Why are French numbers after 60 too mathematical and not like Spanish and Italian.
Why didn't they continue with somethig like this: setante, otante, and novente.
Why didn't they continue with somethig like this: setante, otante, and novente.
French Numbers
Because soixante-dix, quatre-vingt and quatre-vingt-dix are the reminders of a traditional base-20 counting system.
Basque uses the same system than French for counting, it's based in 20.
I thought the 20-based counting system was typically attributed to the Celts.
Probably they borrowed it from the Basques since they have a more ancient culture.
According to etymonline.com, "score" referring to a 20 count comes to English through Old Norse.
<<I thought the 20-based counting system was typically attributed to the Celts. >>
I think for French it is.
In the case of English (which we really don't employ anymore), it's Scandinavian: "Four-score and seven years ago..." ["score" is a scandinavian word originally meaning 20/group of 20]
I think for French it is.
In the case of English (which we really don't employ anymore), it's Scandinavian: "Four-score and seven years ago..." ["score" is a scandinavian word originally meaning 20/group of 20]
Why didn't the French adapt their language to the decimal system created by themselves?
""score" referring to a 20 count comes to English through Old Norse"
— Une origine scandinave est assez probable.
Le danois utilise le même système que le français — juste plus complexe, car il commence à 50 ("halvtreds") et consiste en abrévations très peu transparentes:
50: halvtreds (originally "halvtredsindstyve", literally "half-third-time-of-twenty")
60: tres (orig. "tresindstyve" = "three-times-twenty")
70: halvfjerds (orig. "halvfjerdsindstyve" = "half-fourth-time-of-twenty")
80: firs (orig. "firsindstyve" = "four-times-twenty")
90 halvfems (orig. "halvfemsindstyve" = "half-fifth-times-of-twenty")
Vraiment bizarre...
Heureusement, les Danois comprennent généralement très bien le système suédois/norvégien, autrement plus raisonnable et régulier (femti-, sexti-, sjutti-, åtti-, nitti-)
— Une origine scandinave est assez probable.
Le danois utilise le même système que le français — juste plus complexe, car il commence à 50 ("halvtreds") et consiste en abrévations très peu transparentes:
50: halvtreds (originally "halvtredsindstyve", literally "half-third-time-of-twenty")
60: tres (orig. "tresindstyve" = "three-times-twenty")
70: halvfjerds (orig. "halvfjerdsindstyve" = "half-fourth-time-of-twenty")
80: firs (orig. "firsindstyve" = "four-times-twenty")
90 halvfems (orig. "halvfemsindstyve" = "half-fifth-times-of-twenty")
Vraiment bizarre...
Heureusement, les Danois comprennent généralement très bien le système suédois/norvégien, autrement plus raisonnable et régulier (femti-, sexti-, sjutti-, åtti-, nitti-)
Excellent lien sur le système numéral danois:
http://www.olestig.dk/dansk/numbers.html
http://www.olestig.dk/dansk/numbers.html