English may be a hot mess but at least we don't have to worry about this nonsense

robocall@lemmy.world to Lemmy Shitpost@lemmy.world – 1101 points –
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Just wait until you look into French numbers.

How different languages say 97:

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง: 90+7 (ok, there is some jank in English numbers - 13-19 are in line with the Germanic pronunciation, i.e. pronounced "right to left", as a weird hold-over from the more Germanic Old English)

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ: 90+7

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช: 7+90

๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท: 4x20+10+7

And if you think that's bad, the Danes actually make the French look sane...

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ: 7+(-ยฝ+5)x20

Even Danes generally don't really know why their numbers are like that, they just remember and go along with it.

You know everytime your mention French number, there is always belgian or Swiss who will tell you :

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ: 90+7

โ˜๏ธ๐Ÿค“

While learning Danish I figured out that's just the arcane incantation for the number. It's language juju, and you just have to know that it be like it do. Yes, it's syv og halvfems, but the reason behind it doesn't matter anymore. The rest of the double digit numbers are a mess as well; 30 is tredive (three tens in old norse) but starting with 50 it's this weird score (20) and half-to-score system.

When I first started learning my brain was desperately trying to make heads or tails of it and rationalize it somehow. And then I realized that was stupid, abandoned reason, and now I just utter these backwards ass numbers and we all nod and everyone is happy lol. Language is weird.

https://youtu.be/s-mOy8VUEBk?si=1dudvGSjUd9VI11D

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿซก

Itโ€™s not easy running an isenkramstornunung when nobody remembers what anything is called

An absolute classic that I watch every single time. Kamelรฅsรฅ!

I donโ€™t know what he gave me, but it was wrong ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ

I can't stop giggling about the Danish way of saying that. Like, I don't even understand how that's 90? LMAO.

That's not real. I refuse to believe that.

It is, but we just say seven and half fives these days. Everybody knows the twenty are implied...

I think Finnish would be

๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ: 9โ€ข10+7

Nine-tens seven

Where do you think nine-ty in English comes from?

I think it comes from nine-tens. But if you check, that commenter didn't write it so.

Same for Japanese

๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต: 9โ€ข10+7

ไน(kyuu) ๅ(juu) ไธƒ(nana)

Also, similar to English, 20 does not follow the pattern but instead has its own word. (Still written as 2โ€ข10 though)

Meanwhile in CJK languages we just chill and say 9 x 10 + 7. Why doesn't everyone do that?

I guess "ninety" likely stems from "nine tens", so I guess English isn't far off