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Mentee Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Use of slash (/)
The slash is generally used to indicate a choice as in Y/N.
Can it be used to indicate a politically correct term such as deaf/non-verbal, where the two ideas are not necessarily mutually exclusive?
If not, what is a best substitute for deaf/non-verbal?
Can it be used to indicate a politically correct term such as deaf/non-verbal, where the two ideas are not necessarily mutually exclusive?
If not, what is a best substitute for deaf/non-verbal?
Top answer
The slash used thus generally sets off either alternatives or synonyms; beyond that, there are no more detailed rules, so you may do whatever will communicate effectively to your reader.
- The slash used thus generally sets off either alternatives or synonyms; beyond that, there are no more detailed rules, so you may do whatever will communicate effectively to your reader.
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3 Answers
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The slash used thus generally sets off either alternatives or synonyms; beyond that, there are no more detailed rules, so you may do whatever will communicate effectively to your reader.
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In general, use words instead of punctuation when you can; unconventional clusters distract the reader and make the page look ugly. The slash fails if one of the terms has more than one word in it, anyway. The conventional way to include extraneous or explanatory information in a sentence is with parentheses. "Programs for the non-verbal (deaf) include dance training using high-volume sub-woofers.
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Enoon, thanks for your input. I agree with you that such marks mar both the readability and aesthetics of the writing. Taking your suggestion into account, I will use deaf or deaf (non-verbal) as they are more specific. In fact, I am working on an English adaptation of a book which was published in a regional language and uses 'mute', but I discovered that non-verbal was a better substitute. So mu
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