Words, but numbers to count
This blog is about English language and its use in the news media. But when we write in any language, numbers are used too. What is the correct use that helps the reader get to the story's details?
Remember that numbers make reading a newspaper difficult. More so when precise numbers are used when even conversations, we tend to use rounded ones.
Do we say 'half' or '50 per cent'? 'A third' or '33 per cent'? Do we say '55 per cent' or 'about half'? We talk of a 'fourth' or a 'quarter'.
So when you use too many numbers in a copy, a story written in best of English affording all the clarity required can become fuzzy with an overload of numbers. The best remedy for that is to avoid numbers unless they are important like saying 'three of a group of ten died in an accident'. It would be silly to say a third of the people died. When the numbers are small, precise is fine.
To say that 54.1 per cent of Mumbai's 1.19 crore people in slums makes less sense to a reader in a hurry - he is yet to have his breakfast, get ready for the day's work - than 'a little over all of Mumbai residents live in slums.' Better still, 'a slum is a home to one out of two Mumbai's residents.'
Read that para two or three times and see the difference it makes.
And somewhere in the copy, for the purpose of record and precision, mention that 54.1 per cent and the 1.19 cr once, but just once. Then the dimension hits the reader.
And just don't throw numbers at people because they can be scared off the story. Use proportions, not percentages only and explain why the numbers are important. What if a third of the parliamentary and assembly seats go to women? You may mention 33 per cent once and then keep saying 'third.' When numbers are put in context and explained, it becomes easy to digest and serves a purpose.
Then there is the decimal point. Business and economic stories need them - hike in GDP by .3 per cent means a whole lot more than we can imagine than a .03 per cent rise in cost of mill you buy. Use the decimal there. Elsewhere, an 'about' before the rounded figure is best.
When you need to write about Rs. 15,40,560 to be paid to someone by someone else, do what the headline writer would: "Rs 15 lakh to be paid..." Somewhere you could use that figure once precisely, at a point where the pace of the story would not slowdown. Elsewhere stick to 'Rs 15.4 lakh.'
Talking of 'lakh', please remember that it is not in plural. Do we talk "ten thousands rupees'? We don't - we say, 'ten thousand rupees.' Likewise, lakh, not lakhs. Remember, India still commonly uses lakh and crore, and not millions and billions. I see no reason why newspapers should use a different terminology.
-Mahesh Vijapurkar
Remember that numbers make reading a newspaper difficult. More so when precise numbers are used when even conversations, we tend to use rounded ones.
Do we say 'half' or '50 per cent'? 'A third' or '33 per cent'? Do we say '55 per cent' or 'about half'? We talk of a 'fourth' or a 'quarter'.
So when you use too many numbers in a copy, a story written in best of English affording all the clarity required can become fuzzy with an overload of numbers. The best remedy for that is to avoid numbers unless they are important like saying 'three of a group of ten died in an accident'. It would be silly to say a third of the people died. When the numbers are small, precise is fine.
To say that 54.1 per cent of Mumbai's 1.19 crore people in slums makes less sense to a reader in a hurry - he is yet to have his breakfast, get ready for the day's work - than 'a little over all of Mumbai residents live in slums.' Better still, 'a slum is a home to one out of two Mumbai's residents.'
Read that para two or three times and see the difference it makes.
And somewhere in the copy, for the purpose of record and precision, mention that 54.1 per cent and the 1.19 cr once, but just once. Then the dimension hits the reader.
And just don't throw numbers at people because they can be scared off the story. Use proportions, not percentages only and explain why the numbers are important. What if a third of the parliamentary and assembly seats go to women? You may mention 33 per cent once and then keep saying 'third.' When numbers are put in context and explained, it becomes easy to digest and serves a purpose.
Then there is the decimal point. Business and economic stories need them - hike in GDP by .3 per cent means a whole lot more than we can imagine than a .03 per cent rise in cost of mill you buy. Use the decimal there. Elsewhere, an 'about' before the rounded figure is best.
When you need to write about Rs. 15,40,560 to be paid to someone by someone else, do what the headline writer would: "Rs 15 lakh to be paid..." Somewhere you could use that figure once precisely, at a point where the pace of the story would not slowdown. Elsewhere stick to 'Rs 15.4 lakh.'
Talking of 'lakh', please remember that it is not in plural. Do we talk "ten thousands rupees'? We don't - we say, 'ten thousand rupees.' Likewise, lakh, not lakhs. Remember, India still commonly uses lakh and crore, and not millions and billions. I see no reason why newspapers should use a different terminology.
-Mahesh Vijapurkar
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