The first ten numbers — and a surprise hidden in the syllabary.
Every numeral has two forms: a counting form preceded by í, and a short form used together with a noun.
| # | Bamum | A-ka-u-ku |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | í mo' / ndì | ꛦ |
| 2 | í pâ / mbâ | ꛧ |
| 3 | í tɛt / tɛt | ꛨ |
| 4 | í kpá / kpá | ꛩ |
| 5 | í tɛn / tɛn | ꛪ |
| 6 | í ntú / ntú | ꛫ |
| 7 | í sàmbà | ꛬ |
| 8 | í fâmə | ꛭ |
| 9 | í vü' | ꛮ |
| 10 | ghóm | ꛯ |
🤯 Look closely: the last ten letters of the syllabary are exactly the first ten numbers. mo, mbaa, tet, kpa, ten, ntuu, samba, faamae, kovuu, koghom — Njoya placed the digits at the end of his alphabet. Learning to count is learning to read.
info_outline Source : Omniglot