tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43921198059607384942024-02-20T06:11:41.614-08:00One proof shortAnything worth publishing is worth one last proofread.Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-29487581506401984182015-07-07T08:07:00.000-07:002015-07-07T08:07:00.080-07:00"Proof reading for quality control"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyfRgVn4SSDsJ9dG09yOq3ZxaIvrBMYP9tnX6pZ6-PRVW2IbckpAS-p0WMgUllig3MJQNlf_sn3gV3GjS-b_hAWjttr7kVCxrsWO_YRSbMAUbMnoxXbKr2RTmVwHxjJT4NbVIkSclsRLo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-06+at+4.58.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyfRgVn4SSDsJ9dG09yOq3ZxaIvrBMYP9tnX6pZ6-PRVW2IbckpAS-p0WMgUllig3MJQNlf_sn3gV3GjS-b_hAWjttr7kVCxrsWO_YRSbMAUbMnoxXbKr2RTmVwHxjJT4NbVIkSclsRLo/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-07-06+at+4.58.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Had "Step 2" been applied to the text under "Step 1," we might've been getting somewhere.Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-86366368924206701592015-04-27T17:42:00.002-07:002015-04-27T17:42:52.784-07:00Glutton-free<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkIAgTpPb5H_jXohPvMd0Tg9JpaEW8vDG51GS6MaiinsEAcdQJU7kcZq2z9catH-JiTIMpdGlZQXLWymYkpQa5Wg-BxcNj00qQsXruWEkDn3H_n3VOMzTQXab363hahLYR4jSTV3RqIom/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-03+at+9.28.01+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkIAgTpPb5H_jXohPvMd0Tg9JpaEW8vDG51GS6MaiinsEAcdQJU7kcZq2z9catH-JiTIMpdGlZQXLWymYkpQa5Wg-BxcNj00qQsXruWEkDn3H_n3VOMzTQXab363hahLYR4jSTV3RqIom/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-03+at+9.28.01+AM.png" height="25" width="400" /></a></div>
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Restaurants increasingly offer options suitable for customers with gluten intolerances and allergies. But <i>glutton</i>-free options? </div>
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The suspicious quotation marks around "family members" earn bonus points for this restaurant menu.</div>
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Thanks to my anonymous reader for sending this one in!</div>
<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-19673241027731392342015-04-10T07:23:00.000-07:002015-04-10T07:23:02.420-07:00Fixin's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pGJRAXS8GwPhabB4vVRuxL7u00kR7fh84D5Q0YB5DKAsG_c5GNvLG751i_QKS8sso8WfELwy8o3Nn4VelNyGSd9AQJZ8LakeAzzQYLhHhSmJe-1I34ZQdSyOGo2Df_7PFb9gIXfmZ7Df/s1600/Safeway.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pGJRAXS8GwPhabB4vVRuxL7u00kR7fh84D5Q0YB5DKAsG_c5GNvLG751i_QKS8sso8WfELwy8o3Nn4VelNyGSd9AQJZ8LakeAzzQYLhHhSmJe-1I34ZQdSyOGo2Df_7PFb9gIXfmZ7Df/s1600/Safeway.jpeg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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A (thankfully!) rare find: a blatant grammatical error on permanent (at least, non-temporary) signage in a national chain store. </div>
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If you're uncertain what's wrong this sign, check out <a href="http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/apostrophes-and-plurals" target="_blank">Grammar Girl's post on apostrophes and plurals</a>.</div>
<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-6515137239463180302015-02-26T11:44:00.000-08:002015-02-26T11:44:12.105-08:00Spellind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0mMnt1-MkaPiDKGRjgMUu7ILp6zfbpcxxlaxJk_s5ZdM7QrdyG626lAMh_kXOAOZ78Q6WMsMrFH2Nyd6-5rw08XKdD5Y72doTOjhpjW-_wqogKxVGFbTaAZE1rDyp6IhEtpmpnEr4r8K/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-04+at+1.17.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0mMnt1-MkaPiDKGRjgMUu7ILp6zfbpcxxlaxJk_s5ZdM7QrdyG626lAMh_kXOAOZ78Q6WMsMrFH2Nyd6-5rw08XKdD5Y72doTOjhpjW-_wqogKxVGFbTaAZE1rDyp6IhEtpmpnEr4r8K/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-04+at+1.17.36+PM.png" height="16" width="320" /></a></div>
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In case the photo is too small for easy reading, the bullet says:<br />
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"Tests of current academic achievement (tests of various aspects of reading, spellind and writing, paper and pencil math or math reasoning, oral language skill);" <br />
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This bullet is on a website for a business that provides educational support for kids who struggle in school.<br />
<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-64858585914454619322014-12-11T12:33:00.002-08:002014-12-11T12:33:28.099-08:00"Strategic impotence"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNPel6jQqj5aCrzorrRNtv94EH2pK_1z1HMTgf9Wo8vPo0FJZrUVpnUL-FU5MabzGlfKBX8soyX1dOs9PK6g7-dOAeq1oG9LFjlRKP5UlAJYYmKFmp9svNjw39uh2iEiwKri-mCieOBYC/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-27+at+1.46.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNPel6jQqj5aCrzorrRNtv94EH2pK_1z1HMTgf9Wo8vPo0FJZrUVpnUL-FU5MabzGlfKBX8soyX1dOs9PK6g7-dOAeq1oG9LFjlRKP5UlAJYYmKFmp9svNjw39uh2iEiwKri-mCieOBYC/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-27+at+1.46.24+PM.png" height="152" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes, spell-check won't save you</td></tr>
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"[Y]ou <b>will be played </b>a central role in drafting and editing various documents and materials of <b>strategic impotence</b> to the company."<br />
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I'd consider adding "assist with proofreading advertisements" to this job description.Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-34948245087965469082014-12-02T10:45:00.000-08:002014-12-02T10:45:21.561-08:00"Clipettes pinch ass"I'll admit it - that was a click-bait headline - but it comes directly from this sign on a store display blog reader Renee noticed when she went looking for hair clips for her toddler.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvk25YKPC9pSTOms5Egpuxxo2PHpPu6UsES02v4qIBtbXbbAR9e9sXz3jS5Qg601UYtLNxEpuMBBAnHVe2xgMc9Hae4vZNQ66kLs2b6P_fp7j3n-W4G56GJU-hq1-NEFKlu2-Mu_7Von0/s1600/Clipettes+ass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvk25YKPC9pSTOms5Egpuxxo2PHpPu6UsES02v4qIBtbXbbAR9e9sXz3jS5Qg601UYtLNxEpuMBBAnHVe2xgMc9Hae4vZNQ66kLs2b6P_fp7j3n-W4G56GJU-hq1-NEFKlu2-Mu_7Von0/s1600/Clipettes+ass.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Key word: <i>assorted</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sometimes, companies use software to automatically generate text - and in this case, to automatically abbreviate it, as necessary. Auto-abbreviations can be confusing, but customers are usually able to figure them out. Here, we can figure it out, but it's unintentionally funny.<br />
