|
|
|
| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
The very even 'odd' number, Five Kaleidoscope by Rohan Jayawardana (Continued from last week) PART TWO On the previous occasion there arose the matter of the numeral Five in the science of Numbers, and the unavoidable significance of it in the human terms of the five senses, the toes, the fingers and finally as the very axis upon which the system of Numbers seems to revolve at the basic level. For instance, it was established that in a count from the No.1 position at Zero, to the final No. 10 position, is ultimate single digit is Nine. This is a stable pair of Fives at No. 10 position (a pair being deemed stable). The matter of spatial comprehensions of which the Numbers is just one aspect, must therefore have some other applications of the Mind too? For instance, in language and linguistics, perhaps! But, this 5?. It is curious that the matter of a specific Number within reams of words and syntax can be devilishly symbolic and also awesomely precise in matters of identification, accuracy to a pinpoint degree and so forth. It is invariable that in the matter of Language and of linguistics, a simple translation alone throws up all manner of controversy in interpretation and applications. There is also the much neglected aspect of texts wherein a great many words of modern usage are in effect the product of language evolution of ten to twelve centuries (only), shaping into at least one precedent language out of which there have been the current adaptations. The original ancient recorded statements, are thereby completely out of sight but there is much ado about some thing or the other, as yet. An insidious spectre is the biblical No. 666 given to some sort of awful "beast". But when did that word "beast" actually arrive; was it there at the original writing at maybe twenty centuries ago? Who wrote in beast when monster or dragan were also nice? Reverting to this matter at hand of Five in language, it is clearly understood that all Words are based in combinations of Syllables. There are (phonetic) combinations of sounds, such as Al-To-Ge-Ther. The combined effects of the sounds is a complete word (four syllables here). On further analysis, these syllables are seen as made up of letters; and these letters make up the Alphabet. The English alphabet has 26 letters, but two of these letters "K" and "W" are virtual duplications of "C" and "V". Therefore we are left with 24 letters or Sounds, as follows. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. Within these 24 sounds there are Five Vowel sounds: AEIOU. They are (1) open sounds (2) everything flows around them. When these Vowels are neutralized (taken out) there are left 19 consonant sounds which are "sharp", rather than open and rounded. These 19 consonants are in the following arrangements between the vowels (the axis here, numbering five): from A to E - there are three consonants from E to I - there are three from I to O (minusk) - there are four from O to U - there are five do from U to end (minus W) - there are four. Therefore we have the total consonants in two pairs of 3 (giving 6); two pairs of 4 (giving 8); and one set of 5; yielding the total 19. Then we have another five in the vowels, giving the grand total 24! The pivotal factors are the five vowels around which consonants work. This probably has a great deal to do with the fact of the humans having
(only) Five Senses. The Sixth sense is mostly with felines, the owls and
such things incomprehensible. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
