Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

OH MY WORD: ‘Phenomena’ gaffe shows value of sub-editors

Post Thumbnail

Dear reader, I wish to apologise. Last week in this column, to my acute embarrassment, I made a mistake. I used the plural “phenomena”, but was referring to a singular and should have used “phenomenon”.

I am crushed. If I presume to write a column commenting on English usage, then I have to be above reproach when it comes to my own usage. I clearly failed in that. I am hoist by my own petard (a wonderful idiom).

In an attempt to grasp a small positive from a large negative, this is an example of why the sub-editing process is essential. All writers, even the best in history, had editors. Open any book and in the acknowledgements section you will find these clever people being fulsomely thanked.

A writer is often blinkered by attempts to convey meaning and so pays inadequate attention to how well, or not, he or she is expressing themselves.

And then there is the notion that the left-hand side of the brain is where creativity is born, whereas the right side is responsible for motor skills such as typing. Sometimes the two diverge and you think you’ve typed: “The rotund Mrs Miggins, 75, owns an 18-year-old cat named Bobby”, but in fact typed “Bobby, 18, is a pussycat in the hands of the curvaceous Mrs Miggins.” Both might be true, but they sound rather different.

The above are, I must admit, excuses. I’m not attempting to deflect blame, I should have read my copy.

It is far better, however, if someone else carries out that function. Sub-editors are clever. If a sentence doesn’t make sense, then the sub-editor rearranges it, hones it, crafts it until it does. A skilled “sub” will take a good piece of writing and make it into a great piece of writing. He or she takes a step back and asks, “How will this come across?” A sub reads like a reader, but also acts as a sense-checker who understands sentence structure, can punctuate properly and has an unshakeable grasp on word meanings.

You should always get someone to read your output, whether you’re writing a novel or a sign advertising the price of potatoes. Or a column that purports to be a defence of the English language.

As said, I can only ask the forgiveness of my readers — if there are any left — and pledge to do better in future.

 

Word of the week

Obelus (noun)

The mathematical division symbol. EG: “A short line, with a dot placed above and below, is an obelus.”


Read the latest Oh my word! every Saturday in The Courier. Contact me at sfinan@dctmedia.co.uk