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In the counting system used in the Cornish language, the numerals (number words) below 100 are based on twenties: so numbers from 21–39 are "x on twenty", 41–59 are "x on two twenty", numbers from 61–79 are "x on three twenty", and numbers from 81–99 are "x on four twenty". 40 is "two twenty", 60 is "three twenty", and 80 is "four twenty". This is very similar to counting in the Welsh language. It is also similar to the French numerals for 60–99.

Numerals

Variation in form

There is some syntactically and phonologically triggered variation in the form of numerals. There are, for example, masculine and feminine forms of the numbers "two" (dew and diw), "three" (tri and teyr) and "four" (peswar and peder), which must agree with the grammatical gender of the objects being counted. Numerals change as expected according to normal rules of consonant mutation; some also trigger mutation in some following words.

Use with nouns

The singular form of the noun is used with numbers, but for larger numbers an alternative form is permitted, where a (partitive, "of") with the plural noun follows the number. Except where using this plural form, the noun is placed before any parts of the number that are added using warn ("on") or ha ("and") in the number system.

Nouns are also mutated following many numbers. Unn triggers the soft mutation of feminine nouns, but not masculine nouns. It also causes the word dydh "day" to become unn jydh "one day". Dew and diw both trigger the soft mutation. Tri and teyr trigger the aspirate mutation. The part of the number immediately preceding the noun will determine any mutation of the noun. In the plural form with a, the soft mutation is used as is normal after a.

The following example with kath ("cat") illustrates several of these points:

• Diw gath

Two cats

• Teyr hath warn ugens

Twenty-three cats (literally "Three cat on twenty")

• Etek kath ha tri-ugens

Seventy-eight cats (literally "Eighteen cat and three-twenty")

• Tri hans eth mil ha dew-ugens, hwegh kans naw kath ha tri-ugens or
• Tri hans eth mil ha dew-ugens, hwegh kans naw ha tri-ugens gathes

Three hundred and forty eight thousand, six hundred and sixty nine cats (348,669)

• Milvil gath or
• Milvil a gathes

A million cats

References

• Williams, N. Desky Kernowek (Evertype, 2012)
• Brown, W. A Grammar of Modern Cornish (Kesva an Taves Kernewek, 2001)

• Cornish language
• Numerals