Southern ways of saying 18

Welsh General / Questions
#1

I am starting lesson 18 in the third course. Do I understand correctly that it opens with:

“Welcome to lesson 18, or lesson 18…” demonstrating two ways of saying “18”, the first being “eeno” (phonetic) and the second being “een deg oyth”?

#2

Haven’t heard lesson 18 myself, but I would suggest

Day Now (deunaw, two nines, 18 )

and

Een Deg Oyth, (undeg wyth, one ten eight, 10, 8, 18)

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#3

It’s because there are two counting systems in Welsh. The one typically used today goes “number” ten “number” (such as un deg wyth for eighteen), because most mathematics nowadays is done in base 10. The older counting system, which is still used for times, ages below a certain age and occasionally by random people you meet in the street counts in twenties rather than in tens. So 39 in the older system would be pedwar ar bwmtheg ar ugain (literally four on fifteen on twenty), while 40 was dwygain or something along those lines. But that method of counting is rarely ever used for numbers that high; in general, you’ll only ever hear numbers in the twenties and lower using the older system.

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#4

Thanks. I was aware of the two systems. Although the “number” ten "number`` system seems easier to me. It seems more consistent. This is the first time I have heard the two systems used at the same time and I was checking to see if I had understood that correctly.

Diolch

#5

Yes, that is exactly what I am hearing. diolch!