Is there a hemisphere-neutral way of specifying a season?
I want to refer to the timeframe of Summer 2019 in the Northern hemisphere. However, the writing is intended for a global audience, and when it is Summer in the Northern hemisphere it will be Winter in the southern hemisphere.
Is there terminology I can use that refers to that period of time in both hemispheres?
technical-writing international
New contributor
|
show 1 more comment
I want to refer to the timeframe of Summer 2019 in the Northern hemisphere. However, the writing is intended for a global audience, and when it is Summer in the Northern hemisphere it will be Winter in the southern hemisphere.
Is there terminology I can use that refers to that period of time in both hemispheres?
technical-writing international
New contributor
Welcome to Writing.SE! Interesting question, but couldn't you just mention the relevant months and then add that it's summer in the norther hemisphere? By the way, if you have any questions about how the site works have a look at the tour and help center. Have fun!
– Secespitus
10 hours ago
Do you specify a location? If you set your story in the UK, for example, just use the season appropriate to the locale.
– Rasdashan
10 hours ago
1
@Secespitus Thank you! That's a good solution, I might do that.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
3
@Rasdashan this is not a story, it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
1
Welcome to Writing.SE lamsodarncool. We're glad to have you and to have more questions about technical writing. We ask though that you wait a full day or two before accepting an answer. While the answer you chose was excellent, the idea is to encourage more people to answer. You might end up with even more great ideas, which is the point, no? There is no time limit before you have to accept an answer and you'll always get those 2 extra points.
– Cyn
7 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
I want to refer to the timeframe of Summer 2019 in the Northern hemisphere. However, the writing is intended for a global audience, and when it is Summer in the Northern hemisphere it will be Winter in the southern hemisphere.
Is there terminology I can use that refers to that period of time in both hemispheres?
technical-writing international
New contributor
I want to refer to the timeframe of Summer 2019 in the Northern hemisphere. However, the writing is intended for a global audience, and when it is Summer in the Northern hemisphere it will be Winter in the southern hemisphere.
Is there terminology I can use that refers to that period of time in both hemispheres?
technical-writing international
technical-writing international
New contributor
New contributor
New contributor
asked 10 hours ago
IamsodarncoolIamsodarncool
682
682
New contributor
New contributor
Welcome to Writing.SE! Interesting question, but couldn't you just mention the relevant months and then add that it's summer in the norther hemisphere? By the way, if you have any questions about how the site works have a look at the tour and help center. Have fun!
– Secespitus
10 hours ago
Do you specify a location? If you set your story in the UK, for example, just use the season appropriate to the locale.
– Rasdashan
10 hours ago
1
@Secespitus Thank you! That's a good solution, I might do that.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
3
@Rasdashan this is not a story, it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
1
Welcome to Writing.SE lamsodarncool. We're glad to have you and to have more questions about technical writing. We ask though that you wait a full day or two before accepting an answer. While the answer you chose was excellent, the idea is to encourage more people to answer. You might end up with even more great ideas, which is the point, no? There is no time limit before you have to accept an answer and you'll always get those 2 extra points.
– Cyn
7 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
Welcome to Writing.SE! Interesting question, but couldn't you just mention the relevant months and then add that it's summer in the norther hemisphere? By the way, if you have any questions about how the site works have a look at the tour and help center. Have fun!
– Secespitus
10 hours ago
Do you specify a location? If you set your story in the UK, for example, just use the season appropriate to the locale.
– Rasdashan
10 hours ago
1
@Secespitus Thank you! That's a good solution, I might do that.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
3
@Rasdashan this is not a story, it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
1
Welcome to Writing.SE lamsodarncool. We're glad to have you and to have more questions about technical writing. We ask though that you wait a full day or two before accepting an answer. While the answer you chose was excellent, the idea is to encourage more people to answer. You might end up with even more great ideas, which is the point, no? There is no time limit before you have to accept an answer and you'll always get those 2 extra points.
– Cyn
7 hours ago
Welcome to Writing.SE! Interesting question, but couldn't you just mention the relevant months and then add that it's summer in the norther hemisphere? By the way, if you have any questions about how the site works have a look at the tour and help center. Have fun!
