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JX wondered: <<I'm working on documentation that requires many references to
latitude and longitude coordinates. Although in theory I could consistently
refer to "latitude and longitude coordinates", we refer to them often, plus
orally people say it with no "and". The dominant style around here is to
attempt to write what people say in the form "latitude/longitude
coordinates". But I don't like the way the slash looks...>>
First off, you've got a redundant phrase that would benefit from shortening.
Latitude and longitude combined are by definition a location's coordinates,
so there's no need to use the word "coordinates" at all--just say "latitude
and longitude". For elegant variation, try saying "coordinates" and drop the
"latitude and longitude" where the context is clear. When referring to
actual numbers, consider dropping "latitude and longitude" entirely--simply
say "xx N and yy E" (anyone who doesn't know that N/S values represent
latitude, and E/W values represent longitude won't understand what you're
saying anyway).
<<Does *any* style guide or dictionary have an opinion on this?>>
The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) guide should support this, but I don't
have a copy handy to check.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite
of a profound truth may well be another profound truth."--Niels Bohr,
physicist (1885-1962)
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