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Chlouvānem/Morphology: Difference between revisions
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'''Ordinal numerals''' (...) | '''Ordinal numerals''' (...) | ||
'''Collective numerals''' (which decline as regular ''-ām'' nouns) are most commonly found with the meaning of "a group consisting of X ...", therefore implying greater cohesiveness than using the cardinal number implies. A common example of the subtle meaning change is between the sentences ''chīka lalāruṇa togāhaite'' (with a cardinal) and ''chīcætām lalāruṇa togāhaite'' (with a collective): both mean "seven ''lalāruṇai'' hit", but in the latter sentence the action | '''Collective numerals''' (which decline as regular ''-ām'' nouns) are most commonly found with the meaning of "a group consisting of X ...", therefore implying greater cohesiveness than using the cardinal number implies. A common example of the subtle meaning change is between the sentences ''chīka lalāruṇa togāhaite'' (with a cardinal) and ''chīcætām lalāruṇa togāhaite'' (with a collective): both mean "seven ''lalāruṇai'' hit", but in the latter sentence the action is implied to be a coordinate act of all seven animals, while in the former they either hit randomly or the coordination of the action is not specified (or not specification-worthy). This is also the most common meaning with pluralia tantum, as commonly heard with ethnonyms (which are all plural only in Chlouvānem), e.g. ''šulkatām chlǣvānem'' "[a group of] five Chlouvānem people".<br/> | ||
They can also be found, context-dependent, used with the meaning of "all X of..." - in a sentence such as e.g. ''tītyatām lejīn dilu liju lilejlaikate'' "all eight singers wanted to sing the same song" - or with the meaning of "X sets of" with singularia tantum - e.g. ''pāmvyatām hærṣūs'' "three pairs of lips" (but note that colloquial Chlouvānem increasingly often uses the cardinals here, e.g. ''pāmvi hærṣūs'').<br/> | They can also be found, context-dependent, used with the meaning of "all X of..." - in a sentence such as e.g. ''tītyatām lejīn dilu liju lilejlaikate'' "all eight singers wanted to sing the same song" - or with the meaning of "X sets of" with singularia tantum - e.g. ''pāmvyatām hærṣūs'' "three pairs of lips" (but note that colloquial Chlouvānem increasingly often uses the cardinals here, e.g. ''pāmvi hærṣūs'').<br/> | ||
The collective numerals for 0 and 1 (''ajrāṇṭām'' and ''leilintām'' respectively) are not included in the table above because they do not exist in practical use; however, they are sporadically found in poetry and literature, referring to people and with the meaning of "a group where only one/no one is ...", e.g. ''ajrāṇṭām tadhusmausīn'' "a group where no one is honest". Similarly, collectives for ''vālь-'' numbers (e.g. ''vālьpāmvyantām'' "a group consisting of 2½ ...") exist, but are virtually unused. | The collective numerals for 0 and 1 (''ajrāṇṭām'' and ''leilintām'' respectively) are not included in the table above because they do not exist in practical use; however, they are sporadically found in poetry and literature, referring to people and with the meaning of "a group where only one/no one is ...", e.g. ''ajrāṇṭām tadhusmausīn'' "a group where no one is honest". Similarly, collectives for ''vālь-'' numbers (e.g. ''vālьpāmvyantām'' "a group consisting of 2½ ...") exist, but are virtually unused. | ||