Mathematical Language and

Symbols
Learning Objective
At the end of this section, the students will be able to:

Translate mathematical sentence into mathematical symbols; and

Express appreciation for mathematics as a human endeavor.
For the things of this world cannot be made know without a
knowledge of mathematics.
– Roger Bacon

2.1 Characteristics of Mathematical Language

For 1,000 years, mathematics Had developed spoken and written natural languages that
are highly effective for expressing mathematical language. This mathematical language has
developed and provides a highly efficient and powerful tool for mathematical expression,
exploration, reconstruction after exploration, and communication. Its power comes from
simultaneously being precise and yet concise. But the mathematical language is being used
poorly because of poor understanding of the language. The mathematical language and logical
reasoning using that language from the everyday working experience of mathematics.

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 Notably, mathematics has its own language, much of which we are already familiar
with examples the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; whether we prefer to 0 as "zero," or "nothing"
we understand its meaning. There are many symbols in mathematics and most are used as a
precise form of shortened. It is quite important that we familiarize ourselves using these
symbols we understand their meaning. Mathematical language can easily be understood by
Context and convention. Context is what we are working or the particular topics Being studied,
while convention is where mathematicians and scientists have decided that particular symbols
will have particular meaning.

The mathematical language is the system used to communicate mathematical ideas. This
language consists of some natural language using technical terms (mathematical terms) and
grammatical conventions that are uncommon to mathematical discourse, supplemented by a
highly specialized symbolic notation for mathematical formulas. The mathematical notation
used for formulas has its own grammar and shared by mathematicians anywhere in the globe.

The characteristic of mathematics language is being precise, concise, and powerful.

Precision in mathematics is like a culture of being correct all the time. Definition and limits
should be distinction. Mathematical ideas is being developed informally and being done more
formally, with necessary and sufficient conditions stated up front and restricting the discussion
to a particular class or objects. mathematical culture of precision has developed a precise,
highly symbolic language, and a dialectic manner that allows for the adoption, adjustment and
community refinement of concepts based on experience, and mathematical reasoning is
expected to be correct.

People all around the world speak different languages. A simple thought is difficult to
comprehend if presented in a language that you do not understand. Similarly, people frequently
have trouble understanding mathematical ideas, not necessarily because of the ideas are
difficult, but because they are being presented in a foreign language- the language of
mathematics. Yes, mathematics also a special kind of language. In fact, it is a universal
language shared by human being regardless of race, gender, or culture. The language of
mathematics makes it easy to express the kind of thoughts that mathematicians like to express.
It is

1. Precise (able to make very fine distinction);

2. Concise (able to say things briefly); and
3. Powerful (able to express complex thoughts with relative ease)

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 Mathematical language must be concise or shows simplicity. Being concise is a strong
part of the culture in mathematical language. The mathematician desires the simplest possible
single exposition at the price of additional terminology and machinery to allow all of the
various particularities to be subsumed into the exposition at the highest possible level.

Mathematical language must also be powerful. It is away of expressing complex

thoughts with relative ease. The abstraction in mathematics Is that desire to unify diverse
instances Under a single conceptual framework and allows easier penetration of the subject and
the development of more powerful methods.

According to Galileo Galilee mathematics is the language in which God has written the
universe. It can be attributed that mathematics is a universal language because the principles
and foundations of mathematics are the same everywhere around the world. Five plus five
equals ten If we write it as Arabic numerals 5 + 5 = 10. The concept of 10 times is the same
anywhere in the world.

2.2Expression versus Sentences

An expression (or mathematical expression) is a finite combination of symbols That is

well defined according to rules that depend on the context. The symbols can designate numbers,
variables, operations, functions, brackets, punctuations, and groupings to help determine order
of operations, and other aspects of mathematical syntax. And expression is a correct
arrangement of mathematical symbols used to represent the object of interest, it does not
contain a complete thought, and it can be determined if it is true or false.

