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Hindī numerals in historical and comparative perspective II: the unpredictable ways of analogy

An interesting feature of Hindī is that numerals from twenty-one to ninety-nine are not formed according to some recognizable pattern ; they are rather derived by sound change from the Old Indo-Aryan through Middle Indo-Aryan (Prakrit) forms. In my presentation prepared for the 2019 “Aspects of Hindī Teaching” conference I tried to distinguish and describe sound laws that govern the formation of Hindī numerals. Besides the fact that, in the context of sound laws, Hindī numerals are derived from Prakrits that might be located more in the eastern part of subcontinent, it became obvious that analogical formation affected many numerals in a rather unpredictable way. Therefore, it became apparent that it is not possible to predict the form of all Hindī numerals depending only on the application of the sound laws. This presentation will distinguish and analyze in some detail all analogical formations in the numerals from one to ninety-nine focusing on the direction and range of analogical change that affected the succession of numerals. On the other hand, the timeline of analogical change will also be discussed. The timeline can be reconstructed quite well thanks to well documented intermediate stages, and it turns that most of the analogical change took place after the Middle Indo- Aryan stage.

historical linguistics, numerals, sound change, analogy, prakrits, apabhraṃśa

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