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<b>Not always so funny</b><br />
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Last year, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/18/coca-cola-you-retard-cap_n_3951264.html" target="_blank">Coca-Cola Ltd. had to apologize after an auto-text mix-up</a> led to an offensive expression being printed on the cap of a vitaminwater bottle. The company was printing one English word and one French word on every bottle cap, and had proofread all the English words and all the French words... but hadn't considered how the two might be read in either language when put together. The auto-text did the rest.<br />
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<b>Automation makes things easier, but it's not foolproof</b><br />
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This supermarket and Coca-Cola are far from the only organizations that have been embarrassed because their automatic communication tools have done what they're meant to do: complete tasks without a human having to be involved. Whether it's examples like these, or <a href="http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/11874390/twitter-celebration-goes-regrettably-wrong-new-england-patriots" target="_blank">automatically-generated Tweets</a>, there are many ways automatic communications can backfire.<br />
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Whenever you plan to use these, you're well-advised to build in some checks and balances where human beings have to either troubleshoot potential problems before they happen (for example, in the vitaminwater example, having someone read the words in each language from the perspective of someone who speaks the other language, to spot any issues), or to approve automatic messages before they are sent.<br />
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Thanks for the submission, Renee!<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-79228296063335436672014-11-18T10:35:00.001-08:002014-11-18T10:35:23.766-08:00I'm no mathematician, but...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdwnWQZwNAcVUv2dhZLBC83ONE3GB1QAmRR-SG8bf10UiiivzXcMJpTPJLc8VqZmgsDghyH1LyxAZEfVj1KKQcnC14_ESAO8yhoZd1hF1KpuD1ab0kYf52kllcIGs5R_3ckknp7KPEZq8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-10+at+9.21.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdwnWQZwNAcVUv2dhZLBC83ONE3GB1QAmRR-SG8bf10UiiivzXcMJpTPJLc8VqZmgsDghyH1LyxAZEfVj1KKQcnC14_ESAO8yhoZd1hF1KpuD1ab0kYf52kllcIGs5R_3ckknp7KPEZq8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-10+at+9.21.04+AM.png" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
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In this passage from the November 14th issue of a very well-known American news magazine, 82 is, apparently, greater than 86.<br />
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I'm not certain whether this is an error of the writer (possibly distracted while writing?) or of the typesetter/designer, but either way, a good copy edit should have surfaced the error before it was published.<br />
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When you're editing, you need to check your text in a few different ways:<br />
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1) Is the content factual?<br />
2) Are all the words spelled correctly, numbers presented accurately, etc.?<br />
3) Is the grammar correct?<br />
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<b>Errors can creep in at any stage of the process</b><br />
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I was shocked the first time I received a "final proof" of an annual report from a designer only to discover new errors had surfaced in the text. They were minor changes - in fact, they were instances in which the designer had decided to "help" my client by "improving" the sentences (note the use of sarcastic quotation marks - see <a href="http://oneproofshort.blogspot.ca/2014/11/ribs.html" target="_blank">last week's post on this blog</a>).<br />
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We caught them all and changed them back before it went to print - but only because I was proofreading the whole text one more time (as opposed to simply confirming our last round of changes had been made accurately).<br />
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Once the document is published, it's published. You can sometimes withdraw it to correct an error - but often, you can't. My advice: always give a text one full, final proofread before signing off.<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-68375537462413200372014-11-05T09:07:00.000-08:002014-11-05T09:10:31.295-08:00"Ribs"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aqfv7KNsPZbWSf0ushemSr8WbLH2EjpRBBlz8pmchSJkjz-rdWiatJMJ765T8gP_X-7ksoRWlsCFPUFeYxGYTWjxr2MBr9A3Oga-gSQh3AUvpJwz8qaZnEKJWcZpZTV1g_5qMVjjL314/s1600/photo2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aqfv7KNsPZbWSf0ushemSr8WbLH2EjpRBBlz8pmchSJkjz-rdWiatJMJ765T8gP_X-7ksoRWlsCFPUFeYxGYTWjxr2MBr9A3Oga-gSQh3AUvpJwz8qaZnEKJWcZpZTV1g_5qMVjjL314/s1600/photo2.jpeg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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A contributor sent in this photo, suspicious of what was on the menu in this restaurant. Is it, in fact, serving ribs? If not, what is it serving to customers who order ribs?<br />
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Though you'll often see them used this way (<a href="http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/" target="_blank">The Blog of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks</a> is devoted to this error), quotation marks are not intended to provide emphasis -- and using them for emphasis can lead to embarrassing miscommunication.<br />
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Why? Because quotation marks are also used to indicate sarcasm -- much like "air quotes" do in verbal communication.<br />
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In the photo above, the restaurateur intends to communicate that s/he serves the best ribs in town -- but his/her quotation marks suggest s/he's serving something other than ribs.<br />
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In the same way, we have to wonder:<br />
