Global Talk

This information is summarized by Global Talk from posts on the International Technical Communication SIG email list in April, 2006.

Abbreviations in the Latin language are often found in formal written English, and are required by some style guides. These abbreviations include:

• e.g. (exempla gratia, for example)
• i.e. (id est, that is)
• etc. (et cetera, and so on — literally, “and others”)
• n.b. (nota bene, note well).

The consensus on the International Technical Communication SIG list was that these Latin abbreviations have no place in technical documentation. We can not require readers whose first language is Arabic or Mandarin, for example, to know Latin. In fact the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. are often misused, suggesting native speakers of English do not understand them.

ITC SIG list members provided several references supporting their advice to avoid Latin abbreviations in technical documentation. (more…)

by Dhanya Menon, Technical Writer in Hyderabad, India with additions by Global Talk

The query (on the ITC SIG list) about omission of definite article ‘the’ interested me as I had been reading about the same a couple of days ago. According to High School English Composition and Grammar by Wren and Martin (which is considered an authority in India), in the following situations one must avoid usage of articles: (more…)