Are there any languages/cultures in the world that have a standard counting system other than base 10?

If not, why not?

The Rev Dodgson said:

Are there any languages/cultures in the world that have a standard counting system other than base 10?

If not, why not?

Right now, I don’t think so. Probably for the same reason we all pretty much use the same calendar – standardisation.

In the past, I think bases 8, 12, 16, 60 and others might have been used at certain times by certain peoples. I’d have to check.

Kothos said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Are there any languages/cultures in the world that have a standard counting system other than base 10?

If not, why not?

Right now, I don’t think so. Probably for the same reason we all pretty much use the same calendar – standardisation.

In the past, I think bases 8, 12, 16, 60 and others might have been used at certain times by certain peoples. I’d have to check.

I think the Aztecs used a base 20 system.

Tamb said:

Kothos said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Are there any languages/cultures in the world that have a standard counting system other than base 10?

If not, why not?

Right now, I don’t think so. Probably for the same reason we all pretty much use the same calendar – standardisation.

In the past, I think bases 8, 12, 16, 60 and others might have been used at certain times by certain peoples. I’d have to check.

I think the Aztecs used a base 20 system.

That makes sense I suppose.

Base 5 would seem handy as well.

Tamb said:

Kothos said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Are there any languages/cultures in the world that have a standard counting system other than base 10?

If not, why not?

Right now, I don’t think so. Probably for the same reason we all pretty much use the same calendar – standardisation.

In the past, I think bases 8, 12, 16, 60 and others might have been used at certain times by certain peoples. I’d have to check.

I think the Aztecs used a base 20 system.

You’re right, I just looked it up. And the Mayans used base-20 and base-18. The Babylonians used base-60.

Different bases are used in different contexts. We still use bases-2, -8, and -6 in the computer industry,

Kothos said:

Tamb said:

Kothos said:

Right now, I don’t think so. Probably for the same reason we all pretty much use the same calendar – standardisation.

In the past, I think bases 8, 12, 16, 60 and others might have been used at certain times by certain peoples. I’d have to check.

I think the Aztecs used a base 20 system.

You’re right, I just looked it up. And the Mayans used base-20 and base-18. The Babylonians used base-60.

Different bases are used in different contexts. We still use bases-2, -8, and -6 in the computer industry,

I learned base 2, 8 and 16 in my time with mainframes.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Are there any languages/cultures in the world that have a standard counting system other than base 10?

If not, why not?

Yes. Some of the N.T. languages use a quinary system, including Nunggubuyu.

Turns out base-12 was used by various groups around central Nigeria.

The old English pound was also somewhat related to base-12.

And of course, time is still counted in 12s or 24s.

Just read that the fact we have special words for “eleven” and “twelve” indicates that old Indo-European languages may have had base-12 systems (or base-4, but I’m still trying to find the source of that quote).

This is interesting: https://web.archive.org/web/20081005230737/http://www3.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~P_aflang/TEXTS/oct98/decimal.html

Kothos said:

Just read that the fact we have special words for “eleven” and “twelve” indicates that old Indo-European languages may have had base-12 systems (or base-4, but I’m still trying to find the source of that quote).

Yeah, but we spoil it by going straight from nineteen to twenty, rather than tenteen eleventeen.

And it should be “tween” rather than “teen”.

In PNG, when using Pidgeon English, the numbers are wunpella, topella, and tripella. (spelling on those is a guess)
It means, one, two, many. And that’s it.

Try vigesimal.

Woodie said:

Try vigesimal.

Does it come with salad and chips?

Spiny Norman said:

In PNG, when using Pidgeon English, the numbers are wunpella, topella, and tripella. (spelling on those is a guess)
It means, one, two, many. And that’s it.

Oh, I listened to Lik Lik Pik sooooo many times as a child. We loved it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H61y75G0A24

(My father did some engineering work in NG and brought home various curiosities, one of which was a record of Lik Lik Pik. I’m not really sure bringing his early teenage daughter fertility beads was appropriate, but perhaps he didn’t know what they were)

buffy said:

Spiny Norman said:

In PNG, when using Pidgeon English, the numbers are wunpella, topella, and tripella. (spelling on those is a guess)
It means, one, two, many. And that’s it.

Oh, I listened to Lik Lik Pik sooooo many times as a child. We loved it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H61y75G0A24

(My father did some engineering work in NG and brought home various curiosities, one of which was a record of Lik Lik Pik. I’m not really sure bringing his early teenage daughter fertility beads was appropriate, but perhaps he didn’t know what they were)

My fave PNG advert. The free pig at Boroko Motors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3JanMjnGzQ

Kothos said:

Just read that the fact we have special words for “eleven” and “twelve” indicates that old Indo-European languages may have had base-12 systems (or base-4, but I’m still trying to find the source of that quote).