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Is this Director really acting?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpPjsLKEbIbl8AulcL1EVHJeNw-6xYFo0LvlOUUuvAYrNVmQyRMYQdGh7HiqULxIa8dH668D1zcIhYzXYXgDTsQz2r2fPZQLx-vZKvmkbKPIMROU3OqROMjwQNTqxTPUUEN04_Eh-rDy/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-16+at+11.50.13+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpPjsLKEbIbl8AulcL1EVHJeNw-6xYFo0LvlOUUuvAYrNVmQyRMYQdGh7HiqULxIa8dH668D1zcIhYzXYXgDTsQz2r2fPZQLx-vZKvmkbKPIMROU3OqROMjwQNTqxTPUUEN04_Eh-rDy/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-16+at+11.50.13+AM.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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And what <i>really</i> happens to you if you bring a re-usable mug for your coffee?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdA6WPd4HSlpUAa6emAhyphenhyphenKOOAkbkgsDrh5tKlNqgErc91sGuEsJtvWHYXzVWwBJjs5z8_moKfpServfUeEDqy7G8dlhFn6zyv_PXsl9NzyQX6Fc6QCS00Q5GwpkaFu6U3ptxgzjssecly4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-16+at+11.49.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdA6WPd4HSlpUAa6emAhyphenhyphenKOOAkbkgsDrh5tKlNqgErc91sGuEsJtvWHYXzVWwBJjs5z8_moKfpServfUeEDqy7G8dlhFn6zyv_PXsl9NzyQX6Fc6QCS00Q5GwpkaFu6U3ptxgzjssecly4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-16+at+11.49.51+AM.png" /></a></div>
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If you want your readers to take your message at face value, don't use quotation marks for emphasis.<br />
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Use <i>typography</i>.<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-20927180830109942602014-10-03T13:29:00.000-07:002014-10-03T13:29:15.524-07:00"Jeannettes"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7S-c-pNpjKw_A4G8-4YpWLlx7y2dlvTVL6eaxYvrd5oQ1AmcHfEp_1TkTSDH7rgRtBWYLisZCjBckTJSplPPHOG9agRIakhazd2scG13M4wFs40xX8RiSPqfMy9EbO39p_YtqvZTKU5ME/s1600/brownies+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7S-c-pNpjKw_A4G8-4YpWLlx7y2dlvTVL6eaxYvrd5oQ1AmcHfEp_1TkTSDH7rgRtBWYLisZCjBckTJSplPPHOG9agRIakhazd2scG13M4wFs40xX8RiSPqfMy9EbO39p_YtqvZTKU5ME/s1600/brownies+copy.png" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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A reader in Prince Edward Island sent in this great example to show why it's important to use a professional translator. You may think you can get the job done less expensively using an online translation tool, but if there are more than one meaning for a word, or if your English word doesn't have a direct translation in the target language, you could get into trouble.<br />
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Whoever wanted to translate "brownies" for this packaging was likely unaware either that there isn't a direct translation for the word in French (all the francophone-Canadians in my world call them "brownies," even when speaking French), and likely didn't consider that "brownie" has another meaning in English.<br />
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This is the kind of brownie you could accurately translate as a "jeannette."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilx97It9p9g0ch_TajAFwJZcGdB3Hiut1st4Aq2UYwp-xaZtBSiUVU9JTunOsJwC3oHQhUa_BhtCWoCv32donFpNQ6jxSs4gBTTZ6nmpqSQsKrRaVdVh80eYKoTXP3AWavD3JeyTXJ6Xb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-16+at+12.35.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilx97It9p9g0ch_TajAFwJZcGdB3Hiut1st4Aq2UYwp-xaZtBSiUVU9JTunOsJwC3oHQhUa_BhtCWoCv32donFpNQ6jxSs4gBTTZ6nmpqSQsKrRaVdVh80eYKoTXP3AWavD3JeyTXJ6Xb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-16+at+12.35.28+PM.png" height="320" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from <a href="https://thegirlguidestore.ca/brownies.aspx" target="_blank">Girl Guides of Canada</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are other spelling errors visible in the French on this packaging, too -- which is too bad, because the company was making a specific effort to be inclusive with its packaging.<br />
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Translation is sometimes a secondary consideration, especially when the vast majority of the target market prefers the primary language. But if you're going to do it at all, it's worth having an expert make it right. Good translators don't just translate each word into its other-language counterpart -- they are gifted writers, too, who can ensure the subtext, tone, rhythm and emotion of your text carry through.<br />
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On a brownie package, of course, we're really just looking for the words... but a good translator can ensure you get those right, too.Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-68307146299797173922014-09-25T08:39:00.000-07:002014-09-25T08:39:49.293-07:00"50% Less Calories"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoowmHYwd9OKW_UEigHrJ-qyYNTxRyH-anUic4p9IrtONugn0EQy9S9nNkV9iece6w0n4BcL7nwPatqTyUx1kqZuLBPNJqttKbiiHvORFi_8vpJ2KHUtrF-Nai54jpd_ltbI7eg-SiZp7k/s1600/photo%5B1%5D+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoowmHYwd9OKW_UEigHrJ-qyYNTxRyH-anUic4p9IrtONugn0EQy9S9nNkV9iece6w0n4BcL7nwPatqTyUx1kqZuLBPNJqttKbiiHvORFi_8vpJ2KHUtrF-Nai54jpd_ltbI7eg-SiZp7k/s1600/photo%5B1%5D+copy.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
This is a vocabulary error you likely see and hear frequently: the wrong choice of word to describe relative measurements. I've seen and heard it recently in local news coverage -- and late last week, noticed it in the supermarket, too.<br />
<br />
Words like "less" and "fewer" might seem synonymous at first, but they aren't. Fortunately, there's an simple trick to help you choose the right word.<br />
<br />
If you're talking about something you can't <i>literally</i> count, use these words:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>less</b> (e.g. less money, less energy, less sand)</li>
<li><b>amount</b> (e.g. a smaller amount of money, a smaller amount of energy, a smaller amount of sand)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Thus, "50% less calories" is incorrect, because while you can't literally count energy without getting more specific about unit measurement, you <i>can</i> literally count calories. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you're talking about something you <i>can</i> literally count, use these words:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>fewer</b> (e.g. fewer dollars, fewer calories, fewer grains of sand)</li>
