Numbers in Alurhsa are a special type of adjective referred to as numerics, which do not inflect and which always precede the noun. Unlike English and most Indo-European languages, Alurhsa also includes as numerics many other number-related words such as ává (more), órá (much, many), and even sehene (enough). In all cases, numerics are not inflected no matter what case the noun object is in. However, numerics may, optionally, be inflected if they stand alone. Thus:
Xól˙ sílá sálekán - I have two books.
Xól˙ sílá or Xól˙ sílán - I have two.
Note: Nouns used after numbers, but not necessarily after all numerics, are always in the singular. Numerics which allow plural forms of their object noun will be noted as they are presented.
The basic numbers are as follows:
ehen zero
dwi one
sílá two
lhúvá three
elká four
ksňnye five
zílyev six
nestá seven (note: an older form of seven was: zlúrhyë, which is now rarely used.)
zlúr eight
vlórhyë nine
The powers of ten are:
delsá ten
delselká hundred
denelsá thousand
deçálá ten thousand
dóvírá hundred thousand
dóvenyá million
dásálá ten million
dírádhá hundred million
dúshentá billion (British: thousand million)
dúrásá ten billion (British: billion)
dinçálá
hundred billion (British: ten
billion)
dástárá
trillion (British: hundred
billion)
Note: Additional powers of ten exist, but as in English and many other languages, they are rarely used, with mathmatic terminology being more common for larger numbers, which tend to occur in scientific contexts. One other common word should be noted, gáshentá, which is equivalent to English slang zillion, meaning a very large but undetermined number.
The intermediate numbers are formed by adding a prefix to the powers of ten for multiples, and a suffix to the last power of ten in the series for units 1-9. The prefixes and suffixes are as follows:
prefix
suffix
English
-d one
se- -s two
lhú- -lh three
el- -lk four
ksňn- -ks five
zí- -z six
ne- -n seven
zlú- -úr eight
vló- -v nine
The prefixes are added to any power of ten to indicate multiples. Thus:
delsá - ten, sedelsá - twenty
deçálá - ten thousand, vlódeçálá - ninety thousand
The suffixes may be added to any power of ten to indicate single digits. For example: sedelsá (twenty), sedelsád (twenty-one). They are always added to the last power of ten in a series. Many speakers also will only add the suffixes to delsá (ten), and if speaking of a number such as 1003 will say denelsá-lhúvá instead of denelsálh, although the latter is also correct.
Note that several of the suffixes can sound alike in hurried or slurred speech, thus for many applications such as mathematics, scientific usage, or precision work, especially when done in poor audio conditions, it is acceptable and even preferred to use the separate numbers for single digit instead of the suffixes. Thus:
delsád eleven (also: delsá-dwi)
delsán seventeen (also: delsá-nestá)
vlódelsáv ninety-nine (also: vlódelsá-vlórhyë)
denelsá-vlódelselká-vlódelsáz 1996 (also: denelsá-vlódelselká-vlódelsá-zílyev)
As shown above, compound numbers in a series are normally written with hyphens between each element when written out.
Suffixes used with Numbers
There are several suffixes used with numbers to form ordinals, multiples, repetatives, and fractionals, among others. Numeric suffixes always cause the accent to adjust when added, thus sílá (two) is accented on the first syllable (the penultimate), while sílátá (half) is accented on the second, which is also the penultimate.
Ordinals are those numbers that refer to the placement of their object within a series. In English, these are first, second, third, and so on. In Alurhsa, ordinals are formed by adding -vá to numbers ending in a vowel other than ë, or -ává to numbers ending in consonants. Vlórhyë, which ends in ë, drops the ë and adds
-ává, following the same pattern as nouns in declension. Examples: sílává (second), ksňnyevá (fifth), zlúrává (eighth), delselkává (hundredth).
