French Numbers - very strange crazy logic

PARISIEN   Mon May 05, 2008 8:47 am GMT
<< The base-20 counting system actually has its roots in Basque which was adopted by the Gauls and, later, the French. >>

-- Bullshit.
Otherwise, how come Danish use the same base-20 system?

http://www.olestig.dk/dansk/numbers.html
Language Guestapo   Mon May 05, 2008 9:05 am GMT
"The base-20 counting system actually has its roots in Basque"

This is nonsense. Basque had some influence on Spanish and Occitan but both languages use only base-10.
Occitan: 70 = seissanta, 80 = uechanta or vuetanta, 90 = nonanta
(The frequent use of "quatre-vint" for 80 is a recent import from Northern France)

In standard French 'septante' for 70 and 'nonante' for 90 have long been competing with 'soixante-dix' and 'quatre-vingt-dix'. Molière wrote 'septante' and 'nonante' in his plays.
For some reason Belgium and Switzerland have retained the simpler numbering system while France (+ Canada + Luxembourg) have chosen the most complicated.

However all use 'quatre-vingt' for 80, except for one or two French speaking Swiss cantons where you sometimes hear 'huitante' instead.
Xie   Mon May 05, 2008 12:41 pm GMT
But I still find this easier than the German system.

What can I say? Is it still a good mnemonic device to call soixante 六十 but soixante-dix 六-十 (60+10)? Quatre-vingts should make less sense, but when compared to the German system, I still find it easier than having to call its neighbor einundachtzig. I think French numbers still make some sense, and it's fun!
greg   Mon May 05, 2008 12:56 pm GMT
Skippy : « And in the Swiss and Belgian dialects of French, I don't think they use the vigesimal system... Correct me if I'm wrong on that. »

Je crois que <quatre-vingts> est utilisé en Belgique, parallèlement à <septante> & <nonante>. En Suisse, c'est <huitante> & <quatre-vingts> : le terme <octante> semble avoiur disparu. Les Suisses utilisent <septante> & <nonante>.

Je crois qu'on emploie les mêmes nombres en Amérique (notamment au Québec, en Ontario, en Nouvelle-Angleterre etc) et en France, mais je n'en suis pas sûr. Il se peut qu'en Acadie <septante> & <nonante> soient utilisés en concurrence avec <soixante-dix> & <quatre-vingt-dix>, mais <quatre-vingts> s'emploie pour <80>. Dans le reste de l'Amérique, je pense que la Guyane, les Antilles & Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon emploient les mêmes nombres que la métropole. Quant à Haïti et la Louisiane, j'ignore comment on compte.

En Afrique, je crois que c'est la numération française qui prévaut sauf au Congo-Zaïre, au Rwanda et au Bouroundi (je crois) → système belge.

Même en France continentale il subsiste quelques locuteurs (du français, d'oïl ou d'oc) qui emploient <septante> et <nonante>. En revanche je ne sais pas si ces locuteurs utilisent <octante> ou <huitante>.

En ancien français, coexistait deux (ou plusieurs) façons de former les numéraux :
AF <vint e dis> = AF <trente> = 30 → Fr <trente>
AF <deus vinz> = AF <quarante> = 40 → Fr <quarante>
AF <set vinz> = AF <cent et quarante> = 140 → Fr <cent quarante>
AF <quinze vinz> = AF <troi cenz> = 300 → Fr <trois cents>
AF <dis neuf vinz> = AF <troi cenz et oitante> = AF = <troi cenz et quatre vinz> = 380 → Fr <trois cent quatre-vingts>
AF <dis neuf cenz> = AF <mil e neuf cenz> = 1.900 → Fr <mille neuf cents> = Fr <dix-neuf cents>
AF <vint quatre cenz> = AF <doi mile et quatre cenz> = 2.400 → Fr <deux mille quatre cents>.
PARISIEN   Mon May 05, 2008 1:06 pm GMT
<< But I still find this easier than the German system. >>

-- Then you would be delighted with the Danish system, which combines the weirdnesses of both French and German systems with some complications of its own...

An example: '52' reads in Danish 'to-og-halvtres', which means literally 'two and half-to-three-times-twenty'
Guest   Mon May 05, 2008 2:53 pm GMT
well, what can i say about French and Danish?

PRIMITIVE - that is the word. cavemans that counted with both fingers and toes.

GET A NEW LANGUAGE !!! CAVEMAN
Guest   Mon May 05, 2008 4:08 pm GMT
<<well, what can i say about French and Danish?

PRIMITIVE - that is the word. cavemans that counted with both fingers and toes.

GET A NEW LANGUAGE !!! CAVEMAN >>

Actually, No.
Their method is more complex, where ours (English, Spanish, German) is primitive. We still count with only our fingers.
Guest   Mon May 05, 2008 4:35 pm GMT
My counting system is 21-base. I count with my fingers, toes and my penis.
porco   Mon May 05, 2008 4:41 pm GMT
I use 23 - i use my balls as well !!!
Guest   Mon May 05, 2008 4:42 pm GMT
lol - thats so funny
Cher Nobyl   Mon May 05, 2008 4:53 pm GMT
I use my fingers, toes, balls, two penises and tits, so - 26.
Guest   Mon May 05, 2008 4:59 pm GMT
>>I use my fingers, toes, balls, two penises and tits, so - 26.<<

One of those two penises is mine as it is stuck in your arsehole.
Cher Nobyl   Mon May 05, 2008 6:45 pm GMT
25 1/2 !
Guest   Mon May 05, 2008 6:50 pm GMT
>>25 1/2 !<<

25 with my penis and 25 1/2 with yours !
Cher Nobyl   Mon May 05, 2008 7:01 pm GMT
Your calculation is wrong 'cause you can't see well 'cause my two giant penises are blocking your field of vision.