– Secespitus
10 hours ago
Welcome to Writing.SE! Interesting question, but couldn't you just mention the relevant months and then add that it's summer in the norther hemisphere? By the way, if you have any questions about how the site works have a look at the tour and help center. Have fun!
– Secespitus
10 hours ago
Do you specify a location? If you set your story in the UK, for example, just use the season appropriate to the locale.
– Rasdashan
10 hours ago
Do you specify a location? If you set your story in the UK, for example, just use the season appropriate to the locale.
– Rasdashan
10 hours ago
1
1
@Secespitus Thank you! That's a good solution, I might do that.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Secespitus Thank you! That's a good solution, I might do that.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
3
3
@Rasdashan this is not a story, it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Rasdashan this is not a story, it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
1
1
Welcome to Writing.SE lamsodarncool. We're glad to have you and to have more questions about technical writing. We ask though that you wait a full day or two before accepting an answer. While the answer you chose was excellent, the idea is to encourage more people to answer. You might end up with even more great ideas, which is the point, no? There is no time limit before you have to accept an answer and you'll always get those 2 extra points.
– Cyn
7 hours ago
Welcome to Writing.SE lamsodarncool. We're glad to have you and to have more questions about technical writing. We ask though that you wait a full day or two before accepting an answer. While the answer you chose was excellent, the idea is to encourage more people to answer. You might end up with even more great ideas, which is the point, no? There is no time limit before you have to accept an answer and you'll always get those 2 extra points.
– Cyn
7 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
The common phrase is
northern summer.
While readers in the northern hemisphere may understand this to more narrowly mean summer in the northern parts of whichever continent they live on – as in the title of Sir John Carr's book A Northern Summer; Or, Travels Round the Baltic, Through Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, and Part of Germany, in the Year 1804 –, readers in the southern hemisphere will think of this in the way you intend, and certainly none of them will think of Africa or Australia.
In the natural sciences, "northern summer" does have exactly the meaning you seek, as can be seen in this quote from Jaffe & Taylor's The Physics of Energy from 2018:
And when the precession index e sin 𝜛 is at a maximum, so that Northern summer coincides with perihelion while eccentricity is at a maximum, the Northern Hemisphere also receives more summer insolation.
There are countless examples for this use in the sciences, but it is maybe more interesting to note that the term is used by Australian institutions when referring to what you might call "global seasons", as in this Australian government website on international aviation (my emphasis):
The timetable summary provides information on airlines approved to operate scheduled services between Australia and its bilateral partners for the Northern Winter period from 28 October 2018 to 30 March 2019.
New contributor
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Iamsodarncool Glad I could be of help.
– user10915156
9 hours ago
1
This is good, but as someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere all my life, I don't instantly know when northern summer is. Summer is December to February and northern summer is... somewhere in the middle of the year. Or maybe the third quarter of the year because don't the northern seasons start on the 22nd instead of the 1st? Times are confusing! I'm confused! Northern summer is sometime between 15 May and 15 November. I think. Maybe.
– CJ Dennis
2 hours ago
add a comment |
There are a few simple ways to do that.
1:'the second season of the year', it feels a tad uncomfortable but it works.
2: you can simply say which month or date it is. Regardless of where you are in the world the dates stay the same* (so December is warm in the southern hemisphere while July is cold).
3: 'halfway through the year' would be Summer in the north and winter in the south.
*other than the international date line, but that is just a 1 day difference so it doesn't really make a difference.
edit: user10915156 has a better answer, go upvote his
Unfortunately I can't refer to the month, I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August. The other options work but don't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely as "Summer 2019" :/
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
#1 is a bit ambiguous - some will order the seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, hearkening to a life cycle (as you have done), although the calendar year has seasons ordered as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (in the northern hemisphere). Saying "second season of the year" would require further disambiguation to ensure that everyone interprets it the same way.
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
add a comment |
Many global corporations just say Q1, Q2, Q3. So Q3 2019.
New contributor
1
I'll note that the four financial Quarters don't necessarily line up with the solar Seasons.
– nick012000
5 hours ago
1
Nor does "Q1" fall at the same time for all companies. Many end their fiscal year in June.
