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word choice

Photo of Sheila Cameron by Mark Benson

“Editing has the power to elevate writing to a level where change is possible”: An Interview with Sheila Cameron

May 4, 2021 | Filed under: Tracey Anderson

Sheila Cameron has 15 years’ experience providing style and copy editing on a wide range of fiction, non-fiction and business materials. Currently, she develops and edits content for eLeadership Academy™, an online educational platform that utilizes neuroscience insights to foster leadership growth. Editors Canada is delighted that on Sunday, June …

Wasted Words: On the PC Front

December 5, 2017 | Filed under: Wilf Popoff

The Grey Cup eluded the Edmonton Eskimos again this year, but that’s not the worst of the team’s troubles: the political correctness refs want it to lose its name as well. The club chose its regrettable label in 1949, but it had been widely used by other Edmonton football squads …

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 …

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 …

Golden trophy

Wasted Words: A Compulsion to Exaggerate

February 24, 2015 | Filed under: Wilf Popoff

Frank McKenna, a San Diego photographer, complains that all photos displayed on the web are described as stunning. “What’s going on here?” he asks. “When did every picture become stunning?” McKenna sees this as word inflation. I agree to a point. Certainly it’s almost insulting nowadays to simply say something …

Hand holding compass

Whom Do You Believe? | Linguistics, Frankly

January 20, 2015 | Filed under: James Harbeck

First of all: If you can avoid using whom, you should. Any but the most formal texts are better off without it; it’s a foreign word for most users, as evidenced by the general inability of even many language professionals to use it quite correctly all the time. Sometimes, however, …

Hand writing question mark

What’s an Editor to Do?

January 6, 2015 | Filed under: Victoria Neufeldt

The vagaries of language can cause even the most experienced editors headaches. Editors as a group are more attuned to the whims and ways of language than the average speaker, but many strange and challenging usages regularly fly under the radar and pass into public text, despite our best efforts. …

Path through snowy trees

Wasted Words: The Elements and Style

December 2, 2014 | Filed under: Wilf Popoff

It’s the time of year when heeding weather reports is a good idea: setting out with meagre insulation can be foolhardy. (News flash: “Hypothermia Blamed When Editor Vanishes.”) I glean data from all sources and sally forth properly kitted, but meteorological claptrap can be irritating. A local CBC station announces …

English test

What’s English? | Linguistics, Frankly

November 12, 2014 | Filed under: James Harbeck

Here’s a quick quiz. Tell me which of the following are English and which aren’t. For each one, say why it is or isn’t English and, if it’s not, what language it is. There’s no place to plug your car in in the parkade. A wha dat dey dem people …

Tattered death flag

Getting Rid of Death

September 23, 2014 | Filed under: Wilf Popoff

Okay, I understand. Most of us simply do not want to die. And over the last two centuries the western world has managed to postpone the occasion: we’ve doubled our lifespan. Postponement, however, is not eradication. Die we must, eventually, although there now appears to be a workaround. Many people …

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