The following are examples of types of expressions in mathematics (commonly referred

to as mathematical objectives):
1. Numbers 4. Ordered pair, ordered triple, …
2. Sets 5. Matrices
3. Functions 6. Vectors
On the other hand, a sentence (or mathematical sentence) makes a statement about two
expressions, other using numbers, variables, or a combination of both. A mathematical
sentence can also use symbols or words like equals, greater than, or less than. Sentence is a

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correct arrangement of mathematical symbols that states a complete thought and can be
determined whether its true, false, sometimes true / sometimes false.

Like other languages, mathematics has its vocabulary (the words) and its rules for
combining these words into complete thoughts (the sentences). It has also the notion of nouns,
sentences and verbs. 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 mathematical sentence is the analogue of an English sentence; it is correct
arrangement of mathematical symbol that express a complete thought. It make sense to ask
about the truth of a sentence: Is it false? Is it false? Is it sometimes true/sometimes false?
Example: ′3 + 4′ is an expression while 3 + 4 = 7′ is a sentence.
The mathematical sentence 3 + 4 = 7′ expresses a complete thought. In addition, it
makes sense to ask; "Is 3 + 4 = 7"true? On the other hand, 3 + 4′ does not state a complete
thought. It also doesn’t make sense to ask: 3 + 4′ true? Is ′3 + 4′ false?
Just as English sentence have verbs, so do mathematical sentences. In the mathematical
sentence "3 + 4 = 7", the verb is “=”. If you read sentence as “three plus four is equal to
seven,” then it’s easy to “hear” the verb, indeed, the equal sign “=” is one of the most popular
mathematical verbs. Now, if “=” is the verb, then what is the ‘+’? the symbol’+’ is the
connective. A connective is used to connect objects of a given type to get a compound object
of the same type.
The table below summarizes the comparison between the English language and
Mathematical language.
English Mathematics
Name given to an object of Noun (person, place, thing) Expression
interest
Examples: Mrs. Reyes, Example: 7, 14/2, 3x, (2, -1,
teacher, Cebu, bag 1)
A complete thought Sentence (mathematical) sentence
Examples: Examples:

The capital of the Philippines 7-2=5

is Cebu.

Manila is the capital city of 7-2=3

the Philippines.
Action verbs Operations and other actions
Examples: add, simplify,
rationalize
Attribute of a sentence Fact or fiction True or false

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 2.3 Conventions in the mathematical language

Mathematical languages have conventions and it helps individual distinguish between

different types of mathematical expressions. I might say medical convention is a fact, name,
notation, or usage which is generally agreed upon by mathematicians. Let say for example, one
evaluate multiplication before addition following the principle of PEMDAS (Parenthesis,
Exponent, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction. Mathematicians abide by
conventions to be able to understand what they write without constantly having to redefine
basic terms. Almost all mathematical names and symbols are conventional.

Like any other discipline, mathematics also has its own brand of technical terms. In
some case, a word in general usage has a different and specific meaning within mathematics -
some examples are a group, ring, field, term, factor, etc. In other cases, special terms Have
been its own taxonomy like axiom, conjuncture, theorems, lemma and corollaries. There are
also some mathematical phrases (or mathematical jargon) Used with specific meanings, such
as "if and only if" , necessary and sufficient" and without loss of generality".

The vocabulary of mathematics also has visual elements. It is being used in formally on
blackboards, as well as formally in books and researches which Serve to display schematic
information more easily schematic information more easily.

The mathematical notation has its own a grammar and does not dependent on a specific
natural language, but shared internationally by mathematicians regardless of their country's
spoken language. This includes the conventions that the formulas are written predominantly
left the right, even when the writing system of the substrate language is right-to-left, and that
the Latin alphabet is commonly used for sample variables and parameters.

