1.9.3 A warning about decimal commas and delimiters
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
1.9.3 A warning about decimal commas and delimiters
Although most writers in s.c.n. ought to know the English usage of
decimal points and commas in big figures, you must be observant. The
usage in Scandinavia, in Germany and in France is the opposite, and
mistakes are common.
Recently it has become usual to mark thousands and millions by a
single and a double apostrophe, like this: 1'200 for one thousand two
hundreds, or 5"600'000 for five millions six hundred thousands.
Sometimes you can also see an abbreviated form, 1'2 or 5"6, and you
have to be prepared that the foot and inch signs might have other
usages.
Finally, it's hopefully unnecessary to stress the difference between
the American billion (a French, German or Scandinavian milliard) and
the European billion (which is a million millions).
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