Counting in Kali’na

Language overview

Forty-two in Kali’na The Kali’na language (also known as Carib, Cariña, Galibi or Maraworno) is an Amerindian language belonging to the Cariban language family. It is spoken on the coast band from Venezuela to Brazil, through Guyana, Suriname, and French Guyana. Kali’na counts about 10,000 speakers.

Due to lack of data, we can only count accurately up to 400 in Kali’na. Please contact me if you can help me counting up from that limit.

Kali’na numbers list

  • 1 – òwin
  • 2 – oko
  • 3 – oruwa
  • 4 – okupàen
  • 5 – ainatone
  • 6 – òwin-tòima
  • 7 – oko-tòima
  • 8 – oruwa-tòima
  • 9 – okupàen-tòima
  • 10 – ainapatoro
  • 11 – ainapatoro itùponaka òwin
  • 12 – ainapatoro itùponaka oko
  • 13 – ainapatoro itùponaka oruwa
  • 14 – ainapatoro itùponaka okupàen
  • 15 – atonèpu
  • 16 – ainapatoro itùponaka òwin-tòima
  • 17 – ainapatoro itùponaka oko-tòima
  • 18 – ainapatoro itùponaka oruwa-tòima
  • 19 – ainapatoro itùponaka okupàen-tòima
  • 20 – òwin-karìna
  • 30 – òwin-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro
  • 40 – oko-karìna
  • 50 – oko-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro
  • 60 – oruwa-karìna
  • 70 – oruwa-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro
  • 80 – okupàen-karìna
  • 90 – okupàen-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro
  • 100 – ainatone-karìna

Body language counting

The Kali’na numbering system is based on the human body: hands and toes are etymologically at the root of it. The digit five can be decomposed into aina (hand) and atone (on one side), or the fingers of one hand. From six to nine, Kali’na combines the first five digits names with tòima, a contraction of tywopyima, which means “crossed over (to the other side)”. Ainapatoro, the word for ten, is composed of aina (hand) and opatoro (on both sides), meaning litterally “two hands”. Fifteen, or atonèpu, is made of atone (on one side) and pupu (foot), litterally adding the toes of one foot to the fingers of both hands. The word used for twenty is òwin-karìna, meaning “one Kali’na”, or “one Carib person”. The multiples of twenty are all constructed the same way: oko-karìna [40] (2 times 20), oruwa-karìna [60] (3 times 20)… oruwa-tòima-karìna [160] (8 times 20), ainapatoro-karìna [200] (10 times 20)… The Carib numbering system is thus both a quinary (number of fingers or toes) and a vigesimal system (number of men).

Kali’na 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).

  • Digits from one to four are specific words, five being the turning point (meaning one hand), and digits beyond five, from six to nine, are formed by adding the four first ones to five: òwin [1], oko [2], oruwa [3], okupàen / okupaime [4], ainatone [5], òwin-tòima [6] (5 plus 1), oko-tòima [7] (5 plus 2), oruwa-tòima [8] (5 plus 3), and okupàen-tòima [9] (5 plus 4). The second form of four, okupaime, litterally means “2 times 2” (from oko, two, pai, times, and me, as).
  • Tens follow a vigesimal system: ainapatoro [10] (litterally, two hands), òwin-karìna [20] (one man), òwin-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro [30] (20+10, or one man and two hands), oko-karìna [40] (2*20), oko-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro [50] (2*20+10), oruwa-karìna [60] (3*20), oruwa-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro [70] (3*20+10), okupàen-karìna [80] (4*20), and okupàen-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro [90] (4*20+10).
  • Compound numbers are formed by adding the digit to the ten with the word itùponaka (on top of it): ainapatoro itùponaka oko [12], oko-karìna itùponaka ainapatoro itùponaka okupàen [54].
  • One hundred is ainatone-karìna, meaning five men, or five times twenty. All multiples of twenty are built the same way: oruwa-karìna [60] (3 times 20), oruwa-tòima-karìna [160] (8 times 20), ainapatoro-karìna [200] (10 times 20), ainapatoro-itùponaka-okupàen-karìna [280] (14 times 20)… karìna-karìna or karìna-tòima-karìna [400] (20 times 20)…

Write a number in full in Kali’na

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Kali’na. 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

A Carib grammar and dictionary A Carib grammar and dictionary
by , editors Magoria Books (2008)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Kali’na, une famille indienne en Guyane française Kali’na, une famille indienne en Guyane française
by , editors Albin Michel (2002)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Arawakan languages

Garifuna, Kali’na, and Wayuu.

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.