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Revisiting Karen Virag: I Are Confused

January 8, 2019 | Filed under: Karen Virag

In memory of Karen Virag, who passed away on Jan. 11, 2014, we are pleased to republish one of her popular blog posts from February 2013. I are confused, aren’t I? Have you ever wondered why we say, “He is, isn’t he?” and “She is, isn’t she?” but we don’t …

Revisiting Verbal Boobery

January 9, 2018 | Filed under: Karen Virag

In memory of Karen Virag, who passed away Jan. 11, 2014, we are pleased to republish one of her popular blog posts from November 2013. Verbal whatery? Not long ago in the Air Canada Lounge at Toronto Pearson Airport I noticed a small sign beside a tray of freshly baked …

Attending Conferences at Home and Abroad? Aye!

July 11, 2017 | Filed under: Marion Soubliere

For editors, industry conferences are like chicken soup for the soul. Editing can be a lonely profession, but combining learning with camaraderie is a spirit-boosting elixir. Many of us are still brimming with ideas and newfound confidence following June’s 2017 Editors Canada conference in Gatineau. Such learning and networking need …

Wasted Words: Respectable Stoners

February 21, 2017 | Filed under: Wilf Popoff

Legalizing marijuana makes it acceptable, but will it make it respectable? Jumping that second hurdle will be difficult, requiring us to forsake the vast vocabulary it has spawned. I don’t see that happening right away. While I cringe at seeing chief justices, bishops and other bigwigs described as stoners or …

Eggplants and Aubergines

January 17, 2017 | Filed under: Marianne Grier

Before leaving Canada, I had a solid grasp on Canadian English. I knew there were differences between British and American English, and my language differed from both of these. Beyond that, I didn’t give Canadian English much thought. After finishing my BA, I ventured to Germany to teach in sleepy …

The Ongoing Demise of English

September 13, 2016 | Filed under: James Harbeck

English just isn’t spoken as well as it used to be. As people who have to deal every day with the abuses of common users, we will surely all agree with this sentiment: “our unfortunate ears are doomed not only to excruciate in the torments of bad grammar, but to …

Being Intercultural: The Language of Health

August 30, 2016 | Filed under: Zanne Cameron

Being intercultural is often defined strictly in terms of ethnicity and geography, when really each of us lives a multiplicity of cultural identities on a daily basis. Our interactions at work and with family and friends, our activities, faith, offline and online personas, all have their own overlapping and intersecting …

Omitting Periods? It’s About Genres.

July 5, 2016 | Filed under: James Harbeck

“Period. Full Stop. Point. Whatever It’s Called, It’s Going Out of Style,” declared a New York Times headline. Noted linguist David Crystal had made some comments observing that the period is not requisite in text messages, and as such is used only “to show irony, syntactic snark, insincerity, even aggression,” …

Perilous Punctuation: The Email Salutation

May 31, 2016 | Filed under: Frances Peck

An old friend from Ottawa recently visited me in Vancouver. We hadn’t seen each other in years. “One thing I’ll never forget about you,” said Ann (who is not an editor), “is that you taught me the right way to begin an email. Every time I write ‘Hi comma So-and-So …

We’re All Looking for Style

July 14, 2015 | Filed under: Victoria Neufeldt

What is style in writing? Writers — and their editors, of course — must think about this, but not everyone agrees on what is appropriate. A writer of non-fiction, for example, probably aims for an unobtrusive style in which the language — the words and phrases, the syntax and grammar — takes …

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