Some interesting research from Wales implies that the form of numbers in different languages may affect how well children learn to count and understand number concepts. The research (reported below in a translation from the original Welsh that was posted on Linguist list) shows that children learning in Welsh have an advantage over those learning in English because the numbers in Welsh express the tens and units more clearly. I post this here because, in addition to counting systems in East Asia as mentioned at the end of the article, counting systems in many African languages also express these number relations clearly: For instance, 13 is in... English: thirteen French: treize Welsh: un deg tri (= one ten three) Swahili: kumi na tatu (= ten and three) Bambara: tan ni saba (= ten and three) Fula: sappo e tati (= ten and three) Chinese: shi san (= ten three)
On the level of tens, some African languages have a clear x-times-ten (or ten-times-x) system, e.g., in Bambara, bi-saba is thirty, bi-naani is forty, etc. (In Asia, Chinese is this way: san shi [three tens] is thirty...) So maybe there's another reason why African children are better off learning counting and number concepts in African languages first. DZO Date: 22-Dec-2005 From: Briony Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Welsh Counting System Makes Maths Easier Regarding Media: http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-3642.html#1 > A report on the Welsh-language BBC Cymru site reports research by Ann > Dowker and others at Oxford University into maths skills among children, > which may show that Welsh children find basic mathematical concepts easier > due to the Welsh counting system. The traditional Welsh counting system is > vigesimal, but another system, using forms like 'un deg tri' (one ten > three) for 13, 'dau ddeg tri' (two ten three) for 23, is in widespread use. > > The report (in Welsh) can be read below. I've been unable to find a link > to an English language version. Here's my own quick translation of it (below). regards Briony Williams ----------------------------------------------------- Mathematics: easier in Welsh The Welsh words for numbers provide more clues to their composition. Recent research suggests that small children learn to count more easily in Welsh than in English. Researchers from the University of Oxford have run experiments with six- and eight-year-old children in schools with varying languages of instruction [Welsh or English]. The results show that there is an understanding of basic number concepts among those who are taught in Welsh. The reason is that the words conveying the concept of number are clearer in Welsh than in English. For example, it is easier for Welsh children to understand that the numbers 10 and three create 13, since 13 ["un deg tri", literally "one ten three"] is the numeral in writing and in speech. The researchers' argument is that it is harder for English children since there are not the same clues available in the word 'thirteen'. The results of the research are published in the new issue of the bilingual journal "Trafodion Addysg - Education Transactions" - which is published by the University of Wales, Bangor. "From one point of view, these results are not surprising at all", said Professor Gareth Roberts, one of the editors of the journal. "Some of the languages of the Pacific Rim countries, such as Japan, China and Korea, use a counting pattern similar to Welsh, and everyone knows the high standards of maths in these countries". The research work was carried out by Ann Dowker, Research Lecturer in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, and Delyth Lloyd, postgraduate researcher at the University of Oxford. The journal also contains an article by Dylan Jones, lecturer in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, tracing the history of maths teaching in Welsh. http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-3667.html ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Know an art & music fan? Make a donation in their honor this holiday season! http://us.click.yahoo.com/.6dcNC/.VHMAA/Zx0JAA/TpIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
