Doing Math in Different Language

[Bill (Smithville NJ)]

I will be showing my ignorance with this post.

I am reading the book "The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century" by Istvan Hargittai. I am currently reading about the early upbringing of Theodore von Karman. As I was reading the following caught my attention:

"As an adult, even though he could add and subtract in several languages, he could multiply only in Hungarian."

I have never thought of numbers, addition, subtraction and multiplication as being "done in a particular language."

I know there is a wide cross section of nationalities and languages here and that many of you are mathematicians.

So my question is - do you do mathematics in a particular language or is mathematics just universal - independent of any particular language.

Like I said, I am exposing my total ignorance on this.

Thanks,

Bill
Smithville, NJ