Universal #1289
Legacy number: 1289
| Number | 1285 |
| Original | Subtraction is never expressed by mere sequence of the subtrahend and minuend. |
| Standardized | IF a numeral system has subtraction, THEN it is never expressed by mere sequence of the subtrahend and minuend. |
| Keywords | numeral |
| Domain | word formation |
| Type | no genuine implication; rather: provided that |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | statistical, almost absolute |
| Basis | 56 languages mentioned in Greenberg 1978a |
| Source | Greenberg 1978a: 258 (#11) |
Discussion
Counterexamples
In Tamil and other Dravidian languages, 9 appears to be ‘one, ten’ (Greenberg 1978a: 258)
Notes
1. The subtrahend is the number subtracted, the minuend the number from which subtraction takes place, and the remainder is the result.2. Greenberg gives the following three reasons for his universal:First, the apparent subtrahend is generally suppletive. Secondly, the element to be deleted is always one of a limited set, essentially 1 or the bases of a system, and these are precisely the elements which are subject to deletion. Thirdly, there are examples in which such a deletion is clearly indicated by the meaning of the element which remains.
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2. Greenberg gives the following three reasons for his universal: First, the apparent subtrahend is generally suppletive. Secondly, the element to be deleted is always one of a limited set, essentially 1 or the bases of a system, and these are precisely the elements which are subject to deletion. Thirdly, there are examples in which such a deletion is clearly indicated by the meaning of the element which remains.