Re: Time in various languages...



On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 02:35:42 -0000, Neeraj Mathur
<neemathur@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
<news:dqccdq$cct$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> in sci.lang:

> "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1nyg56iccd80l$.1kvafxls58u4q.dlg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

>> On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 13:32:00 +0000, Thomas Widmann
>> <twid@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
>> <news:m3fynr2awf.fsf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> in sci.lang:

>>> Does it mean 9:30 in any variety of English?

>> I don't believe so. Unfortunately. 'Halb zehn' = 9:30
>> makes sense; the English usage is thoroughly unreasonable.

> Not at all! When half of the ten o'clock hour has gone past, it is half
> ten - 10.30.

That makes no sense to me, because I don't consider 'the ten
o'clock hour' a natural entity.

> What logic justifies the 'halb zehn' meaning? [...]

Halfway to ten, or half of the tenth hour.

Brian
.



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