Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T00:10:55.640Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Round numbers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

Bengt Sigurd
Bengt Sigurd
Affiliation:
Department of Lingustics, Lund University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Numbers are used for exact and approximative estimations. The numbers used in approximative expressions are typically so-called round numbers, such as 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 100, 1,000, and such numbers are also very frequent in texts. This article presents evidence that some numbers are rounder than others and discusses how the roundness of a number can be derived from its contents of the base number of the numeral System of the culture. A formula for deriving the roundness of a number is suggested, and some evidence that intuitions about roundness vary between vigesimal and decimal cultures as predicted by the formula is given. (Number, numeral, decimal, vigesimal, money, anthropology, sociolinguistics, language and culture, English, French, Swedish)

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , June 1988 , pp. 243 - 252
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allén, S. (1970). Nusvensk frekvensordbok I. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wicksell.Google ScholarPubMed
Battig, W. F., & Spera, A. J. (1962). Rated association values of numbers from 0–100. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour 1: 200–02.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crump, S. T. (1978). Money and number: the Troyan horse of language. Man (N.S.) 1978:13, 503–518.Google Scholar
Crump, S. T. (1982). The alternative meanings of number and counting. In Parkin, D. (ed.), Semantic anthropology. London: Academic.Google Scholar
Hurford, J. R. (1975). The linguistic theory of numerals. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kaufman, E. L., Lord, M. W., Reese, T. W., & Volkmann, J. (1949). The discrimination of visual number. American Journal of Psychology 62: 498–525.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kučera, H., & Francis, W. N. (1967). Computational analysis of present-day American English. Providence: Brown University Press.Google Scholar
Lotz, J. ([1955] 1964). On language and culture. International Journal of American Linguistics 21. Reprinted in D. Hymes (ed.), Language in culture and society. New York: Harper & Row. 182–84.Google Scholar
Sigurd, B. (1972). Ord om ord (chap. 6: Runda tal). Lund: Gleerup.Google Scholar
Slak, S. (1970). Free recall of numbers with high- and low-rated association values. Journal of Experimental Psychology 83: 184–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar