Difference of "and" and "&"

Question

I want to translate the name of my college from Chinese into English.

The translation is like that "Guangxi Vocational and Technical College of Communications", but if I wish to make this name shorter, I think "&" is interchangeable with "and", but I am told that it is informal if you use a symbol rather than a word.

So what is the difference?

Answer 1

The ampersand (&) is considered to be used mostly in informal writing. Different style guides give different recommendations.

Some style guides allow ampersands as part of a formal company name (Smith & Wesson, Tiffany & Co.). Other style guides recommend spelling out the and in such cases. Most style guides recommend using the ampersand when the rest of the name is also an abbreviation (AT&T) and in common expressions (R&D). As you see here, there are no spaces on either side of the ampersand when it is used that way.

I like the answers of Robert Charles and Alankar Paul on Quora:

There's a tradition in editorial work of using the ampersand (&) for internal documents and pre-publication copy. The ampersand therefore becomes a sort of automatic cue for editors to see that the copy is either unedited or unready for release. It's also a kind of safeguard against accidental release or use of copy, since typesetters generally will do an "&" search during or before final page makeup. Sometimes, by dint of habit, these people would carry over in using & in other activities, e.g. on the Internet. Generally, & shouldn't be used in regular correspondence except in some company or organisation names.

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It is considered more suitable to use 'and' in formal writing, especially when mentioning names of people, companies, government agencies. (like Road and Transportation Department instead of Road & Transportation Department).

Where may the ampersand be used:

• It is often used in Business names and should always be mentioned that way. e.g: Reid & Taylor, AT&T
• When mentioning a family/couple or an address. e.g: Mrs & Mr Smith, Mr John & Family
• When citing sources, if there are multiple authors in a source. (with exceptions) e.g: Nevid, Rathus, & Greene, 2008.

Do not use an ampersand in general writing simply to abbreviate the word and. For example:

• We need to reorder toner cartridges and paper. (Good)
• We need to reorder toner cartridges & paper. (Bad)