Reading and writing numerals in English

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to express my sincere and special gratitude to Mrs
Nguyen Thi Hoa, the supervisor, who have generously given us invaluable
assistance and guidance during the preparing for this research paper.

I also offer my sincere thanks to Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, the Dean of Foreign
Language Faculty at Haiphong Private University for her previous supportive
lectures that helped me in preparing my graduation paper.

Last but no least , my wholehearted thanks are presented to my family members
and all my friends for their constant support and encouragement in the process
of doing this research paper .My success in studying is contributed much by all
you .

Haiphong –June, 2009

Nguyen Thi Thu Trang

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TABLE OF CONTENT

I. PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale 4
2. Aims of the study 4
3. Scope of the study 4
4. Methods of study 5
5. Design of study 5

II. PART B: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: DEFINITION OF NUMERAL 6
1.1. History of numeral 6
Definition 10

Chapter 2: CLASSIFICATION OF NUMERAL

2.1. Classification of numeral 14
2.1.1. Cardinal numbers 14
2.1.2. Ordinal numbers 22
2.1.3. Dates 25
2.1.4. Fractions and decimals 30
2.1.5. Roman number 33
2.1.6. Specialised numbers 35
2.1.7. Empty numbers 38
2.2. The major differences between numeral in English and Vietnamese 40
2.2.1. Dates 40
2.2.2. Phone numer 41
2.2.3. Zero number 42

2.2.4.Fraction 43
Chapter 3: EXERCISE IN APPLICATION 44

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III. PART C: CONCLUSION
1. Summary of study 48
2. Suggestion for further study 49
REFERENCES 50














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I. PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale:
English is one of the most widely used languages worldwide when being
used by over 60% the world population. It‘s used internationally in business,
political, cultural relation and education as well. Thanks to the widespread use

of English, different countries come close to each other to work out the
problems and strive for prosperous community.
Realizing the significance of English, almost all Vietnamese learners have
been trying to be good at English, Mastering English is the aim of every
learners.
However, there still remain difficulties faced by Vietnamese learner of
English due to both objective and subjective factors, especially in writing and
reading numeral because learners sometimes skip when they think that it is an
unimportant part.
Therefore, it is necessary to collect ground rule of reading and writing
English numeral. This will help learner avoid confusedness of English numeral.

2. Aims of the study:
As we know, English numbers often appear in document, even daily
communication. The leaner of English sometimes don‘t know how to read or
write them exactly. Therefore, this research is aimed at:
 Collecting type of popular numeral in English document and daily
communication.
 Instructing writing and reading numeral exactly.
3. Scope of the study
Numeral in English is a wide category including: mathematic, technology,
business….therefore I only collect numbers used in daily speaking cultures in
this research paper.


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4. Methods of the study
Being a student of Foreign Language Faculty with four years study at the
university , I have a chance to equip myself with the knowledge of many fields
in society such as :sociology , economy , finance, culture ,etc…With the

knowledge gained from professional teachers, specialized books, references and
with the help of my friends the experience gained at the training time , I have
put my mind on theme : ―writing and reading numeral in English‖ for my
graduation paper .
Documents for research are selected from reliable sources, for example
―books published by oxford, website …Furthermore, I illustrate with examples
quoted from books, internet, etc…

5. Design of the study
The study is divided into three main parts of which the second one is the
most important part.
 Part one is introduction that gives out the rationale for choosing the topic
of this study , pointing out the aim ,scope as well as methods of the study
 Part two is development that consists of…….chapter
 Part three is the conclusion of the study, in which all the issues mentioned
in previous part of the study are summarized.












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PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: DEFINITION OF NUMERAL

1.1. History of counting systems and numeral

Nature's abacus
Soon after language develops, it is safe to assume that humans begin
counting - and that fingers and thumbs provide nature's abacus. The decimal
system is no accident. Ten has been the basis of most counting systems in history.
When any sort of record is needed, notches in a stick or a stone are the
natural solution. In the earliest surviving traces of a counting system, numbers are
built up with a repeated sign for each group of 10 followed by another repeated
sign for 1.

