THE BALINESE COUNTING SYSTEM IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE: ETHNOLINGUISTIC STRUCTURE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR EARLY NUMERACY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57094/Keywords:
Balinese Language, Counting System, Early Numeracy, Ethnolinguistics, EthnopedagogyAbstract
This article presents a focused ethnolinguistic case study of the Balinese counting system, situated within a comparative perspective drawing on Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, and selected typologically contrastive systems documented in the cross-linguistic numerical-cognition literature. Drawing on linguistic relativity theory, number sense theory (Dehaene, 2011; Feigenson, Dehaene, & Spelke, 2004), learning-trajectories research (Sarama & Clements, 2009), and Vygotskian sociocultural psychology, the article examines how the ethnolinguistic architecture of Balinese numerals—its decimal base, culturally distinctive suppletive forms (selae, seket, satus), rich numeral classifier inventory (bidang, katih, bungkul, ukud, diri), embedding within sor–singgih speech registers, and ritual–cosmological resonances—shapes psychological pathways for early-numeracy development. In this study, early numeracy refers to foundational mathematical competencies developed by children aged approximately 3 to 8 years (PAUD/TK and SD kelas 1–2 / Fase A under Indonesia’s Kurikulum Merdeka). The comparative analysis indicates that Balinese counting constitutes a culturally distributed cognitive resource currently underutilised in early-grade mathematics instruction. The article argues for an ethnopedagogically informed approach that treats the Balinese counting system as a scaffolding resource for cardinality, classification, and magnitude reasoning, and outlines implications for curriculum design, teacher preparation, and future empirical research.
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