Paper and Ink

We learned in class that it is much more accurate to edit on paper than to edit on screen. When I check my own writing, however, I often find myself hesitating to print out a document just for proofreading. I’m always tempted to do my proofreading on screen to save paper and ink. I just hate finding one misspell on a page and having to reprint the whole page; I cannot help but be self-conscious about wasting paper and ink for careless mistakes.

Is it absolutely necessary to print out a document for accurate proofreading? Is it possible to master the art of screen proofreading to eliminate or minimize the need for proofreading on paper, thereby saving the office supplies? Is it ever possible to print out a flawless document through proofreading on screen alone?

Words

I agree with the previous discussions that the right and wrong of someone’s word cannot be generalized and that it depends on who uses the word and who hears the word.

As I was reading the discussions, the concept of “moral relativism” came into mind. This concept says that the right and wrong of anything is relative to each and every human being. For example, most of us—I hope—feel that high jacking an airplane and crashing it into a building is a “bad” thing to do. But for some people, this action is a duty to their God—the holiest sacrifice, an epitome of virtue. Do we tolerate this behavior because FOR SOME PEOPLE it is a sacred action? Are we going to say, “Well, they thought it was the right thing to do”? (of course, I’m ignoring all the social and political factors that might have caused these people to do what they did) This morally relativistic view seems compassionate and understanding, but it is a potentially dangerous idea; any behavior can be justified.

Similarly some words can be offensive to SOME PEOPLE while SOME OTHER PEOPLE may feel that those same words can be “cool” or “hip” in certain contexts. What Imus said was obviously out of context and unwarranted.

There is really no end to this discussion. We all make our own decisions and stick to them while respecting others’ decisions. BUT I personally feel it is unhealthy for a 12 year old to be listening to a rap that espouses raping and killing women after making them high on drugs. Sorry. I am NOT saying all raps and rappers are evil.

Test 4 Questions

For Part A, 64, the last word in the sentence, “industry,” shows up on the following page. Is it okay to delete “industry” on the following page and insert it in the sentence on the previous page?

For Par C, are we answering the questions based on the original, intact version of Par B? Or would it be acceptable to use the version after our editing?

Sentence Length

Someone has suggested to me that I should vary my sentence length in my writing, so that I don’t sound monotonous. Is sentence length something over which a copyeditor has control? Does a copyeditor ever tell an author to avoid monotonous writing by varying sentence length?

Blue Skies

I was reading a magazine the other day and found the phrase, "beautiful skies over Berlin." We say "beautiful skies" or "blue skies," but how can we pluralize the word "sky"? In my understanding of this universe, there is only one sky. How do you count skies?

I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts, but I feel that the English language is inconsistent when it comes to what can be counted and what cannot be counted (countable and uncountable nouns). For example, the word "advice" is uncountable, but the word "suggestion" is countable.

Ex.
That's good advice!
That's a good suggestion!

Is there a logic behind this categorization? To me, if "advice" is uncountable, "suggestion" should also be uncountable.

E-Prime

I once read somewhere that eliminating all forms of the verb "to be" can enhance one's writing. This style of writing is called "E-Prime." I tried it for a while, and I guess it did make my writing more assertive by eliminating all passive forms and forcing me to come up with stronger verbs.

Do some copyeditors employ "E-Prime" when writing or editing?

Final Markings

I think someone asked this in class, but does the final version of our test need to be marked with a red pencil or a pen? I'm trying to use a red pencil, but I'm finding it hard to erase and make corrections when I make mistakes.

Test 2 Questions

I have a bunch of questions…

Do I need to write in the “bf” mark in the margin for boldface, or would a wavy line suffice? Also Pat used the “tr” mark for transposing (on the second page of the first test), but is the mark necessary?

Do I have a choice to include the serial comma or omit it? I think this decision depends on which style manual I use, but, since I have no particular style manual this time, can I choose to retain or omit the serial comma if I stay consistent?

If I choose to retain the serial comma, would I have to place the comma every time I use the word “and”? For instance, would I need a comma in a simple phrase like, “She is nice and smart”? Or should the sentence be, “She is nice, and smart”?

