Why do we say Nine Eleven, not Nine One One?
Discussion
It is all about lip and tongue movement. Including syllables - the mouth takes the quickest movement.
It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
Pica-Pica said:
It is all about lip and tongue movement. Including syllables - the mouth takes the quickest movement.
It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
I speak Welsh. I'm from Pembrokeshire It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
It's cultural - just how English speakers treat certain numbers in speech.
It's not limited to the Porsche 911. Very few people people would call their Volvo 940 a Volvo Nine-four-zero or a Volvo Nine hundred and forty, it would be regarded as most pedantic if they did. Almost everyone calls them a Volvo Nine-Forty. Similarly, The old Austin 1100 was called an Austin Eleven-hundred, not an Austin One-one-zero-zero, so it isn't limited to foreign-made cars.
It's not limited to the Porsche 911. Very few people people would call their Volvo 940 a Volvo Nine-four-zero or a Volvo Nine hundred and forty, it would be regarded as most pedantic if they did. Almost everyone calls them a Volvo Nine-Forty. Similarly, The old Austin 1100 was called an Austin Eleven-hundred, not an Austin One-one-zero-zero, so it isn't limited to foreign-made cars.
Pica-Pica said:
It is all about lip and tongue movement. Including syllables - the mouth takes the quickest movement.
It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
Pretty sure it's not that in this case, otherwise we'd pronounce the phone number like that and we don't. It's actually much harder and slower to say "nine-eleven", not least because your mouth wants to add another "n" between the words because they won't elide evenly, the "ine" is long and the first e is short - so you end up saying "nine neleven" on top of the extra and longer syllable. It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
I think it's one of those evolved conventions about numbers (like writing numbers up to twelve in full but using numerals for 13 onwards) because if you compare it to BMW for example, everybody says "three-thirty" but there's much more variation in whether people say "three-one-eight" or "three-eighteen", then everyone says "three-three-five".
Some numbers essentially have names (up to twelve, and all the multiples of ten) and others are broadly portmanteaus of smaller numbers, so maybe you're more likely to use the name if it has one even if it's not actually easier or quicker to say. This kind of stuff is why I don't envy people learning to speak English.
dbdb said:
It's cultural - just how English speakers treat certain numbers in speech.
It's not limited to the Porsche 911. Very few people people would call their Volvo 940 a Volvo Nine-four-zero or a Volvo Nine hundred and forty, it would be regarded as most pedantic if they did. Almost everyone calls them a Volvo Nine-Forty. Similarly, The old Austin 1100 was called an Austin Eleven-hundred, not an Austin One-one-zero-zero, so it isn't limited to foreign-made cars.
i called my boxster a 9 - 8 - 6 not a 9 - 86. It's not limited to the Porsche 911. Very few people people would call their Volvo 940 a Volvo Nine-four-zero or a Volvo Nine hundred and forty, it would be regarded as most pedantic if they did. Almost everyone calls them a Volvo Nine-Forty. Similarly, The old Austin 1100 was called an Austin Eleven-hundred, not an Austin One-one-zero-zero, so it isn't limited to foreign-made cars.
so your volvo point doesn't answer the question. Why we call a 9-40 volvo that and others we say each number, is a mystery to me
Mr Spoon said:
i called my boxster a 9 - 8 - 6 not a 9 - 86.
so your volvo point doesn't answer the question. Why we call a 9-40 volvo that and others we say each number, is a mystery to me
It has been stated quite a few times already. so your volvo point doesn't answer the question. Why we call a 9-40 volvo that and others we say each number, is a mystery to me
It is shorter and quicker to say ‘nine forty’ than to say ‘nine four zero’.
It is shorter and quicker to say ‘eleven hundred’ than to say ‘one one zero zero’.
It is shorter and quicker to say ‘nine eleven’’ than to say ‘nine one one’.
It is not shorter or quicker to say ‘nine twenty eight’ than to say ‘nine two eight’.
It is not shorter or quicker to say ‘nine forty four’ than to say ‘nine four four’.
It is not shorter or quicker to say ‘nine eighty six’ than to say ‘nine eight six’
Mr Spoon said:
Pica-Pica said:
It is all about lip and tongue movement. Including syllables - the mouth takes the quickest movement.
It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
I speak Welsh. I'm from Pembrokeshire It is the same with Welsh language initial letter mutations, hard for a beginner to understand, but it is simply a case of ease of lip, tongue, and mouth movements. At least that is my take on it.
Cliftonite said:
g7jhp said:
"Nine Eleven or "Nine One One"
Why use three words when you can use two?(and Nine Eleven sounds better IMO).
Or, by the same token, why use four syllables when you can use only three?Why use three words when you can use two?(and Nine Eleven sounds better IMO).
(O/T?: Is it twenty twenty one this year or two thousand twenty one?)
Comes out as nine-levn, for most people (two syllables); not nine e-lev-en (four syllables). Say 9-11 and then 9-1-1 and feel how your tongue moves, especially against the palate. There is little lip movement, so it uses less facial and mouth muscles than 9-1-1
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