Counting
Though broadly based on standard Hindi, counting in Fijian Hindi reflects a number of cross-language and dialectal influences picked up in the past 125 years.
The pronunciation for numbers between one and ten show slight inflections, seemingly inspired by eastern Hindi dialects such as Bhojpuri. The number two, consequently, is do (दो) in standard Hindi, while in Fijian Hindi it is dui (दुइ), just as it is in Bhojpuri. Similarly, the number six in standard Hindi is chhe (छे) while in Fijian Hindi it is pronounced as chhah (छह).
Words for numbers between 10 and 99 present a significant difference between standard and Fijian Hindi. While, as in other north Indian languages, words for numbers in standard Hindustani are formed by mentioning units first and then multiples of ten, Fijian Hindi reverses the order and mentions the tens multiple first and the units next, as is the practice in many European languages and South-Indian languages. That is to say, while 'twenty-one' in Indian Hindi is 'ikkiis' (इक्कीस), an internal sandhi of 'ek aur biis', or 'one-and-twenty', in Fijian Hindi it would reverse the order, and simply be 'biis aur ek' (बिस और एक), without any additional morphophonological alteration. Similarly, while the number thirty-seven in standard Hindi is 'saintiis' (सैंतीस), for 'saat aur tiis' or 'seven-and-thirty', the number would be तिस और सात, 'tiis aur saat', or 'thirty-and-seven' in Fijian Hindi.
Additionally, powers of ten beyond ten-thousand, lakh (100,000) and karor (10 million) are not used in Fijian Hindi.
| Number in English | Number in Standard Hindi Devanagri Script | Number in Standard Hindi Roman Script | Number in Fijian Hindi Roman Script |
|---|---|---|---|
| twenty-one | इक्कीस | ikkiis | bis aur ek |
| twenty-two | बाईस | baaiis | bis aur dui |
| twenty-three | तेईस | teiis | bis aur teen |
| thirty-one | इकत्तीस | ikatiis | tiis aur ek |
| thirty-two | बत्तीस | battiis | tiis aur dui |
| thirty-three | तैंतीस | taintiis | tiis aur teen |
| forty-one | इकतालीस | ekatalis | chaalis aur ek |
| forty-two | बयालीस | bayaalis | chaalis aur dui |
| forty-three | तैंतालीस | taintaalis | chaalis aur teen |
Read more about this topic: Fiji Hindi
Famous quotes containing the word counting:
“Love is sinister,
is mean to us in separation;
makes our thin bodies thinner.
This fellow Death
lacks mercy
and is good at counting our days.
And Master,
you, too, are subject
to the plague of jealousy
so think:
how could womenfolk,
soft as sprouts,
live like this?”
—Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)
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—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“If you’re counting my eyebrows, I can help you. There are two.”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)