Dozenal Point

Two ways of representing rational numbers between integers are as

• vulgar fractions in the form A/B by one integer A divided by another B and
  
• in positional notation by numerals after a punctuation mark between them and the integer part.
  

When the base of enumeration is ten,

• the numerals after the integer part are called decimals to distinguish them from vulgar fractions and
  
• the punctuation mark is called the decimal point in English.
  

When the base of enumeration is twelve, the numerals after the integer part obviously cannot be called decimals, and the punctuation mark cannot be called a decimal point. New terms are needed for non-integer numbers in positional notation with base twelve.

The word most directly analogous to "decimals" in base twelve is dozenals. The two words even sound similar enough for one to replace the other while maintaining the same sense of style. In base ten, a position filled by a digit after the decimal point is called a decimal place. In base twelve, these positions are to be called dozenal places.

It would seem straightforward for the separator between the integer and non-integer parts of numbers represented positionally in base twelve to be called the "dozenal point" in English. However, the word "point" is often misinterpreted as standing for a specific punctuation mark in the form of a dot such as it appears in decimal numbers in countries where the language of use is English. In other countries, a comma is used instead of a point. Nevertheless, the comma used in that way is still called the "decimal point" when translated into English:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/decimal-point wrote:in some countries the position is reversed, the comma being used as the decimal point

Although when the comma is used as the decimal point, it has been called the "decimal comma" academically, when reading a continental European decimal number containing a comma such as 1,2 into English, it would be pronounced "one point two". "One comma two" in English would have a different meaning that would be a list of numbers separated by a comma and a space when written: "1, 2". Of course, you could still pronounce 1,2 as "one comma two" if merely describing the symbols in the sequence one after the other as they are written, but when you say it that way it would not mean the number "one point two" until you translate it into English. 1,2 as a decimal number can only be translated into English as "one point two". This is contrary to the claim on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_separator wrote:Symbol-specific names are also used; decimal point and decimal comma refer to a dot (either baseline or middle) and comma respectively, when it is used as a decimal separator; these are the usual terms used in English,[1][2][3]

Whoever wrote that on Wikipedia does not know how the English language works. Even the references cited there for that claim if you follow them do not actually back up the claim. The term "point" is not symbol-specific to a dot when reading a decimal number. The "decimal comma" as an academic term in English is specific to a comma used as a decimal point but this does not imply that "point" is specific to a dot. One could understand how you would want "point" to be specific to a dot to keep neat categories, but that is not backed up by English usage. "One comma two" is simply not the English way to say a single decimal number.

In dozenal positional numbers, the symbol used between the integer and non-integer parts of numbers varies. The semicolon for this purpose is the most attested historically as a format specific for dozenal in dozenal society publications, whereas a dot or comma would be merely aping the decimal conventions. For this reason, some dozenalists have suggested that the word "point" should be replaced by some other term that does not restrict the punctuation mark to any particular sign. A problem with this is that changing both the words "decimal", as necessary, and "point" could make the resulting combination too different for the intended meaning to be instantly recognisable. Nevertheless, I contemplated some alternative words for conveying this concept.

Spot
The separation between the integer and fractional parts of a positional number can be interpreted slightly more abstractly as the region between the positions on either side of it and not merely the character or sign located there. This region, though thinner than the positional places where digits reside, is not without width. Therefore, a word suggesting a small space or narrow yet palpable gap between two spaces or boundaries could be considered. The word spot seems to be a suitable word for conveying both a small space and a mark larger than a point but smaller than a place; a dual meaning that makes it particularly apt. Unlike a potentially dimensionless point, a spot as a mark has an area. The word is short enough to imitate point or dot. Dozenal spot seems plausible. However, reading a number such as ⓪⁏① as "spot one" seems not very direct. Is there a better possibility?

Nook
This word nook is short enough and catchy. It would take getting used to. I think "point" remains much clearer.

Cleft
As a narrow separator between two tangible surfaces, the word cleft came to mind. It seems divisive, splitting the integer and non-integer parts as though they were separate. A similar word would be rift.

Seam
I tried to think of a word conveying a glue or cement between the two parts as though they were surfaces. Seam is used to bind between two flat sheets, as though the positional places were two-dimensional rather than just the visible presented faces of rooms or solids. Another variation would be stitch, which would sound more abrupt when spoken.

Ledge
This word is used for the edge of something solid followed by a vacuous drop. It does not seem appropriate between the two parts of a positional number, unless it is an integer.