– Beanluc
5 hours ago
1
If I read "Q3 2019" my first thought would be "what happened to questions #1 & #2?", followed by "oh wait, does Q3 mean something different in this context?", then "if Q3 means third quarter, are we talking about financial year (i.e. Jan-Mar) or calendar year (i.e. Jul-Sep)?" and finishing with "this writer is annoyingly obtuse".
– Chappo
4 hours ago
add a comment |
In your comments you state
it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally
and
I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August.
Given that this is technical writing you really shouldn't be stating this as a season. This would be true even if your target audience is local, but is even more important for a global audience. It isn't specific enough. When you need to be specific, just be specific. Given that you like how "Summer 2019" "rolls off the tongue" might I suggest the following:
- June through August 2019
- June, July, and August 2019
- June-August 2019
There is no reason to try to get fancy by stating this as a season, since seasons aren't going to convey a specific date range very accurately. I would also highly recommend against using "northern summer", as another answer suggests, as this will just confuse many of your readers who don't know what you are talking about. Even for those readers who know what you mean, it still suffers from a lack of specificity, which you have indicated is unwanted in this case.
New contributor
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4 Answers
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4 Answers
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The common phrase is
northern summer.
While readers in the northern hemisphere may understand this to more narrowly mean summer in the northern parts of whichever continent they live on – as in the title of Sir John Carr's book A Northern Summer; Or, Travels Round the Baltic, Through Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, and Part of Germany, in the Year 1804 –, readers in the southern hemisphere will think of this in the way you intend, and certainly none of them will think of Africa or Australia.
In the natural sciences, "northern summer" does have exactly the meaning you seek, as can be seen in this quote from Jaffe & Taylor's The Physics of Energy from 2018:
And when the precession index e sin 𝜛 is at a maximum, so that Northern summer coincides with perihelion while eccentricity is at a maximum, the Northern Hemisphere also receives more summer insolation.
There are countless examples for this use in the sciences, but it is maybe more interesting to note that the term is used by Australian institutions when referring to what you might call "global seasons", as in this Australian government website on international aviation (my emphasis):
The timetable summary provides information on airlines approved to operate scheduled services between Australia and its bilateral partners for the Northern Winter period from 28 October 2018 to 30 March 2019.
New contributor
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Iamsodarncool Glad I could be of help.
– user10915156
9 hours ago
1
This is good, but as someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere all my life, I don't instantly know when northern summer is. Summer is December to February and northern summer is... somewhere in the middle of the year. Or maybe the third quarter of the year because don't the northern seasons start on the 22nd instead of the 1st? Times are confusing! I'm confused! Northern summer is sometime between 15 May and 15 November. I think. Maybe.
– CJ Dennis
2 hours ago
add a comment |
The common phrase is
northern summer.
While readers in the northern hemisphere may understand this to more narrowly mean summer in the northern parts of whichever continent they live on – as in the title of Sir John Carr's book A Northern Summer; Or, Travels Round the Baltic, Through Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, and Part of Germany, in the Year 1804 –, readers in the southern hemisphere will think of this in the way you intend, and certainly none of them will think of Africa or Australia.
In the natural sciences, "northern summer" does have exactly the meaning you seek, as can be seen in this quote from Jaffe & Taylor's The Physics of Energy from 2018:
And when the precession index e sin 𝜛 is at a maximum, so that Northern summer coincides with perihelion while eccentricity is at a maximum, the Northern Hemisphere also receives more summer insolation.
There are countless examples for this use in the sciences, but it is maybe more interesting to note that the term is used by Australian institutions when referring to what you might call "global seasons", as in this Australian government website on international aviation (my emphasis):
The timetable summary provides information on airlines approved to operate scheduled services between Australia and its bilateral partners for the Northern Winter period from 28 October 2018 to 30 March 2019.
New contributor
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Iamsodarncool Glad I could be of help.
– user10915156
9 hours ago
1
This is good, but as someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere all my life, I don't instantly know when northern summer is. Summer is December to February and northern summer is... somewhere in the middle of the year. Or maybe the third quarter of the year because don't the northern seasons start on the 22nd instead of the 1st? Times are confusing! I'm confused! Northern summer is sometime between 15 May and 15 November. I think. Maybe.
– CJ Dennis
2 hours ago
add a comment |
The common phrase is
northern summer.
While readers in the northern hemisphere may understand this to more narrowly mean summer in the northern parts of whichever continent they live on – as in the title of Sir John Carr's book A Northern Summer; Or, Travels Round the Baltic, Through Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, and Part of Germany, in the Year 1804 –, readers in the southern hemisphere will think of this in the way you intend, and certainly none of them will think of Africa or Australia.
In the natural sciences, "northern summer" does have exactly the meaning you seek, as can be seen in this quote from Jaffe & Taylor's The Physics of Energy from 2018:
And when the precession index e sin 𝜛 is at a maximum, so that Northern summer coincides with perihelion while eccentricity is at a maximum, the Northern Hemisphere also receives more summer insolation.
There are countless examples for this use in the sciences, but it is maybe more interesting to note that the term is used by Australian institutions when referring to what you might call "global seasons", as in this Australian government website on international aviation (my emphasis):
The timetable summary provides information on airlines approved to operate scheduled services between Australia and its bilateral partners for the Northern Winter period from 28 October 2018 to 30 March 2019.
New contributor
The common phrase is
northern summer.
While readers in the northern hemisphere may understand this to more narrowly mean summer in the northern parts of whichever continent they live on – as in the title of Sir John Carr's book A Northern Summer; Or, Travels Round the Baltic, Through Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, and Part of Germany, in the Year 1804 –, readers in the southern hemisphere will think of this in the way you intend, and certainly none of them will think of Africa or Australia.
In the natural sciences, "northern summer" does have exactly the meaning you seek, as can be seen in this quote from Jaffe & Taylor's The Physics of Energy from 2018:
And when the precession index e sin 𝜛 is at a maximum, so that Northern summer coincides with perihelion while eccentricity is at a maximum, the Northern Hemisphere also receives more summer insolation.
There are countless examples for this use in the sciences, but it is maybe more interesting to note that the term is used by Australian institutions when referring to what you might call "global seasons", as in this Australian government website on international aviation (my emphasis):
The timetable summary provides information on airlines approved to operate scheduled services between Australia and its bilateral partners for the Northern Winter period from 28 October 2018 to 30 March 2019.
New contributor
edited 7 hours ago
Laurel
1,018113
1,018113
New contributor
answered 9 hours ago
user10915156user10915156
5547
5547
New contributor
New contributor
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Iamsodarncool Glad I could be of help.
– user10915156
9 hours ago
1
This is good, but as someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere all my life, I don't instantly know when northern summer is. Summer is December to February and northern summer is... somewhere in the middle of the year. Or maybe the third quarter of the year because don't the northern seasons start on the 22nd instead of the 1st? Times are confusing! I'm confused! Northern summer is sometime between 15 May and 15 November. I think. Maybe.
– CJ Dennis
2 hours ago
add a comment |
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Iamsodarncool Glad I could be of help.
– user10915156
9 hours ago
1
This is good, but as someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere all my life, I don't instantly know when northern summer is. Summer is December to February and northern summer is... somewhere in the middle of the year. Or maybe the third quarter of the year because don't the northern seasons start on the 22nd instead of the 1st? Times are confusing! I'm confused! Northern summer is sometime between 15 May and 15 November. I think. Maybe.
– CJ Dennis
2 hours ago
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
@Iamsodarncool Glad I could be of help.
– user10915156
9 hours ago
@Iamsodarncool Glad I could be of help.
– user10915156
9 hours ago
1
1
This is good, but as someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere all my life, I don't instantly know when northern summer is. Summer is December to February and northern summer is... somewhere in the middle of the year. Or maybe the third quarter of the year because don't the northern seasons start on the 22nd instead of the 1st? Times are confusing! I'm confused! Northern summer is sometime between 15 May and 15 November. I think. Maybe.
– CJ Dennis
2 hours ago
This is good, but as someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere all my life, I don't instantly know when northern summer is. Summer is December to February and northern summer is... somewhere in the middle of the year. Or maybe the third quarter of the year because don't the northern seasons start on the 22nd instead of the 1st? Times are confusing! I'm confused! Northern summer is sometime between 15 May and 15 November. I think. Maybe.
– CJ Dennis
2 hours ago
add a comment |
There are a few simple ways to do that.
1:'the second season of the year', it feels a tad uncomfortable but it works.
2: you can simply say which month or date it is. Regardless of where you are in the world the dates stay the same* (so December is warm in the southern hemisphere while July is cold).
3: 'halfway through the year' would be Summer in the north and winter in the south.
*other than the international date line, but that is just a 1 day difference so it doesn't really make a difference.
edit: user10915156 has a better answer, go upvote his
Unfortunately I can't refer to the month, I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August. The other options work but don't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely as "Summer 2019" :/
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
#1 is a bit ambiguous - some will order the seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, hearkening to a life cycle (as you have done), although the calendar year has seasons ordered as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (in the northern hemisphere). Saying "second season of the year" would require further disambiguation to ensure that everyone interprets it the same way.
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
add a comment |
There are a few simple ways to do that.
1:'the second season of the year', it feels a tad uncomfortable but it works.
2: you can simply say which month or date it is. Regardless of where you are in the world the dates stay the same* (so December is warm in the southern hemisphere while July is cold).
3: 'halfway through the year' would be Summer in the north and winter in the south.
*other than the international date line, but that is just a 1 day difference so it doesn't really make a difference.
edit: user10915156 has a better answer, go upvote his
Unfortunately I can't refer to the month, I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August. The other options work but don't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely as "Summer 2019" :/
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
#1 is a bit ambiguous - some will order the seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, hearkening to a life cycle (as you have done), although the calendar year has seasons ordered as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (in the northern hemisphere). Saying "second season of the year" would require further disambiguation to ensure that everyone interprets it the same way.
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
add a comment |
There are a few simple ways to do that.
1:'the second season of the year', it feels a tad uncomfortable but it works.
2: you can simply say which month or date it is. Regardless of where you are in the world the dates stay the same* (so December is warm in the southern hemisphere while July is cold).
3: 'halfway through the year' would be Summer in the north and winter in the south.
*other than the international date line, but that is just a 1 day difference so it doesn't really make a difference.
edit: user10915156 has a better answer, go upvote his
There are a few simple ways to do that.
1:'the second season of the year', it feels a tad uncomfortable but it works.
2: you can simply say which month or date it is. Regardless of where you are in the world the dates stay the same* (so December is warm in the southern hemisphere while July is cold).
3: 'halfway through the year' would be Summer in the north and winter in the south.
*other than the international date line, but that is just a 1 day difference so it doesn't really make a difference.
edit: user10915156 has a better answer, go upvote his
edited 9 hours ago
answered 10 hours ago
DJ Spicy Deluxe-LeviDJ Spicy Deluxe-Levi
217110
217110
Unfortunately I can't refer to the month, I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August. The other options work but don't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely as "Summer 2019" :/
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
#1 is a bit ambiguous - some will order the seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, hearkening to a life cycle (as you have done), although the calendar year has seasons ordered as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (in the northern hemisphere). Saying "second season of the year" would require further disambiguation to ensure that everyone interprets it the same way.
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
add a comment |
Unfortunately I can't refer to the month, I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August. The other options work but don't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely as "Summer 2019" :/
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
#1 is a bit ambiguous - some will order the seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, hearkening to a life cycle (as you have done), although the calendar year has seasons ordered as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (in the northern hemisphere). Saying "second season of the year" would require further disambiguation to ensure that everyone interprets it the same way.
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
Unfortunately I can't refer to the month, I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August. The other options work but don't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely as "Summer 2019" :/
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
Unfortunately I can't refer to the month, I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August. The other options work but don't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely as "Summer 2019" :/
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
#1 is a bit ambiguous - some will order the seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, hearkening to a life cycle (as you have done), although the calendar year has seasons ordered as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (in the northern hemisphere). Saying "second season of the year" would require further disambiguation to ensure that everyone interprets it the same way.
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
#1 is a bit ambiguous - some will order the seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, hearkening to a life cycle (as you have done), although the calendar year has seasons ordered as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (in the northern hemisphere). Saying "second season of the year" would require further disambiguation to ensure that everyone interprets it the same way.
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
add a comment |
Many global corporations just say Q1, Q2, Q3. So Q3 2019.
New contributor
1
I'll note that the four financial Quarters don't necessarily line up with the solar Seasons.
– nick012000
5 hours ago
1
Nor does "Q1" fall at the same time for all companies. Many end their fiscal year in June.
– Beanluc
5 hours ago
1
If I read "Q3 2019" my first thought would be "what happened to questions #1 & #2?", followed by "oh wait, does Q3 mean something different in this context?", then "if Q3 means third quarter, are we talking about financial year (i.e. Jan-Mar) or calendar year (i.e. Jul-Sep)?" and finishing with "this writer is annoyingly obtuse".
– Chappo
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Many global corporations just say Q1, Q2, Q3. So Q3 2019.
New contributor
1
I'll note that the four financial Quarters don't necessarily line up with the solar Seasons.
– nick012000
5 hours ago
1
Nor does "Q1" fall at the same time for all companies. Many end their fiscal year in June.
– Beanluc
5 hours ago
1
If I read "Q3 2019" my first thought would be "what happened to questions #1 & #2?", followed by "oh wait, does Q3 mean something different in this context?", then "if Q3 means third quarter, are we talking about financial year (i.e. Jan-Mar) or calendar year (i.e. Jul-Sep)?" and finishing with "this writer is annoyingly obtuse".
– Chappo
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Many global corporations just say Q1, Q2, Q3. So Q3 2019.
New contributor
Many global corporations just say Q1, Q2, Q3. So Q3 2019.
New contributor
New contributor
answered 5 hours ago
J. G. J. G.
109
109
New contributor
New contributor
1
I'll note that the four financial Quarters don't necessarily line up with the solar Seasons.
– nick012000
5 hours ago
1
Nor does "Q1" fall at the same time for all companies. Many end their fiscal year in June.
– Beanluc
5 hours ago
1
If I read "Q3 2019" my first thought would be "what happened to questions #1 & #2?", followed by "oh wait, does Q3 mean something different in this context?", then "if Q3 means third quarter, are we talking about financial year (i.e. Jan-Mar) or calendar year (i.e. Jul-Sep)?" and finishing with "this writer is annoyingly obtuse".
– Chappo
4 hours ago
add a comment |
1
I'll note that the four financial Quarters don't necessarily line up with the solar Seasons.
– nick012000
5 hours ago
1
Nor does "Q1" fall at the same time for all companies. Many end their fiscal year in June.
– Beanluc
5 hours ago
1
If I read "Q3 2019" my first thought would be "what happened to questions #1 & #2?", followed by "oh wait, does Q3 mean something different in this context?", then "if Q3 means third quarter, are we talking about financial year (i.e. Jan-Mar) or calendar year (i.e. Jul-Sep)?" and finishing with "this writer is annoyingly obtuse".
– Chappo
4 hours ago
1
1
I'll note that the four financial Quarters don't necessarily line up with the solar Seasons.
– nick012000
5 hours ago
I'll note that the four financial Quarters don't necessarily line up with the solar Seasons.
– nick012000
5 hours ago
1
1
Nor does "Q1" fall at the same time for all companies. Many end their fiscal year in June.
– Beanluc
5 hours ago
Nor does "Q1" fall at the same time for all companies. Many end their fiscal year in June.
– Beanluc
5 hours ago
1
1
If I read "Q3 2019" my first thought would be "what happened to questions #1 & #2?", followed by "oh wait, does Q3 mean something different in this context?", then "if Q3 means third quarter, are we talking about financial year (i.e. Jan-Mar) or calendar year (i.e. Jul-Sep)?" and finishing with "this writer is annoyingly obtuse".
– Chappo
4 hours ago
If I read "Q3 2019" my first thought would be "what happened to questions #1 & #2?", followed by "oh wait, does Q3 mean something different in this context?", then "if Q3 means third quarter, are we talking about financial year (i.e. Jan-Mar) or calendar year (i.e. Jul-Sep)?" and finishing with "this writer is annoyingly obtuse".
