Difference between revisions of "Numerals"

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(Cardinal Numbers)
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==Cardinal Numbers==
 
==Cardinal Numbers==
  
Traditionally Gaelic used a Vigesimal counting system. This means that it is based in 20s (equivalent to the old numbers in English based on "Score").
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Traditionally Gaelic used a vigesimal counting system. This means that it is based in 20s (equivalent to the old numbers in English based on "Score").
  
 
===When used to list phone numbers or count objects without naming them===
 
===When used to list phone numbers or count objects without naming them===
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|-
 
|-
 
!2
 
!2
|dhà<sup>L</sup>/da<sup>L</sup>
+
|dhà<sup>L</sup>/<sup>L</sup>
 
|dà chat
 
|dà chat
 
|-
 
|-
 
!3
 
!3
|tri
+
|tri<sup>1<sup>
 
|rowspan="8"|plural
 
|rowspan="8"|plural
 
|tri cait
 
|tri cait
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|deich
 
|deich
 
|deich cait
 
|deich cait
 +
|}
 +
<sup>1<sup>In some dialects 3-5 also lenite the following noun.
 +
 +
====11 to 20====
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:{| border=1 cellpadding="5", rules="all" style="text-align:center"
 +
!English
 +
!Gaelic
 +
!Takes
 +
!Example
 +
|-
 +
!11
 +
|aon<sup>L</sup> X deug
 +
|rowspan="2"|singular
 +
|aon chat deug
 +
|-
 +
!12
 +
|dà<sup>L</sup> X deug
 +
|dà chat deug
 +
|-
 +
!13
 +
|tri X deug
 +
|rowspan="7"|plural
 +
|tri cait deug
 +
|-
 +
!14
 +
|ceithir X deug
 +
|ceithir cait deug
 +
|-
 +
!15
 +
|còig X deug
 +
|còig cait deug
 +
|-
 +
!16
 +
|sia X deug
 +
|sia cait deug
 +
|-
 +
!17
 +
|seachd X deug
 +
|seachd cait deug
 +
|-
 +
!18
 +
|ochd X deug
 +
|ocht cait deug
 +
|-
 +
!19
 +
|naoi X deug
 +
|naoi cait deug
 +
|-
 +
!20
 +
|fichead X
 +
|singular
 +
|fichead cat
 
|}
 
|}
  

Revision as of 22:10, 1 July 2009

Cardinal Numbers

Traditionally Gaelic used a vigesimal counting system. This means that it is based in 20s (equivalent to the old numbers in English based on "Score").

When used to list phone numbers or count objects without naming them

Formally, when counting or listing phone numbers, each number is prefixed with the particle aH (a h-aonan, a dha, a tri, a ceithir, a còig, a sia, a seachd, a h-ochd, a naoi, a deich, etc.) But this particle is rarely used anymore by speakers. Lamb (2003) reports that the particle is only really used on the Radio. The particle does, however appear as the last part of complex numbers such as ceithir fichead 's a tri (83)

0 to 19

Number Gaelic Number Gaelic
0 neodi 10 deich
1 aonan 11 aon deug
2 dhà 12 dà dheug
3 tri 13 tri deug
4 ceithir 14 ceithir deug
5 còig 15 còig deug
6 sia 16 sia deug
7 seachd 17 seachd deug
8 ochd 18 ochd deug
9 naoi 19 naoi deug

20-29, 40-49, 60-69, 80-89

Number Gaelic Number Gaelic Number Gaelic Number Gaelic
20 Fichead 40 dà fhichead 60 tri fichead 80 ceithir fichead
21 fichead 's a aonan 41 dà fhichead 's a aonan 61 tri fichead 's a aonan 81 ceithir fichead 's a aonan
22 fichead 's a dhà 42 dà fhichead 's a dhà 62 tri fichead 's a dhà 82 ceithir fichead 's a dhà
23 fichead 's a tri 43 dà fhichead 's a tri 63 tri fichead 's a tri 83 ceithir fichead 's a tri
24 fichead 's a ceithir 44 dà fhichead 's a ceithir 64 tri fichead 's a ceithir 84 ceithir fichead 's a ceithir
25 fichead 's a còig 45 dà fhichead 's a còig 65 tri fichead 's a còig 85 ceithir fichead 's a còig
26 fichead 's a sia 46 dà fhichead 's a sia 66 tri fichead 's a sia 86 ceithir fichead 's a sia
27 fichead 's a seachd 47 dà fhichead 's a seachd 67 tri fichead 's a seachd 87 ceithir fichead 's a seachd
28 fichead 's a h-ocht 48 dà fhichead 's a h-ocht 68 tri fichead 's a h-ocht 88 ceithir fichead 's a h-ocht
29 fichead 's a naoi 49 dà fhichead 's a naoi 69 tri fichead 's a naoi 89 ceithir fichead 's a naoi

