Calculating aloud

Phi can narrate integer arithmetic with five verbs:

Each calculation uses an operation clause followed by a result clause. In the operation clause, nela separates the two operands and is mandatory:

[operand 1] nela [operand 2] [operation]. [result] kelai.

The boundary must be spoken as well as written because adjacent operands can otherwise look exactly like one compound numeral. nela never appears inside a numeral; number composition itself remains conjunction-free.

wi nela ta shao sholei. ta shao wi kelai. — Two and three gather. Five results. (2 + 3 = 5)

ta phoi nela ta shao leiro. wi shao kelai. — Nine releases three. Six results. (9 − 3 = 6)

ta shao nela wi welura. wi shao kelai. — Three spreads by two. Six results. (3 × 2 = 6)

ta phoi nela ta shao phanoi. ta shao kelai. — Nine portions among three. Three results. (9 ÷ 3 = 3)

For a plain equality rather than the result of an operation, kelai takes the same audible boundary: ta shao ta nela ta shao ta kelai. — Four equals four.

Addition and subtraction require commensurable quantities. If nouns or classifiers are stated, both operands and the result name the same kind of quantity: wi lipha powea nela ta shao lipha powea sholei. ta shao wi lipha powea kelai. — Two eggs plus three eggs result in five eggs. A sentence cannot add people to bowls merely by placing numbers beside them.

In multiplication, the first operand may carry the counted thing while the second is a bare factor; the product inherits the counted thing: ta shao themo noru nela wi welura. wi shao themo noru kelai. — Three bowls multiplied by two result in six bowls.

In division, the total carries the thing being portioned, while the second operand may name recipients or groups; the quotient inherits the total's kind. Remainders are stated separately: ta phoi wi lipha powea nela ta shao himo miona phanoi. ta shao lipha powea kelai. wi lipha powea therilu. — Eleven eggs portioned among three people result in three eggs each, with two eggs remaining. Phi does not currently define fractional numeral syntax; an exact fractional value remains in source material when the quotient and remainder do not express what the context needs.

Bare mathematics omits nouns and classifiers but retains nela. The verbs identify the selected operation and give it a concrete metaphor. Fairness, usefulness, and correctness remain claims about the quantities, procedure, and result. Exact notation can preserve arbitrary calculations in source material outside the Phi passage.