oh my god.

'#Commas and #Periods with #QuotationMarks': A History Lesson and Explanation of the Conflict between Countries [subhead my addition]
https://cmosshoptalk.com/2020/10/20/commas-and-periods-with-quotation-marks/

#AmEditing #EditingCommunity #CMoS #ChicagoManualOfStyle

Fascinating stuff as usual from Chicago Manual of Style.

Samples of questions answered:
• What’s the difference between “press” and “push” in the context of computers?
• Should the word “that” be capitalized in titles?
• Why isn’t the Bible italicized like other book titles?

Questions and Answers, #CMoS April 2023 edition
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.html

Have at it, #editor friends!
#AmEditing
#ChicagoManualOfStyle

Here's why we #editors generally don't leave a comma now in a name before the suffixes "Jr.," "II," "III," "IV," and so on: https://cmosshoptalk.com/2019/12/10/how-strunk-lost-his-comma/

#chicagomanualofstyle #editing #commas #Bookstodon

#ChicagoManualOfStyle solves the world's problems:

Q. You wouldn’t write “lineeditor,” so why “#copyeditor”? Please help before my head explodes!

#CMoS takes on this thorny issue in their January Q&A.

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.html

#EditingCommunity #AmEditing

On a break from intense copyediting.

It is my first attempt at an edited book, and I am learning all sorts if things, not the least of which are the nuances of where in an endnote it's ed. or eds. for multiple editors.

#editing #copyediting #ChicagoManualOfStyle

A fictional clothes shopping experience for a copyeditor.

Sales clerk: How would you describe your style?

Me: Chicago Manual.

#AmEditing #ChicagoManual #ChicagoManualofStyle

A fictional clothes shopping experience for a copyeditor.

Sales clerk: How would you describe your style?

Me: Chicago Manual.

#AmEditing #ChicagoManual #ChicagoManualofStyle

But the reflexive pronoun poses a challenge. Some people prefer 'themself' as a singular option, because 'themselves' just _feels_ too plural.

#ChicagoManualOfStyle prefers 'themself' but allows 'themselves'.

The AU Govt #StyleManual prefers 'themselves' but allows 'themself'.

#APA says, "Both 'themselves' and 'themself' are acceptable as reflexive singular pronouns; however, 'themselves' is currently the more common usage."

One big challenge of gender-neutral writing is getting used to the roll between singular and plural when the sentence uses someone's name and then their pronoun. This isn't intuitively 'good grammar' for many people.

I am okay with the shift between "Ali wants a free apple and they want to find their keys" but I kind of struggle with 'themself', which I know some people find more safely singular.

I'd rather use 'themselves', which I think most people instinctively reach for in colloquial settings when the subject is unknown.

I used the following example in a Facebook writers' group, where it was greeted with mirth: "Smells like someone shat themselves."

#language #they #SingularThey #InclusiveLanguage #Writing #Editing

#APStyle prefers replacing a nonbinary person's pronoun with their name, and to mention in the story that they use gender-neutral pronouns.

#APA embraces the singular they: "because it is inclusive of all people and helps writers avoid making assumptions about gender. Although usage of the singular 'they' was once discouraged in academic writing, many advocacy groups and publishers have accepted and endorsed it, including Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary."

#ChicagoManualOfStyle recommended the singular they in its 14th edition but then got cold feet and rescinded the recommendation in the 15th and 16th editions, but lol, the 17th edition is okay with it, but in 'formal writing' they recommend avoiding it through the following strategies:

– omit pronoun

– repeat the noun, as AP recommends (though they do say, "Take care not to overuse this technique." LOL)

– use plurals or the imperative mood, as AU Govt Style recommends

– use an article instead of a pronoun (e.g. 'the application' instead of 'their application')

– use the pronoun 'one'. But weirdly their example doesn't use it the way I would, e.g. "One must always be careful." #CMOS is like, "An actor in New York earns more than one in Paducah."

CMOS also notes that the singular they is more accepted in UK usage than US usage.

#language #they #SingularThey #InclusiveLanguage #Writing #Editing

Two things that would make me ridiculously happy:

Lifetime subscription to #OED

Lifetime subscription to #ChicagoManualOfStyle

I am a simple nerdy woman with simple nerdy needs. 😊

I appreciate that the Chicago Manual of Style distinguishes between JLo, which is how it styles Jennifer Lopez, and the style of her album J.Lo

This is actually something I have previously puzzled over with editors and googled to figure out

#copyediting #academic #AcademicEditing #ChicagoManualOfStyle #ChicagoStyle #CMOS

Got my stupid editing song in my head again:

(extremely Frank Sinatra voice)
Chicago, Chicago, that manual of style!
Chicago, Chicago, I'll edit a while
I love it!
Betcha bottom footnote you'll choose to use
with Chicago, Chicago
The style that Kate Turabian can't shut down!
I had the time, the time of my life, and
I know which compound words take a hyphen
Chicago! My home style!

#Academic #AcademicEditing #Copyediting #Citation #Referencing #CMOS #ChicagoManualOfStyle #Turabian

And a fantastic playdoyer to -at least- question the automatic use of #italic as #semantic.
"Maybe the #Tschichold Revolution should be not mere «4 colors and 20 typefaces», but «4 colors and 20 typefaces with a dozen of different "italics" each»? For example, italic for emphasis and #iranic for irony?"
http://letters.temporarystate.net/entry/4/
#typography #blackletter #Bauhaus #ChicagoManualOfStyle