Probably from people with six fingered hands?

roughbarked said:

Kothos said:

Just read that the fact we have special words for “eleven” and “twelve” indicates that old Indo-European languages may have had base-12 systems (or base-4, but I’m still trying to find the source of that quote).

Probably from people with six fingered hands?

Polydactylism

most use 60 in modern time

roughbarked said:

Kothos said:

Just read that the fact we have special words for “eleven” and “twelve” indicates that old Indo-European languages may have had base-12 systems (or base-4, but I’m still trying to find the source of that quote).

Probably from people with six fingered hands?

I think they counted knuckles – three joints on four fingers makes 12. Probably a factoid from QI, so could be dubious…

Sesame street is base 12

12345 678910 11 12

Storage device manufacturers use a half arsed version of base 2, rounding if downwards

Cymek said:

Sesame street is base 12

12345 678910 11 12

And typically we still learn up to 12 times tables in school.

Kothos said:

Cymek said:

Sesame street is base 12

12345 678910 11 12

And typically we still learn up to 12 times tables in school.

That’s a carry over from the old lsd days of 12 pence in a shilling.

1760

Tamb said:

Kothos said:

Cymek said:

Sesame street is base 12

12345 678910 11 12

And typically we still learn up to 12 times tables in school.

That’s a carry over from the old lsd days of 12 pence in a shilling.

Probably the most useful thing I was ever taught at school.
I probably use it every day to do maths in my head.

Peak Warming Man said:

Tamb said:

Kothos said:

And typically we still learn up to 12 times tables in school.

That’s a carry over from the old lsd days of 12 pence in a shilling.

Probably the most useful thing I was ever taught at school.
I probably use it every day to do maths in my head.

I don’t use 12 times very often but 2 to 10 times all the time.

becklefreckle said:

roughbarked said:

Kothos said:

Just read that the fact we have special words for “eleven” and “twelve” indicates that old Indo-European languages may have had base-12 systems (or base-4, but I’m still trying to find the source of that quote).

Probably from people with six fingered hands?

I think they counted knuckles – three joints on four fingers makes 12. Probably a factoid from QI, so could be dubious…

I think you might be on to something there. It seems to rattle the picket fence around my memory.

Tamb said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Tamb said:

That’s a carry over from the old lsd days of 12 pence in a shilling.

Probably the most useful thing I was ever taught at school.
I probably use it every day to do maths in my head.

I don’t use 12 times very often but 2 to 10 times all the time.

I thought it strange at the time that we were taught all things 12 and my father could do hufe sums really quickly and he said that was because he counted in 10.

I tried it and never looked back.

7

Spiny Norman said:

In PNG, when using Pidgeon English, the numbers are wunpella, topella, and tripella. (spelling on those is a guess)
It means, one, two, many. And that’s it.

Pidgin English. Now known as Tok Pisin

AussieDJ said:

Spiny Norman said:

In PNG, when using Pidgeon English, the numbers are wunpella, topella, and tripella. (spelling on those is a guess)
It means, one, two, many. And that’s it.

Pidgin English. Now known as Tok Pisin

Ta for the correction. I haven’t been there in about thirty years and do not miss any part of it.

AussieDJ said:

Spiny Norman said:

In PNG, when using Pidgeon English, the numbers are wunpella, topella, and tripella. (spelling on those is a guess)
It means, one, two, many. And that’s it.

Pidgin English. Now known as Tok Pisin

Read …
https://www.abc.net.au/news/tok-pisin/

and, on radio – https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/wantok

roughbarked said:

Tamb said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Probably the most useful thing I was ever taught at school.
I probably use it every day to do maths in my head.

I don’t use 12 times very often but 2 to 10 times all the time.

I thought it strange at the time that we were taught all things 12 and my father could do hufe sums really quickly and he said that was because he counted in 10.

I tried it and never looked back.

Times tables up to 10 are fair enough, but 11 is going too far and 12 is just gross.

Tamb said:

Kothos said:

Cymek said:

Sesame street is base 12

12345 678910 11 12

And typically we still learn up to 12 times tables in school.

That’s a carry over from the old lsd days of 12 pence in a shilling.

Ooohhh, that makes sense.

Sexagesimal, also known as base 60 or sexagenary, is a numeral system with sixty as its base. It originated with the ancient Sumerians in the 3rd millennium BC, was passed down to the ancient Babylonians, and is still used—in a modified form—for measuring time, angles, and geographic coordinates. Wikipedia

Zun Hundert and eleventy zun

Hexadecimal

9192631770

wookiemeister said:

Sexagesimal, also known as base 60 or sexagenary, is a numeral system with sixty as its base. It originated with the ancient Sumerians in the 3rd millennium BC, was passed down to the ancient Babylonians, and is still used—in a modified form—for measuring time, angles, and geographic coordinates. Wikipedia

Yep.