this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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[–] TommySoda 25 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Denmark over here adding fractions and shit...

[–] ArcaneGadget 12 points 3 months ago

Yeah, this problem comes up with 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 in Danish, because those are counted in "number of twenties" for some reason. And not like "3-and-a-half-twenties" but rather "halfway-towards-the-fourth-twenty". That example is 70 by the way (halfjersindstyvende). And nowadays it's shortened to omit the "twenties"-part. So in this case just "halvfjers".

The naming convention is pretty whack, but it's just treated as irregular naming in normal use. The alternative, would be to rename those numbers to femti, seksti, syvti, otteti, and niti, but that's very much an uphill battle against habit. So for now. 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 just have unique names...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yes they really didn't want to go the easy way

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, and it's wrong.
Nioghalvfems is 9 + 1/2 * 5 * 20!
NOT that silly 9+(4+1/2)*20.

What do they take us for? Calculators?

[–] zarcher 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

9 + 1/2 * 5 * 20

9 + 2.5 * 20

9 + 50

59?

How does nioghalvfems make 99?

[–] ArcaneGadget 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The graphic is correct. "Halvfems" is shorthand for "halvfemsindstyvende" which roughly means; halfway to the fifth twenty. So 4,5 or 4-1/2 "twenties" so 90. But nobody rally thinks about that. To most Danes "halvfems" is just the name for 90, just like ninety is in English...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It should rather be 9 + (5 - 1/2) * 20. Halvfems is halfway from 4 to 5, but the 5 is the value explicitly mentioned

[–] ArcaneGadget 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yes. That is what i said? "Halfway to the fifth" which i clarified to mean 4,5 in this context, so as to not be confused to mean 2,5.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Yeah 5-1/2 is 4.5, but the word "fems" is short for femsindstyvende, which means 5x20, so writing it out as (5-1/2) rather than 4.5 matches the word halvfems more closely. Could also write it out as (-1/2 + 5) i suppose

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Not Dane here but I know this:

"fems" is "five twenties"

"halvfems" is "halfway (between 4*20 and) 5*20" = 90

But don't forget that 100 has its own word and isn't fems, still 90 is halvfems.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Who says 100-1? I can’t find the lilac on the map, but it seems very reasonable and I support this.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (2 children)

A small point in the middle of italy. Maybe the vatican?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago

Latin has two ways to express it:

  • undecentum (which reflects the numeral notation "IC"), meaning 100 - 1;
  • nonaginta novem, plain regular form 90 + 9.
[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago (1 children)

For people asking why France is split, they used Occitan for the southern part, which I think is an interesting choice to show the regional language even if most people don't speak it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Not ideal, though. A mixed area would have been better. Acknowledging Occitan is important but it gives the false impression that a majority speaks it. And it goes way too north.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

It seems to go that north because it includes the local language west of Switzerland? You see the Nonante-neuf overlapping

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (3 children)

So, are we (Czechia) the only ones who use more than one way?

90+9 (ninety-nine literally) is the formal way to do it, while 9+90 (nine-and-ninety literally) is the informal way. You can easily hear both of the ways used in one sentence.

[–] Nikko882 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Norway as well. 90+9 is the official way, 9+90 is the way from when the Germans occupied the country. Both are still used. The map also says Georgia and Finland also use two variations.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The Finnish colloquial variation on the map – ysiysi – is "nine nine"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I thought ni og nitti was just favoured by people who use nynorsk.

[–] Nikko882 1 points 3 months ago

It's favored by people over 60 and those who have parents that use it constantly, basically.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

9 and 90 appears in English but reads extremely archaic, you'd basically never run into it in modern speech.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Niti og ni, 9*10+9 was used in Danish on cheques.
I doubt those exist anymore, though.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Only sane ones are 90+9, 9+90 and 100-1

[–] Zehzin 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

Variations of 4 x 20 + 19 are fine too. It's the same as 90+9 (9 x 10 + 9) but using base 20 instead of 10

It's the Danish who are wrong

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Nah, changing bases from one number to the next while counting up is a step too far.

[–] ArcaneGadget 1 points 3 months ago

Hey! I resemble that remark!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Wow, I’ve never seen one of these maps that included Sámi languages. I’m impressed.