The English/French counting system (WAS: number systems from conlangs)
| From: | Carsten Becker <post@...> |
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| Date: | Monday, September 15, 2003, 18:10 |
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Good evening everyone!
Some days ago, I wondered about why English/German/French etc. (I guess all
European languages) have separate names for 11 and 12: eleven, twelve; elf,
zwölf; onze, douze, instead of oneteen, twoteen; einzehn, zweizehn; dix et un,
dix et deux. We count in tens, but have numbers which you can count in twelves
with.
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?
Thanks,
Carsten
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