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The number eleven is pronounced “onety one.” Why? Many people think that it’s because the word for eleven, eleventh, and other words ending in -leven are from a different language. In this blog post we’ll explore the science of how numbers were created and why they’re not pronounced as you might expect!
– The Sumerians were the first to create numbers. They used a base 60 number system because it was easier for them to count things with their ten fingers and two hands in order. This meant that, when they wanted to say “eleven,” instead of counting up from one like we do now, they counted back down from sixty-one! And so eleven became onety one – but not by choice!
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In Sumerian, one of the words for eleven was “ten-one.” The ancient Egyptians also had a base 60 number system and counted backwards from sixty. So they said onety as well! This is why we say “onety” in English today.
The Romans were another early civilization that used a base ten number system – which means their word for 11 was ix (pronounced eyeks) because it’s closer to the numbers we use now than counting back down from 61 or downwards from 60. IX came before XI, so when you see what looks like an XI next to an IX in Roman numerals that doesn’t mean there are more I’s following after them; instead it means our IX comes before their XI.
The modern English word eleven is a direct descendant of the Old English ellanefenne, which means “one left” – because it’s one more than ten and not counting any further into the teens. We also say we’ve reached onety now instead of going all the way to seventy! There are lots of other languages in addition to Latin and Greek that use base twelve or base twenty numbering systems too, but this gives us an idea why our numbers seem so different from theirs: they’re using different bases for counting!
The Latin word for eleven is undeni, which literally means “one left” – because it has one more than ten and not counting any further into the teens. We also say we’ve reached onety now instead of going all the way to seventy! There are lots of other languages in addition to Latin and Greek that use base twelve or twenty numbering systems too, but this gives us an idea why our numbers seem so different from theirs: they’re using different bases for counting!
What are the different bases for counting? What do we say now instead of going all the way to seventy? Why is 11 pronounced onety one and not onety two or eleven plus ten in Spanish, French, Arabic..? The Latin word for eleven is undeni, which literally means “one left” – because it has one more than ten and doesn’t count any further into the teens.
What bases are used in languages besides Latin and Greek? What word is eleven pronounced as, one or two? Why do we say 11 is onety one instead of seventy-one? The Spanish word for eleven translates to once nueve which means “once ten” – because it has ten more than nine but doesn’t count any further into the twenties. Arabic’s number system starts with 12 though! So what would our “ones” be translated as there? ?? And French says douze, meaning twelve ones – so if they were using a base five counting system we might call them twelves rather than tens like us!
How does each language use different numbering systems that lead to pronouncing 11 as onety one in some languages and nueve or 12 in others?
How does each language use different numbering systems that lead to pronouncing 11 as onety one in some languages and 12 (or other number) in others? Arabic’s number system starts with 12. So what would our “ones” be translated as there?” ?? What is the difference between a base four counting system, like Japanese, which has only ten numbers from zero through nine but counts by twenties instead of tens, versus a base six counting system like ancient Romans had where we counted up the digits I-XII for twenty ones starting over at I when we reached XII. The Latin word for eleven means something closer to eleven times two rather than eleven individual ones.
11 as onety one in some languages and 12 (or other number) in others? Arabic’s number system starts with twelve. So what would our “ones” be translated as there?” ?? What is the difference between a base four counting system, like Japanese, which has only ten numbers from zero through nine but counts by twenties instead of tens, versus a base six counting system like ancient Romans had where we counted up the digits I-XII for twenty ones starting over at I when we reached XII. The Latin word for eleven means something closer to eleven times two rather than eleven individual ones. ?? There are so many different ways that someone may calculate or pronounce 11.. it just depends on how they use their numbering system.
What is the difference between a base four counting system, like Japanese, which has only ten numbers from zero through nine but counts by twenties instead of tens, versus a base six counting system like ancient Romans had where we counted up the digits I-XII for twenty ones starting over at I when we reached XII. The Latin word for eleven means something closer to eleven times two rather than eleven individual ones. ?? There are so many different ways that someone may calculate or pronounce 11.. it just depends on how they use their numbering system.
05: Using Base Four vs Six Systems in Numbers (or Other Language) ?? In English and Arabic numerals systems (counting), both have 12 as “ones”. So what would be “eleven” in English would be “ten and two” or Arabic.
06: The Language of Numbers �� In the Hebrew language, there are only digits for ten with a different word used to represent eleven. So instead of saying 11, they say it as 20+ one (11).
07: How many people do you know that actually understand math?? Most don’t even get past doing addition.. so how could we have this conversation?? Eleven is just like any other number when using numerals systems! It’s up to what counting system you want to use in your own head, but no matter which way someone wants to count, they will always reach the same amount at the end! ?? For example if I said: – there are 11 sheep on the farm. �� This could also be said as “there are eleven (ones) sheep on the farm.” The word one in this sentence is synonymous with a number of different cultural counting systems, so no matter which you use it would still have to mean an amount of 11 or more! 08: So why does everyone say that it should be pronounced Onety One?? In English and Arabic, we use numbers for math problems when adding up larger sums. For example if I wanted to add 50 + 20 = 70, then my answer would be 71 because I actually count by ten’s; not ones like most people do today. When asking someone how much money they made in their job
