LL-L "Language programming" 2009.01.10 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 10 January 2009 - Volume 01
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From: Jacqueline Bungenberg de Jong <Dutchmatters at comcast.net>
Subject: LL-L "Language programming" 2009.01.09 (09) [E]

Re: "Should we drop it". Dear Heather and Marlou. Do not drop this under any
circumstances. It is way too interesting!

Let me add another conundrum to this rich brew. When I grew up in Utrecht in
the Netherlands our telephone number was 12529. (een,  twee, vijf, twee,
negen) I remember the sequence vividly. When the telephone service was
automated it became 030-12529, pronounced nul dertig – een, twee, vijf,
twee, negen. We had acquired an area code. I now live in Seattle in the US
and my telephone number is 206 – 365 – 1046, pronounced two, zero, six –-
three, six, five –- one zero, four six. Where 206 is the area code 365 is
the old neighborhood exchange and 1046 gives access to my telephone. That is
here the normal "rhytm" for giving one's ten-digit telephone number. My
sister who lives near Haarlem in the Netherlands also has a ten digit
telephone number 0235254187. This comes across as 0235 – 25 – 41 – 87. My
brother used to live in Haaksbergen in the Eastern part of the country and
he would give his telephone number as: 053 – 57 – 21 – 8, 3, 9. Go figure!
Does this have anything to do with whether we say "zevenenvijftig" or "fifty
seven"? How do people in other countries solve this? Is there anything known
about how we arrive at the rythm for large numbers. I am not even speaking
about the 16 digit credit cards that we are schlepping around with us.

Does anybody have an answer to that question?

Jacqueline


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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language programming

Jacqueline, Heather and the rest of you Lowlands lot,

I may be way off here, but when it comes to memorizing and saying (and
dialing) strings of numbers it seems to me that I use the same mechanisms I
use when I memorize and recite poems and songs. It seems to be a matter of
the combination of rhythm and sounds, probably specifically rhythm and
vowels.

Am I just weird or does anyone else share this perception?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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