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From: dik@cwi.nl (Dik T. Winter)
Subject: Re: 'The Year 2000'
Message-ID: <DzHxz3.5zG@cwi.nl>
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Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
References: <jeff-ya023180001610961239340001@news> <548630$2c9@nimble.mta.ca>
Date: Sat, 19 Oct 1996 00:13:51 GMT
Lines: 28

In article <548630$2c9@nimble.mta.ca> cprchrd@mailserv.mta.ca (Christian P Richard) writes:
 > 1999 = neunzehn/hundert/neun/und/neunzig
 > 1310 = drei/hundert/zehn
dreihzehnhundertzehn
...
 > 2000 = zwei/tausend
 > 2010 = zwei/tausend/zehn
...
 > 2100 = zwei/tausend/ein/hundert
no
 > or if they will return to the "hundread" system used before 2000:
 > 2100 = ein/und/zwanzig/hundert
yes (I think).

German in this respect is very similar to Dutch (although preferences are
slightly different).  For numbers between 1000 and 9999 there are two
ways to pronounce the number: thousands, hundreds and remainder or
(upto 99) hundreds and remainder.  However, the second is never used if
the hundreds are a multiple of 10.  So 4011 would be "four thousand eleven"
only while 4111 might be "four thousand one hundred eleven" or
"forty-one hundred eleven".  In Dutch the second form is almost
universally used; I think in German there is a preference for the first
form except for some special cases (like years).  BTW, I think English
also allows the second form but has a very strong preference for the first
form.
-- 
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj  amsterdam, nederland, +31205924131
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn  amsterdam, nederland; http://www.cwi.nl/~dik/
