>The problem can be reduced to ZERO tollerence if CGPM & CCDM (SI-comittee on >Metre) made the use of *spellings for Length Unit, METRE* mandatory wherever >length is required to be mentioned by ALL NATIONS.
With respect, this is pure nonsense. The spelling of meter/metre is dialect specific, and is totally outside the competence of the above bodies. Nor is there any need to do this. Just as in color/colour the two dialects are mutually intelligible. Use whichever you are comfortable with, but accept either. As has been pointed out, other languages use different names for meter/metre/metro, but the symbol is always "m". In Irish, by the way, a kilometer is ciliméadar, but the symbol is km, despite the lack of the letter "k" in that language. The important thing is that the symbol for a metric unit is universal. How the word is written (and pronounced) is purely an issue for the language of the speaker. Now if you are recommending that in formal writing the symbol should be used rather than the word when quoting quantities (e.g. "5 m" rather than "five meters") then I would not disagree, although language purists might. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Wade | EMail: tee dot wade at eurokom dot ie EuroKom | Tel: +353 (1) 296-9696 A2, Nutgrove Office Park | Fax: +353 (1) 296-9697 Rathfarnham | Disclaimer: This is not a disclaimer Dublin 14 | Tip: "Friends don't let friends do Unix !" Ireland
