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Re: CONLANG Digest - 2 Jan 2000 to 3 Jan 2000 (#2000-4)

From:Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Date:Tuesday, January 4, 2000, 22:56
Muke Tever wrote:
> Know why? > The Mayans had zero. When our calendar was invented, we didn't.
True, but we use zero in ages. A child isn't "1" at birth, but rather "0", altho we actually say "newborn". With chronology, we start with 1, with ages we start with 0. Strange. Besides, saying "because there was no year 0" makes it sound like an aberration that we've since outgrown. But saying that 1BC, 1AD is a "blunder" is, IMO, false. AD 1 is the FIRST year of the Lord [granted, based on an inaccurate birthdate, but that's another issue], while 1 BC is the FIRST year counting backward from the Birth. If you start a job, do you refer to the day you begin as your "zeroth day" at that job? No, it's the "first day". And so, since we are now in the year 2000, we are in the two-thousandth year, which is the last of 2000 years. On the other hand, I am 21, which means I am in my twenty-SECOND year of life. The Solar Calendar, which was invented in the United Cities of Luna in the 22nd (?) century, and implemented in the 25th (?) uses 0. They count from the Lunar landing, which is called 0/0/0 (format = Y/M/D). Years are 12 months of 30 days each, no extra days or anything, simply 360 days in a year. This calendar came into play after the Plagues destroyed Earth, with no need to keep in synch with Earth, they were finally able to implement a different calendar (which had been experimented with before, but not successfully). Anyhoo, so dates in a month are numbered 0-29, and months are numbered 0-11, that is, a year is 0/0 - 11/29
> "Me too".. though I've once heard 'Y2L' offered.
Y2L? As in L follows K? Odd. -- "Old linguists never die - they just come to voiceless stops." - anonymous http://members.tripod.com/~Nik_Taylor/X-Files http://members.tripod.com/~Nik_Taylor/Books.html ICQ: 18656696 AIM Screen-Name: NikTailor