Warning: this may be a bit numerically and linguistically nerdy...but interesting!!!
Not all number systems are the same.
In all the languages that I've learned so far, once you learn numbers 1-10, you can pretty much count to your heart's content. In Hebrew, Spanish, and Swahili, 41 is forty-and-one. In Dutch they reverse the order, one-and-forty. English ditches the 'and' for forty-one.
That was pretty elementary, I know, here comes the twist.
There are some exceptions to this system.
English: eleven, twelve
Dutcht: elf, twaalf
Spanish: once, doce, trece, catorce, quince
These numbers don't follow the normal pattern, but we get used to them quickly enough. They are the rare exception.
EVERY NUMBER IN BANGLA IS AN EXCEPTION UNTIL YOU REACH 100!!!
Sure, there are some patterns, but sometimes it's just a single consonant that is indicating the number. I know that if it starts with a 'p', then the number ends with '5' - I'm still working on remembering which is 45 and which is 35, but they both start with 'p'.
The way that the number names are put together varies and I have yet to figure out the pattern. I have to dedicate time to learning each set of 10 numbers!
It would be as if we counted thusly:
twen-on, twent-two, twenty-ter, twe-four...
thirty-o, thi-two, thir-three, th-or...
I'm not kidding.
So, wish me luck! I can confidently count to 20! I'm a little shaky on 24 and 26, struggling through the 30's and 40's. Almost half way to 100!!!
Oh, they also write their own numbers. The 4 looks like an 8, and 7 looks like a 9. (This is when I wish blogger had a good facepalm emoji)
(By Sowrov at Bangla Wikipedia (Transferred from bn.wikipedia to Commons.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
Not all number systems are the same.
In all the languages that I've learned so far, once you learn numbers 1-10, you can pretty much count to your heart's content. In Hebrew, Spanish, and Swahili, 41 is forty-and-one. In Dutch they reverse the order, one-and-forty. English ditches the 'and' for forty-one.
That was pretty elementary, I know, here comes the twist.
There are some exceptions to this system.
English: eleven, twelve
Dutcht: elf, twaalf
Spanish: once, doce, trece, catorce, quince
These numbers don't follow the normal pattern, but we get used to them quickly enough. They are the rare exception.
EVERY NUMBER IN BANGLA IS AN EXCEPTION UNTIL YOU REACH 100!!!
Sure, there are some patterns, but sometimes it's just a single consonant that is indicating the number. I know that if it starts with a 'p', then the number ends with '5' - I'm still working on remembering which is 45 and which is 35, but they both start with 'p'.
The way that the number names are put together varies and I have yet to figure out the pattern. I have to dedicate time to learning each set of 10 numbers!
It would be as if we counted thusly:
twen-on, twent-two, twenty-ter, twe-four...
thirty-o, thi-two, thir-three, th-or...
I'm not kidding.
So, wish me luck! I can confidently count to 20! I'm a little shaky on 24 and 26, struggling through the 30's and 40's. Almost half way to 100!!!
Oh, they also write their own numbers. The 4 looks like an 8, and 7 looks like a 9. (This is when I wish blogger had a good facepalm emoji)
(By Sowrov at Bangla Wikipedia (Transferred from bn.wikipedia to Commons.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
I missed this post, only saw it now. This is not mind numbing but mind stimulating imho. It's amazing what your mind is capable of. Because you will eventually learn this! :)
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