GollumHow to say the number 92
federalreverse-oldWhat’s going on in Denmark?
SmoothOperatorIt’s base 20 like in France, plus the quirk that we have an ordinal numeral way of saying half integers, i.e. 1.5 is “half second”, 2.5 is “half third”, 4.5 is “half fifth”. So 92 is said as “two and half fifth times twenty”. We’ve since made the “times twenty” implicit for maximum confusion, so it’s just said as “two and half fifths”.
Also, the ordinal numeral system for halves is only really used for 1.5 these days, so the numbers don’t really make sense to anyone. When speaking to other Scandinavians, we often just say “two and nine ten”.
Why don’t we just change it to the more sensible system then? Because language is stubborn.
joneskindI have to admit, as a French myself I found relief in that discovery. And thank you very much for the explanation.
I was confused by the “2 and” at first, then I realize you put the smallest part of the whole number first. It makes perfectly sense if you count in base 20.
We also have an habit to count in base 12 and half 12 in France. Like “half a dozen” (6) or “one dozen and half” (18), but only for multiple of 6.
I will now say “quatre vingtaine et demie” instead of “quatre-vingt-dix” just to tease my fellow Belgians (who say “nonante” and “septante” instead of “soixante-dix” et “quatre-vingt-dix”)
The weird numbers only start at 50.
60: tre sinde tyve ( three times twenty) 80: fire sinde tyve ( four times twenty)