There are three irregular formations. The ordinal form of dwi (one), is dwiyevná (first). In common speech this is often replaced by prëyevná (first, earliest), especially if the idea conveys a sense of being first due to arriving earlier. The ordinal form of lhúvá (three) is lhúvásá (third) for euphonic reasons. Likewise, the ordinal form of zílyev (six) is zílyevá (sixth) for the same reason.
Ordinal forms of compound numbers, such as, in English, twenty-first, one-hundred-twenty-seventh, are formed in the same way, but the ordinal suffix is added to the last part of the series. The suffix may be added to either the tens element with the suffixed form of the unit, or to the unit as a separate word. For example:
sedelsádává or sedelsá-dwiyevná (twenty first)
delselká-sedelsánává or delselká-sedelsá-nestává (one hundred twenty-seventh)
Fractionals are formed in the same way as ordinals, but by adding the suffix -tá or -átá to vowel and consonant endings respectively. As with ordinals, ë is dropped and the suffix added to the remaining stem. However, no other irregularities exist. Thus we have:
sílátá (half), lhúvátá (third), ksňnyetá (fifth), zílyevátá (sixth), vlórhyátá (ninth).
As with ordinals, the suffix is added to the last element of a compound number. Example:
nedelselká-ksňndelsádátá or nedelselká-ksňndelsá-dwitá (seven-hundred-fifty-first).
Note that such constructions are as rare and awkward in
Alurhsa as they are in English or most other languages.
Multiples indicate the number of times, as with English twice, thrice, fifty times. In Alurhsa, multiples are also used to indicate multiplication in arithmetic, with the multiplicator having the multiple suffix attached when the equation is read. Multiples are formed by adding the suffix -xne or -áxne to vowel and consonant endings respectively. As with other suffixes, ë is dropped and the suffix added to the remaining stem. As with fractionals, no other irregularities exist, and the suffix is added to the last element of a compound number. Examples:
dwixne (once), síláxne (twice), zlúráxne (eight times)
lhúdelsánáxne or lhúdelsá-nestáxne (thirty-seven times)
eldenelsá-vlódelsázáxne or eldenelsá-vlódelsá-zílyeváxne (four-thousand ninety-six times)
Repetatives indicate how many at a time, and are formed by adding the suffix -rze or -árze to vowel and consonant endings respectively. As with other suffixes, ë is dropped and the suffix added to the remaining stem. As with fractionals, no other irregularities exist, although in certain dialects the form zlúrze can be heard instead of the standard zlúrárze (eight at a time), but this generally considered incorrect. Also as with fractionals, the suffix is added to the last element of a compound number. Examples:
dwirze (one at a time), sílárze (two at a time), zílyevárze (six at a time)
zídelsávárze or zídelsá-vlórhyárze (sixty-nine at a time)
Four other suffixes must be mentioned here, although they actually form nouns from numbers. -áren (or
-ren after á) is used to form collectives, such as síláren (pair), delsáren (set of ten, as French dixaine), delsásáren (dozen). Not all numbers use this suffix, but the student should be aware of it and recognize it in constructions.
-áxánsá, which forms descriptives, and -áxánsës which forms nouns, refer to numeric systems with the base of the number to which the suffix is added. These are -xánsá and -xánsës after vowels other than ë which is dropped. For example: síláxánsá (binary), delsáxánsá (decimal), zlúráxánsá (octal), delsázáxánsá (hexadecimal).
-áxës (or -xës after vowels) forms nouns referring to two dimensional geometric shapes with the number of sides being the number to which the suffix is added. As with others, ë is dropped before adding these. Examples: lhúváxës (triangle), ksňnyexës (pentagon), zílyeváxës (hexagon). The descriptive form of these replaces the ës with á: lhúváxá (triangular), zílyeváxá (hexagonal).
Finally, -árxán As with other suffixes, ë is dropped and the suffix added to the remaining stem. As with fractionals, no other irregularities exist, and the suffix is added to the last element of a compound number. Example: delsásárxánsës (dodecahedron).
