Numbers in Seuna

In Seuna the number system uses base 8.

Zero

Seuna has a symbol for zero(actually similar to our "o" but a bit smaller). It is called space/gap (symbol). It is frequently written but never pronounced when verbally giving strings of numbers.

From 1 to 7

Seuna has 8 symbols that are reserved for the numbers 0 to 7. Seuna numbers are never written out phonetically. It is as if in English you were never allowed to write "one" but must always write "1".

1	aba
2	aga
3	ada
4	ala
5	aca
6	asa
7	aka

There are 6 words that are derived from the above basic numbers. They are used when there is some uncertainty. For example agada could be translated as "two or three" or as "a few", acasa could be translated as "five or six" or as "a few".

From 8 to 63

108	abau
208	agau
308	adau
408	alau
508	acau
608	asau
708	akau

As with the basic numbers, the above numbers can be combined. agaudau = "twenty or thirty". There is another form for the above numbers that specifies a range. For example adaua specifies the range 30₈ to 37₈

Every number from 1 to 63 has its own unique word which can be worked out from the above tables. For example ;-

agauda = 23₈

From 64 to 511

1008	abai
2008	agai
3008	adai
4008	alai
5008	acai
6008	asai
7008	akai

As with the other numbers, the above numbers can be combined. For example alaicai = "four or five hundred".

The above set of numbers can also be modified to specify a range. For example alaia specifies the range 400₈ to 477₈

As with the two digit numbers, every three digit number(i.e. 1 to 511) has its own unique word which can be worked out from the above tables. For example ;-

agauda = 23₈

acaiba = 501₈

alaikausa = 476₈

From 512 to 8³⁰-1

To express numbers greater than 511, Seuna has a number of exponention terms. These never occur by themselves but must be proceded by one of the numbers 1 to 511. These exponential terms are each written using a single symbol normally used for a consonant. They are in some ways equivalent to the S.I. prefixes kilo, Mega, giga etc..

83	m	mu
86	y	yu
89	j	ju
812	f	fu
815	p	pu
818	t	tu
821	w	wu
824	n	nu
827	h	hu

So for example;-

34y4̴⁓ (pronounced : adaula yu alace) is about the population of the UK in 2008. Seuna has a special symbol (here represented by "⁓" and pronounced as "ce") which tells us the number is not exact, it is only accurate to three significant figures.

Usually we only deal with approximate numbers. However in some scientific situation you have long and accurately known numbers. For example 34y4̴72m531 (pronounced : adaula yu alaikauga mu acaidauba). In these situations the letters divide the numbers up into sets of three ... a bit similar to how we use comma's to make long numbers easier to read.

From 1 to 8^-30-1

Of course there is also a way of representing numbers smaller than one, as well. The table below shows the symbols used for this.

8-3	m	mi
8-6	y	yi
8-9	j	ji
8-12	f	fi
8-15	p	pi
8-18	t	ti
8-21	w	wi
8-24	n	ni
8-27	h	hi

Now you can see the same letter is being used to write exponent values greater than one and also less than one. What is to stop confusion between the two sets ? Well for longish numbers with two or more exponent values, the relative order of the exponents should tell you if we are dealing with a greater than one situation, or a less than one situation. For example 34y4̴72m531 must be greater than one, and 34m4̴72y531 must be less than one. However how do we distinguish between numbers that have only one exponent ? Well in these cases we would put a decimal point to the left of the numbers that are smaller than one. The decimal point symbol is a near-vertical dash(represented here by "/"). For example /34y4̴⁓ is a number smaller than one.

Note;- The numbers get there magnitude value from the letter and not the decimal point. Only if there is no letter, do they take there magnitude value from the decimal point. For example /34 would equal (3*8^-1)+(4*8^-2). Whereas /34y would equal (3*8^-5)+(4*8^-6).

And even bigger numbers

The two sets of exponent terms given above can be expanded somewhat to specify a bigger range of numbers. A symbol pronounced mua (written as the Seuna symbol for "m" with a small slash under it) representing 8³⁰ comes after the symbol pronounced hu. Other large exponents are generated in a similar manner up to a symbol pronounced hua representing 8⁵⁴.

And we can expand these terms even more. A symbol pronounced muan (written as the Seuna symbol for "m" with two small slashes under it) representing 8⁵⁷ comes after the symbol pronounced hua. Other large exponents are generated in a similar manner up to a symbol pronounced huan representing 8⁸¹.

In a similar manner the small exponents can be expanded to 8^-81. This is pronounced hian and written the same as huan.

Numbers outside the above ranges are not specified.

Index

1. Introduction to Seuna
2. Seuna : Chapter 1
3. Seuna word shape
4. The script of Seuna
5. Seuna sentence structure
6. Seuna pronouns
7. Seuna nouns
8. Seuna verbs (1)
9. Seuna adjectives
10. Seuna demonstratives
11. Seuna verbs (2)
12. Asking a question in Seuna
13. Seuna relative clauses
14. Seuna verbs (3)
15. Methods for deriving words in Seuna
16. List of all Seuna derivational affixes
17. Numbers in Seuna
18. Naming people in Seuna
19. The Seuna calendar
20. Seuna units