<li><b>number</b> (e.g. a smaller number of dollars, a smaller number of calories, a smaller number of grains of sand)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Saying "50% fewer energy" would be just as incorrect, since "energy" isn't literally countable.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To summarize: if you can't literally count the item in question, use "less" or "amount;" if you <i>can </i>literally count it, use "fewer" or "number." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This orange juice, the manufacturer would like us to understand, delivers 50% <i>fewer</i> calories than its full-sugar alternative.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-15691007612247559712014-09-17T07:47:00.004-07:002014-09-17T07:48:00.001-07:00"Growed"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFi7QhrA10AsGJhRz6zS8UEGmnLAWNftfc1ImRWCJRXsPa4nvtXXwGPxh-mAbL8Drbgis3A1BWnXCgLmTGBfmk_6Tz9Qu_91wXFaChFOFhZ4v3gbVroJx1ij3wxL-BOU2dmyMMSbVJERcz/s1600/photo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFi7QhrA10AsGJhRz6zS8UEGmnLAWNftfc1ImRWCJRXsPa4nvtXXwGPxh-mAbL8Drbgis3A1BWnXCgLmTGBfmk_6Tz9Qu_91wXFaChFOFhZ4v3gbVroJx1ij3wxL-BOU2dmyMMSbVJERcz/s1600/photo.jpeg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
"Growed."<br />
<br />
Groan!Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-65441935652177470202014-09-10T12:41:00.000-07:002014-09-10T12:41:20.792-07:00"Lude behavior"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhf4pGZNFQgVHXgG9POIMr4ouSffYRER82Lxcww4606StYVnTBjtbkoz-RH1qe_6j7BI2cjlhlTVxFu1YYv1CCjjUoR9QEjpRmYU2QVmfoIL6UgzxeTheaAJ2vaWiVIqy9FgpNe_4OqEa/s1600/photo2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhf4pGZNFQgVHXgG9POIMr4ouSffYRER82Lxcww4606StYVnTBjtbkoz-RH1qe_6j7BI2cjlhlTVxFu1YYv1CCjjUoR9QEjpRmYU2QVmfoIL6UgzxeTheaAJ2vaWiVIqy9FgpNe_4OqEa/s1600/photo2.jpeg" height="145" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We might be tempted to think television journalists don't have to worry about spelling and grammar the way print journalists do... but errors in the text broadcast news outlets use on-screen are embarrassing, too.<br />
<br />
This screen should have been about charges of <i>lewd</i> behaviour, not <i>lude</i> behaviour.<br />
<br />
I suspect whoever wrote this headline simply hadn't ever seen "lewd" in writing, and spelled it the way it sounds -- which is tough to address, because you don't know what you don't know until you find out you didn't know what you thought you knew.<br />
<br />
You know?<br />
<br />
Having a skilled copy editor (who has a wide vocabulary and strong spelling and grammar) review all text that will go to air can help avoid errors like this one.<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-47896949674403455342014-08-27T14:41:00.001-07:002014-08-27T14:41:36.275-07:00Bad grammar is bad branding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
A new school year begins next week, and with it, a new blogging season for me.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, here is a <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/bad-grammar-are-bad-branding-157579" target="_blank">great article from <i>AdWeek</i> </a>discussing the causes and implications of poor grammar in business.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkMEPTLyArA0H5MBvFQyffernnCGatPjCY5T-mTzDTo6EdRGka2J6FuFoqQmKrHzPlJZwfKa3_M9FgtXovTEvQ2x4UYi2XVd57EgADb3dmnHd_seuiHwe4K7SdHK8Bnd6Q8OcGMSq5UKh/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-16+at+1.44.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkMEPTLyArA0H5MBvFQyffernnCGatPjCY5T-mTzDTo6EdRGka2J6FuFoqQmKrHzPlJZwfKa3_M9FgtXovTEvQ2x4UYi2XVd57EgADb3dmnHd_seuiHwe4K7SdHK8Bnd6Q8OcGMSq5UKh/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-16+at+1.44.32+PM.png" /></a></div>
<br />
But is the proliferation of errors in business communication today just about grammar? I don't think so -- I think it's bigger than that. Many errors we see, like the one above, are committed by people who likely write well enough, but aren't paying enough attention to what they've written. Proficiency in writing is one thing, but attention to detail is another.<br />
<br />
Given the number of channels constantly feeding us messages, it's no wonder we're a bit distracted. But 21st-century communications technology aside, when it comes down to the proofreading stage, the best writers and editors are those who can tune it all out and actually read what's on the page.<br />
<br />
That's not a language skill as much as it's a form of discipline -- one that's a significant competitive advantage in the professional communication industry, especially at the entry level.<br />
<br />
I'm looking forward to another year of helping students build that discipline!<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-57518398943564411312014-03-21T15:32:00.000-07:002014-03-21T15:32:25.691-07:00"Non-redemable"I was pleased to receive a special discount coupon from a retailer recently.<br />
<br />
Pleased, that is, until the coupon's terms and conditions raised a pretty important question.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIMZU7LFcXam6QkSlqjB57vr6c0ffRp-GaIHogcF4Q8AoCAEz0NPqOOSDgIO6nX5YYkAtsE5OF8G5ViLA8MTl22nPFYJgrrbKHYW-TQqfynKFwV38BSzRSLGAkENLpOzR39jrqddRT1AJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-21+at+4.51.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIMZU7LFcXam6QkSlqjB57vr6c0ffRp-GaIHogcF4Q8AoCAEz0NPqOOSDgIO6nX5YYkAtsE5OF8G5ViLA8MTl22nPFYJgrrbKHYW-TQqfynKFwV38BSzRSLGAkENLpOzR39jrqddRT1AJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-21+at+4.51.00+PM.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>"Non-redemable?"</b><br />
<br />
There are a few grammatical/proofreading problems with this list of terms, including inconsistent use of upper-case letters. (Why are the P on "Program" and the T on "Transferable" capital letters?) The incorrect spelling of "redeemable" suggests a too-quick proofread on its own; but even if that word had been spelled correctly, was the retailer really trying to tell me this coupon is not redeemable at all?<br />
<br />
It's likely that bullet was supposed to provide extra information to clarify the circumstances under which the coupon can't be redeemed (e.g. on certain types of merchandise, on the purchase of other training programs) -- but due to the too-quick review of this coupon, the writer didn't notice it was missing.<br />
