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Dollars Vs Bolivianos (Bolivian currency)

English translation: Commas are used for thousands and a dot for decimals

19:26 Dec 20, 2013
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Economics / Writing numbers in two different languages
English term or phrase: Dollars Vs Bolivianos (Bolivian currency)
In Bolivia we use dots (.) to separate thousands and millions and commas (,) for decimals.

In English is the opposite: commas for thousands and millions and dots for decimals.

I'm writing a text where I calculate numbers in both Bolivian and US dollars. For example: loans increased by Bs70.000 million ($US10,000 million).

Question:
Do I keep the commas for dollars and the dots for bolivianos or should I keep all the numbers uniform and just use commas or dots.

Thanks kindly
aaraoz
Bolivia
Local time: 04:09
Selected answer:Commas are used for thousands and a dot for decimals
Explanation:
Imagine people reading the translated text. They would be confused if they saw dots instead of commas, and a comma instead of a decimal point.

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Note added at 20 mins (2013-12-20 19:46:51 GMT)
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I'm not sure how reliable the following reference is, but you might find it helpful:

Using the comma. In English, the comma is used as a thousands separator (and the period as a decimal separator), to make large numbers easier to read. So write the size of Alaska as 571,951 square miles instead of 571951 square miles. In Continental Europe the opposite is true, periods are used to separate large numbers and the comma is used for decimals. Finally, the International Systems of Units (SI) recommends that a space should be used to separate groups of three digits, and both the comma and the period should be used only to denote decimals, like $13 200,50 (the comma part is a mess… I know).

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-rules-for-writing-numbers...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 26 mins (2013-12-20 19:53:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

always use figures for percentages, measurements and currency. Use commas to punctuate large numbers
He scored 10% of the available marks.
The cost, at £5.99, was less than their overall budget of £50.
The population of New York City is estimated to be 8,008,278.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/public_affairs/services_and_resources/st...

In the reference above, the comma is used to punctuate the number and I admit that when I teach people how to say numbers in English, I always tell them to read the number in groups of three, and stop and breathe when they see the comma.
Selected response from:

Helena Chavarria
Spain
Local time: 10:09
Grading comment
Very helpful, thanks!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +10Commas are used for thousands and a dot for decimals
Helena Chavarria


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +10
Commas are used for thousands and a dot for decimals


Explanation:
Imagine people reading the translated text. They would be confused if they saw dots instead of commas, and a comma instead of a decimal point.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2013-12-20 19:46:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I'm not sure how reliable the following reference is, but you might find it helpful:

Using the comma. In English, the comma is used as a thousands separator (and the period as a decimal separator), to make large numbers easier to read. So write the size of Alaska as 571,951 square miles instead of 571951 square miles. In Continental Europe the opposite is true, periods are used to separate large numbers and the comma is used for decimals. Finally, the International Systems of Units (SI) recommends that a space should be used to separate groups of three digits, and both the comma and the period should be used only to denote decimals, like $13 200,50 (the comma part is a mess… I know).

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-rules-for-writing-numbers...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 26 mins (2013-12-20 19:53:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

always use figures for percentages, measurements and currency. Use commas to punctuate large numbers
He scored 10% of the available marks.
The cost, at £5.99, was less than their overall budget of £50.
The population of New York City is estimated to be 8,008,278.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/public_affairs/services_and_resources/st...

In the reference above, the comma is used to punctuate the number and I admit that when I teach people how to say numbers in English, I always tell them to read the number in groups of three, and stop and breathe when they see the comma.

Helena Chavarria
Spain
Local time: 10:09
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Very helpful, thanks!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  wtimberl: aaraoz (just use commas)
3 mins
  -> Thank you very much :)
agree  Jenni Lukac (X): Merry Christmas!
20 mins
  -> Thank you, Jenni. Merry Christmas :)
agree  philgoddard
41 mins
  -> Thank you, Phil. Merry Christmas :)
agree  Triston Goodwin: I totally agree. Above all, remain consistent ^_^
3 hrs
  -> I'm sure that on at least one occasion we've all had to spend ages changing all the commas and dots in financial statements. Thank you very much :)
neutral  Jean-Claude Gouin: I write 123 456 789 for one hundred and twenty three millions, four hundred and fifty six thousand and one hundred and twenty three. // You're right of course. It's a typo! ¡Feliz Navidad!
5 hrs
  -> Yes, my first reference explains that gaps can be used instead of commas, although I haven't heard anyone say 'millions' in plural. http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/milli...
agree  nweatherdon: I also often prefer to use spaces rather than commas, but commas are definitely better than dots in English
8 hrs
  -> If the original uses gaps, then so do I. Otherwise I think it depends on where the numbers appear. Thank you very much :)
agree  Edith Kelly
11 hrs
  -> Thank you, Edith :)
agree  jccantrell: Yes, very well put. I would say, what is the target text? English or Bolivian Spanish? Use the convention of the translated text.
2 days 19 hrs
  -> Thank you very much :)
agree  Ashutosh Mitra: Merry Christmas!
3 days 8 hrs
  -> Thank you, Ashutosh. All the best for 2014 ;)
agree  Natalia Volkova
4 days
  -> Thank you, Natalia. Merry Christmas :)
agree  Naweed Miakhel: Thanks and that's great.
7 days
  -> Thank you, Naweed :)
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