Lecture Guide

MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS

The language of Mathematics makes it easy to express the kinds of thoughts that mathematicians like
to express. It is:
• precise (able to make very fine distinctions)
• concise (able to say things briefly)
• powerful (able to express complex thoughts with relative ease).

The language of Mathematics can be learned, but requires the efforts needed to learn any foreign
language. Every language has its vocabulary (words), and its rules for combining these words into complete
thoughts (the sentences). Mathematics is no exception. As a first step in discussing the mathematical
language, we will make a very broad classification between the ‘nouns’ of mathematics (used to name
mathematical objects of interest) and the ‘sentences’ of mathematics (which state complete mathematical
thoughts).

In English, nouns are used to name things we want to talk about (like people, places, and things);
whereas sentences are used to state complete thoughts. A typical English sentence has at least one noun, and
at least one verb. For example, consider the sentence
Martin loves Mathematics.
Here, ‘Martin’ and ‘Mathematics’ are nouns; ‘loves’ is a verb.

The mathematical analogue of a ‘noun’ will be called an expression. Thus, an expression is a name
given to a mathematical object of interest. Whereas in English we need to talk about people, places, and
things, we will see that mathematics has much different ‘objects of interest’.
The mathematical analogue of a ‘sentence’ will also be called a sentence. A mathematical sentence,
just as an English sentence, must state a complete thought. The table below summarizes the analogy.

ENGLISH MATHEMATICS
Name given to an object of NOUN (person, place, thing) EXPRESSION
interest Examples: Carol, Idaho, book Examples: 5,2+3,1/2
A complete thought SENTENCE SENTENCE
Examples: Examples: 3+4=7
The capital of Idaho is Boise. 3+4=8

Since people frequently need to work with numbers, these are the most common type of mathematical
expression. And numbers have lots of different names. For example, the expressions
10
5 2+3 (6 − 2) + 1 1+1+1+1+1
2
all look different but are all just different names for the same number.
This simple idea—that numbers have lots of different names—is extremely important in mathematics!
English has the same concept: synonyms are words that have the same (or nearly the same) meaning.
However, this ‘same object, different name’ idea plays a much more fundamental role in mathematics than
in English.
Next, some ideas regarding sentences are explored. Just as English sentences have verbs, so do
mathematical sentences. In the mathematical sentence ‘3 + 4 = 7’, the verb is ‘=’. If you read the sentence as
 ‘three plus four is equal to seven’, then it is easy to ‘hear’ the verb. Indeed, the equal sign ‘ =’ is one of the
most popular mathematical verbs.
Sentences can be true or false. The notion of truth (i.e., the property of being true or false) is of
fundamental importance in the mathematical language.
Languages have conventions. In English, for example, it is conventional to capitalize proper names
(like ‘Carol’ and ‘Idaho’). This convention makes it easy for a reader to distinguish between a common
noun (like ‘carol’, a Christmas song) and a proper noun (like ‘Carol’). Mathematics also has its conventions,
which help readers distinguish between different types of mathematical expressions.

With several examples behind us, it is now time to make things more precise. To communicate
effectively, people must agree on the meanings of certain words and phrases. When there is ambiguity,
confusion can result. Consider the following conversation in a car at a noisy intersection:

Carol: “Turn left!”

Bob: “I didn’t hear you. Left?”
Carol: “Right!”

Question: Which way will Bob turn? It depends on how Bob interprets the word ‘right’. If he
interprets ‘right’ as the opposite of ‘left’, then he will turn right. If he interprets ‘right’ as ‘correct,’ then he
will turn left. Although there are certainly instances in mathematics where context is used to determine
correct meaning, there is much less ambiguity allowed in mathematics than in English. The primary way
that ambiguity is avoided is using definitions. By defining words and phrases, it is assured that everyone
agrees on their meaning. Here is our first definition:

DEFINITION OF EXPRESSION

An expression is the mathematical analogue of an English noun; it is a correct arrangement of

mathematical symbols used to represent a mathematical object of interest. An expression does NOT state a
complete thought; in particular, it does not make sense to ask if an expression is true or false.

The most common problem involving an expression is:

SIMPLIFY: To simplify an expression means to get a different name for the expression, that in some way is
simpler.

The notion of ‘simpler’, however, can have different meanings:

• Fewer Symbols:
Example: ‘3+1+5’ and ‘9’ are both names for the same number, but ‘9’ uses fewer symbols.
• Fewer Operations:
Example: ‘3+3+3+3+3’ and ‘3(5)’ are both names for the same number, but ‘3(5)’ uses one operation
only.

DEFINITION OF MATHEMATICAL SENTENCE

A mathematical sentence is the analogue of an English sentence; it is a correct arrangement of

mathematical symbols that states a complete thought. It makes sense to ask about the TRUTH of a sentence:
Is it true? Is it false? Is it sometimes true/sometimes false?
 The sentence ‘1+2=3’ is read as ‘one plus two equals three’ or ‘one plus two is equal to three’. A
complete thought is being stated, which in this case is true. The sentence is ‘diagrammed’ below:

A question commonly encountered, when presenting the sentence example ‘1+2=3’, is the following:

If ‘=’ is the verb, then what is the ‘+’?

Here is the answer. The symbol ‘+’ is a connective; a connective is used to ‘connect’ objects of a given type to
get a ‘compound’ object of the same type. Here, the numbers 1 and 2 are ‘connected’ to give the new number
1 + 2. A familiar English connective for nouns is the word ‘and’: ‘cat’ is a noun, ‘dog’ is a noun, ‘cat and dog’
is a ‘compound’ noun.