How to use the ampersand and how is it different from and

A little bit on how & is different from and

The ampersand is a ligature that the Latin conjunction et, which means and, has been transformed into.

Once upon a time, the ampersand was even considered the 27th letter of the alphabet. When pronouncing letters in the alphabet, it was ended with the words and per se and (meaning and “and” as such), which is where the word “ampersand” came from.

In general, the ampersand implies a somewhat closer relationship than and. When translating into English, the default is to use and, but there are a few cases where the ampersand is more appropriate.

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In the names of trademarks and companies (usually those that have historically been formed by combining several others):

• Dolce & Gabbana
• Procter & Gamble

—as well as abbreviations formed from them:

• AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph)
• H&M (Hennes & Mauritz AB).

Here, the ampersand not only contributes to brand recognition, but also helps to save space.

In stage names, movie titles, etc.:

• Lilo & Stitch
• Simon & Garfunkel

Ampersands are used to form abbreviations. In this case, the & indicates that the elements it combines form a single concept:

• R&D (Research and Development)
• R&B (Rhythm and Blues)
• &c is an additionally abbreviated etc., i.e. et cetera (“and so on”).

In the titles of books, research papers, articles, etc., ampersands indicate that the authors have worked closely with each other:

• Joanna Muller & Jennifer Maul: worked closely as a team, helped each other, etc.
• Joanna Muller, Jennifer Maul: for example, they wrote different parts of the book, or one wrote it and the other proofread it. Technically, they may even be strangers.

In addresses, the spouses are indicated with the ampersand:

• Mr. & Mrs. Holloway
• Esther & Abi Ofarim

And, of course, the ampersand is used in informal texts (for example, in chats) for shortening.

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A few notes:

• In abbreviations, the ampersand is written close together, without spaces.
• The Oxford comma is not placed before the ampersand.
• A note for technical translators: in HTML, the ampersand + code + semicolon structure is the code of a character. For example,   is the code for a non-breaking space.