Language name and locationː Engdewu, Solomon Islands [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 恩德乌语 (纳固语 Naɡu), 所罗门群岛东南部圣克鲁斯群岛

1. ɞte / tʉɞte

21. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) ɞte

2. *liː / laliː / tʉliː

22. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) laliː

3. *tʉː / latʉː/

23. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) latʉː

4. *pwɔː / lɒpwɔː / tupwɔː

24. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) lɒpwɔː

5. *mɞpu̥ / lamɞpu̥ / tʉmɞpu̥

25. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) lamɞp(u)

6. *mɞtimɔu / lamɞtimɔu / tʉmɞtimɔu

26. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) lamɞtimɔu

7. *mʉtʉː / - / tʉmʉtʉː   (10-3)

27. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) tʉmʉtʉː

8. *mʉliː / - / tʉmʉliː     (10-2)

28. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) tʉmʉliː

9.  *muɞte / - / tumuɞte (10-1)

29. nɔpⁿu laliː ɛ (luɒː) tumuɞte

10. nɔpⁿu / nɔpⁿu ɞte

30. nɔpⁿu latʉː

11. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) ɞte

40. nɔpⁿu lapwɔː

12. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) laliː

50. nɔpⁿu lamɞpu̥

13. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) latʉː

60. nɔpⁿu lamɞtimɔu

14. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) lɒpwɔː

70. nɔpⁿu tʉmʉtʉː

15. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) lamɞpu

80. nɔpⁿu tʉmʉliː

16. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) lamɞtimɔu

90. nɔpⁿu tumuɞte

17. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) tʉmʉtʉʉ

100. telau < Polynesian loanword

18. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) tʉmʉliː

200. telau laliː,  400. telau lɒpwɔː

19. nɔpⁿu ɞte ɛ (luɒː) tumuɞte

1000. tiu ɞte

20. nɔpⁿu laliː

2000. tiu laliː

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Anders Vaa, Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, University of Oslo, Norway. July 3, 2019.
提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Anders Vaa, 2019 年 7 月 3 日

Other comments: Engdewu (formerly Nagu) is spoken by about 200 speakers in Mömwawë, Ulou and Nagu villages on the south coast of Nedö island, Santa Cruz, Temotu Province, Solomon Islands.
Engdewu numbers ‘seven’ to ‘nine’ are subtractive forms where a part of the number forms ‘one’, ‘two’, or ‘three’ are included in the word form to yield 10 - 1=9, 10 - 2= 8, and 10 - 3=7, respectively. *mʉtʉː ‘seven’, *mʉliː ‘eight’, and *mʉɞte ‘nine’ are analysed as subtractive forms where, respectively, tʉː ‘three’, liː ‘two’, and ɞte ‘one’ are subtracted from a base-ten, represented as *mʉ in all forms. mʉ is not found elsewhere, and there is no obvious source for it.

Number words ‘one’ to ‘nine’ are analyzed as stative verbs, and are, thus, obligatorily marked by a mood/aspect prefix. It is in this inflected form the number words usually are encountered. The basic numbers up to ‘six’ can be inflected with either perfective (la-/lâ-) or imperfective (tʉ-/tu-) aspect prefixes. The difference between the perfective and imperfective forms is largely that the former ones are used in the expression of a past event, while the latter are used with the expression of a future event. This reflects the general finding about the perfective and imperfective construction types in Engdewu. Note, however, that numbers ‘seven’ to ‘nine’ cannot take perfective marking. This is a peculiarity because they generally appear in relative clauses modifying nouns, and in such clauses verbs are usually prefixed by a perfective marker.

The grammatical status of nɔpⁿu ‘ten’ is unclear, since it clearly is not inflected with any of the perfective or imperfective aspect markers. If it is not to be analyzed as a verb, an option is that it is a noun. It usually appears juxtaposed to the head noun in a construction that resembles a common noun-noun compound. (Thoughts: nɔpⁿu could possibly be segmented into nɔ-pʉ-mʉ, where the last part is the same *mʉ found in the other number forms, and no- could be an irrealis marker or a nominaliser. And could there be a relation between the second syllable here and the second syllable of number ‘five’, which is *pʉ?).

Engdewu phonemic tables:

Consonants:

Vowelsː

Language name and locationː Engdewu, Solomon Islands [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 恩德乌语 (纳固语 Naɡu), 所罗门群岛东南部圣克鲁斯群岛

1. ɞte ~ tete ( when counting)

21.  nopnu li luɔu ɞte

2. li ~lili

22.  nopnu li luɔu li

3. tʉ ~ tʉtʉ 

23.  nopnu li luɔu tʉ

4. pwɔ ~tupwɔ

24.  nopnu li luɔu pwɔ

5. məpũ

25.  nopnu li luɔu məpũ

6. meremou     

26.  nopnu li luɔu meremou

7. tʊm

27.  nopnu li luɔu tʊm

8. tʊm li   ( - 2 )

28.  nopnu li luɔu tʊm li

9. tʊm ɞte ( - 1 )

29.  nopnu li luɔu tʊm ɞte

10. nopnu

30.  nopnu tʉ

11. nopnu ɞte luɔu ɞte

40.  nopnu pwɔ

12. nopnu ɞte luɔu li

50.  nopnu məpũ

13. nopnu ɞte luɔu tʉ

60.  nopnu meremou

14. nopnu ɞte luɔu pwɔ

70.  nopnu tʊm

15. nopnu ɞte luɔu məpũ

80.  nopnu tʊm li

16. nopnu ɞte luɔu meremou

90.  nopnu tʊm ɞte

17. nopnu ɞte luɔu tʊm

100. təlao ɞte < Polynesian loanword

18. nopnu ɞte luɔu tʊm li

200. təlao ləli

19. nopnu ɞte luɔu tʊm ɞte

1000. tiu ɞte

20. nopnu li

2000. tiu ləli

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Brenda H. Boerger, Solomon Islands Translation Advisory Group / SIL International. December 8, 2004. Informantː Salome Melapi, age 35提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Brenda H. Boerger. 2004 年 12 月 8 日.

Other comments: Nanɡɡu system is clearly decimal. Numbers tʉ ''three'' and pwɔ ''four''
could be reflex of POC *tolu and *pati. The numbers 8 and 9 are built following a subtractive pattern like the southern dialects of Santa Cruz and to the contrary of Äiwoo and the northern dialects of Santa Cruz. The təlao ''hundred'' involves the prefix tə- and the morpheme -lao which is certainly a Polynesian loanword. (Nanɡɡu is spoken close to the Pileni Polynesian language).