Re: The English/French counting system (WAS: number systems from conlangs)
| From: | Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, September 16, 2003, 12:55 |
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En réponse à Tommie L Powell :
>The switch to digital clocks/watches is probably killing such expressions
>everywhere.
I strongly doubt it. The use of Arabic numbers didn't kill strange counting
habits like French's sometimes vicesimal counting or Dutch, German or
Danish's habit to put tens after units. And Arabic figures have been used
for centuries. There's no reason digital clocks should have an effect on
how people tell time. I see for instance my Dutch nephews (ages 12, 12 and
8). They never saw anything but digital clocks, and yet give time in the
usual Dutch way, i.e. in half hours, counting up or down depending on which
half hour is closest. And they don't have *any* difficulty with it.
Christophe Grandsire.
http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr
You need a straight mind to invent a twisted conlang.