Language name and locationː Tainae, Papua New Guinea[Refer to Ethnologue ]

语言名称和分布地区: 泰奈语, 巴布亚新几内亚海湾省

1. fainu (lit: 'one only')

2. fai'ka  (lit: 'two ones')

3. fai'kaifai (lit: 'two ones (and) one')

4. fai'kaifai'ka  (lit: 'two ones (and) two ones')

5. fai'kaifai'kafai (lit: 'two ones (and) two ones (and) one')

    or fayi'kafai'kafai (lit: 'one hand (only)')

6. fai'kaifai'kafai'ka (lit: 'two ones (and) two ones (and) two ones')

10. fayifu'ka (lit: 'two hands')

20. fayifu'ka hapki'fu'ka (lit: 'two hands (and) two feet')

     or fayifitiwau fitiwau  hapkifitiwau fitiwau (litː 'hand on one side, hand on one

     side, foot on one side, foot on one side')

Linguist providing data and dateː Mr. Terry Carlson, SIL International, Papua New Guinea.

提供资料的语言学家: Mr. Terry Carlson

Other comments: Tainae is spoken by about 1,000 speakers in some villages in Ivori-Swanson district, Gulf province, Papua New Guinea. Tainae has a traditional counting system builds on ones and twos, and combination thereof probably up to twenty. When higher numbers are needed, the use of hands and feet are employed. However, counting above five rapidly becomes rather unwieldy, and the usual way of counting over five is just to say 'lots', these traditional numbers are falling out of use and are being replaced with numbers borrowed from English via Tok Pisin.