So what's so maddening about the French numbering system? And what's so maddening about ours in the US? Both systems are maddening, for different reasons and in different amounts. One thing that mathematicians like is elegance, and another thing is consistency.
Both systems are built on "base 10" -- that is, we count by tens, and we have exactly 10 digits in our systems: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
To create other numbers, we need to use place values, a decimal point, and a negative sign. With those three ideas, we can create any real number. I don't want to worry about these details, however: I just want to look at how we call numbers: the names we give to them.
For example, we need ten unique names for the ten unique digits, and both systems have those:
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Each system makes two syllable mistakes, pun intended: there's no good reason to use two-syllable names for digits that will be used frequently. "zero" and "seven" are English's mistakes; "zero" and "quatre" are French mistakes.
When we speak of optimization, there are various quantities that can be optimized: for example
I think of accurate and rapid communication as being important, and hence I'd recommend streamlining the language and reducing confusion. If we look at the two languages, we see that the digits are pretty well separated in terms of pronunciation -- that's a good thing, even if some of the digits are two syllables long.
Now, how to form composite numbers?
un-vingt-dix, deux-vingts, and deux-vingts-dix.
Nonetheless, it would have been lots better if they'd just stuck with the 10s, and gone with
dix, deux-dix, trois-dix, quatre-dix, cinq-dix, six-dix, sept-dix, huit-dix, and neuf-dix. What's wrong with that system? Then the French replace "dix-dix" with "cent", and move on.... It's the same method we use as we approach the thousand mark:
cent, deux-cent, trois-cent, quatre-cent, cinq-cent, six-cent, sept-cent, huit-cent, neuf-cent, mille....
Makes perfect sense. And we do the same in English.
The English system makes use of a pretty good system, the "-teen" system; but only from thirteen on; why not one-teen and two-teen? Where in the heck did "eleven" come from? And twelve is a little strange....
As Mr. Reagan was fond of saying "There you go again!" They had a good idea at first, then they replaced it with another good idea. Look, just stick to one good idea! Let's try these new numbers:
dix-un, dix-deux, dix-trois, dix-quatre, dix-cinq, dix-six;
if we try to go with the "ze" system, starting with sept, we run into trouble: "setze" could be easily confused with "seize", and "huitze" and "neufze" don't sound too good.
Links:
Numerals
The French counting system is partially vigesimal: twenty (vingt) is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 80-99. The French word for 80, for example, is quatre-vingts, which literally means "four twenties", and soixante-quinze (literally "sixty-fifteen") indicating 75. This reform arose after the French Revolution to unify the different counting system (mostly vigesimal near the coast, due to Celtic (via Basque) and Viking influence). This system is comparable to the archaic English use of "score", as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70).
Belgian French and Swiss French are different in this respect. In Belgium and Switzerland 70 and 90 are septante and nonante. In Switzerland, depending on the local dialect, 80 can be: quatre-vingts (Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) or huitante (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg). Octante had been used in Switzerland in the past, but is now considered archaic.[15] In Belgium, however, quatre-vingts is universally used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language