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> Trial 1 Month 0.1E > Subscription: 5E per Month > ... > I decided to charge 5$ (0.1$ trial) So which is it? $ or E? And is E supposed to be €? Also, in En
by ebg13 8y ago
> Trial 1 Month 0.1E
> Subscription: 5E per Month
> ...
> I decided to charge 5$ (0.1$ trial)
So which is it? $ or E? And is E supposed to be €? Also, in English the currency marker goes to the left of the number.
- isostatic 8y ago> Also, in English the currency marker goes to the left of the number. But in the majority of european countries where they use euros, the symbol is placed to the right
- ebg13 8y agoThat is only correct when writing in a language other than English. Doing it in English is a mistake transferred from doing it in other languages. http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm#position http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm#position
- fao_ 8y agoI don't see how you can find language prescriptivism as a tenable position in this day and age
- nikeee 8y agoThe link seems broken.
- ebg13 8y agoLol, woah. Maybe HN broke the doc site. Here's an archive.org backup https://web.archive.org/web/20190323083630/http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20190323083630/http://publicatio...
- computerfriend 8y agoIn general it is standard to put the unit after the quantity though.
- Cyph0n 8y agoAgain, not with currencies in English.
- computerfriend 8y agoMaybe I should have said "it is commonly standard to put the unit after the quantity". My point is that this format is ubiquitous and that English language formatting of currency values is the outlier. It is not even internally consistent, as this rule only holds for the symbol, not for the ISO code, the full name or for speech.
- sherincall 8y ago> Also, in English the currency marker goes to the left of the number. I always thought this depended on the currency; like $5 vs 5€.
- ebg13 8y agoThis is a common misconception, but proper placement is dependent on the language not the currency.
- smnrchrds 8y agoThis is correct. Visit English and French versions of a Canadian retailer, e.g. Amazon.ca. The English version follows English rules ($29.99) and the French version follows French rules (29,99 $) even though the currency is Canadian dollars for both. EN: https://www.amazon.ca/?language=en_CA https://www.amazon.ca/?language=en_CA FR: https://www.amazon.ca/?language=fr_CA https://www.amazon.ca/?language=fr_CA
- blattimwind 8y agoWriting 29.99 € or 29.99 EUR is still super common even if it's English. This might be in part because the UK never really used euros (and will probably never use them).
- GordonS 8y agoI'd say 29.99 EUR is very common, but not 29.99 €. I only ever see the € symbol after the value in documents from Europe, never in those from the UK (I see a lot of quotes, purchase orders and other financial documents from various places and companies)
- dmos62 8y agoYou are wrong about the usage of currency symbols. Quoting Wikipedia [0]: > When writing currency amounts, the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America place it before the amount (e.g., R$50,00). The Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position (i.e., 20$00). In many European countries such as France, Germany, Greece, Scandinavian countries, the symbol is usually placed after the amount (e.g., 20,50 €). Edit: Excerpt from Wikipedia's article for the Euro symbol [1]: > Placement of the sign also varies. Countries have generated varying conventions or sustained those of their former currencies. For example, in Ireland and the Netherlands, where previous currency signs (£ and ƒ, respectively) were placed before the figure, the euro sign is universally placed in the same position. In many other countries, including France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania, an amount such as €3.50 is usually written as 3,50 € instead, largely in accordance with conventions for previous currencies. > The European Union did indeed usher a guideline on the use of the euro sign, stating it should be placed in front of the amount without any space in English, but after the amount in most other languages. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_sign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_sign
- ebg13 8y ago> You are wrong about the usage of currency symbols. Wikipedia is wrong if it says that the placement is based on currency. Wikipedia can also be edited by anyone with a pulse, so there you go. Here are some official government resources on currency code placement in English. http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm#position http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm#position https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/wrtps/index-eng.html?lang=eng&lettr=indx_catlog_a&page=9IYDvHKNiH6Q.html https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/wrtps/in... > The European Union did indeed usher a guideline on the use of the euro sign, stating it should be placed in front of the amount without any space in English So...what you're saying is that I'm right. I'm very confused now.
- dmos62 8y agoThe currency symbol's placement is a matter of convention, which varies from person to person, mostly influenced by what they're used to. I'm attacking your pedantic attempt to reduce the matter to an inflexible rule. Some English speaking countries prefix the currency symbol, so if let's say my audience is from Australia, and I want to make the gesture of adhering to their customs, I will prefix it. However, in other (most) scenarios, I'll write it the way I write it 99% of the time, in the postfix position. And that's ok. Everyone doesn't need to use the same customs, words, grammar, or even language. Regarding these things, the only thing we care about, at the end of the day, is being able to understand the other, and the other being able to understand you. As you've noticed, I said _some_ English speaking countries. That's because there are a lot of people, who even though use a lot of English, only a fraction of that is with people from US, Canada, Australia or Great Britain, so the customs of English users from those countries become irrelevant. There's customs and there's language. This is an obvious example where one does not have to entail the other.
- zulgan 8y agoI used E because € does not render on xterm, maybe I should switch it to EUR to remove the confusion also fixed the $ to E in the blog, thanks for the heads up
- adamc 8y agoWhy not just say "euros"? It's not much longer and less ambiguous.
- ebg13 8y agoThe EU currency code guidelines do say to use EUR in such instances.
- merb 8y agoEUR is the common term, I tought E is some kind of crypto stuff.
- rhizome 8y agoJust to empathize, before I figured out how to type funky foreign characters on my en-us keyboard, I tried to use L for £ for awhile and...it didn't work. I thought I was being creative and industrious in an obvious way but it didn't even scan well for me. Heck, that may have been the one character that got me to learn. :)
- dezzeus 8y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217
- halfeatenpie 8y agoYeah as an individual who doesn't use the euro, I didn't know it was euros until I read it in the thread here.
- yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago> because € does not render on xterm, It does for me?
- 8y ago