As is the case for spoken mathematical language, in written or printed mathematical

discourse, mathematical expressions containing a symbolic verb, like = (equal), < (less-than),
> (greater-than), + (plus), - (subtraction), × (multiplication), (division), € (element), ∆ (for all),
E (there exist), 0 (infinity), √ (implies),. Z

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 Mathematical language consists of making use of mathematics symbolism period
understanding mathematics is realizing what symbolism corresponds to the structure that has
been abstracted. It is enough for an individual understand mathematics, we must also know
how to speak mathematics by knowing how to handle symbols.

Typographical conventions in mathematical provide uniformity across mathematical

text and help individuals to grasp new concepts quickly. Mathematical notationsincludes letters
from various alphabets, as well as special mathematical symbols. Letters and various fonts
often have specific, fixed meanings in particular areas of mathematics. In general, anything
that represents a variable should be Set in Italic and this applies to characters from the
Latin/English alphabet (a, b,c,...;A, B, C, ...)as to letters from any other alphabet, most notably
Greek (𝛼, 𝛽, 𝛾, … ; Α, Β, Γ, …) . Usage of subscripts (e.g. xn) and superscripts (e.g. xn) is an
important convention. Thus, xi would be suitable for the initial value, while xi what represent
one instance from a set of x's(x1, x2 x3, …) Also note that numbers ( 1, 2, 3, etc.) Are not
variables. Likewise, in some special cases symbols are used the represent general constants,
such a 𝜋 used to represent the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter.

2.4 Some Words, Phrases and Concepts

The verbal words/ phrases such as: ‘plus’, ‘added to’, ‘increase by’, ‘more than’, and
‘in addition’ as appearing here and elsewhere in the book are indicative of the process of
addition and may be symbolically translated into the sign of addition ‘+‘ as to their usually
intended meaning.
The numeric and literal terms before and after any such words/ phrases shall retain their
positions, that is left and right respectively of the Plus ‘+‘ sign when algebraically translating
the same:
Example:
Sample Expression Mathematical Expression
x plus 5 x+5
5 plus x 5+x
x added to 7 7+x
7 added to x x+7
10 increased by k 10 + k

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 k increased by 10 k + 10
t more than 8 8+t
8 more than t t+8
4 in addition to g g+4
g in addition to 4 4+g
The phrases ‘the sum of two numbers’ connotes the process of addition and means to
add up the two numbers given in the order they appear and equate it to the given result:
Example:
the sum of two number,
p+y
The verbal word/phrases as:
‘minus’, ‘subtract’ or ‘subtract from’, ‘decreased by’, ‘diminished by’, ‘exceed’, ‘less’, ‘less
than’ and ‘lowered by’ as appearing here and elsewhere in the text are indicative of the process
od subtraction ‘ - ’, as to its general intended meaning. Except for the phrases ‘subtracted from’
and ‘less than’, the numeric and literal terms before and after such shall retain their positions,
e.g., left and right, respectively of the minus ‘-’ sign when algebraically translating the same.
In the case of the phrases ‘subtracted from’ and ‘less than’ the numerical and literal
terms before and after such phrase should be interchange in position to retain its intended
meaning:
Example:
Sample Expression Mathematical Expression
x minus 7 x-7
7 minus x 7-x
subtract 3 from t t-3
subtract t from 3 3-t
c decreased by 11 c - 11
11 decreased by c 11 - c
n diminished by 8 n-8
8 diminished by n 8–n
j exceed 3 j–3
3 exceed j 3–j
w less 10 w – 10
10 less w 10 – w
r less than 4 4–r

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4 less than r r–4
d lowered by 6 d–6
6 lowered by d 6–d
The phrase ’difference’ connotes the process of subtraction and means to subtract the
second from the first number in the order they appear in the statement and equate it to the given
result;
Example:
The difference between x and 9 is 17.
x – 19 = 17
The word ‘times’ means to multiply one number by another; the word ‘of’ carries the
same meaning as ‘times’;
Example:
2 times a number d 2d
5% of a number w .05w

