Universal #1352
Legacy number: 1352
| Number | 1348 |
| Original | A subtrahend is always a simple lexical expression. |
| Standardized | In numeral systems, a subtrahend is always a simple lexical expression. |
| Keywords | numeral |
| Domain | word formation |
| Type | implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | 56 languages mentioned in Greenberg 1978a |
| Source | Greenberg 1978a: 260 (#13) |
Discussion
Notes
1. The subtrahend is the number subtracted, the minuend the number from which subtraction takes place, and the remainder is the result.2. By the term ‘lexical expression’ Greenberg means: Every numeral expresses a number as a function with one or more numbers as arguments. ‘Twenty-three’ in English expresses 23 as a function (a x b) + c in which the argument ‘a’ has the value 10, ‘b’ the value 2, and ‘c’ the value 3. A limiting case is the identity function which has the same value as its argument, e.g. ‘three’ = 3. If this is the case, we may say that a particular number receives simple lexical representation, none other than the identity function (cf. #530).3. According to this implication, numerals like ‘two from twenty’ (where the subtrahend, ‘two’, is simple) are possible, numerals like ‘four-teen from twenty’ (where the subtrahend is complex) are ruled out.4. Whereas the subtrahend may not be complex, the minuend may be. For example in Yoruba (Defoid, Benue-Congo) 65 is [(20x4)-10]-5, in which there are two complex minuends, (20x4) and (20x4)-10.
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2. By the term 'lexical expression' Greenberg means: Every numeral expresses a number as a function with one or more numbers as arguments. 'Twenty-three' in English expresses 23 as a function (a x b) + c in which the argument 'a' has the value 10, 'b' the value 2, and 'c' the value 3. A limiting case is the identity function which has the same value as its argument, e.g. 'three' = 3. If this is the case, we may say that a particular number receives simple lexical representation, none other than the identity function (cf. <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=530"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">).
3. According to this implication, numerals like 'two from twenty' (where the subtrahend, 'two', is simple) are possible, numerals like 'four-teen from twenty' (where the subtrahend is complex) are ruled out.
4. Whereas the subtrahend may not be complex, the minuend may be. For example in Yoruba (Defoid, Benue-Congo) 65 is [(20x4)-10]-5, in which there are two complex minuends, (20x4) and (20x4)-10.