30-39, 50-59, 70-79, 90-99

Number Gaelic Number Gaelic Number Gaelic Number Gaelic
30 deich air fhichead 50 dà fhichead 's a deich
(leuth-cheud)
70 tri fichead 's a deich 90 ceithir fichead 's a deich
31 aon deug air fhichead 51 dà fhichead 's a aon deug 71 tri fichead 's a aon deug 91 ceithir fichead 's a aon deug
32 dà dheug air fhichead 52 dà fhichead 's a dà dheug 72 tri fichead 's a dà dheug 92 ceithir fichead 's a dà dheug
33 tri deug air fhichead 53 dà fhichead 's a tri deug 73 tri fichead 's a tri deug 93 ceithir fichead 's a tri deug
34 ceithir deug air fhichead 54 dà fhichead 's a ceithir deug 74 tri fichead 's a ceithir deug 94 ceithir fichead 's a ceithir deug
35 còig deug air fhichead 55 dà fhichead 's a còig deug 75 tri fichead 's a còig deug 95 ceithir fichead 's a còig deug
36 sia deug air fhichead 56 dà fhichead 's a sia deug 76 tri fichead 's a sia deug 96 ceithir fichead 's a sia deug
37 seachd deug air fhichead 57 dà fhichead 's a seachd deug 77 tri fichead 's a seachd deug 97 ceithir fichead 's a seachd deug
38 ochd deug air fhichead 58 dà fhichead 's a h-ochd deug 78 tri fichead 's a h-ochd deug 98 ceithir fichead 's a h-ochd deug
39 naoi deug air fhichead 59 dà fhichead 's a naoi deug 79 tri fichead 's a naoi deug 99 ceithir fichead 's a naoi deug

100+

100 ceud

1000 mile 1999 naoi ceud deug ceithir fichead 's a naoi deug 2000 dà mhile 2002 dà mhile 's a dhà

When used with a noun

1 to 10

English Gaelic Takes Example
1 aonL singular aon chat
2 dhàL/dàL dà chat
3 tri1 plural tri cait
4 ceithir ceithir cait
5 còig còig cait
6 sia sia cait
7 seachd seachd cait
8 ochd ocht cait
9 naoi naoi cait
10 deich deich cait

1In some dialects 3-5 also lenite the following noun.

11 to 20

English Gaelic Takes Example
11 aonL X deug singular aon chat deug
12 L X deug dà chat deug
13 tri X deug plural tri cait deug
14 ceithir X deug ceithir cait deug
15 còig X deug còig cait deug
16 sia X deug sia cait deug
17 seachd X deug seachd cait deug
18 ochd X deug ocht cait deug
19 naoi X deug naoi cait deug
20 fichead X singular fichead cat

Distributive Numbers

e.g. pair, dozen

Distributive Numbers for non-humans

Distributive Numbers for humans

Number Gaelic
1 aonan/aonar (m)
2 dithis/dithist (f)
3 triùir (f)
4 ceathrar (m)
5 còignear (m)
6 sianar (m)
7 seachdnar/seachdar (m)
8 ochdnar/ochdar (m)
9 naoinear (m)
10 deichnear/deineir (m)

Lamb: numbers over 1 take genitive case. dithis fhear

Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers describe a position in a series of objects. In English these are numbers like first second, third

Number Gaelic Number Gaelic
first a' chiad eleventh
second an darna twelfth
third an treas thirteenth
fourth an ceathramh fourteenth
fifth an còigeamh fifteenth
sixth an siathamh1 sixteenth
seventh an seachdamh1 seventeenth
eighth an t-ochdamh eighteenth
ninth an naoidheamh nineteenth

1. For some speakers these nouns are feminine and show up as an t-seachdamh and an t-siathamh, especially before other nouns


  • an deicheamh 'tenth'
  • am ficheadamh 'twentieth'


Other Numbers

Multiplicative Numbers

represents repetition (once, twice, thrice)


Partitive Numbers

expresses a fraction (half, quarter, third)

  • leth 'half'


Integrative-Cumulative Numbers

refer to something made up for several parts single, double, triple


External Links

References

  • Fisher, Muriel (2004) Scottish Gaelic: Level 1. Seattle: Each-Mara Publications
  • Lamb, William (2003) Scottish Gaelic. Munich: Lincom Europa.
  • Robertson, Boyd and Ian MacDonald (2004) Gaelic Dictionary. Teach Yourself books.