Activity 34 |
The Language of Numbers |
The words we use for numbers show something about the parts of the numbers. For example, 16 tells us that the number is 6 plus 10. 17 is 7 + 10 and so on. Here are the numbers in 3 languages. Work with your kids to figure out how the numbers bigger than 10 are connected to the smaller numbers.
English |
French |
Hulqu’mi’num |
|---|
one eleven |
un onze |
nuts’a’ ’apun ’i’ kw’ nuts’a’ |
two twelve |
deux douze |
yuse’lu ’apun ’i’ kw’ yuse’lu |
three thirteen |
trois treize |
lhihw ’apun ’i’ kw’ lhihw |
four fourteen |
quatre quatorze |
xu’athun ’apun ’i’ kw’ xu’athun |
five fifteen |
cinq quinze |
lhq’etsus ’apun ’i’ kw’ lhq’etsus |
six sixteen |
six seize |
t’xum ’apun ’i’ kw’ t’xum |
seven seventeen |
sept dix-sept |
tth’a’kwus ’apun ’i’ kw’ tth’a’kwus |
eight eighteen |
huit dix-hui |
te’tsus ’apun ’i’ kw’ te’tsus |
nine nineteen |
neuf dix-neuf |
toohw ’apun ’i’ kw’ toohw |
ten twenty |
dix vingt |
’apun ts’kw’ush |
Do you know the numbers in any other language? How do the words show the relationship between numbers under 10 and from 11 to 20?