Inconsistent Hyphenation

More writing tips

Posted: 06 Dec 2013 08:29 PM PST

I have a bad habit (for an American) of looking things up in the OED first and not checking to see if Merriam-Webster agrees.
Sometimes this habit results in my changing a spelling that’s acceptable in U.S. usage or hyphenating a word that M-W doesn’t.
When I recently encountered online examples of the unhyphenated words unAmerican and copayment, I consulted both dictionaries to see if I had fallen behind the times.
Both OED and M-W show co-payment and un-American as the only options. Even the AP Stylebook allows a hyphen in un-American.
Perhaps online journalists and merchants who do not hyphenate these words are using other style guides. Or maybe they just don’t care.
Here are some examples that indicate that not everyone thinks that words like co-pay, co-payment, co-insurance and un-American require hyphens or even that adjectives from proper nouns require a capital.

Copayments and Other Information (Wisconsin information site)
What’s the difference between copays and coinsurance? (Quicken app FAQ)
The member only pays their copayment for any additional admissions (Blue Cross information site)
“UnAmerican Graffiti” (episode title, NYPD Blue)
“Unamerican” (song title on Cletus Got Shot album)
Unamerican (section title, Huffington Post)
My email to my unAmerican Representative (headline, Daily Kos)

Knowing when to hyphenate nouns formed with common prefixes like co- and un- can be tricky, even when consulting a dictionary or stylebook. For example, M-W hyphenates co-pay, but not coeditor. CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style) goes with coeditor, but opts for co-opt. Both OED and AP give the nod to co-editor, and every one of the sources I use acknowledges the spelling un-American.
I find myself wanting to pick and choose according to my own feelings about the way a word looks.
Because I don’t like the look of coeditor and coauthor, I want to go with AP’s “Retain the hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives and verbs that indicate occupation or status.” But although AP includes co-author, co-pilot and co-star in the “occupation-status” category, they relegate coed to their unhyphenated list. If I want to write co-ed, I have to turn to M-W for justification.
Professional writers don’t have the option of this kind of mixing and matching. Publishers, on the other hand, do.
Some publishers and organizations compile their own” house style guides,” usually based on one of the standard guides, but altered in some respects. For example, the AP Stylebook recommends using the country name Myanmar. For political reasons, a publisher might supersede that rule, requiring his writers to refer to the country by its former name, Burma.
In the absence of a house guide, writers whose employer has adopted a particular style guide are bound to follow it, regardless of personal preference. Freelance writers, who are their own employers, should adopt a guide for themselves to follow.

If I Was vs. If I Were

More writing tips. Click on the title link to go to the website post or read the text below;

Posted: 10 Dec 2013 08:08 PM PST

In 1964, when Sheldon Harnick wrote the lyrics for the musical Fiddler on the Roof, he had the poverty-stricken Russian milkman Tevye sing “If I were a rich man.”
In 1992, affluent rock star Bon Jovi sang “If I was your mother,” but then in 2008, Beyoncé sang “If I were a boy.”
Clearly, both forms persist in popular usage.
Curious to see how the two constructions compare in the world of pop music, I searched a site called ReverbNation. According to the search results, “If I Was” and” If I Were” as song titles are tied at “over 500 songs” each.
According to linguist Geoffrey Pullum, co-author of the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL), there’s no significant difference between using was or were in what the CGEL calls “the irrealis form of the copula.” (A copula is what linguists call a word that links subject and predicate. Irrealis is unreal.) In Pullum’s view, both “if I was” and “if I were” mean the same thing in such a statement.
A web search will bring up both acceptance and rejection of the “if I was” construction. Merriam-Webster illustrates its discussion of the usage by pointing out that F. Scott Fitzgerald used both forms for statements of unreality. Here are two:

I wish I were twenty-two again … — F. Scott Fitzgerald, letter, 27 Dec. 1925.
… if I was Vassar, I wouldn’t take you … — F. Scott Fitzgerald, letter, 18 Apr. 1938

The M-W editor concludes:

Clearly there is a choice to be made here, and if Fitzgerald could use either form, so can others.

Unfortunately, not everyone will agree with Merriam-Webster on this one. To many people, “I wish I was a rich man” is not standard usage.
There are contexts in which “if I was” can be justified For example, “If she was ill, no wonder she left the party early.”
In a statement that does not describe reality, or the possibility of reality, were is still the better choice–if only because a great many employers, clients, and customers still regard “if I was you” as nonstandard usage.

Alternate vs. Alternative

Click on the title link to go to the website post or read the following text:

Posted: 28 Dec 2013 08:24 PM PST

One of my favorite DWT commenters took me to task for my use of alternate instead of alternative in this passage:

in modern English writing, kn is an alternate spelling for the sound /n/, and … igh is an alternate spelling of the long i sound…

I value his comments, so I have examined his criticism carefully, including the quotation from a previous DWT post that seems to support his belief that neither British nor American usage permits the use of alternate in the way I have used it:

There was also a note about the difference between the use of “alternate” and “alternative” in American and British English – anyone writing for both markets should be very well aware of this distinction – it’s a very important linguistic distinction and is not to be ignored. –Hugh Ashton

The note Ashton refers to is from the New Oxford American Dictionary entry he consulted when his mother objected to his use of “three alternatives.” His original purpose was to find out if a person could speak of more than two alternatives. According to his mother and other traditionalists, one can speak of only two alternatives. According to the NOAD, however, speaking of more than two alternatives is “normal in modern standard English.”
Ashton mentions “the difference between the use of ‘alternate’ and ‘alternative’ in American and British English,” and urges freelancers writing for “both markets” to be aware of the distinction. I do not think that he is saying that British usage and American usage do not differ. But even if he is saying that, I have to disagree.
For one thing, American speakers use alternate as a noun meaning “a person designated to replace another in the event the other person is unable to fulfill his duties.” British usage does not use alternate as a noun.
It is an easy step from using alternate as a noun meaning “a substitute,” to using alternate as an adjective meaning “substitute,” or “alternative,” as in “alternate juror” or “alternate route.”
The following examples will illustrate that alternate used in this sense is common in standard American English:

