Einde O'Callaghan    665736 Sun, 05 Oct 08 04:24 PM "I think I would regard it as an Americanism." "It's what I was taught in Maths class in Ireland over 40 years ago. If it's an Americanism, I would think it has become "nativised" by now. So how would you day it? "Four thousand five-hundred-and-sixty-thirds"?" Sorry for the multiple posts - I'm testing a new newsgroup provider and I haven't got the settings right yet. Regards, Einde O'Calalghan Einde O'Callaghan Regards, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Apologies, Ireland

	Molly Mockford    665748 Sun, 05 Oct 08 08:38 PM At 20:18:41 on Sun, 5 Oct 2008, Panayotis Papaspyrou (Email Removed) wrote in : "So how would you day it? "Four thousand five-hundred-and-sixty-thirds"?" "And what would that be? 4560/3" Possibly "or 4500/63" No, the "and" makes that impossible "or 4/1563?" No, that would be "four one-thousand-five-hundred-and-sixty-thirds". A possibility you have overlooked is 4000/563. (But I would always say *** over yyy, once either numerator or denominator is more than two digits) Molly Mockford They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) Molly Mockford

	Mike Barnes    665753 Sun, 05 Oct 08 09:03 PM "I am looking for the right pronunciation of fractions in British English. Every style guide I find is very clear ... stop. How do you pronounce fractions like "4000 / 563" in English? Is it "Four thousand five hundred sixty thirds"?" No, "four thousand five hundred *and* sixty thirds. Which is also how I'd say 4560/3. "I am familiar with "4000 over 563" in American English. Is this correct in British English, too?" Yes. I think it's fair to say that Americans use fractions a great deal more than the British (or anyone else) does. But even they'd be most unlikely to come across the sort of fractions you're talking about, except in a technical context in which the "4000 over 563" form would come more naturally. Mike Barnes Mike Barnes American English, British English, Pronunciation, Chat, Friendships, Speaking, United States, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, American, Context, Styles, Languages

	Ildhund    665763 Sun, 05 Oct 08 09:13 PM "(But I would always say *** over yyy, once either numerator or denominator is more than two digits)" What about 'A was only seven hundredths of a second away from breaking the record', or 'The coating is only twenty-five thousandths of an inch thick'? Or even 'Two millionths of a second after the Big Bang...'. Noel Ildhund

	John Hall    665764 Sun, 05 Oct 08 09:21 PM "(But I would always say *** over yyy, once either numerator or denominator is more than two digits)" "What about 'A was only seven hundredths of a second away from breaking the record', or 'The coating is only twenty-five thousandths of an inch thick'? Or even 'Two millionths of a second after the Big Bang...'." I would say "seven one hundredths" to avoid any possible ambiguity. However I think that it would be over-pedantic to do something similar with your other two examples. John Hall "If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me." Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980) John Hall Countries, France

	Panayotis Papaspyrou    665769 Sun, 05 Oct 08 09:41 PM "I think it's fair to say that Americans use fractions a great deal more than the British (or anyone else) ... fractions you're talking about, except in a technical context in which the "4000 over 563" form would come more naturally." Hello again, The context I am dealing with is in fact technical/mathematical. Here the likeliness to come across such fractions is great - in calculus you need them quite often. Series and sums have a tendency to give you such denominators. Regads, P. Papaspyrou Panayotis Papaspyrou Chat, Friendships, Speaking, United States, American, Context

	Phil C.    665780 Mon, 06 Oct 08 12:46 PM "(But I would always say *** over yyy, once either numerator or denominator is more than two digits)" "What about 'A was only seven hundredths of a second away from breaking the record', or 'The coating is only twenty-five thousandths of an inch thick'? Or even 'Two millionths of a second after the Big Bang...'." We certainly use that system in uncomplicated circumstances - "thou", with an unvoiced "th", was/is often used an abbreviation for "thousandths" by those frequently using fine measurements . But it would be hopeless for complex fractions. Every version of English must have hit the problem so I can't see any reason to assume that using "x over y" is of any particular origin - it seems an "obvious" way to express it succinctly. Multiplication, incidentally, seems to have spawned various terms. I don't like the use of "times" as a verb - "Think of a number then times it by 6..." It sounds a bit "primary school" to my ear. Phil C. Phil C. Spelling, Abbreviations, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Writing, Languages

	Peter Duncanson    665781 Mon, 06 Oct 08 01:12 PM "What about 'A was only seven hundredths of a second ... even 'Two millionths of a second after the Big Bang...'." "We certainly use that system in uncomplicated circumstances - "thou", with an unvoiced "th", was/is often used an abbreviation for ... that using "x over y" is of any particular origin - it seems an "obvious" way to express it succinctly." Just to clarify: "over" in "4000 over 563" comes from the traditional way of writing a fraction as, for instance: 4000 563 Where " " represents an unbroken line and 4000 is literally positioned over 563 on the page. Peter Duncanson, UK (in uk.culture.language.english) Peter Duncanson Spelling, Abbreviations, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages