Numbers
The Hadza did not count before the introduction of Swahili. Native numerals are itchâme 'one' and píhe 'two'. Sámaka 'three' is a Datooga loan, and bóne 'four', botáno 'five', and ikhúmi 'ten' are Sukuma. Áso 'many' is commonly used instead of botano for 'five'. There is no systematic way to express other numbers without using Swahili.
Read more about this topic: Hadza Language
Famous quotes containing the word numbers:
“What culture lacks is the taste for anonymous, innumerable germination. Culture is smitten with counting and measuring; it feels out of place and uncomfortable with the innumerable; its efforts tend, on the contrary, to limit the numbers in all domains; it tries to count on its fingers.”
—Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985)
“One murder makes a villain, millions a hero. Numbers sanctify, my good fellow.”
—Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977)
“Publishers are notoriously slothful about numbers, unless they’re attached to dollar signs—unlike journalists, quarterbacks, and felony criminal defendents who tend to be keenly aware of numbers at all times.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)