A “marginal exception” is Zapotec (Oto-Manguean), in which 55 is (60-5), but 56 is either (60-4), as predicted by generalization, or (60+1)-5, and correspondingly for 57, 75, 76, 95, and 96. A further exception is Montagnais (Athabaskan), in which 7 is expressed as either (10-3) or (8-1), although 9 is (10-1) and 8 is (4×2) (Greenberg 1978a: 260).
1. The subtrahend is the number subtracted, the minuend the number from which subtraction takes place, and the remainder is the result.2. For example, Latin 18 is ‘duodeviginti’, that is ‘two from twenty’. Here n = 18 and y = 20 and x = 2. The only number z smaller than y (20) and greater than n (18) is 19. Hence, 19 also will be expressed subtractively with 20 as the minuend, i.e. 20-1.
1. The subtrahend is the number subtracted, the minuend the number from which subtraction takes place, and the remainder is the result.2. For example, Latin 18 is ‘duodeviginti’, that is ‘two from twenty’. Here n = 18 and y = 20 and x = 2. The only number z smaller than y (20) and greater than n (18) is 19. Hence, 19 also will be expressed subtractively with 20 as the minuend, i.e. 20-1.