Dear Madan, I evidently don't speak too many languages to know that. However, I suspect that 'per' is probably always used the same way in other languages. For example, the translation of per in Portuguese is 'por' and we always use it when it comes to ratios (any ratio).
I also suspect that this would be the same for the word second. They may just use its equivalent language translation instead of some nickname. I'd like to once again repeat what I said here before, I do have the impression that this fixation for nicknames, short names, acronyms, etc is not a strong characteristic of other peoples but the US and/or anglo-saxon nations. But please correct me if I'm wrong (BTW, I don't mean this comment to be derogatory, but rather that this may just be an interesting cultural value with our fellow Americans). I'd like to take this opportunity to share a small detail about last week's episode of ER. In one instance Dr. Nyle inquired whether the mass of the baby was 3 kilos (nice to hear that), but only to be disappointed in hearing 97 degrees for the baby's temperature... :-( Also, another female doctor who was estranged with another doctor, had broken his aquarium and was looking for a replacement unit. She was inquiring on the phone how big should the aquarium be if it were to hold 300 gallons (SIC). She asked something along the lines of how many feet would I need? He, he... Good luck figuring that out! If she had talked about 1100 L, she could have known that herself quite easily, say, 11 by 10 by 10 dm! ;-) Marcus On Sun, 24 Mar 2002 12:11:16 M R wrote: >Is there an SI term for 'per' and what about 'second'. >How is the word 'second' called in other languages. > >If different languages use different word then the >term >m/s (meters per second) is meaningless. > >Madan > >--- Barbara and/or Bill Hooper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >wrote: >> Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 11:42:58 -0500 >> Subject: [USMA:19009] Re: Fwd: RE: Fwd: RE: Short >> unit names >> From: Barbara and/or Bill Hooper >> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> on 3/20/2002 6:33 PM, M R at [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> wrote: >> >> > (Regarding the symbols km/L and km/h) spoken as >> > "kay-emm-pee-ell & kay-emm-pee-h" >> > >> > I think the word for 'per' will be different in >> > different languages. >> >> Yes, the word "per" may be different but the >> pronunciation of the letters of >> the alphabet will also be different in different >> languages. >> >> I think that, in German, pronouncing the symbol km/h >> would be "kah" "em" >> "pro" "hah". (I've use the German word for "per", >> rather than the Geman word >> for the letter "p". But if the letter "p" is used, >> it, too, is pronounced >> differently in German from what it is in English; >> "pay" instead of "pee".) >> Perhaps our German speaking friends can confirm this >> or correct me. I'm sure >> there would be variations in other languages as >> well. >> >> I don't like such short spoken forms, but we may not >> be able to prevent >> people from using them. If they do, I would still >> prefer they say "per" (in >> their own language) rather than the letter "p". The >> argument for the short >> form is that "kay" "em" is easier (shorter) to say >> than "kilometre". Since >> the word "per" is NOT easier to say than the letter >> "p", why should the >> "pee" be accepted? >> >> Regards, Bill Hooper >> retired physics professor, Florida, USA >> >> -------------------------------------- >> "Simplification" begins with "SI" >> -------------------------------------- >> >> >> > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Movies - coverage of the 74th Academy Awards. >http://movies.yahoo.com/ > > Is your boss reading your email? ....Probably Keep your messages private by using Lycos Mail. Sign up today at http://mail.lycos.com
