Roman numerals

4.21

Roman numerals. The seven Roman numerals are: I = 1; V = 5; X = 10; L = 50; C = 100; D = 500; M = 1000.

4.22

Write out the month, preceded by a simple figure for the day, e. g. 23 July 1997. Use all four digits when referring to specific years (i.e. 1997 not '97). See also section 14.17.

Exceptions: in footnotes write 23.7.1997 (see Chapter 15 for details).

In American usage, 23 July 1997 is 7.23.97; in the international dating system it is 1997-07-23.

4.23

Avoiding redundancy. If the year referred to has been established earlier in a text or is indicated by context, the year number should be left out. Other languages usually repeat it each time.

4.24

Decades. When referring to decades write the 1990s (no apostrophe).

4.25

Systems of chronology. The letters AD come before the year number (AD 2000), as do AH (anno Hegirae) in the Islamic calendar. Note that BC follows the figure (347 BC).

The non-denominational CE (Common Era), BCE (Before Common Era) and BP (Before Present) may also be encountered.

4.26

Ranges. Use a closed-up dash, after which the decade is repeated:

1870–1901, 1905–10, 1914–18, 1939–45, 1980–86, 1996–2006

4.27

Note the following patterns:

from 1990 to 1995 (never: from 1990–95)

between 1990 and 1995 (never: between 1990–95)

1990 to 1995 inclusive (never: 1990–95 inclusive)

4.28

Note that 1990–91 is two years. Single marketing years, financial years, etc. that do not coincide with calendar years are denoted by a forward slash: e.g. 1990/91, which is twelve months or less.

TIME

4.29

Use the 24-hour system in preference to the 12-hour system.

Write times with a point between hours and minutes, without adding hrs or o'clock: 11.30.

For midnight either write the word midnight or use 24.00 (for periods ending then) or 00.00 (for periods starting then).

4.30

For duration use h: a 2½ h test.

4.31

Distinguish summertime (the season) from summer time, e.g. British Summer Time (BST).

5.

ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND SYMBOLS

5.1

General. In principle, acronyms are uppercased. However, if an acronym has come to be regarded as a proper name, it retains just the initial capital. For this process to start, it must first conform to the rules for English spelling and be pronounced as a normal word. In addition, there must be no risk of unintentional confusion with an existing word. Of course, one person may still consider a word an acronym while another regards it now as a proper name. Such a decision is necessarily subjective. In practice, however, the longer the acronym, the more likely it is to lose its capitals. To ensure consistency and remove the need to make subjective decisions, it is therefore suggested that you follow the 'five-letter' rule below. Bear in mind, though, that this rule is necessarily arbitrary, so use your judgment if you have confidence in it.

Note also that some acronyms may go all the way and become common nouns, losing even the initial capital, e.g. radar and laser.

5.2

Short acronyms. Five letters or fewer: uppercase throughout without points, including acronyms that can be pronounced:

ACP, CCC, EAGGF, EEA, EEC, EIB EMS, EMU, ERDF, FADN, ISDN, MCA, OECD, R&D (no spaces!), UNHCR, UNRWA

also: AIDS, COST, ECHO, EFTA, NASA, NET, SALT, SCENT, SHAPE, TRIPS, TRIMS, UCLAF

But note: Tacis and Phare are no longer considered to be acronyms!

5.3

Longer acronyms. Lowercase those with more than five letters, with initial capital, provided they can be pronounced. Thus:

Benelux, Esprit, Helios, Interreg, Resider, Unesco, Unctad

but: EFILWC, EMCDDA etc.

Computer terms are also exceptions:

FORTRAN, CRONOS, WYSIWYG

5.4

Indefinite article. Apply the rule “a before consonant, an before vowel” as if a following abbreviation is being spoken:

a UN resolution/an Unctad meeting, an EDF project

a NATO decision, an MP

5.5

Plurals of abbreviations. Plurals of abbreviations do not take an apostrophe:

SMEs, UFOs, VDUs, OCTs

5.6

Lowercase-only or mixed-case abbreviations. There is a small but high-frequency class of scholarly abbreviations that traditionally are written in lowercase and require points after each letter, such as e.g., i.e.

Most other (i.e. non-scholarly) lowercase and mixed-case abbreviations are written without stops: aka, fob, cif, BAe (British Aerospace), etc., in particular most scientific abbreviations and symbols: pH (hydrogen ion concentration), etc.

5.7

Single truncated words. Single truncated words take a point unless the last letter is included:

Mr, Mrs, Dr, Fr (Father), Mme, Ltd, Pty, acct, St Petersburg

Jan., Sun., Co., fig., etc., cf., Fr. (Frau), chap., cp., dict., ibid.

5.8

Single letters. Single letters (uppercase or lowercase) conventionally take a point. Exceptions: scientific symbols (chemical elements, basic and derived units, etc.) and the v in the names of court cases.

5.9

Abbreviate Philippe as P., not Ph., and Theodor as T., not Th.

5.10

Note also: p. = page (plural: pp.); p = pence; l. = line, (plural: ll.)

5.11

Foreign-language abbreviations. Untranslated foreign language abbreviations should retain the capitalisation and punctuation conventions of the original, such as GmbH and other German commercial abbreviations.

5.12

Abridgements in online databases. Ignore the convention in Eurodicautom and other databases of uppercasing all acronyms and abbreviations.

5.13

A list of common abbreviations and acronyms is given in Annex 10.

5.14

NB: Abbreviate Nota Bene as NB not N.B.