Well, I must say. It’s been awhile. Sarah and I were on vacation in July. Or really, for July. Like the whole month. European vacationing rocks…but we’ll get to that later.
I’ve officially spent 247 days in Denmark! I thought, to celebrate this most important day, I’d tell you about the Danish language, but especially the number system.
Danish grammar (for English speakers) is easier than Spanish…but the pronunciation is really difficult. Danish is a very mumbly, slurred language. Imagine a language where everyone was constantly drunk. That’s Danish. The plus side is that I understand all the drunks here. They sound normal. 🙂 Of course, this leads to the Norwegians and Swedes making fun of Danish…
But they do have a point when it comes to numbers. They are RIDICULOUS. Even Danes admit that the number system is pretty confusing. Someday, I will be voted queen of Denmark and I will change the number system. I will be the most loved queen of all time. Anyway, without further ado, here they are!
Doing good so far. No surprises.
Backwards…but I can handle that. Spanish does it too sometimes.
And then you hit 50 and all hell breaks loose…
…??? Sixty is a little easier though.
And then right back…
So if you wanted to say 97, you’d say syvoghalvfems.
Or as compared with other languages…
And then you’d hope that after using “million”, they’d keep it simple with “billion.” Nope.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine and I were planning a get together. I asked for his phone number and this is what I got.
37 78 68 93
Let’s Englishify™ that…
7 and 30 8 and half 4 9 and 3 3 and half 5.
So I’m hearing him, and I’m writing 730 84 93 35, which isn’t even a valid number in Denmark. I seriously had a hard time trying to rearrange the numbers coming out of his mouth and then doing maths at the same time. And I can’t maths.
I’ve since learned that it’s easier to hand my phone over and have them type it it themselves. 🙂
So in conclusion, numbers are dumb.
Further watching for your pleasure 🙂
When I Left America 