From: "Lars Henrik Mathiesen" <thorinn@...>
> > Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 18:16:26 +1000
> > From: Tristan Alexander McLeay <zsau@...>
> >
> > How is English, given the nature of 'eleven' and 'twelve'? Partially
base
> > twelve but normally decimal? Or am I misunderstanding the concept?
>
> Eleven comes from *ain-lif, meaning one left (after taking ten).
> Twelve is similar. So these are actually base ten as well, just
> expressing it a different way.
Now let's imagine a sort of shift, where since Eleven and Twelve are no
longer transparently separated into morphemes, that we start English over in
base twelve:
1 one
2 two
3 three
4 four
5 five
6 six
7 seven
8 eight
9 nine
X ten
E eleven
10 twelve
11 baker's dozen
12 dozen'n'two
20 two dozen
X0 ten dozen
100 one gross
...
156 one gross five dozen six
*Muke!