French Language

[Stinger42]

Why do the French use a logical numbering system up to the number 69 ( soixante-neuf), then go haywire - sixty-ten for 70, four-twenties for 80 and four-twenties-ten for 90?
The Belgians and the Swiss use a "proper" system septante, octante and nonante.

[jake-the-peg]

You mean like "four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie"?

We used to as well only we called it a score.

"Man does live but three score years and ten"

[SteveD]

"Octante" is NOT used in Belgium.

[helpmetoo]

because theyre daft

they also give inanimate objects a sex
who cares if a chair is male or female

even the french dont if there is two or more of them
so why bother?

and they eat garlic sandwiches......

[lankeela]

I can count up to 68 in French - after that its too much of a mouthful.

[emidevitt]

The French don't use the words septante, octante and nonante (from the latin septuaginta, octoginta, nonaginta) because those were considered as archaism by the experts, though we now know it is the exact opposite.

Soixante-dis, Quatre-vingts and Quatre-vingt-dix come from the Gallic (Celtic language) which used a vigesimal system (on the base of 20) instead of a decimal system like we do (base of 10).

If most of the populations use the decimal system, it is because they used their 10 fingers! The Celts somehow used their toes as well...
The Swiss and Belgium dialects are influenced by the Saxon languages and so, even when speaking French, they have resisted the Gallic ways.