<br />
<b>When you need to leave something blank because you don't know the answer, use a placeholder</b><br />
<br />
In professional writing, you sometimes need to write a document when you don't have all the final details.<br />
<br />
For example, when writers in a publicly-traded company draft a news release about something the Board has yet to approve, they'll use a bullet or another symbol to show where the missing information goes (e.g. "Today, the Board declared a dividend of $ * per share").<br />
<br />
This allows a writer to write around the missing information, but puts something in the text to flag that there's information missing. A search for the symbol in Word helps you fill in the information quickly once you have it.<br />
<br />
If my coupon-writer had used this approach, his/her text might have looked something like this:<br />
<br />
"Non-redeemable toward **************"<br />
<br />
That would have been much tougher for the proofreader to miss.<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-48617082929968301232014-03-01T12:30:00.000-08:002014-03-01T12:30:03.481-08:00"Dear Salutation"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAMA9az-vTI9SofvArsgk3uCAPsBiTsV0Xw3ggYlHJLfOgFVdtiztU6TbpIzC8wN5dj85TJJmG4iLRbio8xfzzPS6oWa4dCII0Rgkn1_Xz8eiau3yOJBraki_WSBuD6-bf_uVnGXZ0nPhN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-29+at+9.04.18+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAMA9az-vTI9SofvArsgk3uCAPsBiTsV0Xw3ggYlHJLfOgFVdtiztU6TbpIzC8wN5dj85TJJmG4iLRbio8xfzzPS6oWa4dCII0Rgkn1_Xz8eiau3yOJBraki_WSBuD6-bf_uVnGXZ0nPhN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-29+at+9.04.18+AM.png" height="250" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A retailer sent me this postcard last month (I've taken out the company name). What caught my attention was the opening line.<br />
<br />
<b>"Dear Salutation"</b><br />
<br />
This proofreading error reflects a deficiency in the production process, as opposed to grammar or spelling. Here's how it easily could have happened:<br />
<br />
1) A copywriter was employed to write the text for the postcard. The copywriter used the placeholder "Salutation," as is common practice, to show where the customer's name should go (e.g. "Ms. Lee Lockhart" in my case). The copywriter would have expected the production department to insert the customer name in the space where "Salutation" appears, so my card would have said "Dear Ms. Lee Lockhart," whereas someone else's could have said "Dear Ms. Jones."<br />
<br />
2) The copywriter's text was sent to a graphic designer, who designed the postcard using the writer's copy as provided. The graphic designer may have been a rookie (unfamiliar with the use of placeholders like "Salutation" in copy) or may have been asleep at the wheel... or maybe it was someone else's job to coordinate the merge of customer names with the layout, and that someone forgot to. Either way...<br />
<br />
3) The graphic designer's text went to print, as designed, with the placeholder copy intact.<br />
<br />
<b>Check your text and your process</b><br />
<br />
My PR Major students know about a map that almost made its way into an annual report I was printing; the city names were all spelled properly (I had proofread them dozens of times), but I only realized after the final signoff (and mere hours before it was too late to catch the error) that some of the city names weren't in the right spots on the map.<br />
<br />
That near miss haunts me to this day.<br />
<br />
Proofreading has to go beyond checking spelling and grammar - check every part of the production process for errors.<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-67753624083562364072014-02-17T08:43:00.000-08:002014-02-17T08:43:32.943-08:00"Louie Riel Day"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhw0f1v0iCdYjIN1pJqHh_TtIurbzYEFCBdGSL_17vqtCFGaqn83XyNEwqxf0ZfaSI0cqcjywbrIXbGjoJ9-H02It5Nv6pb_ZtDbomQiyM7o75wASnby6LSsTZvnb4-VG3YbhNp3RwKHX/s1600/IMG_3936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhw0f1v0iCdYjIN1pJqHh_TtIurbzYEFCBdGSL_17vqtCFGaqn83XyNEwqxf0ZfaSI0cqcjywbrIXbGjoJ9-H02It5Nv6pb_ZtDbomQiyM7o75wASnby6LSsTZvnb4-VG3YbhNp3RwKHX/s1600/IMG_3936.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Today is <a href="http://www.gov.mb.ca/february_holiday/" target="_blank">Loui<b>s</b> Riel Day</a> in Manitoba, a statutory holiday, so stores are open fewer hours than they would normally be. This sign was posted on the door of a major retailer in Winnipeg last week (and by major retailer, I mean possibly the world's largest retailer).<br />
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In Public Relations classes in the <a href="http://crecomm.rrc.mb.ca/" target="_blank">Creative Communications program at Red River College</a>, we teach students to go to the source to find the correct spelling of a name. If you're writing about a film, go to the production company's website, not IMDb. If you're writing about a politician, go to his/her campaign materials, not the local newspaper. Don't trust someone else not to have made an error; go to the source.<br />
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But if the source has been dead more than a century, where do you go? You have to figure out who's most reliable. <a href="https://www.wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> makes it easy to find information about millions of topics quickly, but is every detail you'll find there reliable? You don't know for sure.<br />
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Louis Riel Day is officially recognized by the Government of Manitoba -- so in this case, that'd be your official source.<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-81130026392092446482014-01-24T14:13:00.001-08:002014-01-24T14:13:46.716-08:00Apostrophes apostrophes apostrophes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This email arrived in my inbox this week, advertising a seminar at which I could learn "best practices" in internal communications. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given that the email contains two apostrophe errors in the first couple of lines, I'm not going to put too much stock in the sender's expertise in best communication practices.