Mathematics
An important use of numbers is obviously in mathematic expressions. As the basic mathematic operations are read aloud, the word ershô (makes) is used between the expression and the result, where in English either “is” or “equals” is used. . Note that commonly numbers in mathmatical equations are not declined, thus the result is not placed in the accusative even though ershô would normally require it.
The operations are expressed as follows:
Addition: The word vů
(plus) is used between the
numbers. eg. delsá vů sílá ershô delsás (ten
plus two equals twelve)
Subtraction: The word ányéve (minus, less) is used before the subtrahend. eg. delsá ányéve síla ershô zlúr (ten minus two equals eight)
Multiplication: The multiplicand is stated, then the multiplier is stated with the multiplicative suffix -áxne. eg. nestá zílyeváxne ershô eldelsás (seven times six is fourty-two)
Division: The dividend is stated, then the divisor is stated with an irregular adverbial form of the fractional suffix -átá, specifically: -áte. eg. delselká elkáte ershô sedelsáks (one hundred divided by four equals twenty-five)..
Exponents: The number is stated, then the word dhí (itself) followed by the exponent with the multiplicative suffix -áxne. eg. delsá dhí síláxne ershô delselká (ten to the power of two equals one hundred).
Note that for algrebraic and other expressions, it is legitimate to use the names of letters as though they were numbers. One difference is that in Alurhsa one must recognize multiplication and put at least one of the terms into the proper form. Normally this is the actual number, although it is just as legitimate to add the suffix to the letter. Thus, zílyeváxne Ná dhí lhúváxne vů sedelsáksáxne Qá ershô vlórhyáxne Yá (6n3 + 25q = 9y)
Positive and negative are expressed by the use of the words áxólá and ákánsá respectively. These are placed after the number in question, thus: sedelsán áxólá positive twenty-seven, nestá ákánsá negative seven.
General Numerics
In addition to words which actually refer to numbers, Alurhsa has several other words which are used the same way. These words themselves do not decline regardless of the case of the noun object, although as with numbers, when these words stand alone they can take the appropriate case for their placement and use in the sentence or phrase.
The following general numerics allow for the noun to be either singular or plural as needed, although the normal rule stating that the singular may be used and is often preferred if context provides sufficient clues.
ává (more), ávná (most), éve (less), évne (least), sehene or séne (enough)
órá (much/many), ńórá (little, few), kórá (so much/many), áyórá (some, any)
shthórá (how much/many), órányá (several, a fair amount of), sirá (as much/many)
The remaining general numerics, listed below, require the noun to be singular even if the meaning is plural:
ngeyë (none, no), gánúmáxá (an infinite amount of), yáve (some)
nísál (a bit of, a taste of), órhál (several), sehene (enough), ttňsílá (both)
ttňlhúvá (all three), vírísá (a little bit of)
Examples:
Ńe věgô gámás sehene sálekó - There are never enough books.
Shthórá óleván xólyá? - How much paper do we have?
Shthórá vílshínyán xólyá? or Shthórá vílshínyáyón xólyá? - How many pencils do we have?
Ghel˙ gánúmáxá lúván - I see an infinite number of stars.
Cëlô kórán˙ - He
gives to so many. But:
Cëlô kórá káyálón˙
- He gives to so many children.
And:
Cëlô kórán káyálón˙
- He gives so much to children.
Ává sálekó, ává
álvá - More books, more joy.
Ńeyë sálek, ńeyë álvá - No books, no joy.
Xól˙ sirá sálekón
sá ólye - I have as many books as
you.
Xól˙ sirá sálekón sá dúrzhún - I have as many books as pairs of shoes.
Çalálv yáve vóshthďn - Eat some stew!
Çalálv yáve tsítán - Eat some grapes!
Shá çalásvál˙
órhál tsítán - I have already
eaten several grapes.
Shá çalásvál˙
órhálán - I have already eaten
several.
Note that this last sentence may also be said: shá çalásvál˙ órhál, without the accusative, as many dialects, especially rural ones, do not use case endings, especially the accusative, with numerics.