Divehi to Kazakh: a counted noun can look singular without changing the amount
Recognize the source counting form
Gnanadesikan distinguishes a Divehi number’s base form used with nouns from an expanded form used independently or when counting, for numbers up to ten. Her de and dēk̊ both concern two in different grammatical settings. A Kazakh translation must preserve the amount without assuming that the longer source form expresses an additional object.
This matters when a user translates a quantity from a list rather than from a complete sentence. A standalone answer and a number modifying a noun may not display the same Divehi shape. Determine what is being counted before deciding whether the target needs only a numeral or a complete counted noun phrase.
The target noun need not repeat plural marking
The Kazakh Learner’s Corpus grammar illustrates үш кітап for three books and он қалам for ten pens. Its counted nouns appear without a plural ending. Their unchanged noun forms do not mean that the examples refer to only one book or one pen. The numeral supplies the count.
Divehi can express a counted human group with plural noun morphology; Gnanadesikan gives an expression for those two people that contains the human plural. Copying that visible plurality into every Kazakh counted noun would overlook the target construction. Retain the actual number, but assess the noun form within its Kazakh numerical phrase rather than treating a source plural suffix as an independent translation requirement.
Quantity questions have their own noun-form expectations
The Kazakh resource says that nouns following қанша or неше in how-many questions do not take plural endings. The source Divehi grammar, meanwhile, lists interrogative kihā and kon̊ with nouns in indefinite or unspecified forms in their relevant uses. Asking about an amount therefore does not produce an identical noun shape across the pair.
For a Divehi question about available books or other items, preserve whether it asks for a quantity or selects which items are meant. A changed target noun form is not sufficient evidence that the question has become singular. Conversely, retaining an inflection just because it appeared after a source question word can interfere with the normal Kazakh pattern. Interpret the question’s function before assembling the target noun phrase.
A numeral is different from an indefinite suffix
Gnanadesikan also distinguishes the Divehi indefinite noun suffix, historically related to one, from a numerical modifier meaning one. A source noun with indefinite morphology does not always state an exact headcount; nonhuman plural nouns can carry indefinite inflection as well. This is a separate issue from the numeral’s expanded counting form.
In a Kazakh shopping request, confusing these layers can change the order itself. An exact quantity should remain exact, while an unspecified request should not acquire the number one merely because the source has an indefinite suffix. Read the Divehi numeral, noun number and definiteness contribution together, then choose the Kazakh quantity construction. This preserves the requested amount even when the target noun is morphologically simpler than its source counterpart. The source observations follow the northern and standard Malé grammar’s scope.
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