The words ‘double’ and ‘twice’ means two (2) times the number indicated after it.
Example:
double a number y 2y
twice a number q 2q
The word ‘triple’ and ‘thrice’ mean three (3) times the number indicated after it;
Example:
triple a number h 3h
thrice a number a 3a
The phrase ‘divided by’ means to divide a term before the phrase by the term indicated
after it;
Example:
y divided by 5 y/5
The phrase ‘quotient of’ connotes division and refers to the result obtained after
executing the process.
Example:
the quotient of r and 9 r/9
The phrase ‘product of two numbers’ connotes the process of multiplication and means
to multiply the first number by the second number in the order in which they appear and equate
it to the given result;

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Example:
the product of 8 and y 8y
The phrase ‘half of’ means on-half or ½ of a number of quantity after it;
Example:
half of number f or one-half of a number f
½ f or f/2
The phrase ‘quotient of two numbers’ connotes the process of division and means to
dived the first number by the second number in the order in which they appear and equate it to
the given result;
Example:
the quotient of x and 4 is 3
x/4=3
The reciprocal of a number, say x, means 1 divided by that number, e.g. 1/x
Example:
the reciprocal of a number k
1/k
The concept of consecutive numbers; two or more numbers are consecutive if each
number after the other succeeds it by one whole unit (Ex. 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, are consecutive
unitarily);
Example:
two numbers are consecutive
if one number is x,
the other number is x + 1
their sum is x + (x + 1)
The concept of even numbers: an even number is any whole number and wholely
divisible by 2, or is a multiple of 2, or belongs to the series: ‘2, 4, 6, 8, 10..etc..
Example:
two even numbers are consecutive to each other,
if one of the even number integer is x
the other is x + 2
their sum is x + (x + 2)
The ‘square of a number’ means the number multiplied by itself one;

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Example:
the square of the number x
x2
The phrase ‘ratio of’ or similar wordings means the comparison of two numbers by
taking their quotient;
Example:
the ratio of a number w to number 8
w/8
The word ‘is’ and phrases ‘the result is’, ‘is the same as’, ‘is equivalent to’, ‘produces’,
and ‘comes out as’ generally carries the meaning of ‘equal to’ and may thus be translated
symbolically into the sign of equality, ‘= ‘;
The terms ‘ greater number’, larger number, bigger number carry the same meaning, in
contrast to the terms smaller number and lesser number.
The phrase ‘at most’ means ‘≤ ‘in place of this ‘=‘ sign;
The phrase ‘at least’ means ‘≥ ‘in place of this ‘=‘ sign.

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 CHAPTER 2 SUMMARY

In mathematics, students must build a shared understanding of mathematical terms that

they can use to successfully share and refine their ideas. This can be challenging, because
students must learn new words and symbols that are unique to mathematics, as well as new
math-specific meanings for common words and phrases. Many words (such as "plus" and
"equals") are so common and important that we use symbols rather than words.

VARIABLES READINGS

2.1 Characteristics of Mathematical

Language
The language of mathematics makes it easy to
express the kind of thoughts that
mathematicians like to express. It is
Precise (able to make very fine
distinction);
Concise (able to say things briefly);
and
Powerful (able to express complex
thoughts with relative ease)

2.2 Expression versus Verb

Mathematics is written in a symbolic
language that is designed to express
mathematical thoughts. English
language is a source of knowledge, but
it is not designed for doing
mathematics. This article describes
how mathematical thoughts, methods,
and facts are expressed in symbolism. LANG1.pdf
That is, it emphasizes how to read and SymbolicLanguageofMathematics.pdf
write mathematics.
2.3 Conventions in the Mathematical
Language
Mathematical language consists of
making use of mathematics
symbolism period understanding
mathematics is realizing what
symbolism corresponds to the
structure that has been abstracted.

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2.4 Some Words, Phrases and Concepts
Some difficulties in the mathematical
languages

The word “and” means differently in

mathematics from its English use. In
mathematics, “and” is equivalent to
“plus”
The different uses of numbers: to
express quantity (cardinal), to indicate
the order (ordinal), and as a label
(nominal)
Mathematical objects may be
presented in many ways. For example,
sets and functions.

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