tallying tarjar
First, is tarjar the right verb for to tally? I mean when you are counting things and writing down the tally as you go.
Second, in English we tally in units of five, by making four vertical lines and crossing them with a diagonal line going from upper-right to lower-left. Is the same marking used for tallying in Spanish? I ask because I read something about John Tukey, the famous statistician, which I quote below, and because in Japanese we don't use this mark, and use the five-stroke character ? instead.
"[The conventional method] is a foolish way to tally, said John Tukey. Consider how easy it is to make a mistake. You might put the cross over three instead of four lines, or you might put down five lines and then a cross. The incorrect tally is hard to spot. It looks like a correct one unless you carefully examine the number of vertical lines. It makes more sense to use a tally mark where errors can be easily spotted. Tukey proposed a ten-mark tally. You first mark four dots to make the corners of a box. You then connect the dots with four lines, completing the box. Finally, you make two diagonal marks forming a cross within the box."
8 Answers
Got it. Thanks yet again, Lazarus! ¿Qué haría yo sin ti'
"Tarjar" was used to make markings on a stick (una "tarja") in the past, to keep the count, but I don't it is any longer in use.
I doubt there is a standard way to say "tally". You'll hear "contar (con palitos/rayas)", "llevar la cuenta", and many others, but nothing as specific as "tally", as far as I know. The tally method (in Spain, at least), however, is the same with 5 strokes. The noun is simply referred to as "la cuenta" or "el total".
Interestingly (but also irrelevant here), the word "tally" also meant originally to make marks on a stick, from Latin "tallea", which is the word from where "tajar" and "tallar" come from. The etymology of "tarjar" seems to be the fusion of "tajar", meaning "shield" in French, and "taja", from "tajar" (to cut).
Pues, ¿nadie me va a decir cómo se tarja (') en español? Es decir, quiero saber qué clase de marcas se hacen cuando uno está contando cosas usando un contejo, o como se diga.
James Santiago said:
CalvoViejo said:
My firend tells me that there really isn't a translation for "tally" in Colombia. He would say he is making a "contejo." Perhaps "tarjar" is used in some areas, but he doesn't even recognize the word.My grandmother had a different method of tallying things. She would make a large diagonal line, followed by a second, forming an "X", then she would repeat the same process, making smaller "X's" in the croches of the first. When she had one large and four small "X's" she was at the number 10.
Did your friend mention the kind of tally mark he makes'Interesting about your grandmother. Was she just very creative, or was this common where she lived?
I think this was common where she lived. She came from a rural area in Arkansas before moving to Oklahoma (actually Indian Territory in those days). I never knew of anyone else who used the "X" to do a tally.
My friend here (his name is Santiago, by the way) didn't really explain how he keeps track of the number of items he's counting. I think maybe I confused him a little. He did say that he uses the same check marks that are typically used in the US for checking items against a list. He calls them marcas or fichas.
CalvoViejo said:
My firend tells me that there really isn't a translation for "tally" in Colombia. He would say he is making a "contejo." Perhaps "tarjar" is used in some areas, but he doesn't even recognize the word.
My grandmother had a different method of tallying things. She would make a large diagonal line, followed by a second, forming an "X", then she would repeat the same process, making smaller "X's" in the croches of the first. When she had one large and four small "X's" she was at the number 10.
Did your friend mention the kind of tally mark he makes?
Interesting about your grandmother. Was she just very creative, or was this common where she lived'
My firend tells me that there really isn't a translation for "tally" in Colombia. He would say he is making a "contejo." Perhaps "tarjar" is used in some areas, but he doesn't even recognize the word.
My grandmother had a different method of tallying things. She would make a large diagonal line, followed by a second, forming an "X", then she would repeat the same process, making smaller "X's" in the croches of the first. When she had one large and four small "X's" she was at the number 10.
So, how do you say "chad" is Spanish? And "hanging chad'"
Natasha said:
Maybe that's how they tally things in Florida.Just kidding, no offense to any Floridians!
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Maybe that's how they tally things in Florida.
Just kidding, no offense to any Floridians!