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgq82IpPqgJSWTKIc5Y1UKCzQgJ_2yY3bDBMSCttW0jx86XDIIHBl9vaPZTVTAGbLflSjNK1TawL2asoMFOnV4h8tm0H30koG5qBRYgDV273rzTIjye3fwkg0w7B2M7URc5-cGIvZ_k5W/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-21+at+9.22.40+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgq82IpPqgJSWTKIc5Y1UKCzQgJ_2yY3bDBMSCttW0jx86XDIIHBl9vaPZTVTAGbLflSjNK1TawL2asoMFOnV4h8tm0H30koG5qBRYgDV273rzTIjye3fwkg0w7B2M7URc5-cGIvZ_k5W/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-21+at+9.22.40+AM.png" height="186" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Error #1: "employee's attention"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The apostrophe before the "s" indicates we're talking about the attention of one employee. In this case, though, we're most likely talking about multiple employees' attention -- so the apostrophe should <i>follow</i> the "s."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Error #2: "employees attention"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the same case as above -- just a different error, because the writer left the apostrophe off altogether.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both sentences should say "...fighting to get your <i>employees' </i>attention."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This one is a little trickier:</b></span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ยท </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zubQ_g5qz_2IQTXqVBOHf9I1v6knzuRxLmwKQ1opfb1L3HDM4hRA7toZAGqtRi25_X7beR99OTAq-39TBuPhsFrAmejJZEZNgtAnozXQR6YznhDJELdXCs3cJhkUySW88tS57dUl69kJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-21+at+9.26.01+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zubQ_g5qz_2IQTXqVBOHf9I1v6knzuRxLmwKQ1opfb1L3HDM4hRA7toZAGqtRi25_X7beR99OTAq-39TBuPhsFrAmejJZEZNgtAnozXQR6YznhDJELdXCs3cJhkUySW88tS57dUl69kJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-21+at+9.26.01+AM.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The writer knows to use an apostrophe after the "s" when showing possession of a plural word -- but there's an exception if the plural word doesn't end in "s."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this was the babies' corner, or the girls' corner, or the owners' corner, this apostrophe would be fine. These are plural words that end in "s." But the plural noun "men" doesn't end in an "s," so we show possession the same way we would with a singular noun (by adding apostrophe "s"): <i>men's</i> corner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This writer's problem is spelling:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkWuw0C_t3xUwpTfq_B69d1J0eOtXd-rhWxBDkG1_HtNV3NqrFusF9gD7MoV3uBZ8ZQEqhEQfKb1hroAF4BuDvlJwU7lZ7S52eTJMIQKgTwTQ_OfF6bbRzt71rrlsXwn2LVxk-S6flYRO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-21+at+9.28.33+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkWuw0C_t3xUwpTfq_B69d1J0eOtXd-rhWxBDkG1_HtNV3NqrFusF9gD7MoV3uBZ8ZQEqhEQfKb1hroAF4BuDvlJwU7lZ7S52eTJMIQKgTwTQ_OfF6bbRzt71rrlsXwn2LVxk-S6flYRO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-21+at+9.28.33+AM.png" height="55" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apostrophe "s" isn't used to pluralize nouns, though you see it all the time. For example:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0EKQ0bodL96JtJm9olZdoo1rEMUcXFIA6fcKLuPS-vtTFI9LJZ9elIOZuwABY91GwiTqAu-GCdoBOKX3rFo-ZhX7ldvrBeUHU4pGSB2kiyCANjAsO1UILvf-oOCUc2_cir_X59zIWVBTw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-17+at+10.42.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0EKQ0bodL96JtJm9olZdoo1rEMUcXFIA6fcKLuPS-vtTFI9LJZ9elIOZuwABY91GwiTqAu-GCdoBOKX3rFo-ZhX7ldvrBeUHU4pGSB2kiyCANjAsO1UILvf-oOCUc2_cir_X59zIWVBTw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-17+at+10.42.48+AM.png" height="238" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While it might seem simple to just add the "s" to "tee" to pluralize it ("Custom Tees" is correct), the journalist above forgot the rule about pluralizing nouns that end in "y."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To pluralize "company," you'd remove the "y" and replace it with "ies" ("companies").</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Here are last week's apostrophe resource links again:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">For an easy-to-read-and-understand primer on how to use the apostrophe, </span><a href="http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/apostrophe-catastrophe-part-one" style="background-color: white; color: #7c80a1; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Grammar Girl offers a great series of posts</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"> -- and when you need a quick reference with a laugh on the side, check out </span><a href="http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe" style="background-color: white; color: #7c80a1; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Oatmeal</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">.</span></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-47163034362700504732014-01-15T07:21:00.000-08:002014-01-15T07:21:49.610-08:00"Tenants lounge"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7m0qfsNZmfFkWbjBQzrbXxqtgFAfw0ld5EEi0kzkbd0vgtuf6fVRq8-hFUwSg10hDWdQVmEu_j9l7OkcOXX764tPLTRG4fj3111zW-_lsnbe0F4rHKa-446KUe5WtvgzWRnENz9AUGrLs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-06-04+at+4.50.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7m0qfsNZmfFkWbjBQzrbXxqtgFAfw0ld5EEi0kzkbd0vgtuf6fVRq8-hFUwSg10hDWdQVmEu_j9l7OkcOXX764tPLTRG4fj3111zW-_lsnbe0F4rHKa-446KUe5WtvgzWRnENz9AUGrLs/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-06-04+at+4.50.18+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the first of what I suspect will be a series of posts on misused apostrophes.<br />
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My completely unscientific research suggests the apostrophe is the most commonly-misused punctuation mark (in Canada and the U.S., at least) -- and it's important to use your apostrophes correctly, because they play such an important role in communicating meaning.<br />
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Is this hotel lounge named for a family named "Tenants?" If so, the sign is fine.<br />
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If not, we likely need an apostrophe in the name.<br />
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If the lounge is intended for one tenant, it would more accurately be named "Tenant's Lounge" (apostrophe <i>before</i> the possessive "s"). It's the lounge meant for that one tenant.<br />
