| Currencies
A Biztip reader wrote: “At work, I do a lot of proofreading written by
various people in Canada, U.S. and even Europe. One inconsistency I have noticed
is how the monetary
value of each country is written. For example, when referring
to Canadian dollars, I have seen it written: $C, CA and CAD.
When referring to US dollars, I have seen it written: $US,
US and USD. Is there a grammatically correct way to express
this?”
Biztip response: This is a style issue rather than a grammar
one. And you are right. There is definitely a lack of consistency.
The style guide for the Government of Canada recommends:
C$20 (to be used only when other currencies are mentioned
in the document — otherwise there is no need to prefix
the amount)
US$20, A$20, £20 or write 20 pounds, ¥20 or write
20 yen
The style guide for the Government of Ontario and the Canadian
Press Stylebook recommend:
$20 Cdn, $20 US, €20
The ISO standard, which has long been used by the banking
industry, requires a currency abbreviation consisting of
the two-letter country code abbreviation followed by the
first
letter of the currency name. There is a lack of consistency
as to whether to put the abbreviation before or after the
amount.
AUD – Australian dollar = AUD 20
GBP – British Pound = GBP 20
CAD – Canadian Dollar = CAD 20
USD – American Dollar = $20 USD
EUR — Euros = €10.00 EUR
Frankly, if there is no industry style, I believe in using
the style of the reader so as to avoid any confusion or any
distraction from my message.
Does anyone else want to weigh in on this one?
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