Companion Terms for 7 and 8 (Re: 'eight' some more)

[R. Rankin]

> Bob?  I don't remember - were you placing a particular analysis on *pe in
> 'six'?  In Denig's description that Linda cites, fingers are closed down in
> counting, rather that opened out.

Start with a fist in front of you, palm down, parallel to the ground.  Extend
the little finger of this first hand for 'one'.  Keep going thru the thumb =
'five'.  Now, your second fist is extended beside the first (which by now has
all 5 fingers extended.  The extended thumb on the second fist makes it 'six',
but of course the entire fist can easily be reinterpreted as the 'six' sign,
since the thumb is not prominent.  The index finger of the second hand (next to
the thumb) is then 'seven', but it looks to the hearer as if only one finger is
extended -- thus the seven term in the spoken language.  Keep extending until
only the last "pinkie" is left in the palm -- that's 'nine'.  All fingers on
both hands extended is 'ten'.  That's what the pictures tell me.  I think my
source was Mallory or Clarke, nor can I remember who plagiarized from whom,
although it's a matter of record..

> The closest I can get to a morpheme *pe that would describe this is the
> fist syllable of *pe'thaN 'to fold' (Dakotan *pehaN, OP bethaN, etc.), or
> maybe *pe'priN 'to twist' (Da pemni(N)', OP be'bdhiN, etc.),...

> One thing I notice about the counting scheme is that it starts with the
> little finger on the first hand, and the thumb on the second,

Yep, you just go right across from one side to the other.

The -pe of $akpe is just as mysterious as the *hpe- of the seven/eight numerals
in Dhegiha.  They may even be the same morpheme.  I have no answer there.

Bob