Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
let alone
English answer:
it's ok in your context
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2015-03-31 23:55:28 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Mar 28, 2015 12:02
9 yrs ago
7 viewers *
English term
let alone
Non-PRO
English
Science
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
General
There is no other literature in the English language that offers a comparably comprehensive and in-depth study of the translation of western science, let alone medicine, in China in a similar time period.
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Can I use "let alone" in academic writing?
And, is there any problem with the above setence? Thanks!
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Can I use "let alone" in academic writing?
And, is there any problem with the above setence? Thanks!
Responses
| 3 +9 | it's ok in your context |
writeaway
|
| 4 -1 | In particular |
Lincoln Hui
|
| 3 | still less |
Tony M
|
Change log
Mar 28, 2015 13:31: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Science (general)" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
Responses
+9
47 mins
Selected
it's ok in your context
I don't see what's wrong with using it. xx, xx, xx, not to mention (let alone) medicine.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
-1
13 mins
Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Hong Kong
Excellence is a basic requirement.
Native in: Chinese (Variants: Cantonese, Traditional) 
, English
Works in: Chinese to English, English to Chinese, Japanese to Chinese, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
20
In particular
You can use "let alone" in academic writing, but not in this case.
When "...x, let alone y", y is in addition to x or raised in degree compared to x, but decidedly not a part of x.
As medicine is a subset of western science (or presumably intended to be so in this context), "let alone" is inappropriate.
When "...x, let alone y", y is in addition to x or raised in degree compared to x, but decidedly not a part of x.
As medicine is a subset of western science (or presumably intended to be so in this context), "let alone" is inappropriate.
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Tony M
: That actually changes the meaning quite a lot! It implies that medicine might be for some reason specifically excluded, which is not at all the meaning of the source text.
39 mins
|
|
Upon second thought I don't suppose I was thinking too clearly when writing my answer. But I was actually guessing that the asker might be looking for something different from what they actually wrote.
|
52 mins
still less
Although it changes the slant of the meaning slightly, this could be more suitable in a formal academic context.
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