![]() ![]() The pronunciation of multi-digit numbers varies based on what the numbers are used for. If it were the denominator of the fraction 1/131, it would be one one hundred thirty-first. The 21 pizza slices are each one twenty-first of the pie (hardly worth eating!).Īs to the footnotes, 131 is either one hundred thirty one or less commonly one hundred and thirty one. Specifically 1/62 is either one sixty-second or a sixty-second. ![]() And quarter is also regularly expressed as fourth. The fractional form, at least in US usage, uses the ordinal form for the denominator with only three (I think) exceptions - whole, half and quarter. Supplement (based on OP's further comments) The exceptions carry over to more complex ordinals fifth (although this seems to be a phonetic morph of fiveth).This does not change when the discussing the denominator of fractions, regardless of whether the numerator is singular or plural In the US, the general rule is the ordinal form is based on the last element in the numeral. Quarter : one of four equal parts of something ' nearly three fourths of that money is now gone'įourth : one of four equal parts of something Americans use both fourths and quarters for one piece of something divided into four equal parts (except for hours, which are always quarter hours) while in the U.K., these are usually quarters.įourth 2. There is a difference when the denominator is 4.While a few people may use thirty-twoth, it's definitely non-standard. The word thirty-twoth does not appear in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, no matter how you spell it. Thirty-second 2 : the quotient of a unit divided by 32 : one of 32 equal parts of anything Merriam-Webster, one of the canonical American dictionaries. For confirmation, here is a definition from Americans pronounce fractions with denominators ending with 1, 2, 3, as in twenty-firsts, twenty-seconds, twenty-thirds.Summary: Can anyone point me to any sources (whether style guides or common usage studies or anything else) that discuss the pronunciation of fractions specifically one that discusses this separately from ordinal numbers, rather than how to form ordinal numbers in the first place. if I divide a huge pizza into 21 pieces, what are the pieces? Other than baker’s twentieths. I know that simply saying one over sixty-two can usually work, but I'm asking specifically for the word itself, i.e. So what’s 1/ 62? A sixty-twoth? A sixty-second? Surely not a sixty-half! When talking about fractions, I have frequently heard 1/2 a halfĮssentially the rule seems to be that, except for "a whole", "a half", and "a quarter", the word matches the ordinal number that is to say:Įven though 1/ 4 is a quarter, 1/ 64 is a sixty-fourth. I think we are much more likely to use expressions like "thirteen hundred" to mean 1300. We pronounce double digits in phone numbers like 12449 as "one two double four nine", and We always call 131 "one hundred and thirty one", You seem to happily call a quarter "a fourth" sometimes, My question is not about these differences, I just wish to highlight them in case they cause confusion.ġ. 1 Since the question concerns this, I thought it might be appropriate to draw attention to it case we inadvertently confuse each other. I've noticed a lot of differences between the way Americans and Brits pronounce numbers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |