<p>Just have two different words, like &quot;twelve&quot; (T) and &quot;dozen&quot;. Than the number 1T is one-dozen-and-twelve.</p>

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2020-06-30T19:57:07.637Z
Well, that was pretty obvious. I feel kinda silly now.
OpenAI was the last straw
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2020-06-30T20:02:27.717Z
Well. it is only obvious when one's native language already has the two words "twelve" and "dozen" available. Thinking of bijective base-16, there are no such obvious words available.
Sir Cornflakes
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-30T19:54:05.930Z
2020-06-30T19:54:05.930Z
Sir Cornflakes
<p>The solution I've gone with is to use two different words as jk suggests in <a href="https://conlang.stackexchange.com/a/1222/2609">his answer</a>. In speech, both &quot;one-dozen and twelve&quot; (<em>&quot;rurinye-tendi&quot;</em>) and &quot;two dozen&quot; (<em>&quot;barinye&quot;</em>) are acceptable, but have slightly different meanings. <em>Rurinye-tendi</em> means exactly 24, while <em>barinye</em> means at least 24, but not more than 36. The latter is frequently used for approximations and estimations. In writing, <em>rurinye-tendi</em> can be either written as 1T or fully spelled-out, but <em>barinye</em> must be spelled out because there is no way to write it with numerals.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-09T14:36:04.777Z
2022-03-09T14:36:04.777Z
OpenAI was the last straw
<ol>
<li>if the base system is deeply ingrained in the language (in most (all?) natlangs it isn't, numbers predate modern positional notation by millennia; let's say your language had the notation for a long long time and historical language changes made the language conform to the notation), then the most natural system is just to read the digits - T is <em>dozen</em>, 11 is <em>one-one</em>.</li>
<li>or make the base multiplier obligatory for numbers bigger than the base - T is <em>dozen</em> but 11 is <em>one dozen (and) one</em></li>
</ol>

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2022-03-10T07:52:44.177Z
2022-04-03T06:17:02.893Z
2022-04-03T06:17:02.893Z
Radovan Garabík
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijective_numeration" rel="noreferrer">Bijective base-<em>k</em> numeration</a> (or <em>k</em>-adic numeration) is a system of writing numerals such that the digits are 1 through <em>k</em>. Thus counting in bijective base-12 (such as my conlang Atili has) works as follows, using <code>X</code>, <code>E</code>, and <code>T</code> for ten, eleven, and twelve, respectively:</p>
<pre><code> 1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  X,  E,  T,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 1X, 1E, 1T,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 2X, 2E, 2T,
...
</code></pre>
<p>What are reasonable ways to assign names to these numbers, specifically combining tens? Obviously, I could just name the numbers the way English does and just have the names for numbers not line up with how they are written (so &quot;a dozen&quot; would be <code>T</code>, but &quot;a dozen and one&quot; <code>11</code>), but are there other solutions for naming that better align with the way that numbers are written?</p>

<conlang-creation><vocabulary><syntax><number><numerals>
Words for numbers in a language with bijective numeration
# Words for numbers in a language with bijective numeration

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-30)

[Bijective base-*k* numeration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijective_numeration) (or *k*-adic numeration) is a system of writing numerals such that the digits are 1 through *k*. Thus counting in bijective base-12 (such as my conlang Atili has) works as follows, using `X`, `E`, and `T` for ten, eleven, and twelve, respectively:

```
 1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  X,  E,  T,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 1X, 1E, 1T,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 2X, 2E, 2T,
...

```

What are reasonable ways to assign names to these numbers, specifically combining tens? Obviously, I could just name the numbers the way English does and just have the names for numbers not line up with how they are written (so "a dozen" would be `T`, but "a dozen and one" `11`), but are there other solutions for naming that better align with the way that numbers are written?

**Tags:** conlang-creation, vocabulary, syntax, number, numerals


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-06-30. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Just have two different words, like "twelve" (T) and "dozen". Than the number 1T is one-dozen-and-twelve.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Well, that was pretty obvious. I feel kinda silly now.  
> **username_1**: Well. it is only obvious when one's native language already has the two words "twelve" and "dozen" available. Thinking of bijective base-16, there are no such obvious words available.  

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### Answer by username_0 on 2022-03-09. Score: 4

The solution I've gone with is to use two different words as jk suggests in [his answer](https://conlang.stackexchange.com/a/1222/2609). In speech, both "one-dozen and twelve" (*"rurinye-tendi"*) and "two dozen" (*"barinye"*) are acceptable, but have slightly different meanings. *Rurinye-tendi* means exactly 24, while *barinye* means at least 24, but not more than 36. The latter is frequently used for approximations and estimations. In writing, *rurinye-tendi* can be either written as 1T or fully spelled-out, but *barinye* must be spelled out because there is no way to write it with numerals.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-03-10. Score: 3

1. if the base system is deeply ingrained in the language (in most (all?) natlangs it isn't, numbers predate modern positional notation by millennia; let's say your language had the notation for a long long time and historical language changes made the language conform to the notation), then the most natural system is just to read the digits - T is *dozen*, 11 is *one-one*.
2. or make the base multiplier obligatory for numbers bigger than the base - T is *dozen* but 11 is *one dozen (and) one*


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