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If, as is more likely, the lounge is for any of the hotel's tenants to use, it should be called the "Tenants' Lounge" (apostrophe <i>after</i> the pluralizing "s"), since it's the lounge meant to be used by all the tenants (plural).<br />
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For an easy-to-read-and-understand primer on how to use the apostrophe, <a href="http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/apostrophe-catastrophe-part-one" target="_blank">Grammar Girl offers a great series of posts</a> -- and when you need a quick reference with a laugh on the side, check out <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe" target="_blank">The Oatmeal</a> on the topic.<br />
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Thanks to Chris Lee for spotting this sign!Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-60816061482518976612014-01-08T07:13:00.000-08:002014-01-08T07:13:15.745-08:00"I could care less"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAacw-T3Tx_gdGCtax32pKvLA2r2UPs9_1Ohe0gWNGx03AkswHHOyq9B4dFSN-w_4UE-12Tw1muJ-y0gShuYIMj10Sv2mAgi27UPzWol5WeR_Px0hcT3mJi_I4-pSxMeTCQb9DI1x61IP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-21+at+12.51.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAacw-T3Tx_gdGCtax32pKvLA2r2UPs9_1Ohe0gWNGx03AkswHHOyq9B4dFSN-w_4UE-12Tw1muJ-y0gShuYIMj10Sv2mAgi27UPzWol5WeR_Px0hcT3mJi_I4-pSxMeTCQb9DI1x61IP/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-09-21+at+12.51.00+PM.png" height="54" width="320" /></a></div>
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I often hear people saying they "could care less" about something, meaning they don't care at all.<br />
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"I could care less whether it's raining tomorrow; I'm wearing my shiny new rain boots even if the sun is shining."<br />
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The problem with this is that, if you could care less, you must care at least somewhat... in which case the expression contradicts what you mean. If you <i>could</i> care less, you could care anywhere from slightly to as much as one could possibly care about something.<br />
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If you want to communicate that you don't care about something, and you want to use this expression, say "I <i>couldn't </i>care less."<br />
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That makes it clear: you care as little as it is possible to care.<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-38069298164368967152013-12-10T13:51:00.003-08:002013-12-10T13:51:58.383-08:00"GET-A-WAY!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJB4AJOoJ_adBoAA-hctlMevkvT0qJnE6n6GEGh0WUVe1DOVVyMDTHT6I2U02RuidJ_YJtIfsaRLrqWqstKp6ee_aEGZrQJzsAFq_OBKllZGv6E86uj8wBUaZR2dPE0uWN4xRE_uIRKh8X/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-19+at+12.11.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJB4AJOoJ_adBoAA-hctlMevkvT0qJnE6n6GEGh0WUVe1DOVVyMDTHT6I2U02RuidJ_YJtIfsaRLrqWqstKp6ee_aEGZrQJzsAFq_OBKllZGv6E86uj8wBUaZR2dPE0uWN4xRE_uIRKh8X/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-08-19+at+12.11.24+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I think this travel brochure meant to offer a quiet getaway... I'm not sure what a "get-a-way" is.<br />
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<b>And, while we're at it!</b><br />
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My students know I have a prejudice against exclamation marks in all but the rarest of cases. The <a href="http://excessiveexclamation.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Excessive Exclamation!!</a> blog (in my blogroll at right) provides an excellent explanation:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The exclamation point is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume (shouting), and often marks the end of a sentence. Example, "Watch Out!" A sentence ending in an exclamation mark is an actual exclamation ("Wow!", "Boo!"), the imperative mood ("Stop!"), or intended to be astonishing or show astonishment ("They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!). Overly frequent use of the exclamation mark is generally considered poor writing, for it distracts the reader and reduces the mark's meaning. And, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "An exclamation point is like laughing at your own jokes."</span><br />
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The content of your writing should generate excitement, not your punctuation; writing that attempts to generate excitement through exclamation points seems unpolished (and less credible than it might otherwise be).<br />
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Whenever you're tempted to use an exclamation point in professional writing, challenge yourself to use the <i>message</i> to excite the reader. That'll have more impact.<br />
<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-73744453721897336182013-11-21T09:08:00.000-08:002013-11-21T09:09:51.249-08:00Is it washed or isn't it?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcyq_WrB_VF2MA7CsOcEmgJExVbUJ9qcEXrf67oBOGl44uF_k1f7EIttv8hrlRdBPUqS9vN_T7ZOcwINh3czSl2MBHlMR7mp013YkmurjFwIxK-PVMysYh_FMd-uMZcX_ya2qk2lqowfG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-05-24+at+10.09.20+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcyq_WrB_VF2MA7CsOcEmgJExVbUJ9qcEXrf67oBOGl44uF_k1f7EIttv8hrlRdBPUqS9vN_T7ZOcwINh3czSl2MBHlMR7mp013YkmurjFwIxK-PVMysYh_FMd-uMZcX_ya2qk2lqowfG/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-05-24+at+10.09.20+AM.png" width="297" /></a></div>
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This note on a bag of romaine lettuce advises English speakers to wash the lettuce before eating it -- but tells French speakers it's already been washed (though phrased awkwardly).<br />
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Bilingual packaging requirements in Canada open the door to a wide range of errors: you need good proofreaders for the English, good proofreaders for the French... and in some cases, good proofreaders who are adept in both languages.<br />
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The PR Major had a great discussion this week, led by <a href="http://erikamiller.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Erika Miller</a>, about <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/coca-cola-apologizes-vitaminwater-bottle-cap-read-you-retard-152548" target="_blank">Coca-Cola's vitaminwater promotion-gone-wrong</a>, in which the company inadvertently printed offensive statements on its bottle caps because of unanticipated pairings of English and French words.<br />
