19 in Kaktovik Iñupiaq
× 1
Three fives and four units form a single digit.
MODERN · BASE 20 · GROUPS OF 5
Kaktovik Iñupiaq
Kaktovik
A base-20 system created by students in Kaktovik, Alaska, in 1994. Digit strokes group units and fives.
Convert numbers- Place
- Kaktovik, Alaska
- Period / variant
- 1994–present
EXAMPLES
42 · Base 20 · groups of 5
2 × 20 + 2 = 42.
Worked example
Write 42 in Kaktovik Iñupiaq
Read from left to right. The rightmost place counts ones; each place to its left is worth 20 times as much.
42 ÷ 20 = 2, remainder 2. Start with 2 in the 20s place, then write the remainder in the lower places.
- × 20
2 downward strokes worth one each give 2. In the 20s place, it contributes 2 × 20 = 40.
- × 1
2 downward strokes worth one each give 2. At the ones place, it contributes 2.
Check
2 × 20 + 2 = 42
Sources and notation notes
Kaktovik numeral proposal (Marín Silva, Miller & Strand, 2021) · Unicode 17 — Numerals
Meet the symbols
Each tile shows one digit and its value. These are the 20 digits used by this display. Combine them using the rules below.
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
How the symbols fit together
Think in groups of twenty. A sign’s shape gives its digit, and its position tells you how much that digit is worth.
- First read one digit: each horizontal stroke adds five, and each downward stroke adds one. Three fives and four ones make the digit 19.
- Look at the positions from the right: ones, then twenties, then four hundreds. Each position is worth twenty times the previous one.
- To read 42, start with the left digit 2 in the twenties position: two groups of twenty make 40.
- The right digit 2 adds two ones. Add 40 + 2 = 42. A zero sign holds any empty position; 20 is one twenty followed by zero ones.
20 in Kaktovik Iñupiaq
× 20× 1
One twenty and zero units: the first two-position number.
42 in Kaktovik Iñupiaq
× 20× 1
2 × 20 + 2 = 42.
400 in Kaktovik Iñupiaq
× 400× 20× 1
1 × 20² + 0 × 20 + 0.
These are Kaktovik numerals, not a universal Inuit writing system. This converter currently renders whole numbers; the documented fractional notation is not implemented.
History
In 1994, students at Harold Kaveolook School in Kaktovik developed numeral signs that fit their language’s groups of five and twenty. The signs became part of local teaching and received the endorsement of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1998. They are a modern Indigenous invention, rather than an ancient script.
How to read it
Think in groups of twenty. A sign’s shape gives its digit, and its position tells you how much that digit is worth.
- First read one digit: each horizontal stroke adds five, and each downward stroke adds one. Three fives and four ones make the digit 19.
- Look at the positions from the right: ones, then twenties, then four hundreds. Each position is worth twenty times the previous one.
- To read 42, start with the left digit 2 in the twenties position: two groups of twenty make 40.
- The right digit 2 adds two ones. Add 40 + 2 = 42. A zero sign holds any empty position; 20 is one twenty followed by zero ones.
Limits
These are Kaktovik numerals, not a universal Inuit writing system. This converter currently renders whole numbers; the documented fractional notation is not implemented.
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