When two plus two doesn't equal four: ways of counting around the world
Not all languages count the same way. Some have words only up to three or four, others base their system on groups of five, ten, or twenty. This is because numerals, contrary to what we might think, are not universal.
PalmAt first glance, numbers seem like a universal truth. Counting to ten is such a basic skill that it's hard to imagine other systems. However, comparing how different languages count reveals a more varied picture: numbers, which we often consider an objective language, are also a cultural construct, elaborated within each linguistic tradition.
Most modern languages use a decimal base. This means that numbers are built from groups of ten, which is probably related to having ten fingers. However, this isn't the only possible pattern. Many African and Oceanic languages have base-five systems, which organize numbers according to their hand. In these cases, 'six' can be literally expressed as 'five and one', 'seven' as 'five and two', and so on. The sequences follow a regular order, but one based on a different base.
Vigesimal base
Other languages, such as Basque and Breton, use a base of twenty, called vigesimal, which combines hands and feet as counting units. In Basque, for example, 'hoggie' It means 'twenty'. And 'berrogei' It means 'two twenty', that is, 'forty'. In Breton, forty is 'daou-ugent', also 'two twenty'. French retains a trace of this system in 'four-vingts'which literally means 'four twenty', and is equivalent to eighty.
There are languages that combine more than one base. In Danish, for example, the old vigesimal system coexists with the decimal system and generates seemingly irregular forms, such as 'halvfjerds' ('seventy'), which originally meant 'half to 4', that is, 'three and a half twenty'. This type of mixed system is common in languages that have evolved over centuries from various contacts and linguistic changes. However, in no case is one base more 'advanced' than another: all respond to conventions that have been transmitted and consolidated over time.
Some languages do not have words for all numbers. In some Amazonian communities, such as the Pirahã of Brazil, the numerical system is reduced to three terms: 'one', 'two', and 'many'. The discourse remains functional because it covers the real needs of counting in daily life: if the count does not go beyond a dozen pieces or people, there is no need to develop a more extensive system. The idea that all languages should have a complete number system is an ethnocentric projection of a society that uses arithmetic every day.
Another relevant aspect is the presence of numerical classifiers, a typical element of East Asian languages such as Chinese. In this language, one cannot simply say "three books" or "two flowers": one must add a word that classifies the type of object being counted. For example, 'two people' is expressed as 'liang ge ren', while 'two flowers' is 'liang duo hua'Classifiers are not optional, and there are hundreds: some apply to human beings; others to flat, round, long objects, animals, or tools. This system, therefore, requires identifying the nature of what is being counted each time one speaks.
The concept of 'number' can also appear as a grammatical category, independent of numerical expression. Many languages, in addition to singular and plural, have a dual (to refer to exactly two entities) or a paucal (which designates a small group, but one larger than two). These distinctions are visible, for example, in Sanskrit, certain Slavic languages, or Austronesian languages such as Samoan and Fijian. In Catalan, however, grammatical number is limited to singular and plural, although lexical remnants of duality exist in words like 'gafas' (glasses), 'tijeras' (scissors), and 'pantalones' (trousers), which designate objects made up of two parts.
The formation of compound numerals is another area of variation. In Catalan and most Romance languages, numbers are articulated with an additive and linear system: 'twenty-nine', 'thirty-two', 'ninety-nine'. In contrast, Classical Latin combined addition and subtraction: 'duodeviginti' He meant 'twenty minus two', that is, eighteen. These changes in the order and way of combining units offer information about how each language organizes quantities.
Genetic relationships
Numerical vocabulary can also preserve traces of historical contact. The numbers from one to ten are usually very stable within the same language family, but from twenty onwards, loanwords often appear. In European languages, for example, many numerals above ten come from Latin, even in non-Romance languages. Conversely, in some cases of seemingly isolated or poorly documented languages, the number system has served as a clue to establishing genetic relationships: if two languages share similar forms for basic numbers, they may share a common origin. The study of numerals thus allows us to observe how languages combine cognitive, historical, and grammatical aspects within the same category. When two people from different places count the same stones, they will likely arrive at the same result, but each will do so with their own pattern. After all, there are many ways to order quantities, and all are systematic within their own framework. Understanding them demonstrates the extent to which even something that seems objective to us, like a number, actually depends on the language that expresses it.