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[scriver]

The question then becomes why Danes are so awful at math, if it's not their language holding them back.

For reference, the first twelve numbers in Danish is in base 12, then it switches to base 10, then at 50 it switches to a psuedo-base 20 system where instead of having twenty numerals they have ten numerals and then express the next ten as "numeral and scores + half [the next score]". It's so convoluted that when I try to explain how it works my mind keeps simplifying it and writing the wrong thing.

[overseer05-15]

The question then becomes why Danes are so awful at math, if it's not their language holding them back.

For reference, the first twelve numbers in Danish is in base 12, then it switches to base 10, then at 50 it switches to a psuedo-base 20 system where instead of having twenty numerals they have ten numerals and then express the next ten as "numeral and scores + half [the next score]". It's so convoluted that when I try to explain how it works my mind keeps simplifying it and writing the wrong thing.

Good god, it's worse than French.

I'm lookin' at you, 'four-twenties.'

[Kot]

Could be both things.

[Reelya]

Well Anglo-Saxon numbers seem to have originally had a base-12 thing. That's why we have named numerals "eleven" and "twelve", with "value+10" names only starting after that, a dozen being 12, and a gross being 144 (12²). So there always seems to have been a tension between base 10 and base 12 in Germanic / English counting systems.

[scriver]

Yes, there has been three number systems in most european languages - base 12, base 20, and base 10. The difference is that the Danish language uses all three of them simultaneously, like French, except with that extra cruel twist on the base 20 to really make it more complicated than any math-related system has business being.

[Teneb]

Portuguese works in base 15 until, well, 15. After that it's just ye olde base 10. It does not, however, do the utterly horrifying things that french and other languages do.

[scriver]

Swedish also just has base 12 until 12, then goes to base 10 like a normal, well adjusted language with lots of friends and a healthy sex life.

[Iceblaster]

a healthy sex life.

...What does that mean for English then?

Because we all know it's basically frankenstein with all its loan words and all the weird rules

[overseer05-15]

a healthy sex life.

...What does that mean for English then?

Because we all know it's basically frankenstein with all its loan words and all the weird rules

Numerically, it's a perfectly normal and healthy language.

Everything else, on the other hand...

[Greiger]

Yes at number parties it goes out, and socializes just fine.  Not being the center of attention but not being a wallflower.

Then when it gets home you just find a mostly empty room with a bed, a toilet and a microwave, and the walls are plastered with covertly taken pictures of all the other languages, with scribbled highly detailed notes written around each one about how it can steal their best parts.

Then English takes off it's shirt and you can see the scars and stitches.  you see now in reality that English is not just a single language, but some horrible aberration of stitched together parts from other languages.  The knives by the microwave can now be seen to be stained with blood, and a pile of garbage bags can be seen in the corner, inside....is that Latin's shirt?  No-one has seen her since....

EDIT: The inspiration kept flowing.  I'm not sorry.

[Avis-Mergulus]

*urge to go on the whole "misconceptions about the unusualness of English as related to other languages* rant intensifying again*
I suppressed it, though, because it was funny. Carry on.

Russian just has a base-10 derived system. That's it. Just base-10. With some insignificant fuckery going on around 40, but regular otherwise.
...it is kinda boring that way.

[NJW2000]

Yet has a different fucking verb of motion for journeys that you might pick rare orchids on but probably won't./s

But really, enough with the damn verbs of motion. "Go" and "come" are already more than are strictly necessary.

I guess that makes Russian the guy that has way too long toenails and likes to show them off at social gatherings.

E: my autocorrect also has some strange ideas about the English language.

[IcyTea31]

Finnish mostly uses base 10, except for numbers 11-19. Those go 'one-of-second', 'two-of-second' and so on. This can be used later in the number line, but it's a very archaic form. One rarely sees 'three-of-third' used over 'two-tens-three' outside of poetry.

[Kot]

Polish is pretty simple. 1-10 as usual. 11-19 has number + decimal affix (-naście), with minor minor grammatical change on 15. 20-29 is decimal number + another variation of decimal affix (-dzieścia) with 1-9 after it. 30-49 undergo grammatical change and the affix is different (-dzieści) now. 50-99 again changes the affix (-dziesiąt). Similar shit goes with hundreds and thousands and so on but in the end its just grammar changes since all variations of the affixes mean the same.

[Iceblaster]

(-naście)(-dzieścia)(-dzieści)(-dziesiąt)

Polish has always looked weird. This just emphasizes that. why can't you be a normal language poland. please. welsh is easier to guess pronunciations than you.

My guesses! Nash-Ee, Ch-Yett-Sia, Ch-Yett-See, and finally. Ch-Yett-Si-At. I'm probably way far from the actual pronounciations.

_{r-rate my pronunciations}