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Numeration in the Languages of Guiné

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

W. A. A. Wilson
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Extract

During a recent survey of the non-Mande languages of Guiné (Portuguese Guinea), the writer took notes on the systems of numeration, and observed some of the ways of counting and indicating totals on the fingers and hands. It was found that a comparison of the numeral stems gives a fair index of the degree of lexical affinity between any of the languages.

Résumé

LA NUMÉRATION DANS LES LANGUES DE LA GUINÉE PORTUGAISE

Dans les langues non-mandé de la Guinée Portugaise et des régions limitrophes, la diversité des systèmes de numération se voit autant dans leurs éléments lexiques que dans la manière dont sont formés les nombres composés; toutefois la proportion de ressemblance entre les thèmes lexiques constitue une sorte d'indice des rapports lexiques qui existent entre les vingt-cinq langues étudiées. Les nombres ‘3’ et ‘4’ se rapportent souvent aux thèmes du Bantou Commun; de ‘6’ à ‘9’ les formules sont pour la plupart des additions: ‘5 + 1’, ‘5 + 2’, etc.; au delà de ‘10’ la majorité des langues s'expriment par des multiples de ‘10’, les autres par des multiples de ‘20’ — ce dernier nombre étant parfois désigné par le substantif ‘personne’; les mots pour ‘100’ et ‘1000’ sont en général pris au mandé ou au créole portugais. Les gestes des mains et des doigts par lesquels l'on exprime les nombres ont un intérêt particulier, chaque tribu ayant sa tradition; souvent le geste explique une formule lexique d'apparence peu logique. Bien que toutes ces langues soient du groupe Ouest-Atlantique de Westermann, étant toutes ‘langues à classes’, la diversité syntaxique des nombres n'est guère moins marquée que leur diversité lexique.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 1961 , pp. 372 - 377
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1961

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References

page 372 note 1 All are in Westermann's West Atlantic group, within which we have set up the following sub-groups (single languages or clusters) on lexical and grammatical grounds; the names are listed in roughly geographical order, from N. to S. and W. to E.; and the abbreviations are given with each: Wolof (Wo); Diola-Karone-Diembereng (Dio, Kr, Dmb); Banhum-Cassanga-Cobiana (Bn, Cs, Cb); Bijagó (Bj); Manjaco-Papel-Mancanha (Mj, Pp, Men); Ganja-Balanta (Gj, Bl); Mansoanka or ‘Kunant’ (Ms); Fula (Fu); Pajadinka-Biafada-Konyagi-Tanda (Pj, Bf, Kg, Td); Nalu (Nl); Baga Mboteni (BMb); Baga ‘Fore’ (BF); Baga Maduri–Baga Sitemu–Baga Koba–Landuma–Temne (BMd, BS, BK, Ld, Tm). There are speakers of each of these within the Guiné borders.

page 373 note 1 The double hyphen () indicates the class concord prefix (or suffix, as in Bn), in those examples where it is necessary to show the structure of the word or the concords that are operating between certain words.

page 373 note 2 Mandinka also forms ‘7’ with the radical for ‘6’, cf. wooro ‘6’, woro-wula‘7’; the second element seems derived from fula ‘2’, and so the expression may mean ‘second six’ or ‘6b’, much as ‘13’ is replaced by ‘12a’ in English hotels, &c.

page 374 note 1 The verb -βas-ak- ‘finish’ is synonymous with the -deβ- found in ‘five’.

page 374 note 2 Crioulo sɛntu is from Portuguese cento, which is used only in complex numerals, the isolate form being cem, not used in Crioulo.

page 374 note 3 Portuguese um conto is a currency term, meaning ‘1,000 escudos’ (cf. English ‘guinea’), and is never applied to anything else, as it is in those languages which adopt it as ‘1,000’.