To avoid having to retry a case when a juror is excused before the end of trial (for example, because of illness), the court may seat a few extra or “alternate” jurors to hear the trial and be available to replace any juror who is excused. Regular and alternate jurors sit together during the trial. Some judges do not tell jurors which ones are the alternates until the jury is ready to deliberate. State law limits how many alternate jurors the court may seat. –Oregonlaws.org/.
The Alternate Route program is a non-traditional teacher preparation program –State of New Jersey Department of Education
Alternate plans allow landowners to apply for more site specific management flexibility than the standard Forest Practices Rules allow. –State of Washington Natural Resources site.

U.S. speakers save alternative for such things as “alternative medicine” and “alternative rock.” They also use the adjective alternate in the sense of “every other.” For example, parking might be allowed in a certain area “on alternate days.” Meetings might be held “on alternate Mondays.”
British grammarians recognize the fact that American speakers do not use alternate in exactly the same way as British speakers do:

In American English, alternate is widely used as an adjective in the sense of alternative…and as a noun to mean ‘a deputy or substitute’. –Penguin Writer’s Manual, p. 56.

For an American writer, to refer to “an alternate spelling” is no more erroneous than to write honor for honour.

2014 Guidelines

After Saturday's writers meeting we discussed a few issues.

• I revised the meeting calendar. We agreed that we will no longer skip weeks due to holidays. Please review the calendar for errors and/or omissions.
• we agreed that we need at least three members for a quorum.
• meetings are scheduled from 10 am - noon.
• the most lengthy submissions will be covered first.
• if meetings go past the allotted time we can extend the meeting until 1 pm.
• if we find that the number of submissions most likely will not be covered within the meeting time frame including the extension then we will place time limits on the critiquing for each submission.

2013-14 Jordon's Twelve Meeting Schedule

I posted the 2013-14 meeting schedule on our blog. It also includes each meeting's submission deadline (the Saturday before the next meeting). Please check it for accuracy. I will remove the 2013 posted meetings and submission deadlines as soon as the new year arrives.

When a Comma Means “And”

Again, click on the title link.

How to Switch Viewpoints In Fiction

Again, click on the title link.

Writing a Multiple Viewpoint Novel

Another article relevant to our writing. Click on the title link.

How to Punctuate Dialog in Fiction

This came up at today's writers meeting and if you click on the post you can read a very good review regarding this subject matter.

What's New

I updated the blog by eliminating the individual locations for each meeting date and placed that information at the top of the schedule. This presents a streamlined meeting schedule which is easier on the eyes.

I also added a translation application so that people who prefer to read the blog in a different language can easily view it. Whether or not you are bilingual, give it a try. We are going International!

I inserted a contact link where Jordon's Twelve members or people browsing our blog can contact me via email with questions or other pertinent information. This link will direct emails to jordonstwelve@gmail.com and I will be able to check this email address daily.

There is now a follow link that allows members and people to subscribe to our blog and in return they will receive email notifications whenever there is a new blog entry. If you wish to take advantage of this, it's a one-time verification process where you insert your email address in the box below the words "Follow By Email" and click submit. You will go through a quick verification process to ensure the subscription is not spam and then you will receive an email with a signup link.

If you have your own blogs or websites that you would like promoted on Jordon's Twelve, I also added a space at the bottom where we can add personal blogs and websites. Just provide me with your blog or website addresses.

I took into consideration what would happen if we ever received a number of additional members wishing to join the group. The first thought would be that we couldn't function as an effective bi-monthly writers group operating in a two-hour window if say, the group suddenly consisted of fifteen members. If that ever did become a reality, I would propose that we continue to function as we do today but just break up into two or more groups. There is plenty of room where we meet at MCC so this would not be a problem.

If there is anything else you would like to see on our blog or if you have any other concerns or issues, please contact me. Try out the "TO CONTACT JORDON'S TWELVE" link and send me an email where it says "Email me!"

More Tales From Half Moon Room

We are working on the second short story anthology to be titled, More Tales From Half Moon Room. This sequel will be published by BookLocker. Submissions should be completed and provided to me no later than June 30th. We are looking for at least 3-4 submissions per member so please, any stories that you are considering for publication in this effort, please give them a thorough review and send them in.

You may forward them to the following email address:

jordonstwelve@gmail.com

Updated Meeting Schedule

The meeting schedule has been updated to reflect the cancellation of our March 30th meeting and the adjusted submission deadlines and meeting dates going forward. You can view the meeting schedule for the remainder of the year on the right side of the blog website.

Northeast CAPA

Northeast CAPA opens as our 5th Meeting Location CAPA member Dan Blanchard originated and followed through with the idea of starting CAPA’s newest satellite branch: Northeast CAPA (NE CAPA).

Aspiring authors, and independent publishers of northeastern Connecticut are invited to meet monthly on the second Wednesday of every month, at the Buchanan Auditorium (Mansfield Public Library) at 54 Warrenville Road, Mansfield Center, CT. 06250

The first meeting will be on February 13th, at 6:30 P.M., open for networking and help in writing, publishing or marketing books.

Brian Jud is the opening speaker and will talk about the past and future of CAPA. Wayne English will speak at the March 13 meeting and Karen Rider at the April 10 meeting.

Joining NE CAPA will inspire you and help you to evolve from an aspiring author to a published author.

For more information contact
Daniel Blanchard at:
Dan007blanchard@yahoo.com