Typing lists of abbreviations

List of abbreviations can be typeset manually or automatically using the leipzig package.

Manual inserting

A multi-column tabbing environment

The standard approach for manual lists of abbreviations is done efficiently with the multicol package and the tabbing environment:

% preamble contains: \usepackage{multicol}, enabled by default in langscibook

\section*{Abbreviations}

\begin{multicols}{2}
\begin{tabbing}
  MMMM         \= dummy line\kill
  \textsc{adj} \> adjective\\
  ...
\end{tabbing}
\end{multicols}

The dummy line tells LaTeX how to allocate the widths for the two tabbing positions. Only the first is relevant, however, the second does not need to contain the widest element. We use M here to control the width of the first column. In our font Libertinus, M is one of the widest letters in the alphabet and allows for easy control: if your widest abbreviation has 4 characters, you'll be set using MMMM.

Note that the last line does not need to end in \\. Setting \\ in the last line is not a problem, however.

As tabularx tables

The benefit of using

% \usepackage{tabularx}

\section*{Abbreviations}

\begin{tabularx}{.5\textwidth}[t]{ @{} lX }
...
\end{tabularx}%
\begin{tabularx}{.5\textwidth}[t]{ lX @{} }
...
\end{tabularx}

Automatic