• EddoWagt@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 day ago

    But how did Danish end up like that even though it’s quite similar to Germanic languages and obviously neighbouring Germany?

    • bstix@feddit.dk
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 day ago

      English also has words like dozen (12) and score (20).

      I guess it came from the physical counting in trading. Imagine counting 96 small items. It makes sense to group them into scores and then count the scores. 1 score 2 score 3 score 4 score and a half score. Then there are few remaining that didn’t fit it neatly in scores and then counted last. That’s a total of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 plus the 4 and a half scores.

    • VonReposti@feddit.dk
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 day ago

      No idea. We probably had a period where we traded a lot with the French and got influenced by the vigesimal system that way, creating the abomination of a Frankenstein monster we have today.