Nave
Nave suggests the space between columns, appropriate for positional numbers where the places have been called columns. This term has an architectural sense, but also evokes navel, which is a centre or source.

Stuck
Instead of stitch that I suggested above to convey the joining of the integer and non-integer parts, a variation would be stuck. It evokes stück of German for a piece and would be appropriate because it introduces the fractional part that is not a whole number. I used an automated internet search translator to find the words for the decimal comma in European languages, which are the only languages worth comparing to English in this context. The results provided the word "stig" in Icelandic, which sounds similar to English "stick", but I modify that to stuck because in contrast to the verb "to stick", a stick as a noun is an elongated stiff object that would not convey the dozenal point very well, unless the symbol | were used for it, but that could look too much like a numeral one in handwriting unless the continental European style of the digit one is used for one. "Stuck one" for ⓪⁏① does not sound too bad.

Different numbers should not be called by the same name. For example, powers of twelve should not have the same words as the decimal powers of ten. Twelve should not be called ten, twelve squared should not be called hundred, and twelve cubed should not be called thousand. Similarly, ⓪⁏⑥ should not be called "point six", because "point six" means the number three fifths, whereas ⓪⁏⑥ means a half, and these are not the same number in magnitude. The best way to distinguish them is to have a different word for the region between the integer and non-integer components. The dozenal version should be as concise and convenient as the decimal point, so ought to be just one syllable containing preferably a short vowel not followed by either a sonorant or voiced consonant.

Dit
Dozenal society publications used the word dit for the dozenal point as a semicolon. A dit in the English language means the short signal in Morse code, and is analogous therefore to a brief dot. It is appropriate and I would not castigate dozenalists for using it.

Some dozenalists argue that if the word "point" of decimal is being replaced by a special word unique to dozenal, then every other base would need to have its own distinct term for the general "radix mark". Of course, this is an argument based on faulty logic, because the dozenal agenda is to replace decimal and any other base such as sexagesimal and even binary by base twelve, which as the only remaining base would require just one term. During the replacement period, the bases would need to be distinguishable while they co-exist, and therefore ought to have different names and symbols. There is no plan to have unique words and symbols for every base. Having unique names for dozenal numbers does not mean that unique names have to be devised for all bases. Base twelve is the special base in the agenda warranting all attention, all terminology, and all symbols for dozenal only.

Constructed Systematic Terms
Anyhow, it would be possible to develop a system of nomenclature for the radix mark such as to indicate the base in a concise way by it for a wider range of bases. One way would be to take the initial consonant for the base number from the Unit Power Prefixes that I designed and append the suffix -"ot" to it. The default base takes the initial consonant zed of the abbreviating syllable for zero, for example, giving zot for the dozenal point when base twelve is the default. If you want to use rather the consonant letter C for twelve, then the word for the dozenal point could be ciot or perhaps ceot. The suffix "iot" could be thought of as evoking the Greek letter iota used to mean a small sign. So, ciot could mean a little "dozenal sign".

Words for the Decimal Point in European Languages
In the search that I did today using the translator, which is not always reliable, I found that most languages translated the  decimal comma from German to a word phonetically related to "point" rather than "comma" in a decimal number. The languages using a phonetic variant of the word comma were German and Swedish, which are Germanic, as I expected from a previous investigation, but also now "Spanish", though not all of its dialects. Some Eastern European languages used a term etymologically related to the Slavic točka. The French use virgule for a comma. Apart from a few exceptions, every other European language used a variant of "point" in the translations, even where the countries where those languages are spoken use the decimal comma character rather than a dot in the notation of numbers. I do not pretend to be fluent in so many languages, and these observations would have to be checked by native speakers.

Reference:

• https://dozenal.forumotion.com/t57-unit-power-prefixes
  
• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to%C4%8Dka#:~:text=From%20Russian,%D1%82%D0%BE%CC%81%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B0%20%28t%C3%B3%C4%8Dka%29.
  

Systematic Base Point Names
Monosyllabic terms
In the English language, the three words dot, spot, and jot all represent small signs or marks and all share the common ending -ot. This ending could be generalised to the creation of other words for punctuation marks or the radix mark for different bases by varying the initial consonants. For the terms thus generated to be succinct and no worse than the English words, they ought to be one syllable with a short vowel followed by a voiceless obstruent. The ending -ot allows these advantageous properties. The initial consonants can be the first consonants of the words for the bases, such that the resulting constructed words can be considered to be portmanteaus of the base words with the Greek word iota. For example, the word dot can be constructed from contraction of denary iota or decimal jot. In some cases, it would be necessary to retain the initial letter of iota to prevent the short words being the same as existing short English words, such as bot, pot, got, not, lot, or cot. In other cases, the initial vowel letter i is unnecessary and in defiance of typical orthographic tendencies or spelling conventions of English, for example *jiot can be simply jot.

