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![Today I’ll keep it as short as possible, but I want to share something that surprised me as a NON-native English speaker. This might be especially useful when you’re describing requirements or during a live discussion on a client call.
Here’s the symbol: ( )
👉 How would you name it?
Honestly, I can admit that I had always called it simply “brackets” until this turning point. Then I read an article saying that this was the wrong name for this symbol 😱.
Let’s figure out why and what the correct term is.
( ) → parentheses
🇺🇸 In the US, the word parentheses is used most often.
🇬🇧 In the UK, they can be called simply brackets (and that’s where the confusion starts, since in many CIS countries we usually learned British English at school).
[ ] → brackets
Both Americans and Brits call these brackets.
Key differences:
🇺🇸 In American English, “brackets” = always square.
🇬🇧 In British English, “brackets” can mean both ( ) and [ ], so to be precise, you can say ‘round brackets’ or ‘square brackets’.
So when you hear:
🇺🇸 An American says:
“Put it in parentheses.” = ( )
“Use brackets here.” = [ ]
🇬🇧 A British person says:
“Put it in brackets.” = ( ) / [ ]
Or clarifies: “square brackets” = [ ]
⭐️ BONUS:
{ } → curly braces
< > → angle brackets
Now tell me in the comments, which country are you from? 🌍
I’m curious whether this was new information for you as well. After all, the main language of our work is usually English.
Thank you for reading and for supporting this post with a like ❤️
#parentheses #brackets #businessanalysis #requirementselicitation #requirementswriting #businessanalyst](https://scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/539266668_18071552891120311_2192672979599514437_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiRkVFRC5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=5CHGWqtwl1oQ7kNvwHYJBS6&_nc_oc=AdpouKEqwjFRVWD6Xloqvdb5RAQcqq60QBsQV4bEaNNZCnw1_NYF99OHwFs78oJ-Mvo&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=f6bc0Zbl0qikKHG6InhXpg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQHVTXX4KdQAVk822sQtWhsbRZ2fBJrhCPd2CyRa4sqNW8XWYdnoq5JgGVBEelJzdgfV95UbThnk&oh=00_Af0-nmNtcYaP_D2VLXIKLgjiwIOjHTtFcOL4LzWaua0Thg&oe=69DDBCEC)
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About Me
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Business Analyst in IT since 2016, BA Lead
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Experience in product and outsourcing companies
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Participated in 20+ large-scale projects and hundreds of presales
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Worked in international markets: USA, Europe, Japan
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Expertise in Retail, FinTech, eLearning, AR & AI, and other domains
Iryna Hurska
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Author of a textbook on Business Analysis
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Conduct audits and corporate training for IT teams
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Teach Business Analysts online and offline in Ukraine and Europe
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