how to pronounce numbers

[Don Shepherd]

When numbers are spoken, how should they be pronounced?

The math textbooks I have used in the past say that 126.544 should be pronounced as "one hundred twenty-six and five hundred forty-four thousandths," using "and" to represent the decimal point. But many would say "one hundred and twenty-six point five four four".

[Paul Dale]

I'm in the latter camp, which is also what is taught in school here.

Pauli

[grsbanks]

If in the former camp you have to stop and count the digits after the decimal point in order to work out the denominator of your "fraction" (in quotes because there is no fraction!) before finally speaking the value. Not good where speed is of the essence.

We just read it out as it is written and only mention fractions if fractions are there on the paper.

If I were to write down a number given to me as "one hundred twenty-six and five hundred forty-four thousandths", because of the potential ambiguity of the fraction part (is it \(\frac{500}{44000}\), is it \(\frac{540}{4000}\) or is it \(\frac{544}{1000}\)?), we tend to use "x over y" when y gets to 100 or above.

So, "126.544" would be "one hundred and twenty-six point five four four."

\(126\frac{544}{1000}\) would be "one hundred and twenty-six and five-hundred and forty-four over one thousand."

[ttw]

Eleven thousand eleven hundred and one.

[Don Shepherd]

(06-23-2018 12:58 PM)ttw Wrote:  Eleven thousand eleven hundred and one.

How would you write that as a number?

[grsbanks]

You can't. It's not valid.

[Wes Loewer]

In British English, it is proper to insert the "and" while in American English it is proper to not insert the "and."

126:
one hundred twenty-six (American)
one hundred and twenty-six (British)

Here's a simply test. How do you remember the move "2001: A Space Odyssey" being pronounced? It probably depends on what country you lived in.
two thousand one (American)
two thousand and one (British)

As far as the decimals go, saying "12 thousandths" for 0.012 is probably more correct, but saying "zero point oh one two" is more common and probably more accurately understood. I'm a math teacher and commonly call out answers to homework problems. One day I decided to call out the answers using words (one hundred twenty-three thousandths). After the first few, the students begged me to please call out the numbers "the normal way."

[Don Shepherd]

thanks Wes.

When teaching kids about decimal place values, I think pronouncing the hundredths and thousandths is good because it reinforces their understanding of those place values. But in the real world, I think "point" is sufficient when pronouncing the decimal digits. Hopefully they still remember and understand the actual place values even without saying them.

[Wes Loewer]

I should have added that many (most?) Americans say "and" even though it's technically not proper.

We also use "and" to mean addition: How much is 3 and 5? Eight. I taught with a Canadian teacher who would teasingly respond to a student who said "three hundred and twenty-one" by saying "How much is 'three hundred' and 'twenty-one?' Let me add them together. Let's see, that's three hundred twenty-one." (I guess I should have said North American English.)

[peacecalc]

Hello all,

oh, how nice, not only in german language are different pronounciations possible:
I always says for 132,504 (please recognize the comma as a fraction point):

"one hundred two-thirty comma five zero four" (literaly translated),

a lot of german speaking people would pronounce:

"one hundred two-thirty comma five hundred four".

The inversion in speaking the group of ten and unit position is always for millions of generations a reason for misunderstanding. That is one of Murphy's law in Germany: Why making it easy, when there is a more cömplicated way doing it.
(Sorry for my bad English, I'm sure there exist a similar saw in your language).

[grsbanks]

(06-23-2018 03:12 PM)peacecalc Wrote:  The inversion in speaking the group of ten and unit position is always for millions of generations a reason for misunderstanding. That is one of Murphy's law in Germany: Why making it easy, when there is a more cömplicated way doing it.
(Sorry for my bad English, I'm sure there exist a similar saw in your language).

It used to be like that in English too. Remember the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence", which includes the words "Four and Twenty Blackbirds Baked in a Pie". It still is that way in another language very close to German: Dutch. 132 would be "honderd twee en dertig."

The most confusing thing for non German-speakers regarding numbers is when telling the time at half past the hour.

"Zwei Uhr" is 2 o'clock. "Halb Zwei" is half past one

[Thomas Okken]

(06-23-2018 07:27 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  The most confusing thing for non German-speakers regarding numbers is when telling the time at half past the hour.

"Zwei Uhr" is 2 o'clock. "Halb Zwei" is half past one

There is logic to that: what is being said is that you're halfway TO two.
I've also heard "Drei Viertel Zwei," meaning a quarter to two, or three quarters of the way to two (from one), but that doesn't seem to be very common. "Viertel vor Zwei" is what I would use.

[ttw]

(06-23-2018 01:19 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  

(06-23-2018 12:58 PM)ttw Wrote:  Eleven thousand eleven hundred and one.

How would you write that as a number?

12111

[Dave Britten]

ひゃくにじゅうろくてんごよんよん

[ttw]

Or a puzzler from grade school (I don't think we ever agreed on an answer).

0.83 mile or 0.83 miles

[grsbanks]

(06-23-2018 07:45 PM)ttw Wrote:  Or a puzzler from grade school (I don't think we ever agreed on an answer).

0.83 mile or 0.83 miles

Good one. The answer depends on culture. In (British, at least) English we would use the plural form for anything that is not one. In French, you'd use the singular for anything that is less than two.

[franz.b]

https://translate.google.com/?hl=en#it/en/126%2C544

click on "listen" button

[Zaphod]

(06-23-2018 07:43 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  ひゃくにじゅうろくてんごよんよん

That just looks groovy whatever it is


355/113

[Thomas Okken]

(06-23-2018 09:19 PM)Zaphod Wrote:  

(06-23-2018 07:43 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  ひゃくにじゅうろくてんごよんよん

That just looks groovy whatever it is

ひゃく hyaku (hundred)
に　　 ni (two)
じゅう jū (ten)
(two ten = twenty)
ろく　 roku (six)
てん　 ten (point)
ご 　　go (five)
よん　 yon (four)
よん　 yon (four)

Japanese, written phonetically using the hiragana syllabary.

[Wes Loewer]

Pronunciation is important.

My wife is a nurse and one day the floor secretary took a call from the lab with lab results. I forget the exact value, but she wrote down something like 1000500mg. The nurses on the floor were confused as the value was way too large. Finally they asked the secretary to read the number. She said, "one thousand five hundred milligrams."

After that, she was not allowed to take lab results any more.

True story.