Egyptian numbers: 3000-1600 BC
In Egypt, from about 3000 BC, records survive in which 1 is represented
by a vertical line and 10 is shown as ^. The Egyptians write from right to left, so
the number 23 becomes lll^^
If that looks hard to read as 23, glance for comparison at the name of a
famous figure of our own century - Pope John XXIII. This is essentially the
Egyptian system, adapted by Rome and still in occasional use more than 5000
years after its first appearance in human records. The scribes of the Egyptian
pharaohs (whose possessions are not easily counted) use the system for some
very large numbers - unwieldy though they undoubtedly are.
From about 1600 BC Egyptian priests find a useful method of shortening the
written version of numbers. It involves giving a name and a symbol to every
multiple of 10, 100, 1000 and so on.
So 80, instead of being to be drawn, becomes; and 8000 is not but . The
saving in space and time in writing the number is self-evident. The disadvantage
is the range of symbols required to record a very large number - a range

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impractical to memorize, even perhaps with the customary leisure of temple
priests. But for everyday use this system offers a real advance, and it is later
adopted in several other writing systems - including Greek, Hebrew and early
Arabic

Babylonian numbers: 1750 BC
The Babylonians use a numerical system with 60 as its base. This is
extremely unwieldy, since it should logically require a different sign for every
number up to 59 (just as the decimal system does for every number up to 9).
Instead, numbers below 60 are expressed in clusters of ten - making the written
figures awkward for any arithmetical computation.
Through the Babylonian pre-eminence in astronomy, their base of 60 survives
even today in the 60 seconds and minutes of angular measurement, in the 180
degrees of a triangle in the 360 degrees of a circle. Much later, when time can be
accurately measured, the same system is adopted for the subdivisions of an hour
The Babylonians take one crucial step towards a more effective numerical
system. They introduce the place-value concept, by which the same digit has a
different value according to its place in the sequence. We now take for granted
the strange fact that in the number 222 the digit '2' means three quite different
things - 200, 20 and 2 - but this idea is new and bold in Babylon.
For the Babylonians, with their base of 60, the system is harder to use. For a
number as simple as 222 is the equivalent of 7322 in our system (2 x 60 squared
+ 2 x 60 + 2).
The place-value system necessarily involves a sign meaning 'empty', for
those occasions where the total in a column amounts to an exact multiple of 60.
If this gap is not kept, all the digits before it will appear to be in the wrong
column and will be reduced in value by a factor of 60.
Another civilization, that of the Maya, independently arrives at a place-value

system - in their case with a base of 20 - so they too have a symbol for zero.
Like the Babylonians, they do not have separate digits up to their base figure.

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They merely use a dot for 1 and a line for 5 (writing 14, for example, as 4 dots
with two lines below them).
Zero, decimal system, Arabic numerals: from 300 BC
In the Babylonian and Mayan systems the written number is still too
unwieldy for efficient arithmetical calculation, and the zero symbol is only
partly effective.
For zero to fulfil its potential in mathematics, it is necessary for each
number up to the base figure to have its own symbol. This seems to have been
achieved first in India. The digits now used internationally make their
appearance gradually from about the 3rd century BC, when some of them
feature in the inscriptions of Asoka.
The Indians use a dot or small circle when the place in a number has no
value, and they give this dot a Sanskrit name - sunya, meaning 'empty'. The
system has fully evolved by about AD 800, when it is adopted also in Baghdad.
The Arabs use the same 'empty' symbol of dot or circle, and they give it the
equivalent Arabic name, sifr.
About two centuries later the Indian digits reach Europe in Arabic
manuscripts, becoming known as Arabic numerals. And the Arabic sifr is
transformed into the 'zero' of modern European languages. But several more
centuries must pass before the ten Arabic numerals gradually replace the system
inherited in Europe from the Roman Empire.

The abacus: 1st millennium BC
In practical arithmetic the merchants have been far ahead of the scribes,
for the idea of zero is in use in the market place long before its adoption in
written systems. It is an essential element in humanity's most basic counting

machine, the abacus. This method of calculation - originally simple furrows
drawn on the ground, in which pebbles can be placed - is believed to have been
used by Babylonians and Phoenicians from perhaps as early as 1000 BC.

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In a later and more convenient form, still seen in many parts of the world
today, the abacus consists of a frame in which the pebbles are kept in clear rows
by being threaded on rods. Zero is represented by any row with no pebble at the
active end of the rod.

Roman numerals: from the 3rd century BC
The completed decimal system is so effective that it becomes, eventually,
the first example of a fully international method of communication.
But its progress towards this dominance is slow. For more than a
millennium the numerals most commonly used in Europe are those evolved in
Rome from about the 3rd century BC. They remain the standard system
throughout the Middle Ages, reinforced by Rome's continuing position at the
centre of western civilization and by the use of Latin as the scholarly and legal
language.

