Hej from Denmark

[Forest Cat]

99 would be "nioghalvfems" which is the short version of "nioghalvfemsindstyvende".
It's a mix of "halvfemte" which means 4½, "sinde" which means to muliply and "tyve" which is 20. So 90 is actually 4½ times twenty. So when we say 99 we technically say 9 and 4½ times twenty.

Yes, that makes perfect sense. On Mars.

 

[Forest Cat]

I can infodump if you want to. But another fun fact about Denmark, is that our flag (Dannebrog) is the worlds oldest national flag in continuous use.

Another fun fact is that Denmark used to own Norway. It was ruled under the crown of Denmark. But we took it and we're never giving it back! Ha-ha! But we still love the Danes.

 

[AspieGamer91]

Another fun fact is that Denmark used to own Norway. It was ruled under the crown of Denmark. But we took it and we're never giving it back! Ha-ha! But we still love the Danes.

You didn't "take it". We most likely started a war with Sweden, and when we realized we were going to lose (as always), we might have decided to give Norway to them as a "Sorry. We were weaker than we thought"...
The amount of wars between Denmark and Sweden is insane. Even though they usually win them, we always wanted to start a new one... Our sense of self-preservation was non-existing.

 

[Nervous Rex]

99 would be "nioghalvfems" which is the short version of "nioghalvfemsindstyvende".
It's a mix of "halvfemte" which means 4½, "sinde" which means to multiply and "tyve" which is 20. So 90 is actually 4½ times twenty. So when we say 99 we technically say 9 and 4½ times twenty.

Why we do it like that, I have no clue. Your guess is as good as mine But I agree that it's confusing for non-native speakers

I am familiar with the count-by-twenty system. I didn't know that the numbers I was taught were shortened from longer versions. I learned something new today - Yay!

Last question: Is the "ende" at the end of "halvfemsindstyvende" a plural definite article (like "hundene") or a gerund (like "løbende") - or something else?

They used to count by twenties English, hundreds of years ago. There are still a few remnants around, like the nursery rhyme, "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" and the start of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, "Four score and seven years ago".

It's interesting to see how the languages diverged. I read a compilation of H.C. Andersen stories in Danish. Because his writing is so old, it's closer to English than modern Danish and had a lot more cognates. I actually found it easier to read than modern Danish.

Lastly, yes I'm autistic and I love languages and word play. I'm don't have any real talent for learning languages, but I love learning details about them. I should stop so I don't hijack your entire introduction thread.

 

[Forest Cat]

You didn't "take it". We most likely started a war with Sweden, and when we realized we were going to lose (as always), we might have decided to give Norway to them as a "Sorry. We were weaker than we thought"...
The amount of wars between Denmark and Sweden is insane. Even though they usually win them, we always wanted to start a new one... Our sense of self-preservation was non-existing.

We planned it all from the start, first tricking you guys to give us to Sweden and then forcing the Swedes to leave us alone. Very cunning. But we're all good neighbors now, that's the important thing.

 

[Alexej]

you guys have a serious mountain shortage

Hey dont be jealous - the have Himmelbjerget don't they?

 

[Alexej]

And of course Hej til deg!

I hope you enjoy the conversation here in the Forum.

 

[VictorR]

99 would be "nioghalvfems" which is the short version of "nioghalvfemsindstyvende".
It's a mix of "halvfemte" which means 4½, "sinde" which means to muliply and "tyve" which is 20. So 90 is actually 4½ times twenty. So when we say 99 we technically say 9 and 4½ times twenty.

Why we do it like that, I have no clue. Your guess is as good as mine But I agree that it's confusing for non-native speakers

In Quebecois / Canadian French, 99 is rendered as quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (4 x 20 + 10 + 9).

 

[Alexej]

In Quebecois / Canadian French, 99 is rendered as quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (4 x 20 + 10 + 9).

I think that french still does that