Numbers in Mussau-Emira



Learn numbers in Mussau-Emira

Knowing numbers in Mussau-Emira is probably one of the most useful things you can learn to say, write and understand in Mussau-Emira. Learning to count in Mussau-Emira may appeal to you just as a simple curiosity or be something you really need. Perhaps you have planned a trip to a country where Mussau-Emira is the most widely spoken language, and you want to be able to shop and even bargain with a good knowledge of numbers in Mussau-Emira.

It's also useful for guiding you through street numbers. You'll be able to better understand the directions to places and everything expressed in numbers, such as the times when public transportation leaves. Can you think of more reasons to learn numbers in Mussau-Emira?

The Mussau-Emira language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian group (and more specifically to the oceanic sub-group) of the Austronesian family. It is spoken in Papua New Guinea, on the islands of Mussau and Emirau, in the Bismarck Archipelago, and counts about 5,000 speakers.Due to lack of data, we can only count accurately up to 9,999 in Mussau-Emira. Please contact me if you can help me counting up from that limit.

List of numbers in Mussau-Emira

Here is a list of numbers in Mussau-Emira. We have made for you a list with all the numbers in Mussau-Emira from 1 to 20. We have also included the tens up to the number 100, so that you know how to count up to 100 in Mussau-Emira. We also close the list by showing you what the number 1000 looks like in Mussau-Emira.

• 1) sesa
• 2) lua
• 3) tolu
• 4) ata
• 5) lima
• 6) nomo
• 7) itu
• 8) oalu
• 9) sio
• 10) sangaulu
• 11) sangaulu sesa
• 12) sangaulu lua
• 13) sangaulu tolu
• 14) sangaulu ata
• 15) sangaulu lima
• 16) sangaulu nomo
• 17) sangaulu itu
• 18) sangaulu oalu
• 19) sangaulu sio
• 20) luengaulu
• 30) tolungaulu
• 40) atingaulu
• 50) limangaulu
• 60) nomongaulu
• 70) itungaulu
• 80) oalungaulu
• 90) siongaulu
• 100) ai
• 1,000) airari

Numbers in Mussau-Emira: Mussau-Emira numbering rules

Each culture has specific peculiarities that are expressed in its language and its way of counting. The Mussau-Emira is no exception. If you want to learn numbers in Mussau-Emira you will have to learn a series of rules that we will explain below. If you apply these rules you will soon find that you will be able to count in Mussau-Emira with ease.

The way numbers are formed in Mussau-Emira is easy to understand if you follow the rules explained here. Surprise everyone by counting in Mussau-Emira. Also, learning how to number in Mussau-Emira yourself from these simple rules is very beneficial for your brain, as it forces it to work and stay in shape. Working with numbers and a foreign language like Mussau-Emira at the same time is one of the best ways to train our little gray cells, so let's see what rules you need to apply to number in Mussau-Emira

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Digits from one to nine are specific words, namely sesa [1], lua [2], tolu [3], ata [4], lima [5], nomo [6], itu [7], oalu [8], and sio [9].

The tens have specific names based on the digits roots followed by the ligature -nga-, and the suffix -ulu indicating ten: sangaulu [10], luengaulu [20], tolungaulu [30], atingaulu [40], limangaulu [50], nomongaulu [60], itungaulu [70], oalungaulu [80], and siongaulu [90].

The compound numbers are built by following the ten by the unit, separated with a space (e.g.: tolungaulu lima [35], itungaulu oalu [78]).

The word for hundred is ai, one thousand is airari (airare is another form of it, which seems to be dialectal). Compound numbers with hundreds and thousands are built by setting the multiplier, then a space and the scale name, except when the multiplier is one (e.g.: ai [100], lua ai [200], oalu airari ai siongaulu lua [8,192]).

Mussau Grammar Essentials (.pdf), John & Marjo Brownie, SIL-PNG Publications (2007)