Gebruiker:Martinvl/Kongres van Wene
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The SI Brochure (ref 1) lists the symbols that should be used to represent the various units of measure, but many British publications such as the The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (ref 2) use symbols and abbreviations interchangeably. What then is the difference?
The difference is that an abbreviation consists of letters that form an ordered subset of the word itself, while a symbol consists of arbitrary characters that may or may not be part of the text they represent. However symbols are consistent across linguistic boundaries, abbreviations are not.
Perhaps the best way to compare the two is by example. A typical abbreviation is "VAT". The table below shows how ‘VAT’ and ‘Value added tax’ have been translated in other European languages by the EU translation department (ref 3):
Language | Abbreviation | Text |
English | VAT | Value added tax |
Dutch | BTW | Belasting over de toegevoegde waarde |
French | TVA | Taxe sur la valeur ajoute |
German | MwSt | Mehrwertsteuer |
Greek | ΦΠΑ | φόρου προστιθέμενης α ξίας |
Spanish | IVA | Impuesto sobre el valor a adido |
Now consider ‘kilometres per hour’. The text below illustrates that the symbol ‘km/h’ is universal across Europe, even though the local word meaning ‘kilometre’ might not contain a ‘k’ or the local word meaning ‘hour’ might not contain a ‘h’.
Language | Symbol | Text |
English | km/h | Kilometres per hour |
French | km/h | kilomètres par heure |
German | km/h | Kilometer pro Stunde |
Greek | km/h | χισιόμετρα ανά ώρα |
Italian | km/h | chilometri all'ora |
Polish | km/h | kilometrach na godzinę |
Portuguese | km/h | quilômetros por hora |
Spanish | km/h | kilómetros por hora |
And here is the link: <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31975L0443&from=EN">Link to EU Directive</a>
(FR, DE, EL, IT, PL, PT, ES)
These tables should make it clear why symbols are of great use on road signs, but abbreviations are not.
References
Note: References 3 and 4 show the English langage version of the relevant EU directive. If the letters "EN" in the URL name are pleaced by "FR", the French version will be displayed. SImilarly, "DE", "EL", "IT", "PL", "PT" or "ES" will show the Geman, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese or SPanish versions as appropriate.
1. SI Brochure (9th edition) (https://www.bipm.org/documents/20126/41483022/SI-Brochure-9-EN.pdf)
2. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/362/contents/made)
3. (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=legissum:l31057)
4. (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31975L0443&from=EN)