For the most part, it would work in essentially ANY language. The "noun, colon, number" notation completely sidesteps the issue of grammar by dumping the verb,

For the most part, it would work in essentially ANY language. The "noun, colon, number" notation completely sidesteps the issue of grammar by dumping the verb, which is usually the instigator of the worst problems (Russian, I am looking at you!). For example, the easy way out in Russian is simply "каталоги: 5", which is the nice and easy plural "directories", free from abusive endings imposed by accusative case verbs.