Numbers
Zovu
Many translations include IPA phonetics using square bracket notation (“[]”).
See Phonetics for details on Zovu's spoken language.
Counting System & Phonetics
[ər] = Zero / None / Nothing
[iɣ] = One / A / An
[az] = Two
[eʒ] = Three
[uv] = Four
Unlike the common global base-10 counting system (0-9), Zovu uses a base-5 counting system (0-4) with the following numerals and their phonetics:
Included above, Zovu uses it’s numbers frequently where their quantitative meanings are present. Instead of using a separate article “a” / “an” in English, the word for “one” is used. This is similar for expressing “none” or a lack of something with “zero” (see Syntax & Idioms).
Like the element morphemes, the consonants are changed phonetically to represent the part of speech (see Phonetics). Noticeably, the consonants and their POS match up with those used for the elements. The exception is “zero”, where the part-of-speech is determined by context.
[ər] = Zero / None / Nothing
[iɣ] = One / A / An (Noun)
[ix] = To Unite / Make into One (Verb)
[ik] = Sole / Single (Adjective)
[ik] = Solely / Once (Adverb)
[az] = Two (Noun)
[as] = To Split / Make into Two (Verb)
[ad] = Of Two / Double (Adjective)
[at] = Twice (Adverb)
…
Large Numbers
To express larger numbers, the digit morphemes are simply appended to each other from highest to lowest digit. Keep in mind, this is a base-5 system — at each 5th number from 0, a new digit is added:
[iɣər] = 10 (base-5) = 5
[iɣiɣ] = 11 (base-5) = 6
[iɣaz] = 12 (base-5) = 7
[iɣeʒ] = 13 (base-5) = 8
[iɣuv] = 14 (base-5) = 9
[azər] = 20 (base-5) = 10
[iɣəreʒ] = 103 (base-5) = 28
[uvərər] = 400 (base-5) = 100
[iɣərəraz] = 1002 (base-5) = 127
Writing
Each number 0-4 have a unique symbol. All are used regardless of the part of speech (context is used in determining it from writing):
One
Two
“[iɣ]”
“[az]”
“[eʒ]”
Three
Four
“[uv]”
Uniquely, Zovu sees a difference between representing a total value of zero and representing an empty digit. Each has its own symbol. The symbol for the former is the same as that for negation (see Syntax & Idioms):
“[r]”
Zero (Empty Digit)
Zero / None
“[r]”
String these symbols together highest-to-lowest-digit, right-to-left like normally (see Writing) and you have ever-larger numbers:
“[eʒaz]”
17
23
“[uveʒ]”
“[uvərər]”
100
127
“[iɣərəraz]”
Part-of-Speech
While vocally, Zovu’s number system has a part-of-speech instantly defined by the consonants used, the written form requires context for this determination.