Page:Cornyn Outline of Burmese Grammar.pdf/29

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26
LANGUAGE DISSERTATION NO. 38, 1944

digit in close juncture and followed by the noun particle ‑nè (86), and the whole expression followed by a number.

88  šisshénè šiɁ
101 tayánè tiɁ
330 θôunyánè θôunzé
678 chauyyánè khúnnashè šiɁ

138. The numerals from 1,000 to 9,999 consist of tháun used as follows:

1,000 tatháun
1,001 tatháun tiɁ; thàun tiɁ; tathánnè tiɁ
1,100 tatháun tayá; thàun tayá; tatháunnè tayá
1,101 tatháun tayà tiɁ; and as above
1,944 tatháun kôuyà lêizè lêi

139. From 10,000 on the numerals are formed as in 138, using as a basis the following list:

10,000 taθâun
100,000 taθêin
1,000,000 taθân
10,000,000 tagadéi

140. A special group of ordinal numerals consists of borrowings from Pali. Only the first three are in common use:

pathamdà ‘1st’; dùtìyà ‘2nd’; tatìyà ‘3rd’.

The ordinals from 4th to 10th are recited by the informant but not used in conversation. They are:

zadouttà ‘4th’; pyínsamà ‘5th’; shathamà ‘6th’; θattamà ‘7th’; Ɂathamà ‘8th’; nawamà ‘9th’; daθamà ‘10th’.

Classifiers, 141–148

141. Classifiers are nouns which occur immediately after numerals or bèhna- ‘how many’. Phrases which consist of a classifier preceded in close juncture by a numeral or bèhna- are classifier phrases. Classifier phrases often appear with a preceding noun expression attribute in open juncture; the noun expression attribute means that which is counted:

lú tayauɁ ‘1 person’.

There are three types of classifiers (142144).

142. A classifier phrase containing a classifier of type 1 can be preceded by various noun expression attributes:

lú tayauɁ ‘1 person’; mêimmà hnayauɁ ‘2 women’; hlàdè Ɂapyóu θôunyauɁ ‘3 pretty girls’; chauyyauɁ ‘6 (of them)’.

143. A classifier phrase containing a classifier of type 2 is preceded only by a noun expression whose head is the same word as the classifier:

Ɂéin taɁéin ‘1 house’; taiɁɁéinjî hnaɁéin ‘2 big brick houses’; ywá θôunywá ‘3 villages’; tôywágalêi lêiywá ‘4 little country villages’.

144. A classifier phrase whose classifier is of type 3 is never preceded by a noun expression attribute:

hnahniɁ ‘2 years’; θôunlà ‘3 months’; lêiyeɁ ‘4 days’; ŋâmaniɁ ‘5 minutes’.

145. Tens, hundreds, and so on, are not followed by a classifier. The numeral