Quote?errthang;145964 wrote: When counting above 10...like celebrating a 29th birthday :D would you say "óólo wá"?
I was going to wait for questions, I see you have that quickness.:soldierg:
First let me say again that this is the language of my Grandparents and of our people which makes me really proud to learn/share it, that's the best language in the world if you ask me!
Now that the bragging is done let's work:
Numbers 1 to 6 are variable and need a
prefix corresponding to the nominal class of the object being counted:
| mwáaná wumósi | one child |
| kitótolo kimósi | one thing |
| báalá bóólo | two children |
| bitótolo byóólo | two things |
So on and so forth...We'll see the nominal classes soon enough but let's stick to the numbers for now.
Above 10 the structure is pretty much the same as in other Kongo and Bantu languages but remember, numbers 1 to 6 are variable so the prefix corresponds to the nominal class that
kúúmi (ten) belongs to and you use
na to connect them.
kúúmi na mósi
| (11) |
kúúmi na byóólo
| (12) |
kúúmi na bitátu
| (13) |
kúúmi na biná
| (14) |
kúúmi na bitáánu
| (15) |
kúúmi na sáámúnu
| (16) |
kúúmi na nsaamu
| (17) |
kúúmi na póomó
| (18) |
kúúmi na wá
| (19) |
After that, the difference with Lingala (for example) is that
kúúmi serving as the "ten unit" (
ntúkú in Lingala). Since we have several ten units it's in plural form so the prefix
ma is added to
kúúmi and of course the numbers 1 to 6 are again affected by this.
| makúúmi móólo | (20) |
makúúmi matátu
| (30) |
| makúúmi maná | (40) |
| makúúmi matáánu | (50) |
makúúmi masáámúnu
| (60) |
makúúmi nsaamu
| (70) |
makúúmi póómó
| (80) |
makúúmi wá
| (90) |
| nkáma | (100) |
So to finally answer your question, 29 is
makúúmi móólo na wá!
| nkáma dzóólo | (200) |
| nkáma tátu | (300) |
nkáma ná
| (400) |
| nkáma táánu | (500) |
| nkáma sáámúnu | (600) |
| nkáma nsaamu | (700) |
| nkáma póómó | (800) |
| nkáma wá | (900) |
| fúúnda | (1000) |
The same dingo-dingo (process) as with
kúúmi takes place with
fúúnda so you already know what the prefix will be.
| mafúúnda móólo | (2000) |
| mafúúnda matátu | (3000) |
| mafúúnda maná | (4000) |
| mafúúnda matáánu | (5000) |
| mafúúnda masáámúnu | (6000) |
| mafúúnda nsaamu | (7000) |
| mafúúnda póómó | (8000) |
| mafúúnda wá | (9000) |
I get these info from a book I just bought called "Beembe Grammar", you can get it here but it's in french:
http://www.edilivre.com/grammaire-beembe-guy-noel-kouarata.html#.VQeOkOEjpG1 (http://http://www.edilivre.com/grammaire-beembe-guy-noel-kouarata.html#.VQeOkOEjpG1)
In the book the author stops counting at
mafúúnda maná so that's it for now regarding numbers. We'll create exercises to test ourselves.
Note that the Beembe being presented in this book is the Beembe being spoken in Mouyondzi, just like in these proverbs: http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/showthread.php/78529-Mboongi-The-Tree-of-Wisdom-By-Arthur-TSOUARI-%28-800-proverbs-Book-in-Beemb%C3%A9-French-English-%29?p=86269&viewfull=1#post86269 (http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/showthread.php/78529-Mboongi-The-Tree-of-Wisdom-By-Arthur-TSOUARI-%28-800-proverbs-Book-in-Beemb%C3%A9-French-English-%29?p=86269&viewfull=1#post86269)