Modern Standard Arabic Numeral Profile (WALS Chs 53–56, 131) #
@cite{wals-2013} @cite{ryding-2005}
WALS-style typological summary for MSA cardinal and ordinal numerals per Ryding ch 15 (pp. 329–365).
What's encoded vs documented #
The substrate Typology.NumeralProfile records a small set of
typological dimensions (ordinal-formation strategy, distributive
marking, classifier presence, conjunction–quantifier identity, plural
marking, base). The arithmetically richer phenomena MSA is famous for
— the polarity rule (3–10 numerals take the opposite gender of
the counted noun), the dual numeral category, and the
diptote/triptote case alternation on ʾaḥad ʿashar through tisʿat
ʿashar (11–19) — are paradigm-internal facts not exposed by the
WALS-aligned schema. They are noted here for orientation but not
encoded as data: a richer Fragment for cardinal-numeral morphology
would belong in a separate file (or a future Studies engagement).
Forms (Ryding §15.1 cardinals; §15.2 ordinals) #
- 1 waaḥid (root w-ḥ-d) ↔ ordinal ʾawwal (root ʾ-w-l) — fully suppletive (different consonantal roots).
- 2 ithnaani ↔ ordinal thaanin — regular faaʿil template applied to the cardinal's own root th-n-y. Greenberg's WALS Ch 53A typology cares about formal distinctness from the cardinal (template-only reformation counts as regular), so MSA falls under "first suppletive, second-onward regular" rather than "first-and-second suppletive".
- 3+ : ordinal thaalith / raabiʿ / xaamis / … same regular faaʿil pattern from the cardinal root.
MSA: "first" ʾawwal fully suppletive (unrelated root w-ḥ-d vs ʾ-w-l);
"second" thaanin and onward are regular faaʿil-pattern derivations
from the cardinal root, so the WALS Ch 53A category is firstSuppletion
(only "first" suppletive). Distributive numerals are not marked by
dedicated morphology in MSA — repetition (waaḥid waaḥid 'one by one')
is general intensifying reduplication rather than a productive
distributive construction in the Gil/WALS-Ch-54 sense. No numeral
classifiers. wa- 'and' and kull 'all/every' are morphologically
distinct. Dual + plural marking on counted nouns is obligatory.
Decimal base (Ryding §15.1).
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.