Is it assumed that the receivers of this e-mail message know who Dan and Steve are? It seems informal to mention such names unless the parties involved are aware of who they are.

What is the copyediting mark for making an e-mail address hyperlinked?

Should we specifically write “Au:…” when we query the author to distinguish the query from the instructions for the typesetter?

Is “litblog coop” an organization? Should the name be capitalized?

Pat mentioned in class that putting an exclamation mark after an understood statement, such as “library subscriptions have close to 100% renewal rate,” indicates a lack of professionalism. Should we advice the author to refrain from using the mark?

I’m afraid this question might repeat what Davis and Moon Yun had already asked, but are we penalized every time we make the same marking as Pat had done in the first test? Should we come up with our own markings even when we feel that Pat’s markings seem to be doing exactly what we want? Of course, I’m not saying that we should just copy everything…

A translator and a copyeditor

Chi mentioned in her last post that she feels uncomfortable about translating Korean poems into English because the original feeling or meaning is “lost in translation.” I often feel the same way when I translate something or read a translated work.

Although I study translation, I believe that no translated work can surpass the original, especially when the languages involved are not closely connected. I think there is a merit in reading Shakespeare in English or Lady Murasaki in Japanese. The best a translator can do is to imagine, “How would the author say this if he/she knew English/Japanese?”

A translator can spend hours coming up with a good translation for a very short phrase or even a word. Because of all the efforts, some translators can get personal when someone criticizes their work. I can just imagine the fury of a translator when a copyeditor who doesn’t know the source language criticizes and alters the translation. But such an emotional reaction indicates a lack of professionalism.

Does a copyeditor work with a different frame of mind when working with a translated piece? Does a copyeditor take into consideration the fact that the piece he/she is dealing with came from another language through a translator?

Team Editing

Does a copyeditor ever work with a partner or partners on a manuscript?

I once did a "team translation" (English to Japanese), where each team member was responsible for translating a certain portion of a lengthy manuscript. The difficulty was that the final translation had to read like a work of a single person, and my teammates and I had to make sure that we used the same translations for certain terminologies.

Is there such a thing as a "team copyediting"? If there is, what precautions would the involved copyeditors have to take?

Work speed

In Chapter 4, page 37, the book says, “On average, an experienced copyeditor can edit about five pages of double-spaced text an hour.” As Pat also mentioned in class, this speed is the case for a full-fledged copyeditor. Then what is the work speed that a beginning copyeditor should aim for? Is there a standard speed that the copyediting profession demands or expects of a beginning copyeditor?

Engrish Anyone?

Takashi told me about Engrish, a website that posts examples of "Engrish" from Japan and elsewhere. Warning: Some of the mistakes, though funny, border on the vulgar because of the translation errors.

Here are some favorites:

Directions / Airport / Bears / Holiday greeting / No smoking / At the movies

Articles

My dad, who studied English as a second language, often torments me with questions about the English grammar. One issue that comes up again and again is the use of articles. Now, my dad’s English is pretty good, and he has studied grammar in school and on his own. So he knows that an indefinite article ‘a/an’ is used when the noun in question is “not specific” and a definite article ‘the’ is used when the noun is “specific.” But such a generalization proves almost useless for a second language learner when actually composing a sentence.

Is there a practical, workable way to know exactly when to use ‘a/an,’ ‘the’ or no article? Or should I just tell my dad to flip a coin?

Takashi

Copyediting Translations

I would like to ask you a question as a student of translation. My translation professor once introduced this phrase to me: "We use words to translate, but we don't translate words." This phrase always reminds me that my job as a translator is not simply converting words, but expressing the original writer's ideas in another language. Therefore, understanding what the original writer meant becomes the first obligation of any translator.

In that light, do you feel that a copy editor should be knowledgeable of the original language when dealing with a translated work? Should a copy editor be able to understand what the original writer meant and to check the accuracy of the translation? Or is that beyond his/her role as a copy editor?

(from Takashi)