Re: Use of "and/or"

Subject: Re: Use of "and/or"
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 10:34:22 -0800


ethanreese -at- hotmail -dot- com wrote:

Where I currently work I write a lot of environmental reports. My
supervisors use the "and/or" conjunction a lot, such as "hazardous and/or
unidentified substance contaniers" or "licensing and/or registration
information."
[snip]
Your thoughts?

The main purpose of "and/or" is not to cover multiple situations In almost any situation where people are tempted to use "and/or," the context implies multiple situations, and the construction is not needed for the purposes of conveying meaning.

The real purpose of "and/or" is to sound more scientific or official. By using the construction, people generally seem to be trying to sound more authoritative or to signal the fact that they belong to a group of experts.

Sometimes, these are worthwhile goals. For example, if you don't use such indicators, what you say may be disregarded as coming from an outsider or as not being scientific or authoritative enough. However, these goals make the use of "and/or" more a matter of rhetorical strategy than of grammar.

In other words, the question is not whether the construction is correct in a particular passage, but whether using it fits the impression you want to convey.

--
Bruce Byfield 604-421-7177
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield

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