LINGUIST List 14.3497

Thu Dec 18 2003

Qs: Recording Microphones; French Counting System

Editor for this issue: Naomi Fox <foxlinguistlist.org>

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Directory

  1. Eva van Lier, recording equipment (2)
  2. Kim Ruth, Irregularity in French counting system

Message 1: recording equipment (2)

 Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 04:54:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Eva van Lier <eva.van.liermeertens.knaw.nl>
Subject: recording equipment (2)

Some weeks ago I posted a query about the usage of harddisk recorders
or minidisc for fieldwork. I will post a summary of the reactions I
received as soon as I have decided what to use and can report on my
own experiences. Now I want to ask for some more advice: I am
planning to work with a Marantz recorder. Who has done so as well, and
what type of microphone have you used with it? I need one that can
pick up unstructured discourse between more than two people, but
leaves out as many background noise (traffic, music) as
possible. Thanks in advance!
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Message 2: Irregularity in French counting system

 Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 11:11:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Kim Ruth <ruthkmstate.gov>
Subject: Irregularity in French counting system

I am ''familiar'' with the counting system in English, French,
Spanish, German, Farsi and Arabic. Arabic is Semitic, others are
Indo-European.

All of them, beginning with 21, have a similar structure, with the
ones column either preceding or following the tens column.

E.G.,
31
Thirty One
Trenta Uno
Trente et Un
Ein und driesig
See o yek (Farsi)
Ahad wa Thalathin (Ar.)

French follows this scheme up to 69, at which point it goes ape, 
70 - sixty ten - soixante dix
80 - four twenty - quatrevignt
90 - four twenty ten - quatrevignt dix

Are there other Indo-Europen languages that do something similar, or
was there some specific historical circumstance in French history that
led to this peculiarity?

Language-Family: Indo-European; Code: IE
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