ABSTRACT
There is a very large quantity of written mathematics, at widely differing levels of complexity. In order to gain access to this stored information, pupils need to know how to read mathe matics. In the two previous chapters, I have indicated how complex the mathematical writing system is. What relation does written mathematics have to spoken natural languages such as English which are equipped with a mathematical register? How are the structural metaphors discussed in Chapter 4 reflected in the notations of mathematics? These two themes provide the core of this chapter which attempts to re-integrate the written and spoken strands which make up this book by means of the notion of reading. I then conclude with a brief examination of the recently burgeoning field of meta-linguistics (the study of the knowledge and beliefs of individuals about language itself) and explore its relationship with mathematics.
