Latin abbreviations in technical documentation?
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.
Columbia Guide to Standard English
Documentation site at the University of Sussex. Scroll down for a list of Latin abbreviations and their meaning; the advice is “Do not use” except in places like footnotes, where brevity is the primary concern.
INTECOM Guidelines for Writing International English-Language Technical Documentation, which advises that Latin expressions should be replace by English-language ones.
Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications (3rd edition); indicates “Do not use” for every Latin abbreviation listed.
Purdue Writing Lab (answers email inquiries)
Read me First: A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, Sun Technical Publications, 2nd edition, 2003, page 139.