– Chappo
4 hours ago
add a comment |
In your comments you state
it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally
and
I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August.
Given that this is technical writing you really shouldn't be stating this as a season. This would be true even if your target audience is local, but is even more important for a global audience. It isn't specific enough. When you need to be specific, just be specific. Given that you like how "Summer 2019" "rolls off the tongue" might I suggest the following:
- June through August 2019
- June, July, and August 2019
- June-August 2019
There is no reason to try to get fancy by stating this as a season, since seasons aren't going to convey a specific date range very accurately. I would also highly recommend against using "northern summer", as another answer suggests, as this will just confuse many of your readers who don't know what you are talking about. Even for those readers who know what you mean, it still suffers from a lack of specificity, which you have indicated is unwanted in this case.
New contributor
add a comment |
In your comments you state
it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally
and
I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August.
Given that this is technical writing you really shouldn't be stating this as a season. This would be true even if your target audience is local, but is even more important for a global audience. It isn't specific enough. When you need to be specific, just be specific. Given that you like how "Summer 2019" "rolls off the tongue" might I suggest the following:
- June through August 2019
- June, July, and August 2019
- June-August 2019
There is no reason to try to get fancy by stating this as a season, since seasons aren't going to convey a specific date range very accurately. I would also highly recommend against using "northern summer", as another answer suggests, as this will just confuse many of your readers who don't know what you are talking about. Even for those readers who know what you mean, it still suffers from a lack of specificity, which you have indicated is unwanted in this case.
New contributor
add a comment |
In your comments you state
it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally
and
I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August.
Given that this is technical writing you really shouldn't be stating this as a season. This would be true even if your target audience is local, but is even more important for a global audience. It isn't specific enough. When you need to be specific, just be specific. Given that you like how "Summer 2019" "rolls off the tongue" might I suggest the following:
- June through August 2019
- June, July, and August 2019
- June-August 2019
There is no reason to try to get fancy by stating this as a season, since seasons aren't going to convey a specific date range very accurately. I would also highly recommend against using "northern summer", as another answer suggests, as this will just confuse many of your readers who don't know what you are talking about. Even for those readers who know what you mean, it still suffers from a lack of specificity, which you have indicated is unwanted in this case.
New contributor
In your comments you state
it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally
and
I very specifically need to refer to the timeframe of June-July-August.
Given that this is technical writing you really shouldn't be stating this as a season. This would be true even if your target audience is local, but is even more important for a global audience. It isn't specific enough. When you need to be specific, just be specific. Given that you like how "Summer 2019" "rolls off the tongue" might I suggest the following:
- June through August 2019
- June, July, and August 2019
- June-August 2019
There is no reason to try to get fancy by stating this as a season, since seasons aren't going to convey a specific date range very accurately. I would also highly recommend against using "northern summer", as another answer suggests, as this will just confuse many of your readers who don't know what you are talking about. Even for those readers who know what you mean, it still suffers from a lack of specificity, which you have indicated is unwanted in this case.
New contributor
edited 2 hours ago
New contributor
answered 2 hours ago
MattMatt
101
101
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
Iamsodarncool is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Iamsodarncool is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Iamsodarncool is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Iamsodarncool is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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Welcome to Writing.SE! Interesting question, but couldn't you just mention the relevant months and then add that it's summer in the norther hemisphere? By the way, if you have any questions about how the site works have a look at the tour and help center. Have fun!
– Secespitus
10 hours ago
Do you specify a location? If you set your story in the UK, for example, just use the season appropriate to the locale.
– Rasdashan
10 hours ago
1
@Secespitus Thank you! That's a good solution, I might do that.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
3
@Rasdashan this is not a story, it's a piece of technical writing that will be read globally.
– Iamsodarncool
9 hours ago
1
Welcome to Writing.SE lamsodarncool. We're glad to have you and to have more questions about technical writing. We ask though that you wait a full day or two before accepting an answer. While the answer you chose was excellent, the idea is to encourage more people to answer. You might end up with even more great ideas, which is the point, no? There is no time limit before you have to accept an answer and you'll always get those 2 extra points.
– Cyn
7 hours ago