Numbers: Ine (Traditional Counting)
The traditional way for snakes to count sounds a lot like hissing. The number 1 is simply i; each time you add 1 to a number, you only need to add the syllable 'si' to the end. So 2 is isi, 3 is isisi, and so on. While this does mean that larger numbers have longer names, it also means that it's hard to distinguish between numbers larger than 4 or 5 or so in this system. In fact, the word for 'many', sisisisi, looks somewhere between the words for 4 and 5 - and can be thought of as meaning "very large - like 4 or 5 or something!"
Humans writing in Parseltongue will sometimes write ine numbers as a string of capital I's with the number of I's being the value of the number (for example: one is written as I and four is written as IIII. They are still pronounced as i and isisisi respectively)! While numbers larger than 1 can be used as si-words in sentences (taking the place of Tasi or Fasi), snakes normally only use the number word i when counting (when a single thing is the subject of a sentence, we use tasi or fasi, not i!) Nevertheless, the traditional counting system is named after i; the adverbial form ine literally means "unary"! And "counting" itself is kaunʃe in Parseltongue. |
one - i
two - isi three - isisi four - isisisi five - isisisisi count - kaunʃe many - sisisisi unary ('traditional') - ine Example sentence: Two humans are walking. Isi ʃen vaʃe. (or: II ʃen vaʃe.) |
Numbers: Sivane (Modern Counting)
Sometime around the late nineteenth century, snakes began to develop a new system of counting that is better suited to deal with numbers larger than four or five. Although the origins of this system are shrouded in rumour and mist, it is generally believed that a Muggle-born Parselmouth with a fondness for Muggle and magical Arithmancy inspired this system of counting. The root syllables are va (which means 0) and si (which means 1). To express a larger integer in Parseltongue, one simply writes the number in binary and turns the resulting ones and zeroes into si and va, respectively. (NOTE: You can convert numbers to binary at THIS LINK.) For example: 10 is 1010 in binary, so 1-0-1-0 becomes sivasiva. Counting using this method is normally called sivane (the adverbial form for the number 2), though some snakes will use the term vasine instead (literally: "0-1-like"). Note that this system still keeps the traditional Parseltongue principle that longer words mean larger numbers! Also note that the Parseltongue word for "many", sisisisi, has a literal meaning in sivane... can you figure out what it is? Further, many Parselmouths will sometimes write numbers by using a capital S in place of si and a capital V in place of va, so sivasiva can be written as SVSV (but still pronounced as sivasiva). It should be pointed out that numbers in this format can be used as si-words, even if they end in va (even va can be used as a si-word to reflect the absence of something!) The only number in this format which cannot be used as a si-word is si: in this case you would use tasi or fasi as appropriate. Most snakes, however, count using a system they call snekne (literally: "snake-like"), from the word snek (which means snake). This involves counting up to 3 using ine and switching to sivane numbers at 4. Since sivava is longer than isisi, longer words still mean larger numbers! Note, however, that va is NEVER used in counting! And one last thing: snakes don't have specific words for languages such as Parseltongue; instead, they'll refer to it as speaking snekne (or like a snake). Similarly, human languages are referred to as ʃene ('like a human') in Parseltongue - note that the 'n' at the end of ʃen and the 'n' at the beginning of ne are merged into a single sound. |
zero - va
one - si two - siva three - sisi four - sivava five - sivasi six - sisiva seven - sisisi eight - sivavava nine - sivavasi ten - sivasiva binary ('modern') - sivane (alternatively: vasine) snake - snek snake-like: snekne human-like: ʃene Example: There are no snakes jumping. (or: "Zero snakes jump.") Va snek dinʃe. (Or: V snek dinʃe.) |
Gan (Shapes)
Most shape words are derived directly from number words: take the number of sides and then add the Parseltongue word for "shape", which is gan. For example, a triangle is a sisigan and a pentagon is a sivasigan: literally "3-gon" and "5-gon" respectively. Even a circle fits this rule: with zero sides, a circle is a vagan! The two most common shapes that don't fit this rule are the rectangle (ragan) and square (skagan).
Since shape words end in an 'n', you can add an 'a' to them to turn them into an adjective: for example, sisigana means "triangular", sigana means "straight", and vagana (the word in this section most likely to be used by snakes) means "round" (or, literally: circular). Before we move onto the final homework of the course, I need to teach you one last word. Since snakes don't have arms or legs, they are sadly unable to draw objects. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the Parseltongue word for "draw" comes directly from the English: copying the sound and adding the standard verbal ending gives the verbal form draʃe! |
shape - gan
triangle - sisigan (alternatively: isisigan) pentagon - sivasigan rectangle - ragan square - skagan circle - vagan line - sigan (alternatively: igan) polygon - sisisisigan round - vagana straight - sigana (alternatively: igana) triangular - sisigana polygonal - sisisisigana draw - draʃe |