Arabic-L:LING:Arabic Numerals

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Fri 27 Oct 2000
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Arabic Numerals

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1)
Date: 27 Oct 2000
From: Dil Parkinson <dil at byu.edu>
Subject: Arabic Numerals

A Professor of Spanish has asked me about the relationship between the
written numbers currently used in Spain (and in other European countries,
and the Americas, I assume as well) and the numbers used by Arabs.  Someone
told him that the numbers currently used in Spain are closer to the
original "Arabic numerals" of old than are the current numbers used in the
Eastern Arabic countries, which were somehow influenced by Indian numbers.
This struck me as somehow confused, but I don't really have access to the
facts.
Can someone out there tell me whether the digits used in ancient and
medieval Arabic manuscripts are essentially the same as the digits used by
Egyptians and Syrians today, or has there been some development.
I remember vaguely from somewhere in my past that Arabs call their numbers
'hindi', but I somehow assumed that that was because of the Indian's having
come up with the 'zero', rather than because of the shape of the numbers.
Does anyone know if the shapes used in India in the Middle Ages or before
are similar to the shapes used by the Arabs (and/or by modern Europeans)?
Thanks.
Dil
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End of Arabic-L: 27 Oct 2000