THE EDITORS' WEEKLY

Filed under:

James Harbeck

What’s English? | Linguistics, Frankly

November 12, 2014 by James Harbeck | 1 Comment on What’s English? | Linguistics, Frankly

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 deh nyam ih smell sweet. […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Rosemary Shipton

Twelve-Step Editing

November 4, 2014 by Rosemary Shipton | 23 Comments on Twelve-Step Editing

One project, one editor — that’s the norm in Canada today. Only a few large trade publishers and a small number of government departments still divide editing between structural/stylistic editors and copy editors, while the rapidly dwindling group of educational publishers distinguish between developmental editing and copy editing. Almost all the other publishers, institutions and […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Dominique Fortier

L’accord des adjectifs de couleur

October 28, 2014 by Dominique Fortier | Leave a Comment

La nature et les arbres, à l’automne, parent le paysage de mille couleurs, plus belles les unes que les autres. Parmi les arbres, les érables se distinguent. Ils sont particulièrement hauts en couleur. Chaque année, le plaisir visuel se renouvelle. Quiconque se promène dehors se prend à chercher : 1. qui des feuilles rouges (1), […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Dwain Richardson

English Editing in Quebec: Local Realities — Montreal and Area

October 21, 2014 by Dwain Richardson | 5 Comments on English Editing in Quebec: Local Realities — Montreal and Area

It’s a well-known fact: Quebec is the only French-language province in Canada. According to recent statistics, la belle province is home to over eight million inhabitants.[1] Of these inhabitants, 78 per cent are native French speakers and over seven per cent are English speakers. In the Greater Montreal Area, 47 per cent of residents identify […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Lori Burwash

Don’t Tick People Off, and Other Tips for Writing and Editing Web Copy

October 14, 2014 by Lori Burwash | 8 Comments on Don’t Tick People Off, and Other Tips for Writing and Editing Web Copy

If you’re writing or editing copy destined for the web, know this: People don’t read. They don’t even finish what they’re not reading. Instead, they scan for answers and, with any luck, take action based on what they find. It’s less about the journey, more about the destination. Your mission, then, is to pave and […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Abby Egerter

Six Volunteers Receive Honorary CPE Status

October 7, 2014 by Abby Egerter | 1 Comment on Six Volunteers Receive Honorary CPE Status

Back in the Wild West days of editing (about the late 1980s or so), there were no competency tests for editors and few if any educational programs designed to serve the needs of the publishing industry. Some members of the then Freelance Editors’ Association of Canada were looking for objective ways to demonstrate that editors […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Dominique Fortier

Les langagières et les langagiers sont‑ils encore utiles?

September 30, 2014 by Dominique Fortier | 6 Comments on Les langagières et les langagiers sont‑ils encore utiles?

Ça ne s’invente pas. Voici le genre de traduction que l’on voit régulièrement sur l’emballage de produits en vente au Québec. C’est tellement gros qu’il vaut mieux en rire. Lisez la description du produit (pardonnez la piètre qualité des photos qui suivent) et dites-moi si vous y avez compris quelque chose. Le francophone moyen en perd […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Wilf Popoff

Getting Rid of Death

September 23, 2014 by Wilf Popoff | 6 Comments on Getting Rid of Death

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 are attempting to defeat mortality […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

Melva McLean

An Editor in a Three-Day Writer’s Boot Camp, Part 3

September 16, 2014 by Melva McLean | 2 Comments on An Editor in a Three-Day Writer’s Boot Camp, Part 3

Later that afternoon, I arrived home and plunked myself down in front of a blank screen. It felt like I’d joined the ranks of such writers as Hemingway and Faulkner, Ludlum and Michener, and many others who’d lost manuscripts and had to start over from scratch. Of course, in this day and age, you don’t […]

Read more »

Tagged

Filed under:

James Harbeck

Seriously, What’s the Problem With Sentence Adverbs? | Linguistics, Frankly

September 9, 2014 by James Harbeck | Leave a Comment

The English language is a very complex and powerful thing, capable of many nuances and quite resistant to simplistic attempts at tidying it up. Sadly, not everyone realizes that. Worse still, many people take very narrow and inconsistent views, focusing on pet peeves while letting parallel instances of usage pass unnoticed. It’s as though a […]

Read more »

Tagged