Disyllabic Terms
To enhance the recognisability of the prefixes as derived from classical numerical technical words, more letters than their initial or first consonants can be retained. Their first syllables can be used as the prefixes in front of the ending -ot. For the numbers, I construct the following triliteral prefixes:

Table of Constructed Prefixes and Base Point Terms

Number word	Numerically	Constructed Prefix	Disyllabic Pentaliteral Base Point Term
Zero	⓪	zer-/nul-	zerot/nulot
One	①	mon-	monot
Two	②	bin-	binot
Three	③	ter-	terot
Four	④	kor-	korot
Five	⑤	fen-	fenot
Six	⑥	hex-	hexot
Seven	⑦	sef-	sefot
Eight	⑧	ogd-	ogdot
Nine	⑨	nef-	nefot
Ten	⑩	des-	desot
Eleven	⑪	lef-	lefot
Twelve	①⓪	cen-/zen-	cenot/zenot

Standardisation of Base Punctuation Marker Terms
As mentioned before, the term "point" according to how it is used in European languages is not specific to a particular punctuation mark, but may represent a vertically centred dot, a full stop, or even a comma when translating from continental European languages into English. As such, it seems admissible to me to use the word "point" for the radix mark no matter what punctuation mark is used to represent it, and no matter what the base is. Thus, in combination with the word dozenal it can be used of the dozenal sign between the integer and non-integer parts of numbers. If words more limited to specific punctuation marks are intended, I would recommend the following.

• For the vertically centred point, the word "dot" is advised.
  
• For the full stop, the word "stop" is advised.
  
• For the comma, the word "comma" is specific. It makes sense as part of "decimal comma" or "dozenal comma", but if isolated between numeral words, as in "one comma two three four", there is a risk of it being ambiguous, since it is used as a digit grouper rather than decimal point in English notation. Also, virgule can be used.
  
• For the semicolon, the word "dit" is recognisable to many dozenists, but is interpreted as meaning the semicolon, which as a base marker has been called the "Humphrey point" by dozenists.
  
• As a term for any punctuation mark in general as a dozenal point, I propose punct. This has the advantages of being

1. an abbreviation of a word understood to be used for the purpose of the types of signs used for radix marks
   
2. that sounds similar to the word "point" most commonly used for the purpose,
   
3. quick to pronounce by being
   
4. monosyllabic,
   
5. with a short vowel,
   
6. unvoiced obstruent ending, and
   
7. quick to write by as few as five letters.
   

Reference:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duodecimal
  

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duodecimal wrote: "The Dozenal Society of Great Britain uses an asterisk prefix for duodecimal whole numbers, and a Humphrey point for other duodecimal numbers.": Volan, John (July 2015). "Base Annotation Schemes" (PDF). The Duodecimal Bulletin. 62.

Since the previous post, I thought of another English word, blot, that can mean a mark from ink. I also thought of the word plot that can mean an area. English words for marks or signs ending in -ot could be sorted in order of size from smallest to largest:

• dot
  
• jot
  
• spot
  
• blot
  
• plot
  

This suggests a pattern by assigning initial consonants or consonantal clusters to various magnitudes increasing from d- to j- to sp- to bl- and pl-. Since the latter are clusters of consonants, they may be considered to be formed by compounding of the magnitudes indicated by their constituent consonants. Note also the word tot meaning a small toddler or baby. The word lot can mean an amount or jackpot dealt by chance or lottery, but it is usually a large amount, as in "a lot" or "lots". These English examples demonstrate that the ending -ot would be an appropriate morpheme in terms for small signs that can be distinguished in magnitude by varying the initial consonants. Where the initial consonants stand for particular numbers according to some conventional scheme, such as that of the Unit Power Prefix abbreviations that I devised, then the resulting terms can be used to indicate the point between integer and non-integer parts of positional numbers in specific numerical bases. As clusters would be confined by phonological rules of permutation, their significance of concatenation is best indicative of a commutative operation between the numbers stood for by the individual consonants.
Reference:

• https://www.thefreedictionary.com/words-that-end-in-ot