Abbreviations: i.e. and e.g.

Writers of Thai English work hard to seem as dignified as possible. They want to appear intelligent, especially when writing academic research papers and theses. They also hope to seem high-level and accomplished. Although these goals may be admirable, they often make the mistake of using Latin abbreviations instead of plain English words. Writers of Thai English like to show that they know about such shortened forms of expressions, because they have been seen in academic articles by ajarns, rather than less formal writers. The problem starts when writers who do not know the real meaning of these abbreviations use them in the wrong way. A good rule is that only writers who believe they have absolutely perfect command of English should try to use abbreviations or expressions in other languages, unless these are unavoidable. Fortunately, abbreviations such as viz., i.e., e.g., and etc. are never really necessary. There are perfectly good English terms that can be used to replace them. Another reason not to use these abbreviations is that it should be possible to read aloud all good writing. Yet these abbreviations sound silly if they are read aloud. Even if a writer has used an abbreviation such as viz., when a text is read aloud, the letters viz. are never pronounced, but words in everyday English are used to replace them. This should give us a clear idea that these abbreviations are not worth the bother, and do not impress readers, especially when they are wrongly used.

For those writers who still want to use the abbreviations and will not be happy unless they are used, here are some suggestions about how to use two of them correctly:

The abbreviation e.g. is short for the Latin words exempli gratia, meaning for the sake of example, or just for example. When reading a text that has the abbreviation e.g. in it, most readers will just say for example. As mentioned above, this raises the question of why they did not write for example, instead of using the Latin term.  When e.g. is used correctly, it lists examples. For instance:

The first year student learned the joys of being enrolled at Thammasat University, e.g. making new friends, trying out for the dramatic society, learning how to be a cheerleader, and singing school songs.

In the above example, as every time e.g. is used, it can easily be replaced by the words for example, and really should be. In many contexts, using this abbreviation, even when it is used correctly, can seem pretentious or out of place. What may be even worse, writers of English, and especially those who are not native speakers of English, often confuse e.g. with another abbreviation, i.e. Yet another abbreviation from the Latin, i.e. is short for id est, meaning that is. When we use i.e., instead of giving examples of what we mean, as in the case of e.g., we are just offering another way of saying the same thing. When i.e. is used, we are trying to make sure that the person reading us has another term to define what we are trying to say, to avoid confusion. So a student might write:

I am a third-year student at Thammasat University, i.e. Mahawitthayalai Thammasat.

Note that we have just given another name for Thammasat University, in Romanized Thai language. We have not given other examples of universities. If we wanted to give examples, we would use e.g.:

There are many reputable institutions of higher learning in Thailand, e.g. Thammasat University, Mahidol University, and Chulalongkorn University.

Also note that we do not need to be complete when we use e.g., since we are only giving examples, not citing every possible example. By contrast, if we use i.e., the reader will think we are being complete because we are giving another definition for a term or full equivalent. An example:

Thammasat University has two mottos, official and unofficial, i.e. “Be the finest, be fair, be the main engine of the society,” and “I love Thammasat because Thammasat teaches me to love people.”

After we have read the words that are included after i.e. in the above example, we are informed about all the mottos of TU, not just a few examples. So i.e. gives us full knowledge of something, and e.g. only a partial idea in this case.

Once the writer of Thai English has managed to separate i.e. from e.g. and not confuse the two abbreviations, there are other problems. If learning about Latin and keeping in mind such possible confusions does not discourage the writer from using these abbreviations, it may be helpful to discuss these further challenges about using the terms. For example, there is the question of whether to use italics when writing such abbreviations. Should we type i.e or i.e., e.g. or e.g.? Once again, this problem can be strictly avoided by never using such abbreviations. If we insist on using them, then it is also necessary to remember that we never use italics for these abbreviations. Italics are commonly used for foreign language terms cited in English language academic research papers and theses. Yet the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. are accepted as part of the English language. They are no longer considered exotic foreign terms. So no italics are used.

Still another issue arising from the use of these abbreviations is whether there should be a comma after each abbreviation. Should it be

We all sang the Thammasat University anthem, i.e. Yung Thong or “Golden Flamboyant.”

or

We all sang the Thammasat University anthem, i.e., Yung Thong or “Golden Flamboyant.”

Experts disagree on whether or not to include a comma after e.g. and i.e. so it is up to the writer. However, once the writer has made a choice, it is absolutely essential to always include or omit a comma each time one of these abbreviations is used. If in some parts of a research paper, we use commas after such abbreviations but leave them out in other parts of the same paper, we can make a confused or sloppy impression. No matter what decision is made, it is also important to recall that since these are abbreviations, there must be a full stop (.) after the letter i and the letter e in i.e., and after the letter e and the letter g in e.g.

If all of these requirements have made the writer decide not to use them, fortunately there are several fine alternatives. Instead of i.e., it is easy to just write the terms in essence or in other words or namely. To avoid using the abbreviation e.g., we can always just write the words for example. In some of the sample sentences quoted here, we can even leave out the abbreviation entirely and the sentence is fine without it:

We all sang the Thammasat University anthem, Yung Thong or “Golden Flamboyant.”

This is perfectly clear, and saves all the time and effort of trying to understand Latin. It really does not make a less intelligent impression than attempting to deal with Latin abbreviations, and we are far more likely to get things right.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)