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French numerals | ||
Tags: Number System | French | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| ElComadreja Senior Member Philippines bibletranslatio Joined 7238 days ago 683 posts - 757 votes  2 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Cebuano, French, Tagalog | Message 1 of 23 21 February 2005 at 11:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have this phrase here:
quarante-six francs quatre-vingt-quinze Translated as: 46 francs 95 It seems to be 46 francs quarter-20-15... what's the deal?? Edited by administrator on 01 March 2005 at 3:16pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| administrator Hexaglot Forum Admin Switzerland FXcuisine.com Joined 7376 days ago 3094 posts - 2987 votes 12 sounds Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 23 22 February 2005 at 12:05am | IP Logged | ||
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Elcomadreja, this is one of the most mysterious aspect of the French language to me. I Switzerland, we would say "Fr.46.95=quarante-six Francs nonante-cinq", but in France, the reference, they say "quatre-vingt-quinze".
There is no logic to it. I have heard various explanations, that the French counted on their fingers and toes, and thus has a 20 base system instead of 10. Or that they lost the 1870 war against the Germans and could not hear the word "septante" anymore, thus inventing "soixante-dix" for "70". Whatever the reason, you need to study the way they say it: 70=soixante-dix ("sixty-ten") 80=quatre-vingt ("four-twenty") 90=quatre-vingt-dix ("four-twenty-ten") In Switzerland we say: 70=septante 80=huitante 90=nonante I guess there is a reason we got to be the bankers and they are the poets. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| victor Tetraglot Moderator United States Joined 7318 days ago 1098 posts - 1056 votes 6 sounds Speaks: Cantonese*, English, FrenchC1, Mandarin Studies: Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 3 of 23 22 February 2005 at 4:28pm | IP Logged | ||
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One thing to add is that 91, 92 is literally "four-twenty-eleven" and "four-twenty-twelve" instead of four-twenty-ten-one I used think when I started learning French.
(later edited: I just checked the dictionary, it says that 80 is "quatre-vingts" but 81 is "quatre-vingt-un". I still haven't figured out how the spelling works.) I heard a story about in the time of Gaul, people used measurements of 20, and people just counted things by twenties. I like the Swiss system better too, but we (in Canada) don't get to use it.  Edited by victor on 22 February 2005 at 4:33pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ElComadreja Senior Member Philippines bibletranslatio Joined 7238 days ago 683 posts - 757 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Cebuano, French, Tagalog | Message 4 of 23 22 February 2005 at 9:35pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well the fact that quatre is 4 and not quarter (quart) helps allot. I just couldn't find any combination of 1/4 (or 25 cents) 20 and 15 that made 95.
Of course, knowing that the French count in base 20 helps allot too. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Seth Diglot Changed to RedKing’sDream Senior Member United States Joined 7224 days ago 240 posts - 252 votes Speaks: English*, Russian Studies: Persian | Message 5 of 23 01 March 2005 at 12:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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Ha...Interesting stories.
Here's the truth: The Celtic tribes (Britons, for example) who settled in western France used a 20-based system; and this was one of the very few things that was absorbed into the standard French language. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| administrator Hexaglot Forum Admin Switzerland FXcuisine.com Joined 7376 days ago 3094 posts - 2987 votes 12 sounds Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 6 of 23 01 March 2005 at 3:19pm | IP Logged | ||
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Seth, it seems what I heard about the Gaulois counting on fingers and toes has some merit! Would you have any references or further details?
We French-speaking Swiss are as surprised as the people who posted on this thread at the bizzare French way of counting above 70 but nobody knows why we do things differently. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| victor Tetraglot Moderator United States Joined 7318 days ago 1098 posts - 1056 votes 6 sounds Speaks: Cantonese*, English, FrenchC1, Mandarin Studies: Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 23 01 March 2005 at 3:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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It's one of the years why French students have great difficulty in trying to say the year until 2000. And even before, people just remembered it like it was a rhyme without thinking what it actually meant.
For example: 1999 - mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kidnickels Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 7250 days ago 124 posts - 119 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishB1, French Studies: Mandarin | Message 8 of 23 01 March 2005 at 4:33pm | IP Logged | ||
I believe the francophones in Belgium follow this system as well. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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