Why You Might Be Counting In The Wrong Language

If you’re asked to write the words that spell out a number in your first language, it comes easily. The connection between how to write down a number in words – and the actual number – is almost automatic. This is due to being taught both numerical and alphabet skills from a young age, and the natural connections that come when you are entirely fluent in a language. However, according to a recent research article, it might shock you to know that some languages don’t actually do a good job of teaching the relations between digits and how they’re spelt.

Most countries have a very similar counting system (where digits go up to ten, and then in blocks of numbers to hundreds, thousands etc), and the words do a good job of describing it logically. However, the article gives examples of languages where the counting system is a little more convoluted – for example, ‘in Danish, the word for 92 is tooghalvfems, where halvfems, meaning 90,is an abbreviation of the Old Norse word halvfemsindstyve, or “four and a half times twenty”’ – not the easiest way for non-fluent speakers to make a connection between the number and the meaning.

Even in English, numbers and their counterparts don’t always have a connection you may make immediately – allegedly, the word ‘twelve’ comes from the Old Saxon word ‘twelif’, meaning ‘two left once ten has been subtracted’.

However, in Chinese, Japanese and Korean, numbers make a lot more logical sense. Numbers are created by compounding smaller numbers together that create the larger number, so there is a ‘consistent link’ between numbers and what they are called.

Unsurprisingly, research proves that cultures and languages that have clear translations between numbers and their names generally produce children that find it easier to count – and do so much faster than children learning convoluted numerical language. An example specified in the research is that children from the US, France, or Sweden (where number names don’t make logical sense), children asked to show the number 42 in building blocks were more likely to count and lay out 42 individual building blocks. However, children from Japan and Korea were more likely to make the connection between the units a number can be broken down into, and would put forward four blocks of ten, and two individual units.

Some cultures have even uprooted the language around numbers entirely – the classic numerical language of Wales was entirely upheaved and changed in the 1940’s, when a new numerical system – invented by a Welsh accountant - was simply put in place when schooling children due to the complexity of the old system.

At Talking Heads, we find all kinds of language, with their quirks and complexities, truly fascinating – it’s why we do what we do. You can rely on Talking Heads translators to be well versed in all iterations of their fluent languages and will adapt their translations to be the most readable and relatable they can be. So if you’re looking for reliable translations for your business.