[Tibeto-burman-linguistics] A question about numerals

[Chris Button]

Just to pull the conversation back to Chin for a moment, one fascinating thing about the numerals there is that they inflect like intransitive verbs (verbal inflections in Chin historically resulting from a causative -s suffix)

From: randy.lapolla at gmail.com
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 10:21:08 +0800
To: gwendolyn.hyslop at gmail.com
CC: tibeto-burman-linguistics at listserv.linguistlist.org
Subject: Re: [Tibeto-burman-linguistics] A question about numerals

Hi Gwen,This is actually found in a number of languages in the family, though I don't have access to the information right now. It often implies there was a native system that was replaced by a borrowed one, as in Japanese and Thai.
Randy
On 17 Dec, 2014, at 7:08 am, Gwendolyn Hyslop <gwendolyn.hyslop at gmail.com> wrote:Dear Tibeto-Burmanists,
In most languages of Bhutan I have looked at, I have found special forms of the numbers 'one' and 'two' for measurement contexts. For example, Kurtöp 'one' and 'two' are thê and zon unless counting things like containers (bre, phuya, etc.) of grain, points in archery, distance measured by fingers, hands, bodies, etc. In those contexts 'one' and 'two' are bleng and gwâ. I believe a similar system is also in Tibetan as well as in other Bhutanese languages, although the forms do not appear to be cognate (Dzongkha g'ang and d'o, for example).  Although it is not exactly the same sort of system, I am also reminded of the difference between the two Mandarin words for 'two'. (er2 and liang3)
So, my question to you: how widespread is this? Is it just a Tibetan/Bhutan thing or is it more widespread than this?
Cheers,Gwen_______________________________________________
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