Re:Why are German numbers backwards?
by DonaldFisk on Sunday November 28, 2021 @02:26PM
(#29372033)
In Arabic, numbers from 1-10 are waaHid, ithnayn, thalaatha, arba:a, khamsa, sitta, sab:a, thamaaniya, tis:a, and :ashara. No monosyllabic numbers, and 8 has four syllables. And even these are short compared to the numbers in Inuktitut.
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Interestingly, in Algerian Arabic, while other numbers are similar, two is different. It's zouj (one syllable). Except when counting e.g. twenty two, where it is similar to ithnayn (more like t'nin)
BTW, it's similar to German in that regard, because it's two-twenty.
Also interestingly, the way 8 sounds in Algerian Arabic would be 2 syllables. Although take it with a grain of salt because it's third-hand information. I learned this from my father, who's not native (but has lived in Algeria in his childhood)
Re:Why are German numbers backwards?
by thaumasiotes on Sunday November 28, 2021 @02:32PM
(#29372097)
This is kind of a tangent, but I understand that the native title of the Arabian Nights is 'alf layla wa layla, the book of "a thousand nights and a night".
What is the "one" night in that title? Any chance wa is related to waaHid?
Re:Why are German numbers backwards?
by Anonymous4272 on Sunday November 28, 2021 @07:01PM
(#29374646)
>any chance wa is related to waahid?
No, wa (usually in basic sentences) means 'and'. Layla alone means one night. Alf is a thousand, and for certain numbers the singular is used over the plural, which is why it may seem confusing.