I love language. Reading your excellent article reminded me of words and word origins, and how we can end up seeing more when comparing one word with other similar sounding words in other languages, like opening up some of the boxes and looking inside.

In Urdu, the word IK means one, number one. Meanwhile in Dutch, Ik means: me, I. It is not a stretch to see that both these languages are linked indeed in the Indo-European language family.

Listening to the pronunciation, the 'k' in IK is not that audible, and there are two versions:

https://www.google.com/search?q=translate+ik+urdu&oq=translate+ik+urdu&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIPCAEQABgNGIMBGLEDGIAEMgkIAhAAGA0YgAQyCQgDEAAYDRiABDIJCAQQABgNGIAEMgkIBRAAGA0YgAQyCQgGEAAYDRiABDIJCAcQABgNGIAEMgkICBAAGA0YgAQyCQgJEAAYDRiABNIBCTMzOTBqMGoxNagCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Starting with writing the Urdu 'IK' in Google translate, one can hear something similar to 'ee'.

Starting with writing the Dutch 'EEN' in Google translate, one can hear the Urdu word now as something more like 'ay'.

And that brings me to English and Dutch, in which the word 'I' in English is near similar in sound to the Dutch word for EGG, though it may sound more like a Scotsman saying Ay, ay, Captain.

Meanwhile in Dutch, the word rather similar in sound to the English word egg is IK.

It is as if the word we use for ourselves is based on first position, though first position is not a complete position, just an independent position. An egg is not the mature reality. The egg is part of a whole experience in life, and 'I' will not be the whole of existence, even when I must place myself in that first position (for myself).

I am also reminded of the Piraha tribe in Brazil that only has 1, 2, 3, and no other numbers. For them, 1 is a single item, but they do not view it exactly the way we do; it is a 1 with an unfinished character. For them, 2 is like we view duality or a pair, completed by themselves in their dual state, much like how we use it. And lastly, 3 is the number that indicates the plural state, many, all folks, a lot.

Allow me to plug my article on number TWO once more:

https://fred-rick.medium.com/two-f9967633de7e

--

While we can envision a box called beetle never opened, there is a lot more fun in opening all the boxes and seeing the fantastic ways we can compare their contents.

Thanks, Alexander, for another very interesting article.