Universal #533

Legacy number: 533

 Number  531
 Original  The smallest value for L in numeral systems with arithmetical operations is 4.
 Standardized  IF a numeral system has arithmetical operations, THEN its smallest value for L is 4.
 Keywords  numeral
 Domain  lexicon
 Type  no genuine implication; rather: provided that
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  56 languages mentioned in Greenberg 1978a
 Source  Greenberg 1978a: 256 (#7)

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Discussion
Notes
1. A numeral system with arithmetical operations is the opposite of one with only simple lexical representation, cf. ##532, 1292.2. An example of a language with this limit is Port Essington (Tasmanian), spoken in Tasmania, with the system 1, 2, 2+1, ‘many’.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. A numeral system with arithmetical operations is the opposite of one with only simple lexical representation, cf. <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=532"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1292"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">.

2. An example of a language with this limit is Port Essington (Tasmanian), spoken in Tasmania, with the system 1, 2, 2+1, 'many'.