<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
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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 (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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