John Lennon Memorial Query: No. 9

[Jack Martin]

John,

There is a division within the Muskogean languages on the number nine, but
we have to start with 'four'.  My data here are partly based on the
unpublished Muskogean cognates sets that Pam Munro and others have been
working on (well, sort of).

Each branch of the family has a related word for 'four':  Creek o^:stin,
Mikasuki si:ta^:kin, Alabama o'sta^:ka, Koasati osta:ka, Choctaw, Chickasaw
o$ta. (^=falling tone, '=acute accent, $=s with hachek).  These may point
to a form *ostaka or *ositaka.

In Creek and Mikasuki, the word for 'nine' is based on 'four':  Creek
ostapa^:kin [ost- 'four' + apa^:kin 'added in'], Mikasuki
ostapa^:kin.  (I'm not sure if the Mikasuki form is analyzable in
Mikasuki--it may be a loan from Creek.)

In the other languages (sometimes called the "Southwest" group), we see a
different form used:  Alabama ca'kka^:li, Koasati cakka:li, Choctaw
cakka:li, Chickasaw cakka?li.  (c=<ch>, ?=glottal stop)  Pam, in the
cognates sets, connects this to Choctaw, Chickasaw cakali 'pregnant' (i.e.,
about to become ten).  Numbers are in the "geminating grade" (an aspectual
form marked by gemination) in Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Alabama, so cakali >
cakka:li in Choctaw is a normal development.  As far as I know, Alabama and
Koasati to do not have a cognate for 'pregnant', though, so they may have
borrowed from Choctaw or Chickasaw, if the proposed etymology is right.

Where does this leave us?
-the similarities you observe are limited within Muskogean to what might be
called the more western/northern languages
-if Pam's etymology for 'nine' is accepted, and the forms in other
languages are cognate, then Choctaw or Chickasaw would be the most likely
source

Hope this helps.  I'm not sure why 'nine' would be borrowed.  As Haas and
others have noticed, the word for 'seven' was borrowed from Creek into
Cherokee, but seven is the special number for the Cherokee, so that sort of
makes sense (four is the special number in the Muskogean languages).

Incidentally, I've had some fun recently eliciting an old system of numbers
in Creek used for gambling.  I have several of these recorded now, but each
person remembers a slightly different version.  It seems like this sort of
thing might have passed easily between groups.

Jack