Mende Numbers

Post by Lara

22 May 2014

It’s been a long time since I wrote a post on either of the new languages we’re learning here, and as a dedicated student of languages, I’m a bit embarrassed by that. Furthermore, talking about Mende and numbers is a math-and-foreign-language junkie’s dream.  So, without further ado, here’s a mini lesson on the Mende number system and its fun idiosyncrasies.

Unlike the base-10 system of numbers we’re used to, Mende has a mixed-base numerical system.  Groupings of 20 are used in addition to numbers 1-19 which are in base-10.  Apparently, a number system in base 20 is called vigesimal (Thanks Sean Stephens for that!)—but I don’t think that’s exactly the term for Mende’s number system, because of this mixture of bases.  Below is an example of how numbers get grouped in Mende:

 

11 = puu mahu yila = ten plus one

35 = nuu gboyongo mahu puu mahu loolu = twenty plus ten plus five

58 = nuu fele gboyongo mahu puu mahu wayakpa = two twenties plus ten plus eight

99 = nuu naani gboyongo mahu puu mahu taalu = four twenties plus ten plus nine

The result of these mixed bases is that numbers get really long-winded.  To say “99” requires us to enunciate 13 syllables!  It’s no wonder Jay-Z’s song “99 problems” never took off here.  This excess of syllables also gives us some insight into why we hear fairly often that someone’s aunty or grandpa or village chief is 100 years old, in a country where life expectancy, by some measures, is lower than 50.  To say “50” takes 9 syllables.  “75” takes 13 syllables.  “80” takes 6 syllables.  But the number “100” in Mende is hondred—2 syllables long, and perfectly suited for expressing the thought that a person is, well, old enough that we’re satisfied to round up. 

In addition to the 20/10 mixed bases, Mende also has some weird cultural standards for talking about numbers relating to money.  Apparently, when hyperinflation hit the country in the 1980s, at one point or another the exchange rate for Leones was 1 pound to 2 Leones (now, it’s closer to 1 pound to 6000 Leones).  During that time, Mendes decided that if you give a price in Mende, the number you say in Mende should be multiplied by two, and that makes the number of Leones you pay. As in, if I order “two thousand Leones” of bread using Mende numbers, I actually want four thousand Leones worth of bread.  If I use English numbers, then I get the 2 thousand I asked for.  This was a very odd rule to learn, and before I managed to figure it out I ordered double of a lot of things thinking I was being clever by asking in Mende. 

Le 5000 = tawji fele pondo loolu = (2000x2) + (200x5)

Le 67000 = tawji nuu gboyongo mahu puu mahu sawa pondo loolu = (33000x2) + (200x5)

 
The currency rule is more complicated by the fact that when multiplying by two, you’ll always get an even number.  What happens, then, when the price is an odd number?  You have to add 1 of course, but you can’t say “1” because that means “2”. Instead, you say “pondo loolu” which translates to, “five sets of 200 Leones” (5x200 = 1000, so fair enough, but of course this number doesn’t get multiplied by 2. Why would it?).  Thus, trying to order an odd number of thousands of Leones can get interesting:

The amazing part of all this is that Mendes are generally very good at doing this kind of math—as long as you’re talking about Leones.  As soon as I take the currency out of it and ask them to multiply one quantity in parentheses by another, my students clam up—but ask them how much you owe them when they sell 4 pineapples to you at Le 2000 each and then add 15 limes for Le 100 each, they’ll take a minute and announce to you, “9,500” (or, more directly translated, “two times 4 thousand plus 5 times 200 plus 500”).  The math teacher who successfully convinces these guys that “market maths” and school maths are one and the same will be my hero.

For those of you who like to know how to count to 10 in as many languages as possible (ahem, Pat & Diane), here’s how you do it in Mende. Happy studying!

1 = yila (or ita)

2 = fele

3 = sawa

4 = naani

5 = loolu

6 = weita

7 = wofla

8 = wayakpa

9 = taalu

10 = puu