Newsgroups: sci.lang,alt.folklore.computers,alt.folklore.science
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!udel!gatech!news.mathworks.com!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!in2.uu.net!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!commpost!usenet
From: pardoej@lonnds.ml.com (Julian Pardoe LADS LDN X1428)
Subject: Re: Arabic numbering system
Message-ID: <DF7ouK.HME@tigadmin.ml.com>
Sender: usenet@tigadmin.ml.com (News Account)
Reply-To: pardoej@lonnds.ml.com
Organization: Merrill Lynch Europe
References: <43k2kr$7t8@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 16:08:44 GMT
Lines: 14

In article <43k2kr$7t8@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM>, timd@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (Tim Dugan) writes:
-->What's really weird is that 99 in French is 4 20 19!

I'm not sure it is.  Languages that who have a number system is based on 20 are not
uncommon.  (At least one of the) Scandinavian languages do(es), more to the point,
Welsh does.  Remember that the Gauls were Celts.

In Welsh 99 is "four twenties and five and fifteen" -- but a base 10 system is creeping
in.

-- jP --



