Counting in Haida

Language overview

Forty-two in Haida The Haida language (Hlg̱aagilda X̱aayda Kil in Skidegate dialect, X̱aad Kil in Massett dialect) is the language of the Haida people, spoken in Canada (Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia) and Alaska (Prince of Wales Island) by about 275 people. Endangered language, this is a language isolate within the North American Indian languages families.

Haida numbers list

  • 1 – sgwáansang
  • 2 – sdáng
  • 3 – hlgúnahl
  • 4 – stánsang
  • 5 – tléihl
  • 6 – tla’únhl
  • 7 – jagwaa
  • 8 – sdáansaangaa
  • 9 – tláahlsgwáansangguu
  • 10 – tláahl
  • 11 – tláahl wáak sgwáansang
  • 12 – tláahl wáak sdáng
  • 13 – tláahl wáak hlgúnahl
  • 14 – tláahl wáak stánsang
  • 15 – tláahl wáak tléihl
  • 16 – tláahl wáak tla’únhl
  • 17 – tláahl wáak jagwaa
  • 18 – tláahl wáak sdáansaangaa
  • 19 – tláahl wáak tláahlsgwáansangguu
  • 20 – lagwa uu sgwáansang
  • 30 – tlaalee hlgúnahl
  • 40 – lagwa uu sdáng
  • 50 – tlaalee tléihl
  • 60 – lagwa uu hlgúnahl
  • 70 – tlaalee jagwaa
  • 80 – lagwa uu sdáansaangaa
  • 90 – tlaalee tláahlsgwáansangguu
  • 100 – lagwa uu tléihl
  • 1,000 – lagwa uu tlaalee tléihl
  • one million – lagwa uu tlaalee kwan
  • one billion – lagwa uu tlaalee kwan wáak lagwa uu tlaalee tléihl

Haida numbering rules

Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).

  • Numbers from one to nine are specific words, namely sgwáansang [1], sdáng [2], hlgúnahl [3], stánsang [4], tléihl [5], tla’únhl [6], jagwaa [7], sdáansaangaa [8], and tláahlsgwáansangguu [9] (meaning ten minus one).
  • Tens are formed alternately by juxtaposing the word for ten and its multiplier digit, and by multiplying the word for twenty: tláahl [10], lagwa uu sgwáansang [20] (20*1, or tláalaay sdáng, meaning 10 2), tlaalee hlgúnahl [30] (10 3), lagwa uu sdáng [40] (20*2), tlaalee tléihl [50] (10 5), lagwa uu hlgúnahl [60] (20*3), tlaalee jagwaa [70] (10 7), lagwa uu stánsang [80] (20*4), and tlaalee tláahlsgwáansangguu [90] (10 9).
  • In compound numerals, the ten is put first, then the word wáak (meaning plus), then the digit (e.g.: tláahl wáak sgwáansang [11], lagwa uu sgwáansang wáak tléihl [25]).
  • Hundreds are formed by addition and multiplication of the number twenty: lagwa uu tléihl [100] (20*5), lagwa uu tláahl [200] (20*10), lagwa uu tláahl wáak lagwa uu tléihl [300] (20*10 + 20*5), lagwa uu tlaalee sdáng [400] (20*10*2), lagwa uu tlaalee sdáng wáak lagwa uu tléihl [500] (20*10*2 + 20*5), lagwa uu tlaalee hlgúnahl [600], lagwa uu tlaalee wáak lagwa uu tléihl [700], lagwa uu tlaalee sdáansaangaa [800], and lagwa uu tlaalee sdáansaangaa wáak lagwa uu tléihl [900] (800 + 20*5).
  • Thousands are formed by setting the multiplier after the words for one thousand, except for one thousand itself: lagwa uu tlaalee tléihl [1,000] (20*10*5), lagwa uu tlaalee tléihl wáak sdáng [2,000] (20*10*5*2), lagwa uu tlaalee tléihl wáak hlgúnahl [3,000] (20*10*5*3), lagwa uu tlaalee tléihl wáak stánsang [4,000] (20*10*5*4)…
  • One million is built the same way: lagwa uu tlaalee kwan meaning litteraly more that can be counted, and one billion multiplies it by one thousand (lagwa uu tlaalee kwan wáak lagwa uu tlaalee tléihl).

Write a number in full in Haida

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Haida. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.

Books

Emerging from out of the Margins: Essays on Haida Language, Culture, and History Emerging from out of the Margins: Essays on Haida Language, Culture, and History
by , editors Peter Lang International Academic Publishers Company (2014)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

“And he knew our language”: Missionary Linguistics on the Pacific Northwest Coast “And he knew our language”: Missionary Linguistics on the Pacific Northwest Coast
by , editors John Benjamins Publishing Company (2011)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World
by , editors University of Nebraska Press (2000)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Haida: Their Art and Culture Haida: Their Art and Culture
by , editors Hancock House Pub (1982)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Source

Isolate languages

Haida, and Kutenai.

Other supported languages

As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.