🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan11.170917.7216@impmh.uucp> dsg@impmh.uucp (Dave Gordon) writes:
>In <RABIN.93Jan7132015@nuthatch.CS.Yale.Edu> rabin@CS.Yale.Edu (Dan Rabin) writes:
>
>>According to a book I have read that explains the Arabic alphabet,
>>numerals in Arabic documents are written most-significant-digit
>>leftmost, whereas the text itself is written from right to left.
>>Hence the native reader encounters the least-significant digit first
>>in his or her accustomed reading order.  There's no reason to believe
>>that Arabic-speaking arithmetic has suffered as a result.
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>  -- Dan Rabin (rabin-dan@cs.yale.edu)
>
>I believe that in Arabic and Hebrew (both read right to left),
>numbers are also spoken least-significant-digit first e.g. 345
>is read as five-and-four-tens-and-three-hundreds.
>
>So their system is completely consistent, *and* doesn't require
>pre-scanning the number to find which radix power to start at.
>The disadvantage, of course, is that you don't know the magnitude
>of the number until the very end of the reading process.
>
>[Imagine a phone call from your accountant in Arabic or Hebrew ...
>Accountant:	You have made pretax profits of $hekels three and forty
>		and six hundred and nine thousand.
>You:		Good!
>Accountant:	And your tax liability is $hekels nine and thirty and
>		four hundred ...
>You:		Excellent!
>Accountant:	... and eight thousand!
>-- 
>Dave | dsg@imp.co.uk | +44 753 516599 | I am not a .sig virus, I am a free bug!

CORRECTION:

Hebrew numerals are WRITTEN and SPOKEN the same as in English. Although
the text is going right to left. A simple scan will have to encounter a
number, and reconstruct it left to right. The same can be apllied to
Arabic.

In Hebrew when you pronounce e.g. 345, it will go 'three-hundred-fourty-five'
(Heb. shelosh meot, arbaim vechamesh). In Arabic it will be pronounced:
'three-hundred-five-and-fourty'! (Arb. tlata me'a, chamsa waarbaim).
Now this is confusing.

--Rafy
-- 
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