There is no SI term for per or for anything else other than those units that are named after scientists. The full names are entirely language-dependent. That is why we have symbols for expressing them in short, concise, language-independent form.
If you bear in mind that m and s are SYMBOLS for meter and second, and not abbreviations, the concept shouldn't be too difficult to grasp. In Germany, h is the symbol for Stunde, as it is for hour in English, hora in Spanish, ora in Italian, heure in France, and so on. Because they are symbols, m/s is far from meaningless. It is, in fact, as full of meaning as it could possibly be. Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of M R Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2002 12:11 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:19040] Fwd: Re: Fwd: RE: Fwd: RE: Short unit names 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/
