I proofread/edit transcribed witness evidence, and often witnesses will say something like "around four or five thousand dollars". If the evidence is all about figures, I would sometimes write this in figures as "around $4,000 or $5,000", but it's not strictly what the witness said. Could I write "around $4- or $5,000"? Is there a rule I can apply? Denise
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6Wouldn't a rule for this be laid down by the entity you work for? I would assume there must be some kind of official protocol you are required (or expected) to comply with.– Erik KowalCommented Nov 15, 2014 at 12:35
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Incidentally, the title of your question refers to "about four or five hundred pounds", but the body of your question concerns "around four or five thousand dollars". (Bad exchange rate? :)– Erik KowalCommented Nov 15, 2014 at 12:38
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You may find this article of use. grammarbook.com/numbers/numbers.asp– Joe DarkCommented Nov 15, 2014 at 13:12
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@ErikKowal That's an awesome exchange rate if you started with the pounds!– David RicherbyCommented Nov 15, 2014 at 17:55
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1You absolutely need to be asking this question to the people you work for, not to random strangers on the internet. We are not lawyers and we do not know what rules you operate under.– David RicherbyCommented Nov 15, 2014 at 17:57
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1 Answer
I'd circumvent the whole issue, and, while at it, satisfy a certain subset of the puritanical prescriptivist party by writing it as: "around four or five thousand dollars", just as you did in the question itself.
It's unambiguous, accurate, and a literal transcription of what was said.
answered Nov 15, 2014 at 13:10
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Many thanks for all the comments. The purist in me wants to write it out in full "around four or five thousand dollars" to keep it verbatim. But if the witness is doing a walk-through of a vast spread-sheet and repeated uses similar terms, I may revert to the figures version "around $4,000 or $5,000" to keep it readable. Centaurus, your comment on clarity is key, so may thanks.– deniseCommented Nov 15, 2014 at 13:38
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2Peter Shor, you are dead right about transcripts in that they must be verbatim (witnesses, that is. I can tidy counsel). I punctuate for sense (and make decisions about how I understood what was meant). If something is ambiguous I must leave it as such. Lawyers have the opportunity to discuss what witnesses meant by what they said (and will do so ad infinitum).– deniseCommented Nov 15, 2014 at 14:01
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1You can always write it in full and add the figures in parenthesis. With decent typography, it should be easy enough to read the transcript or scan for the figures. Commented Nov 15, 2014 at 14:20