Binary numbers: 20th century AD
Our own century has introduced another international language, which
most of us use but few are aware of. This is the binary language of computers.
When interpreting coded material by means of electricity, speed in tackling a
simple task is easy to achieve and complexity merely complicates. So the
simplest possible counting system is best, and this means one with the lowest
possible base - 2 rather than 10.
Instead of zero and 9 digits in the decimal system, the binary system only
has zero and 1. So the binary equivalent of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 is 1, 10, 11,
100, 101, 111, 1000, 1001, 1010, 1011 and so ad infinitum

(Resource: "History of COUNTING SYSTEMS AND NUMERALS")







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1.2. What is definition of number?
The question is a challenging one because defining the abstract idea of
number is extremely difficult. More than 2,500 years ago, the great number
enthusiast Pythagoras described number as "the first principle, a thing which is
undefined, incomprehensible, and having in itself all numbers." Even today, we
still struggle with the notion of what numbers mean.
Numbers neither came to us fully formed in nature nor did they spring fully
formed from the human mind. Like other ideas, they have evolved slowly
throughout human history. Both practical and abstract, they are important in our
everyday world but remain mysterious in our imaginations.
Numbers in Life, Life in Numbers.
The Numbers within Our Lives: Early conceptual underpinnings of
numbers were used to express different ideas throughout different
cultures, all of which led to our current common notion of number.
The Lives within Our Numbers: Born from our imagination, numbers
eventually took on a life of their own within the larger structure of
mathematics. This area of study is known as number theory, and the more
it is explored, the more insight we gain into the nature of numbers.
Transcendental Meditation—The pi and e Stories: Perhaps the two most
important numbers in our universe, pi and e help us better understand
nature and our universe. They are also the gateway into an exploration of

transcendental numbers.
Algebraic and Analytic Evolutions of Number: Two mathematical
perspectives on how to create numbers, the algebraic view leads us to
imaginary numbers, while the analytical view challenges our intuitive
sense of what number should mean.
Infinity—"Numbers" Beyond Numbers: The idea of infinity, just like the
idea of numbers, can be understood and holds many fascinating features.

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Some of these features, paradoxically, require us to return to the earliest
notions of number.
There are many different types of numbers, each of which plays an
important role within both mathematics and the larger world.
real numbers: numbers that can be given by an infinite decimal
representation (e.g., 34.5837 )
natural numbers: also known as counting numbers, these are numbers
used primarily for counting and ordering (e.g., 3)
prime numbers: natural numbers greater than 1 that can be divided by
only 1 and itself (e.g., 43)
rational numbers: numbers that can be expressed as the ratio of two
integers (e.g., ½)
irrational numbers: numbers that cannot be expressed as simple fractions
(e.g., v2)
transcendental numbers: irrational numbers that are not algebraic (e.g., pi)
(Taught by Edward B. Burger Williams College Ph.D., The University of
Texas at Austin)

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The following is some other definitions of numeral:
That which admits of being counted or reckoned; a unit, or an aggregate of
units; a numerable aggregate or collection of individuals; an assemblage made
up of distinct things expressible by figures.

A collection of many individuals; a numerous assemblage; a multitude; many.
A numeral; a word or character denoting a number; as, to put a number on a
door.

Numerousness; multitude.

The state or quality of being numerable or countable.

Quantity, regarded as made up of an aggregate of separate things.

That which is regulated by count; poetic measure, as divisions of time or number
of syllables; hence, poetry, verse; chiefly used in the plural.

The distinction of objects, as one, or more than one (in some languages, as one,
or two, or more than two), expressed (usually) by a difference in the form of a
word; thus, the singular number and the plural number are the names of the
forms of a word indicating the objects denoted or referred to by the word as one,
or as more than one.

The measure of the relation between quantities or things of the same kind; that

abstract species of quantity which is capable of being expressed by figures;
numerical value.

To count; to reckon; to ascertain the units of; to enumerate.

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To reckon as one of a collection or multitude.

To give or apply a number or numbers to; to assign the place of in a series by
order of number; to designate the place of by a number or numeral; as, to
number the houses in a street, or the apartments in a building.

To amount; to equal in number; to contain; to consist of; as, the army numbers
fifty thousand.

( Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913))