=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SFEP-ED-L Vol. 1, no. 3 22 September 1996 SFEP Editorial mailing list =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Contents: [1] Editorial Q & A---Previous queries [2d] Hyphenation [2f] Styling UK telephone numbers Q & A---New queries [2h] Publication dates FYI [3b] Little Black Sambo is given PC twist [3d] SFEP Editorial mailing list Administration address [4] Bookmarks [5] Administration =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --[1] Editorial ----------------------------------------------- "Mea culpa". We expect that most of you will have spotted the spelling mistake in the editorial in SFEP-ED-L 1.2. Rosemary Anderson pointed it out to us in the following terms: > I have just started to read your recent communication and six > lines down I come across the word 'bawked' which I believe > does not exist. Was ' balked' intended? This is truly > appalling in a journal put out by proofreader and editors of > English. Of course, Rosemary is quite right and there is nothing we can say in our defence. To err is human (otherwise there would be no need for our profession to exist). However, our sorry mistake, and Rosemary's reply, *do* raise the question of the difficulty of maintaining accuracy while working on-screen; perhaps someone would like to contribute some thoughts or start a discussion on this subject. Please also remember that the address for submission of messages is: 100131.3564@compuserve.com. The new address for administrative matters is: bywater@zetnet.co.uk Jane Kerr Iain Brown --[2] Q & A --------------------------------------------------- [2d] Date: Wed, 18 Sept 1996 From: Ian Kingston, 100345.1764@compuserve.com Re: Hyphenation > However, publishers' style guides quite often ask for > hyphenation for both these terms when used as nouns. And the opposite, would you believe? The source of my problem was a client who wanted no hyphens in 'decision-making' at all, even when used adjectivally. I had to concede the point, even though I'm certain the publisher was wrong. ----------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Sept 1996 From: Jane Kerr, bywater@zetnet.co.uk I once had something even worse: a publisher who wanted "decisionmaking" as one word. There is no question that the publisher was wrong in this instance, but ours not to reason why ... ----------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Sept 1996 From: Chuck Hollingworth, c.hollingworth@bangor.ac.uk I view "en" as an adjective limiting or defining "rule" and apply the usual tactic of hyphenating only in an adjectival phrase, thus: An en rule is longer than a hyphen. En-rule usage can vary. Maybe I'm wrong here, but the modern tendency appears to be to use less punctuation and to omit when the sense remains clear. So, authors often use unhyphenated adjectival phrases that are quite OK in context: He hit me with a ten foot pole. En rule usage can vary. In my lifetime we have lost other punctuation, such as the circumflex accent in words like role; it seems safe to predict the demise of the apostrophe, which is so commonly misused that a "who needs it?" attitude is bound to arise. (For example, apart from OUP dictionaries, where did you last see a swung dash? Who needs it?) ----------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Sept 1996 From: Ian Kingston, 100345.1764@compuserve.com I'm fairly sure that I know what's going on with all these hyphens (missing or not). If only my clients shared the same views! For something like en(-)rule, my instinct would be to avoid the hyphen unless absolutely necessary. I suppose that a phrase like 'en-rule usage' is rare enough that I'm not used to seeing the hyphen, which is why I'd prefer to omit it. On the other hand, 'decision-making' seems to have earned its hyphen, regardless of whether it's used as an adjective or a noun. ----------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Sept 1996 From: Chuck Hollingworth, c.hollingworth@bangor.ac.uk Yes, we agree. I used to have trouble with filter feeding, which now I only hyphenate when used adjectivally. Don't ask how long it took to dream up an adjectival use of en rule.... ----------------------- Date: Sun, 22 Sept 1996 From: Iain Brown, 100131.3564@compuserve.com A quick question: is it "end user" or "end-user" (as in the person sitting at a computer screen)? