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The influence of the place-value structure of the Arabic number ...

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systems differ between languages and even within <strong>the</strong> same language different regional<br />

<strong>influence</strong>s can be observed. In this context it is interesting that <strong>the</strong> left-to-right order <strong>of</strong> tens<br />

and units in two-digit <strong>number</strong>s is not retained in <strong>the</strong>ir corresponding <strong>number</strong> words in all<br />

languages (e.g., 27 twenty seven), ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> units are spoken before <strong>the</strong> tens in some<br />

languages’ <strong>number</strong> words (e.g., 27 achtundzwanzig in German [seven and twenty]). This<br />

so-called inversion property is found among o<strong>the</strong>rs in German, Maltese, <strong>Arabic</strong>, Norwegian,<br />

etc. (see Comrie, 2005 for an overview). On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong>re are also intra-language<br />

variations. For instance, in <strong>the</strong> Czech language <strong>the</strong> non-inverted <strong>number</strong> words are <strong>of</strong>ficially<br />

used and taught at school. Never<strong>the</strong>less, in some parts <strong>of</strong> Czech inverted <strong>number</strong> words are<br />

primarily used in everyday life (see Pixner, 2009; see also Seron, Deloche, & Noël, 1992;<br />

Seron & Fayol, 1994 for differences in French <strong>number</strong> words used in Belgium and France).<br />

Taken toge<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong>se examples illustrate quite nicely that although <strong>the</strong>re are correspondences<br />

between <strong>the</strong> numerical notation system and <strong>the</strong> <strong>number</strong> words used to vocalize symbolic<br />

<strong>number</strong>s, most <strong>number</strong> word systems involve a lot irregularities that are not inherent in <strong>the</strong><br />

numerical notation system <strong>the</strong>y actually refer to (i.e., <strong>the</strong> <strong>Arabic</strong> <strong>number</strong> system).<br />

In this vein, <strong>the</strong> generality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Arabic</strong> <strong>number</strong> system is striking. In <strong>the</strong> following, a<br />

typology <strong>of</strong> numerical notation systems shall be introduced (cf. Chrisomalis, 2004).<br />

Subsequently, <strong>the</strong> most important characteristics <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> currently dominating <strong>Arabic</strong> <strong>number</strong><br />

system shall be outlined.<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Arabic</strong> <strong>number</strong> system in a typology <strong>of</strong> notational systems<br />

Apart from very simple tally-like notational approaches relying on one-to-one<br />

correspondence between <strong>the</strong> to-be-counted objects and an equal <strong>number</strong> <strong>of</strong> markings or body<br />

parts all numerical notation systems have to be <strong>structure</strong>d in a specific way as this is a<br />

prerequisite <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir actual function: to represent any given <strong>number</strong> (in <strong>the</strong> best case) by a<br />

4

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