Jan03 –  A Constructed Language

Jan03 Time and Date and Numbers

Numbers

Cardinal Numbers

The cardinal numbers from 0 to 9 are:

Digits
Word # Word #
ňou 0 hae 1
bet 2 kuar 3
šen 4 nin 5
zyf 6 dof 7
čux 8 max 9

Where Addend is 1 to 9 and Factor is 2 to 9, cardinal numbers from 10 to 99 have the form:

(Addend po) gol (Factor)

Where Addend is 1 to 99 and Factor is 2 to 9, cardinal numbers from 100 to 999 have the form:

(Addend po) šao (Factor)

haepogolbet 21

Ordinal Numbers

Except for "1st", which is formed using the root ku ("before"), the ordinal numbers are regularly formed from the corresponding cardinal numbers by prefixing wes- for animate referents and wen- for inanimate ones. There may be some phonetic assimilation of the final consonant of the prefix to the initial consonant of the number, e.g. weššao 100th (animate).

The word for "last" is formed using the root ši ("after") with the same prefixes.

Time and Date

Temporal Units

The common temporal units, used for both counting and naming, are shown in the following table:

Temporal Units
Word Replaces Equivalence
cek "second" ~ 1 second
cekšao "minute" 100 cek
ar "hour" 45 cekšao
man "day" 20 ar
mangol "week" 10 man
biao? "season" ~ 9 mangol
tor "year" 4 biao?

Duration

An expression of duration consists of the unit word followed by the cardinal number or other quantity word.

Time When

Cardinal numbers are used in naming time units rather than ordinal numbers, so the 1st day would be zomaňňou, "day" 0. The prefix zo- appears only at the start of a date or time.

Each man is divided into six "daytime" followed by dal "nighttime". The equivalent of noon is the start of "hour" 05 and the equivalent of midnight is the start of "hour" 15.

Relative Time

Expressions of time relative to some temporal reference point consist of an expression of duration followed by -ku "before" or -ši "after" plus an expression for the temporal reference point, such as tuk "then". If the temporal reference point is the present moment, pik "now" is usually omitted, with -ku or -ši given a lengthened pronunciation.

manku "yesterday"
manši "tomorrow"
manšituk "the day after"
torku "a year ago"
torgolšituk "10 years later"


page started: 2014.Jan.18 Sat
current date: 2014.Jan.19 Sun
content and form originated by qiihoskeh

Table of Contents