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| en:grammar:numbers [2022-11-04 14:09] – [Numbers up to a million] christian | en:grammar:numbers [2023-02-07 12:34] (current) – [Cardinal and ordinal numbers] christian |
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| **siro** – zero\\ | **siro** – zero\\ |
| **un** – one\\ | **un** – one\\ |
| **aual** – first\\ | **aval** – first\\ |
| **do** – two\\ | **do** – two\\ |
| **tri** – three\\ | **tri** – three\\ |
| If one considers a sequence of letters without whitespace between them as a "word", then numbers above 10 have one word for each digit that isn't 0. Number words are placed in the same order as the digits, so **sento** or its multiples (if present) are always followed by **des** or its multiples (if present) and finally a number word from **un** to **tisa** (unless the last digit is 0). | If one considers a sequence of letters without whitespace between them as a "word", then numbers above 10 have one word for each digit that isn't 0. Number words are placed in the same order as the digits, so **sento** or its multiples (if present) are always followed by **des** or its multiples (if present) and finally a number word from **un** to **tisa** (unless the last digit is 0). |
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| **Siro** '0' is only used by itself, if the whole number is 0. Otherwise, if any digit in a number word is 0, it is simply not mentioned in the number word. | **Siro** '0' is only used by itself, if the whole number is 0. Otherwise, if any digit in a number is 0, it is simply not mentioned in the number word. |
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| ===== Numbers up to a million ===== | ===== Numbers up to a million ===== |
| ... | ... |
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| While **milyon** is similar to the words used in English and many other languages, larger powers of 1000 are formed by combining the corresponding [[wp>Metric prefix#List of SI prefixes|SI prefix]] with the suffix **-(a)lyon**. This leads to forms that are recognizable for anyone familiar with these prefixes and that avoids the [[wp>Long and short scales|long vs. short scale]] issue that would otherwise inevitably plague an international auxlang. Most French-, Spanish-, or German-speaking countries (and others) use the "long scale", which means that the word *billion/billón/Billion* in these languages corresponds to the English word 'trillion' (10<sup>12</sup>) rather than to English 'billion' (10<sup>9</sup>) – since modern English and Arabic, as well as some other languages, use the "short scale" instead. And for larger numerals, the difference in meaning gets even bigger. Regardless of which convention an auxlang would follow, it would be confusing for those used to the other scale. Usage of words derived from the SI prefixes avoids this potential pitfall. | While **milyon** is similar to the words used in English and many other languages, larger powers of 1000 are formed by combining the corresponding [[wp>Metric prefix#List_of_SI_prefixes|SI prefix]] with the suffix **-(a)lyon**. This leads to forms that are recognizable for anyone familiar with these prefixes and that avoid the [[wp>Long and short scales|long vs. short scale]] issue that would otherwise inevitably plague an international auxlang. Most French-, Spanish-, or German-speaking countries (and others) use the "long scale", which means that the word //billion/billón/Billion// in these languages corresponds to the English word 'trillion' (10<sup>12</sup>) rather than to English 'billion' (10<sup>9</sup>) – since modern English and Arabic, as well as some other languages, use the "short scale" instead. And for larger numerals, the difference in meaning gets even bigger. Regardless of which convention an auxlang would follow, it would be confusing for those used to the other scale. Usage of words derived from the SI prefixes avoids this potential pitfall. |
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| Larger numbers are formed exactly in the same way as those involving **mil**, except that one or more of the words used for powers of 1000 are used as well – if several of these words are used in the same number, they are always sorted from largest to smallest. | Larger numbers are formed exactly in the same way as those involving **mil**, except that one or more of the words used for powers of 1000 are used as well – if several of these words are used in the same number, they are always sorted from largest to smallest. |
| **abe des do** – the twelfth bird | **abe des do** – the twelfth bird |
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| **Aual** is an alternative to **un** which is only used as ordinal (after nouns): | **Aval** is an alternative to **un** which is only used as ordinal (after nouns): |
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| **monte aual / monte un** – the first mountain | **monte aval / monte un** – the first mountain |
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| **aual** is only used standalone, never as a part of combined numbers: | **Aval** is only used standalone, never as a part of combined numbers: |
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| **uma des un** – the eleventh horse | **uma des un** – the eleventh horse |
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| | //Rationale:// That ordinal numerals from 'two' upward are derived from cardinal numerals while a separate independent form is used for 'first', is the most typical pattern according to WALS (ch. 53). To keep things simple and regular we also allow using **un** as ordinal, but we add **aval** as independent synonym. |
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| | TODO Also explain how fractions are formed (**-i** suffix), how numbers with a fractional part are expressed (likely using the dot as decimal separator), and how large numerals can be grouped (preferably uses spaces between groups of three?). |