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ [2f] Date: Wed, 18 Sept 1996 From: Ian Kingston, 100345.1764@compuserve.com Re: Styling UK telephone numbers BT's use of parentheses seems to be logical. I've noticed that certain codes (0800, 0345 and other non-geographical codes) _don't_ have the parentheses when printed by BT, because in those cases the code is always required. You may have noticed the absence of parentheses from dialling codes in the SFEP Directory. By sheer coincidence, omitting the parentheses allows me to set telephone and fax numbers on a single line, saving space without sacrificing clarity. ------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Sept 1996 From: Ginny Catmur, 100572.2635@compuserve.com I've started a crusade to get people to recite phone numbers in groups of two, as the continentals do. The numbers are much easier to remember (short term, e.g. whilst dialling) in this form. So my number (0181 398 8190) would be said 'oh one, eighty-one, three, ninety-eight, eighty-one, ninety'. Much simpler! +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ [2h] Date: Mon, 16 Sept 1996 From: Sue Lightfoot, 71461.465@compuserve.com Subject: Publication dates Can anyone tell me when it became necessary/customary to state the publication date on the title page of a document? I'm trying to date a couple of second-hand books I picked up and can't find an answer in any of my reference books. --[3] FYI ----------------------------------------------------- [3b] Little Black Sambo's tale is given politically correct twist Date: Mon, 16 Sept 1996 From: Ginny Catmur, 100572.2635@compuserve.com I disagree with Jenny Roberts. 'Little Black Sambo' _is_ a children's classic: the story line is strong and very moral, the text is repetitive, and the pictures bold. Furthermore, it can be read as an allegory of the European 'scramble for Africa': greedy European nations fighting amongst themselves over Africa's natural resources. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ [3d] SFEP Editorial mailing list Administration address Please note, the address for messages relating to administrative and subscription matters for the SFEP Editorial Online mailing list has changed due to circumstances beyond our control. >From now on, please address all such messages to Jane Kerr at: bywater@zetnet.co.uk Please amend your records accordingly. Jane Kerr --[4] Bookmarks ----------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Sept 1996 From: Ginny Catmur, 100572.2635@compuserve.com I've got some brilliant ones to library catalogues here and abroad. Here they are for SFEP-ED-L: < http://copac.ac.uk/copac > < http://lindy.stanford.edu:80/~asc/zform.CGI?PSOC > < http://lindy.stanford.edu:80/~asc/zform.CGI?Melvyl > < http://www.swbv.uni-konstanz.de/CGI/cgi-bin/opacform.cgi > < http://www.swbv.uni-konstanz.de/wwwroot/e.opac.html > For the Bibliotheque Nationale: go telnet... [address=] opale02.bnf.fr [name=] opale For Harvard: go telnet... [address=] hollis.harvard.edu ------------------------- Date: Wed, 18 Sept 1996 From: Ian Kingston, 100345.1764@compuserve.com Those of you aren't members of SCO may not know that there is a page of useful URLs on the SFEP's Web site (click on the Resources link from the home page). I'll be adding the ones given in 1.2 (and any others that people come up with) to that page. As a taster, try < http://lindy.stanford.edu:80/~asc/zform.CGI?LCBooks > which is the Library of Congress online catalogue. Search for those missing reference details and shrink that list of reference-related queries! ------------------------- Date: Wed, 18 Sept 1996 From: Alison Woodhouse, 100444.315@compuserve.com The Slot: A Spot for Copy Editors < http://www.theslot.com/ > This is by a Washington Post copy-editor and is obviously biased towards US readers, but he has some useful style points and spellings. --[5] Administration ------------------------------------------ SFEP Editorial provides the opportunity for a weekly online discussion of matters editorial. * POSTING MESSAGES TO THE LIST All messages to be posted to the list should be sent to Iain Brown, at: 100131.3564@compuserve.com Include as the subject line, "SFEP-ED-L [topic]", where [topic] is the subject under discussion. Topics might include areas such as Grammar, Spelling, American English or Punctuation. Messages should be pertinent to the basic premise of the list; they may be withheld, or redirected if more pertinent to the Computing Online mailing list. The spelling and grammar of messages will *not* be corrected, but some editing of length may be undertaken. Quoting from previous messages: quote as much as you need to make the context of your reply clear, but no more. * Administration All messages of a subscription or administrative nature should be directed to Jane Kerr at: bywater@zetnet.co.uk with "SFEP EDITORIAL ADMIN" in the subject line. * To subscribe to SFEP Computing Online To subscribe to SFEP Computing Online, please e-mail Ian Kingston at: 100345.1764@compuserve.com * SFEP Homepage < http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ian_Kingston/sfep.htm > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- END OF SFEP-ED-L 1.3 Next issue: 29 Sept 1996 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-