challenge

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(06-23-2018 04:49 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  

(06-23-2018 12:45 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  I would translate it to \(\frac{12}{10}\). Shouldn't it be \(4 + \frac{3}{10}\)?

Does saying two numbers right after each other imply multiplication in Italian? :D

No, that's what I would infer when reading those numbers...

(06-23-2018 04:49 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  Needless to say, people don't use fractions unless they're very simple ones, like one and a half kilos of apples, that sort of thing. In school we were taught only the straightforward "pi equals three point one four one five nine" style of pronouncing decimal numbers.

(*) EDIT: With a few exceptions, e.g. 2 \(\frac{1}{2}\) is "twee en een half." I think it's because the unstressed "een" would otherwise mess up the rhythm of that phrase, but I admit I need to think about it, it's a bit more complicated than I thought.

We use fractions more or less in the same way. Usually not more than quarters (in time keeping, usually). Never use things like \(\frac{3}{8}\) in common language.
I think it all relates to the use of imperial units: I don't understand all the emphasis on calculators (back to usual topics, somehow) handling fractions: not so needed here.

Oh, and 2 \(\frac{1}{2}\) is "due e mezzo".