You heard what is commonly said and it is wrong. There is a difference
between abbreviation and symbol. The "le Systeme ........ " is symbolized in
all languages by a crooked line resembling the Roman (meaning Latin,
upright) character S and a vertical line, without a space between them. SI
symbols are not abbreviations.
As a point of interest, in countries that write in a non-Latin script, they
use SI symbols and also symbols that may be abbreviations in their
respective language. You see both of them on imports from Greece or
Russia, and elsewhere sometimes.
Think of the unit of electrical resistance (ohm) and its symbol - it
illustrates the point.
Stan J.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Trusten, R.Ph." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Sent: 08 Feb 04, Monday 20:30
Subject: [USMA:40378] abbreviated "SI"---in ALL languages?
I have always been instructed that the name "Systeme International" (The
International System of Units) is abbreviated "SI" in all languages. Does
this
rule apply to languages that do not use Roman characters?
Paul