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Translation isn't just about getting out your French-English dictionary or using Google Translate. Over the years I've heard people say "I speak French so I can do the translations." Mistake.<br />
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Would you have anyone who speaks English write your corporate materials? Of course you wouldn't. You'd hire a writing specialist, if you wanted them to be good.<br />
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Unless you are a professional translator, hire a professional translator.<br />
<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-61816648035942964852013-11-08T12:53:00.000-08:002013-11-08T12:53:36.100-08:00"Cheating... are becoming"My brother sent this headline from an Ottawa daily newspaper last week:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3R_EuENJss2kP-9qNNQbi9ihlFHH6dAmAplbRQz3slXyDevcyuj8gjQ9-RlhJMqfociA9vQoJ1kQXubGKaGtx7hu0n9Jo9xqiSUsTPHrdPwEqQpUhyphenhyphenAQMeMP6uwUx_VZlarJgMPPu3FHw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+2.36.02+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="61" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3R_EuENJss2kP-9qNNQbi9ihlFHH6dAmAplbRQz3slXyDevcyuj8gjQ9-RlhJMqfociA9vQoJ1kQXubGKaGtx7hu0n9Jo9xqiSUsTPHrdPwEqQpUhyphenhyphenAQMeMP6uwUx_VZlarJgMPPu3FHw/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+2.36.02+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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This headline contains an error in subject-verb agreement. In any sentence, the number of a verb has to match the number of its subject.<br />
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To determine the correct form of the verb, we would ask ourselves, "what is/are becoming more creative?"<br />
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The answer is "cheating," which is singular. For correct subject-verb agreement, the sentence should read, "Cheating at Ottawa schools<i> is </i>becoming more creative each day," since "is becoming" is the singular form of the verb.<br />
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If we re-worded the sentence slightly, and "cheaters" became the subject of the verb "becoming," it would be a different story (and likely, a more accurate statement, since cheating can't really be creative -- only cheaters can). In that case, we would say "Cheaters at Ottawa schools <i>are</i> becoming more creative each day." The plural subject ("cheaters") would call for a plural verb ("are becoming").<br />
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Thanks for the tip, Chris!<br />
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<br />Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-51214009978001094012013-10-30T14:23:00.000-07:002013-10-30T14:23:08.675-07:00"Aunt killer"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZF4UAr8r5FZH3qoSA6-0teF5dFTWaWfZy038F82vfj_5Ud5GWlldqdvrC1c8FLZNMzNgabQu9GNoHcxmV6OEqSDIGoln9k50nE3ifvpa55XdvGqhONAclY_Fedvh0RW_omMmHoj3ivWs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-19+at+12.26.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZF4UAr8r5FZH3qoSA6-0teF5dFTWaWfZy038F82vfj_5Ud5GWlldqdvrC1c8FLZNMzNgabQu9GNoHcxmV6OEqSDIGoln9k50nE3ifvpa55XdvGqhONAclY_Fedvh0RW_omMmHoj3ivWs/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-08-19+at+12.26.48+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh no! Poor aunties.<br />
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Thank you to Lise Lafontaine for submitting this photo, taken at her local hardware store. Let's hope they are actually selling <i>ant</i> killer.Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-8592346136640425322013-10-25T15:00:00.000-07:002013-10-25T15:00:52.545-07:00"Alot"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3uIzgPrtmaaCyTDWOG3j20bYKT68Iy0yi7Io0LHoBR2Rm1q0eC_pmp_JpoFub46zS04-75Qyf-IsUoMkGoJ3lrakvcUt3wPjJaq6hXx0KT9UlLfdTo1nzqs3646zPRzXnEbWApA0uzrJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-10-25+at+4.52.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3uIzgPrtmaaCyTDWOG3j20bYKT68Iy0yi7Io0LHoBR2Rm1q0eC_pmp_JpoFub46zS04-75Qyf-IsUoMkGoJ3lrakvcUt3wPjJaq6hXx0KT9UlLfdTo1nzqs3646zPRzXnEbWApA0uzrJ/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-10-25+at+4.52.09+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This photo was submitted by reader Kaitlin Vitt, who spotted the sign this past summer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As she put it in her email: "I'm sure they were quite proud of the pun they came up with. If only they knew how to spell the word!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The bad news for this car dealer: whether you mean "a lot" as in "many," or "a lot" as in "an area designated for parked cars," it's two words.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for sharing, Kaitlin!</span>Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392119805960738494.post-10642617992729115822013-10-04T07:35:00.002-07:002013-10-04T07:35:58.224-07:00"Caramalized"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRCyBN0o2pvIC2rgDqPS0guW3dVJbPNy06i8pkEkuvIusFEQDedIW7a7j2bC50xJP4rLdJPtgz4Xl3v9Q5cIdBHNEPm9YOME3O1uGIcXfLkx7i-VV5U471JfPPNx5Rxp9BdBQzKuoB0rV/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-05+at+11.02.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRCyBN0o2pvIC2rgDqPS0guW3dVJbPNy06i8pkEkuvIusFEQDedIW7a7j2bC50xJP4rLdJPtgz4Xl3v9Q5cIdBHNEPm9YOME3O1uGIcXfLkx7i-VV5U471JfPPNx5Rxp9BdBQzKuoB0rV/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-09-05+at+11.02.52+AM.png" width="275" /></a></div>
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This is a misspelling, pure and simple. There is no such thing as "caramal," nor is there "caramalization." These onions are cara<b>mel</b>ized (at least, according to the claim in French).<br />
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I often notice discrepancies between the French and the English on packaging in Canada (more on that to follow in a future post) -- but it's rare to find the error in the English.<br />
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Proofreaders! Worth the investment!Melanie Lee Lockhart, APRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14601366118515410834noreply@blogger.com0