Is there any specific convention to how mathematical equations are "read out"?Often, mathematical information and formulas are shared through text, maybe on books or on websites. If you see the equation: x + 3 = 4 ywe can easily read it out as "x plus three equals four y". But for some other equations such as: x + 3 x − 7 = yit doesn't seem too obvious on what it should be read out as. I would read it as "x plus three the whole divided by x minus seven equals y", however someone else may read it out differently.My question is therefore: If in a situation where oral communication of mathematical equations is necessary, does there exist a convention to read out mathematical equations such that one particular equation is read out in only one way, and that it is possible to deduce the equation from the spoken name alone?

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Is there any specific convention to how mathematical equations are &quot;read out&quot;?Often, mathematical information and formulas are shared through text, maybe on books or on websites. If you see the equation:  x  +  3  =  4  ywe can easily read it out as &quot;x plus three equals four y&quot;. But for some other equations such as:            x      +      3              x      −      7        =  yit doesn&#039;t seem too obvious on what it should be read out as. I would read it as &quot;x plus three the whole divided by x minus seven equals y&quot;, however someone else may read it out differently.My question is therefore: If in a situation where oral communication of mathematical equations is necessary, does there exist a convention to read out mathematical equations such that one particular equation is read out in only one way, and that it is possible to deduce the equation from the spoken name alone?

pheniankang · Accepted Answer

I would like to elaborate on Hagen von Eitzen&#039;s insightful comment:The different groupings / implied parantheses are often expressed via pauses and prosody.I think this is exactly right and plays an extremely important role in disambiguating oral mathematics. There is a huge difference between:&quot;X plus 3, over X minus 7, equals Y&quot;and&quot;X, plus 3 over X, minus 7 equals Y&quot;and&quot;X plus 3, over X, minus 7 equals Y&quot;If the cadences and pauses in the sentences are read aloud consistently, I think it is unlikely that anyone would transcribe one of those in place of another.However, in some cases (particularly for extremely complicated expressions with groupings nested inside other groupings) one may call attention to the grouping using verbal annotations like &quot;the quantity&quot; or &quot;all&quot;. For example, the quadratic formula is often read aloud as&quot;X equals negative b, plus or minus the square root of the quantity b-squared minus 4ac, all over 2a&quot;.

Is there any specific convention to how mathematical equations are "read out"? Often, mathematical

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