Language name and locationː Nukak Makú, Colombia [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 努卡克马库语, 哥伦比亚东南部沃佩斯省瓜维亚雷河和伊尼里达河流域热带雨林

1. biki

2. di'-pu-do or céd-wɨd [cene wɨn]

 .  dáu - (litː 'many')

Linguist providing data and dateː Prof. Dany Mahecha Rubio, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Amazonia, Kilometro 2 Vía Tarapacá, Colombia, July 4, 2011.
提供资料的语言学家: Prof. Dany Mahecha Rubio, 2011 年 7 月 4 日

Other comments: Nukak Makú, Nukak, or Guaviare, Macusa is spoken by 390 speakers out of 740 ethnic population in Jungle region between Guaviare and Inírida rivers, up to Mapiripan. Near Charco Caimán, Colombia.

In deep the Nukak has not a cardinal numbers system in my opinion because they not have needed to use that until now. As you know they are a nomadic group who were contacted in 1988. They were isolated for more than 50 years, except by the presence on New Tribes Mission in their territory from 1970. Furthermore, they didn’t have relations with their neighbor’s natives and whites before the official contact. May be in the future if the language keeps going they will create a system.

1. biki or dáu-ka-~di

   ~bi dáu we' hɨb-ka' [hɨbᵐ-ka']

    3SGF to be many child to be, to have NEG.V

   -kɨí dáu- ~dit ɟé-be'

   ~di'-~di ba-~dui a~di-~da-bé

In Huber & Reed (1992) said that five in Nukak is tei' pa' ( pag.183) but it means tei' =hand; and pa' to cover. And he said that ten is cene tei', but it means cene 'to be together'; tei' hand' (pag. 184). I think that these expressions are describing the positions of the hands instead of any notion of numbers.