also in Arop and Malol. 

If you are very persistent, you can get a native Arop speaker to say 2-1 for
3, and 2-2 for four. In my nineteen years in Arop, I have only heard anybody
say these forms, when they were being asked to do so by a linguist or when
they were trying to show that they really do have more than words for one
and two in their language. 

John Nystrom


> Laycock OL 1974 245-277
>
> & = upside down e
> N = ng
>
> Sissano:
> 1 pond&nen 2 tin
> 3 tin pond&nen
> 4 tinutin
> 5 tartar
> 6-10 ?
>
> Sera:
> 1 pontenen 2 eltiN
> 3 eltiN pal
> 4 eltiN eltiN
> 5 piNgari ponteneN
> 6-9 ?
> 10 piNgariN eltiN
>
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