Anders Svensson: Does Sweden play against the Netherlands or Holland?

The common Swedish phrase "publiksiffra" (audience figure) highlights a divergence between everyday language and precise mathematical terminology. While mathematically "siffra" refers to a numeral (0-9), in general usage, it commonly denotes a quantity or number, such as the number of people attending an event.

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It may seem illogical to speak of a figure when referring to a number that denotes a quantity. But this is common in general language, and 'publiksiffra' has long been an established word in Swedish.

Linguist Malin explains that this usage, though potentially illogical to mathematicians, is well-established in Swedish. The Swedish Academy's dictionary includes "publiksiffra" and acknowledges the broader meaning of "siffra" as "amount," citing examples like "80,000 spectators is a good figure" and "the figure for voter turnout was 82%."

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This is a typical case where the exact definition used in a specific field (mathematics) clashes with the more flexible use in general language.

This linguistic phenomenon, where a word's meaning expands beyond its original technical definition, is common. While it might irk those who prefer strict adherence to original meanings, the expanded usage is so ingrained that it's recognized in authoritative dictionaries. The article also touches on a separate grammatical point regarding the pluralization of the letter 'b' in Swedish, confirming that "b:n" is the correct indefinite plural and "b:na" is the correct definite plural.

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The meaning of 'siffra' is indeed originally 'sign for one of the first nine integers or zero.' But the Swedish dictionary also includes the meaning 'amount' with examples like 'eighty thousand spectators is a good figure' and 'the figure for voter turnout was 82%'.