Re: lukin e nanpa mute
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 11:53 am
nimi li nanpa mute.
I thought about several alternative names and all of them make it longer and harder to say. The name "nanpa mute" (numbers multiplied) seems most useable in speech and I don't think it might commonly be used otherwise when followed by number words. So, for the system as I describe it, nanpa mute is both the name and the useage in tabulating.
Use case is in the market or at work, especially (for instance, fishing boats), where accurate counts of items might need to be communicated across a distance or with interference. The clear hand signals help there, but even a vocal method of tabulating which does not require translation into decimal seems right.
Maybe I'm wrong, not having used the common counting method long enough, but I don't see how anyone can grasp "tu tu tu tu wan" except by thinking, "one, two, three, four twos is eight plus one is nine". You almost have to convert to decimal to keep track. Or you could convert to nanpa mute,
"nanpa mute wan wan kulupu tu en wan li nanpa mute ala ala wan."
nanpa mute wan wan kulupu tu (base three 11 groups of two)
en wan (plus one)
li (equals)
nanpa mute ala ala wan (base three 100 (decimal 9))
It's important to note that this does not replace or obviate the common method. That method still works and can/should be used. Unless clearly marked as nanpa mute, all numbers are assumed to be in the common method. Only those situations where a concise and easily transmitted number for many, but a specific quantity of items is required would nanpa mute be used.
This also does not replace or even help with a credit card number, etc. Quoting arabic numerals seems the best solution for those cases, and it's what many languages do.
I thought about several alternative names and all of them make it longer and harder to say. The name "nanpa mute" (numbers multiplied) seems most useable in speech and I don't think it might commonly be used otherwise when followed by number words. So, for the system as I describe it, nanpa mute is both the name and the useage in tabulating.
Use case is in the market or at work, especially (for instance, fishing boats), where accurate counts of items might need to be communicated across a distance or with interference. The clear hand signals help there, but even a vocal method of tabulating which does not require translation into decimal seems right.
Maybe I'm wrong, not having used the common counting method long enough, but I don't see how anyone can grasp "tu tu tu tu wan" except by thinking, "one, two, three, four twos is eight plus one is nine". You almost have to convert to decimal to keep track. Or you could convert to nanpa mute,
"nanpa mute wan wan kulupu tu en wan li nanpa mute ala ala wan."
nanpa mute wan wan kulupu tu (base three 11 groups of two)
en wan (plus one)
li (equals)
nanpa mute ala ala wan (base three 100 (decimal 9))
It's important to note that this does not replace or obviate the common method. That method still works and can/should be used. Unless clearly marked as nanpa mute, all numbers are assumed to be in the common method. Only those situations where a concise and easily transmitted number for many, but a specific quantity of items is required would nanpa mute be used.
This also does not replace or even help with a credit card number, etc. Quoting arabic numerals seems the best solution for those cases, and it's what many languages do.