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Alternative French Multiples of Ten | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4295 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 1 of 9 25 July 2013 at 4:58am | IP Logged | |||||
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Some years ago I remember reading about some alternative numbering system for French for
numbers 70-99, where instead of soixante-dix, quatre-vingts-dix-neuf, I saw septant for 70 (soixante-dix), huitant for 80 (quatre-vingts), and noivante for 90 (quatre-vingt- dix), with 71, 72, 73, etc. being septant et un, septant-deux, septant-trois, etc., and 81, 82, 83 and 91, 92, 93 following that pattern. But I am not sure where this is used, or if this is accepted by the Academie Française. It follows the model in Spanish and Portuguese, for example, but I am not sure what people would say if one used this in Paris oy Lyon, for example. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| fabriciocarraro Hexaglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Brazil russoparabrasileirosRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4720 days ago 989 posts - 1454 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishB2, Italian, Spanish, Russian, French Studies: Dutch, German, Japanese | Message 2 of 9 25 July 2013 at 5:50am | IP Logged | |||||
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I heard people in Belgium use huitant, but I can't state for sure.
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| Mani Diglot Senior Member Germany imsprachendickicht.b Joined 4910 days ago 258 posts - 323 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Swedish, Portuguese, Latin, Welsh, Luxembourgish | Message 3 of 9 25 July 2013 at 9:17am | IP Logged | |||||
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I haven't heard huitante (80) in spoken Belgian French yet, but I've heard septante (70) and nonante (90) and to be honest that's the only way I can distinguish the Belgians from the French because I don't have a good ear for different French accents yet (not enough exposure). Though the trick's not always working because (only speaking from my experience) Belgians tend to use the "normal" forms with French speaking people that are not their fellow countrymen. Luxembourgers seem to use both forms, too, at least I heard my boss and my Luxembourgian colleagues use both forms.
I think those alternative forms are used in Switzerland as well (including huitante). But maybe you could take a look at what the French Wikipedia says for 70, 80 and 90. Edited by Mani on 25 July 2013 at 11:39am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5570 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 4 of 9 25 July 2013 at 12:02pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Suisse Romand (Swiss French) uses septante, huitante, nonante.
In my experience in Belgium they say quatre-vingts for 80. but use the other Swiss style numbers. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| akkadboy Triglot Senior Member France Joined 5413 days ago 264 posts - 497 votes Speaks: French*, English, Yiddish Studies: Latin, Ancient Egyptian, Welsh | Message 5 of 9 25 July 2013 at 2:04pm | IP Logged | |||||
I can only speak for myself but my guess is that most people wouldn't say anything special, maybe a comment along the lines of "oh, you're from Belgium"/"oh, you learnt French in Belgium". 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Luso Hexaglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 6066 days ago 819 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, French, EnglishC2, GermanB1, Italian, Spanish Studies: Sanskrit, Arabic (classical) | Message 6 of 9 25 July 2013 at 5:22pm | IP Logged | |||||
I confirm this: Belgium: septante, quatre-vingts, nonante Switzerland: septante, huitante / octante, nonante Source: "Septante et nonante sont officiels en Belgique et en Suisse; huitante en Suisse seulement, - où l'on emploie de plus octante, surtout dans l'administration des postes." Le Bon Usage, treizième edition 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| lecavaleur Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4782 days ago 146 posts - 295 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish | Message 7 of 9 01 August 2013 at 6:20am | IP Logged | |||||
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France/Québec : soixante-dix, quatre-vingts, quatre-vingt-dix
Belgique : septante, quatre-vingts, nonante Suisse : septante, huitante, nonante The word "octante" is completely archaic in Switzerland, even in official texts. you will never here someone say it spontaneously, nor read it in a modern text. Here's an interesting source: http://www.langue-fr.net/spip.php?article202 If you happen to ever be in Québec, stick with the French system, as the alternative forms are not as well known and will not be understood by most people. If you're in Europe, everyone will understand any of the forms. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Ogrim Heptaglot Senior Member France Joined 4644 days ago 991 posts - 1896 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, French, Romansh, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Catalan, Latin, Greek, Romanian | Message 8 of 9 01 August 2013 at 9:44am | IP Logged | |||||
Most people may not say anything, but my wife, who learned French in Brussels and therefore tends to use septante and nonante, had the experience of a shop attendant who "corrected" her, saying "vous voulez dire soixante-dix, madame". Personally I try to adapt, so if I visit Switzerland or Belgium I try to remember to use septante and nonante. I never use those in France though. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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