Language name and location: Sawiyanu, Papua New Guinea[Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 萨维雅努语 (阿马语 Ama), 巴布亚新几内亚东锡皮克省

1. sia ~ siasa ('one')

2. tiwai ~ tiwe ('two')

3. tauwe ('three')

4. taitati~ titati ('four')

5. naino sia awai  ('hand finished one')

6. taufa ('navel')

7. nano sia ('breast one')

8. nano ti ('breast two')

9. naimo sia ('shoulder one')

10. naimo ti ('shoulder two')

11. milaa sia ('eye one')

12. milaa ti  ('eye two')

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Glen A. Lean, Department of Communications, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1991.

Sourceː Glendon A. Lean. Counting systems of Papua New Guinea, volume 14, East Sepik Province. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1991.

Sources: IMP / SIL Questionnaire (1978), Conrad and Dye (1975)
提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Glen A. Lean, 1991 年.    

Other comments: Sawiyanu (also called Ama) is a Left May language of Papua New Guinea, in East Sepik Province. Former dialects have merged. It is spoken in Ama (Wopolu I) (4.103263°S 141.665012°E), Kauvia (Kawiya) (4.123436°S 141.662939°E), Waniap creek (4.215844°S 141.728851°E), Wopolu II (Nokonufa) (4.072957°S 141.706211°E), and Yonuwai (4.193624°S 141.603848°E) villages of Tunap/Hunstein Rural LLG, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. Sawiyanu has recorded traditional numerals from 1 to 12. The SIL informant indicates that the system terminates at a tally of 12, after which 'paunu' or 'many' is used. This system differs from the usual body-part tally systems in a number of ways. First, the tally-word for 5 employs a 'hand' morpheme which is common in digit-tally systems but has not been previously encountered in body-part systems. Second, tallying does not then proceed to the tally points on the arm, e.g. wrist, elbow, upper arm, etc., but rather to the navel which in other tally systems is rarely used, tally points normally employed being on the upper part of the body. Thirdly, the succeeding tally-points are tallied in pairs: breast one, breast two, shoulder one, shoulder two; eye one, eye two. Although symmetric body-parts are tallied in the usual body-part systems, they are not tallied thus in pairs, the usual procedure being that parts on the left (say) side of the body are tallied first (e.g. from left little finger to left eye) and then parts on the right side of the body are tallied in reverse order (e.g. proceeding from right eye to right little finger).

The Ama system terminates at a tally of 12; no data are provided which indicate whether the system thus possesses a 12-cycle, i.e. whether further tallying proceeds through the same sequence of tally points again. The number of tally points employed in body-part systems is usually somewhat larger than 12 (e.g. 17, 19, 23, 27, etc.), and in this respect, too, the Ama system is unusual. Not sure if they are still using old traditional numbers or body tally after 12 or now use Tok Pisin numerals after 12. New data for numbers after 12 is required.