>Another question: Why are the French counting so odd? Quatre-vingt (4
>times 20) for 80, soixant-dix (60 and 10) for 70 etc. (instead of Swiss
>"huitante" and "septante" (and "nonante")) is really difficult when
>you're not used to it. How did this develop?
FYI, Danish does something similar but not identical to French in counting
in twenties and half-twenties. There were a lot of numerical issues for me
to get used to in speaking Danish. They have a few interesting idioms for
telling time as well, and one of these would cause me to show up for
appointments at the wrong times until I had mastered it.
Isidora