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Is there a definitive guide to speaking mathematics?

This may be an incredibly stupid question, but I was wondering how would one pronounce simple mathematical equations and expressions out loud? I am often in the situation that I am trying to explain something in math to someone out loud and struggling with how to say it.


For parentheses, I often use pauses to emphasize the order for calculation.

For example, for

$x-(x+1)$

I would generally read this as "x minus (pause) x plus 1". The faults of this method are clear, and it does not work very well, because some might think I am saying.

$x-x+1$

Similarly, it is confusing to pronounce $\sqrt{ab}+c$ over $\sqrt{ab+c}$, $a^{b-1}$ over $a^b-1$, etc.

Another way I have tried more recently is to say "bracket" and "end bracket," so the above would be read as "x minus, bracket, x plus 1, end bracket." This method seems to work, but I was wondering if anyone has a better solution then this.


Also, I was wondering on the pronunciation of subscripts. I generally pronounce $a_b$ as "a sub b" but I hear many other people call this simply "ab" (which is confusion because that is how I would pronounce $ab$).

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    I think you don't really need to be that effective, unless you're trying to explain it to people with serious visual impairments. When explaining to someone, you can use gestures, and in case of confusion you can immediately clear up any problems. And in any case, except for ad-hoc stuff, you really ought to get$a$piece of paper or a blackboard if you plan on using any complicated expressions. Mathematics can be quite effectively done verbally, with some imagination. Calculations -- not really. Not for most people.2012-07-07

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