3 ms·

Anyone who says 'zed' and indeed cheerio, pip pip, won't say "negative five". They'll say "minus five", of course.

by jmmcd 7y ago

ColinWright 7y ago
That depends - this divide is not just "USA English Speaking People" versus the rest. Within the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, there is a split between people who say "minus 5" and people who say "negative 5". For some "minus five" is an operation, not a number, and for others "negative five" is meaningless, the correct expression would have to be "the negative of five". There are entire PhD theses written on the topic of how to avoid confusing young children when introducing them to numbers less than 0, and the words we should, and should not, use in that context.
- jmmcd 7y ago
  I was thinking more of UK (the only place where "pip pip" makes sense as a stereotype) versus the rest! Are you saying there are those in the UK who say "negative five"? That would surprise me.
  - ColinWright 7y ago
    > Are you saying there are those in the UK who say "negative five"? Yes, there are.
- gerdesj 7y ago
  Yes, and who on earth says "cheerio, pip pip"? "Toodle pip" or "cheerio" or "pip pip" are acceptable. Those PhD theses seem a little misguided (if well meaning) to me. Language is riddled with ambiguity - "panda eats shoots and leaves" for example. Despite that ambiguity we generally manage to get along. Teaching critical thinking in general might be a better idea than fixating on specific issues.
  - ColinWright 7y ago
    > Those PhD theses seem a little misguided (if well meaning) to me. That's a strong statement to make as a throw-away. You haven't read them, you haven't done the research, so I'd ask - what experience do you have of tracking the effect of specific language on the acquisition and development of mathematical skills in a significant sized population of very young children? I suspect the answer is not a lot, and dismissing someone's research on the basis of effectively no information is poor form.

Anyone who says 'zed' and indeed cheerio, pip pip, won't say "negative five". They'll say "minus five", of course.

by jmmcd 7y ago

Anyone who says 'zed' and indeed cheerio, pip pip, won't say "negative five". They'll say "minus five", of course.

That depends - this divide is not just "USA English Speaking People" versus the rest. Within the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, there is a split between people who say "minus 5" and people who say "negative 5". For some "minus five" is an operation, not a number, and for others "negative five" is meaningless, the correct expression would have to be "the negative of five". There are entire PhD theses written on the topic of how to avoid confusing young children when introducing them to numbers less than 0, and the words we should, and should not, use in that context.

jmmcd 7y ago
I was thinking more of UK (the only place where "pip pip" makes sense as a stereotype) versus the rest! Are you saying there are those in the UK who say "negative five"? That would surprise me.
- ColinWright 7y ago
  > Are you saying there are those in the UK who say "negative five"? Yes, there are.
gerdesj 7y ago
Yes, and who on earth says "cheerio, pip pip"? "Toodle pip" or "cheerio" or "pip pip" are acceptable. Those PhD theses seem a little misguided (if well meaning) to me. Language is riddled with ambiguity - "panda eats shoots and leaves" for example. Despite that ambiguity we generally manage to get along. Teaching critical thinking in general might be a better idea than fixating on specific issues.
- ColinWright 7y ago
  > Those PhD theses seem a little misguided (if well meaning) to me. That's a strong statement to make as a throw-away. You haven't read them, you haven't done the research, so I'd ask - what experience do you have of tracking the effect of specific language on the acquisition and development of mathematical skills in a significant sized population of very young children? I suspect the answer is not a lot, and dismissing someone's research on the basis of effectively no information is poor form.