Les systèmes numéraux en quechua et en aymara : une histoire de suffixes

The Quechuan and Aymaran numeral systems show strong similarities, e.g., they have a decimal base and thirteen simple lexemes (simple cardinal numerals). In the case of Quechuan, when forming compound cardinal numerals (namely, numerals with two or more simple lexemes), two distinct sets can be identified: in the first, the compound cardinals are the results of the juxtaposition of simple lexemes. In the second, to this juxtaposition are added nominal suffixes: /-yuq/ or /-n/ or /-wan/. This paper is focused on studying these two numeral Quechua sets involving both diachronic and geographical considerations, and puts forward the hypothesis that nominal suffixes presence in one of them is a consequence of its intense contact with the other great Andean linguistic family, the Aymara. Indeed, Aymaran in all its components, as will be described, adds nominal suffixes to its compound cardinals similarly to the Quechua suffixal numeral set.