I've often wondered, why do we still use #knitting abbreviations? Originally they were to save space because printing patterns had to be as cheap as possible, because they were seen as advertising to sell yarn. So why do we keep using them?

It reminds me a bit of mathematical #notation and those who complain that #mathematicians use obscure notation deliberately to obfuscate and appear smarter than they are. But I don't think this is true for either knitters nor mathematicians. What is it then?

@JordiGH German knitting abbreviations are longer, a bit more like sentences. Instead of k1 it's often "1 M re stricken" or "k2tog" is "2 M re zus stricken" and I usually download the english versions because of that. German lingo also doesn't have a verb for purling. For an experienced knitter those abbreviations are just much clearer and quicker. I remember it was hard at the beginning though, like a code that you have to learn to even start. But I got used to it quickly.

@Virelai You made me wonder about Spanish! All of my Spanish knitting has been verbal, so I didn't know if Spanish abbreviations existed. I found a blog post that gives Spanish <-> English knitting abbreviations, but I can't find a Spanish pattern that uses many of these!

https://desvanisabel.blogspot.ca/2013/11/abreviaturas-para-tejer.html

@JordiGH I just checked a few on rav and for example the "Leafy Baby Blanket" in spanish is all abbreviatins, same with "Secret Path", "Dream Stripes" looks a bit more like the german versions, they are more like sentences. I guess it depends on the designer but it doesn't seem unusual at first glance