Why isn’t the number 11 pronounced onety one?

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   Don Shipposted 13 years ago

   LOL!

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      Lisa HWposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      and why isn't 1/2 pronounced, "one two-th"?    or 30, pronounced, "three-tee"?   

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      kimberlyslyricsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      Loving It!
      
      Good Morning, thanks for the smile
      
      Have a good one!

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         Don Shipposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Good Morning back atcha!
         Btw, are you the Kimberly Gray on FB, that sent me a friend request?

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            kimberlyslyricsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            yes
            
            expecting approval of course

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               Don Shipposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Lol. I wasn't sure it was you.

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      qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      onety one, twoty one, threety one...ooohh fourty one would be right! :

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      oceansnsunsetsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      lol, that is one funny question, thanks for the smile

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   kimberlyslyricsposted 13 years ago

   still       

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   Right On Timeposted 13 years ago

   Because that would be two! Onety plus Onety equals: tooty! Ah corny...

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   china manposted 13 years ago

   and that would be tooty, threety until it all comes back to sanity again until tenty.

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      Right On Timeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      lol

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      Lisa HWposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I wonder if that would make 1000, "tenty-and"?   
      
      
      
      
      (This thread shows a lot of promise for longetivity and in-depth pondering, I think.....    )

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   Karandaposted 13 years ago

   Same reason 22 isn't pronounced twoty-two. To toot, what a hoot!

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   Don Shipposted 13 years ago

   Lol. Early Morning, I got up and started thinking all so randomly, that's when I got this!

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   timorousposted 13 years ago

   For that matter...why are most words that start with 'wh' actually pronounced 'hw' such as hwat, hwere and hwen?  Hwat's up with that?

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   Greek Oneposted 13 years ago

   Eleven in Old English is endleofan, and related forms in the various Germanic languages point back to an original Germanic *ainlif, "eleven." *Ainlif is composed of *ain-, "one," the same as our one, and the suffix *-lif from the Germanic root *lib-, "to adhere, remain, remain left over." Thus, eleven is literally "one-left" (over, that is, past ten), and twelve is "two-left" (over past ten).
   
   R

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      china manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      so if we ad lib we are talking left over bits
      
      and that would also explain liberace
      
      nice bit of real info Greek one !

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      Lisa HWposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hmmm.   Interesting.    I think from now on I'm going to say "endleofan" instead of "eleven".  Maybe I can start a trend toward a more interesting way to express "eleven".      (If anyone asks me why I say it that way I'll just say, "I don't know.   Isn't that the way everyone says it?"     

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   Home Girlposted 13 years ago

   Then may be somebody will explain to me why everybody around me in Canada says "twonty" instead of "twenty"?  No, sorry, actually not "twonty", more like "twony"?

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      Lisa HWposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I can't explain that, but one that's even more disturbing (and fortunately, for my sanity,  not too many people say this) is, "Fi dollars" (instead of "five dollars").  If anyone reading here says, "Fi dollars" - STOP!!  Also, if anyone says "twony" - really!  STOP!!   

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      timorousposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Haha!  Twony, or twunny...it's just lazy pronunciation.
      
      Not to be confused with twonie, the Canadian two-dollar coin.  It rhymes with loonie...the Canadian one-dollar coin, which depicts a loon (bird) on a lake.

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         Home Girlposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Well, actually, I think it is toonie, not twonie, and that I understand, just different name for a coin, but "twony' instead "twenty" makes me question my sanity.

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