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   assign word equivalents to each digit in binary notation, whether the   
   words be "one" and "zero", "dit" and "dah" or any other sounds. We   
   may if we choose regard each digit as a letter, and pronounce the   
   word they construct as a unit in its own right--as, indeed, the   
   written word "cat" is pronounced as a unit and not as "see, ay, tee."   
      
   Perhaps the adoption of vowel sounds for the digit 0 (if only because   
   0 looks like a vowel) and consonant sounds for 1 will give us a   
   starting point in this attempt.   
      
   A useful consonant would be one which takes different sounds as it   
   is moved forward and backward in the mouth: "t" and "d" are one such   
   group in English. We can then assign one of these values for the   
   single 1, one for a double 1, etc.   
      
   Let us assign to the single 1 the sound "t" and to the double 1 the   
   sound "d." Postponing for a moment the consideration of the triple 1,   
   and representing the as yet unassigned vowel sounds of 0 by the   
   neutral "uh," we can pronounce the first seven basic binary groups as   
   follows:   
      
       Binary  Pronunciation   
       ------  -------------   
       000       (uh)   
       001       (uh) t   
       010       (uh) t (uh)   
       011       (uh) d   
       100     t (uh)   
       101     t (uh) t   
       110     d (uh)   
      
   The eighth case, 111, can be represented in various ways but, by and   
   large, it seems reasonable to represent it by the sound "tee."   
      
   We now have phonemic representation of each of the eight possible   
   cases, as follows:   
      
       Decimal  Written binary  Pronounced binary   
       -------  --------------  -----------------   
             0             000  uh   
             1             001  ut   
             2             010  uttuh   
             3             011  ud   
             4             100  tuh   
             5             101  tut   
             6             110  duh   
             7             111  tee   
      
   We can then continue to count, by compounding groups,   
   ut-uh (001 000), ut-ut (001 001), ut-uttuh (001 010), etc. In this   
   way the binary equivalent of the date 1960 might be read as   
   "Ud-duh, tut-uh."   
      
   Conceivably such a system, spoken clearly and listened to with   
   attention, might serve in some applications, but merely by applying   
   similar principles in assigning variable vowel sounds to the digit 0   
   we can much improve it. One such series of sounds which suggests   
   itself is the set belonging to the letter O itself: the single o as   
   in "hot" the double o as in "cool," and, for the triple o, by the   
   same substitution as in the case of "tee," the sound of the letter   
   itself: "oh." Our first few groups then become:   
      
       Decimal  Written binary  Pronounced binary   
       -------  --------------  -----------------   
             0             000  Oh   
             1             001  Oot   
             2             010  Ahtah   
             3             011  Odd   
             4             100  Too   
             5             101  Tot   
             6             110  Dah   
             7             111  Tee   
      
   followed by:   
      
             8         001 000  Oot-oh   
             9         001 001  Oot-oot   
            10         001 010  Oot-ahtah   
      
   et cetera. Pronounceability has been somewhat improved, although we   
   are still conscious of some lacks. The phonemic distinction between   
   "ahtah" and, say, "odd-dah," the pronunciation of 011 110 is not   
   great enough to be entirely satisfactory. At any rate, on the above   
   principles our binary equivalent of 1960 is now pronounced,   
   "odd-dah, tot-oh."   
      
   At this point we may introduce some new considerations. We have   
   proceeded thus far on mainly logical grounds, but it is difficult to   
   support the thesis that logic is the only, or even the principal,   
   basis for constructing any sort of language. Irregularities and   
   exceptions may in themselves be good things, as promoting recognition   
   and lessening ambiguity. It may suffice to have only an approximate   
   correlation between the symbols and the sounds they represent, as,   
   indeed, it does in the written English language.   
      
   As the author feels an arbitrary choice of supplemental sounds will   
   enhance recognition, he has taken certain personal liberties in their   
   selection. The consonant L is added to "oh," making it "ohl"; all   
   root-sounds beginning with a vowel are given a consonant prefix when   
   they occur alone or as the second part of a compound word; certain   
   additional sounds are added at the end of the same roots when they   
   occur as the first part of a compound word; "dah" becomes the   
   diphthong "dye"; etc. The final list of pronunciations, then,   
   becomes:   
      
       Binary quantity  Pronunciation when  Pronunciation when alone   
                        in first group      or in second group   
       ---------------  ------------------  ------------------------   
                   000  ohly                pohl   
                   001  ooty                poot   
                   010  ahtah               pahtah   
                   011  oddy                pod   
                   100  too                 too   
                   101  totter              tot   
                   110  dye                 dye   
                   111  teeter              tee   
      
      
   Decimal 1960 is now in its binary conversion pronounced,   
   "Oddy-dye, totter-pohl."   
      
   We may yet make one additional amendment to that pronunciation,   
   however. The conventions of reading decimal notation aloud provide a   
   further convenience for reading large numbers or for stating   
   approximations. In a number such as:   
      
       1,864,191,933,507   
      
   we customarily read "trillions," "billions," "millions," etc.,   
   despite the fact that there is no specific symbol calling for these   
   words: We read them because we determine, by counting the number of   
   three-digit groups, what the order of magnitude of the entire   
   quantity is. The spoken phrase "two million" is a way of saying what   
   we sometimes write as 2x10^6. In the above number we might say that   
   it amounts to "nearly two trillion" (in America, at least), which   
   would be equivalent to "nearly 2x10^12"   
      
   A similar convention for binary notation might well be merely to   
   announce the number of groups (i.e., double groups of six digits) yet   
   to come. An inconveniently long number might be improved in this way,   
   a number such as 101 001, 111 011, 001 010, 000 100 being read as   
   "Totter-oot three groups, teeter-odd, ooty-pahtah, ohly-too." By the   
   phrase "one group" we would understand that the quantity of the   
   entire number is approximately the product of the number spoken   
   before it times 2^6 or 64 (1,000 000). "Two groups" would indicate   
   that the previous number was to be multiplied by 2^12, “three groups"   
   by 2^18, etc. Or, in binary notation:   
      
       One group:    x 10^(1,000 000^1)   
       Two groups:   x 10^(1,000 000^10)   
       Three groups: x 10^(1,000 000^11)   
       Four groups:  x 10^(1,000 000^100)   
      
   And so on, so that as we say, in round decimal numbers: "Oh, about   
   three million," we might say in round binary numbers, “Oh, about   
   ooty-poot three groups."   
      
   It may be considered that there is an impropriety in using a term   
   borrowed from decimal notation to indicate binary magnitudes. Such an   
   impropriety would not be entirely without precedent--the word   
   "thousand," for example, etymologically related to "dozen," being an   
   apparent decimal borrowing from a duodecimal system. In any event, as   
   logic and propriety are not our chief considerations, we may reflect   
   that the group-numbering will occur only when, sandwiched between   
   binary terms, there will be small chance for confusion, and elect to   
   retain it. With this final emendation our spoken term for the binary   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)