Chair`s chatter - Professional Editors` Guild

Volume 21 Number 1 April 2014
Chair’s chatter
#worldbookday
World Book and Copyright Day (‘World Book Day’)
Created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) in 1995, World Book and Copyright Day (also known as the
International Day of the Book and World Book Day) aims to ‘promote reading,
publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright’. It also
represents ‘an attempt to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors … ,
encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure
of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions
of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.’
(www.un.org/en/events/bookday/)
Most countries celebrate World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April every year.
In the UK and Ireland, however, it was decided – after long deliberation – to
celebrate the day earlier in the year, to ensure that it fell outside school terms
and religious holidays and to avoid overlap with various charities’ activities.
This year, the date chosen was 6 March.
The connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by a
bookseller in Catalonia, Spain, in honour of the author Miguel de Cervantes,
who had died on that day in 1616. The bookseller began to offer a rose to his
customers for every book they bought, and others in the profession soon
followed suit. The source of this new custom was the popular ancient
celebration of Saint George’s Day in Catalonia – held on 23 April since
the fifteenth century and associated with roses and the giving thereof.
Since 1923, Catalans in general have exchanged books and roses as presents.
Even though lovers feature rather prominently on the day, friends, family
members and colleagues also exchange gifts of books and roses.
(http://catalanassembly.org/2013/04/24/sant-jordis-day-literature-and-roses/)
According to the United Nations’ website, a major reason why UNESCO chose
the date is that ‘23 April is a symbolic date for world literature because it
is the date of birth or death of prominent authors such as Shakespeare, Inca
Garcilaso de la Vega, Maurice Druon, Haldor K. Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov,
Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.’ (www.un.org/en/events/bookday/)
Philosophy and activities
When UNESCO met for its annual general conference in Paris in 1995, it
concentrated on the UN’s theme for the year, which had been declared the
‘Year for Tolerance’. By establishing a day to celebrate books, authors and
the laws that protect them, the delegates wanted to carry the message of
tolerance into the future.
By extension, World Book Day highlights the connection between better
literacy and tolerance; between global literature and tolerance (hence UNESCO’s
emphasis on the translation of works into other languages in 2012); and between
great writing and enhanced understanding of other viewpoints among nations
and individuals.
page 1 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
By establishing a day to
celebrate books, authors
and the laws that protect
them, the delegates wanted
to carry the message of
tolerance into the future.
All over the world, governments
and organisations make reading
resources available to adults, children,
parents and teachers at this time of
year. Activities of numerous kinds
are held to promote reading and the
cultural aspects of books. They include
relay readings of books and plays;
the distribution of bookmarks;
the announcement of the winners
of literary competitions; events to
promote the understanding of laws
on copyright; and actions to protect
authors’ intellectual property.
(www.worldbookday.com/faq/) >
<…/ 1
Each year a poster is designed and distributed
around the world. It features images designed to
encourage people, particularly children, to read
books and appreciate literature. There is also
a logo for World Book and Copyright Day. This
shows a circle, representing the world, and two
books, one of which is open. (www.timeanddate.
com/holidays/un/world-book-day)
Many events emphasise international cooperation or friendships between
countries. Every second year, the UNESCO Prize for Children’s and Young
People’s Literature in the Service of Tolerance is awarded. Many institutions
place a firm emphasis on the global dimension of the celebration.
(www.worldbookday.com/faq/) An example is Think Global (the Development
Education Association), which promotes, among other things, books with
global themes that encourage young people to think about global issues
requiring international solutions. (think-global.org.uk/)
The event’s global dimension is further emphasised by the fact that every
year, UNESCO and the international organisations representing the three
major sectors of the book industry – the International Publishers Association,
the International Booksellers Federation and the International Federation
of Library Associations and Institutions – select a World Book Capital for the
year. The city of Port Harcourt (Nigeria) was chosen as the capital for 2014.
According to the selection committee responsible for the choice, this was
‘on account of the quality of its programme, in particular its focus on youth
and the impact it will have on improving Nigeria’s culture of books, reading,
writing and publishing to improve literacy rates’. (www.un.org/en/events/
bookday/) The programme’s extensive public participation and aim of
developing reading for all were particularly praised by UNESCO.
(www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/port_harcourt_
named_world_book_capital_2014/#.UzwSN1edFqI)
Port Harcourt is the 14th city to be designated
World Book Capital. It follows Madrid (2001),
Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004),
Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007),
Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010),
Buenos Aires (2011), Yerevan (2012)
and Bangkok (2013). (For more on the
criteria for selection of the World Book
Capital, the candidates for 2015, etc,
please visit this address:
en.unesco.org/world-book-capital-city.)
page 2 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
The naming of one of our South African
cities or towns as World Book Capital in
the future would surely be a meaningful
step forward for literacy in our country.
A new emphasis
A new emphasis, based on the
possibilities and challenges offered
by new technologies, has come to the
fore in UNESCO’s approach in the last
couple of years. In keeping with recent
developments in the world of books
and publishing, the director-general
of the organisation, Irina Bokova, had
the following to say about World Book
Day 2014:
‘Books are not immune from a
world of change, embodied in the
advent of digital formats and the
transition to open licensing for
knowledge-sharing.
‘This means more uncertainty but
also new opportunity – including
for innovative business models in
the world of publishing. Change
is raising sharp questions about
the definition of the book and
the meaning of authorship in the
digital era. UNESCO is leading
from the front in the new debates
about the dematerialization of
books and the rights of authors.
‘By championing copyright and
open access, UNESCO stands up
for creativity, diversity and equal
access to knowledge. We work
across the board – from [our]
Creative Cities of Literature network
to promoting literacy and mobile
learning, and advancing Open
Access to scientific knowledge
and educational resources.
For instance, in partnership with
Nokia and Worldreader, UNESCO
is striving to harness mobile
technology to support literacy.’
(www.unesco.org/)
For further details on UNESCO’s
new (23 April) publication, Reading
in the Mobile Era, and earlier
publications relating to literacy and
modern technologies, please see
the organisation’s website. >
<…/ 2
World Book Day events in South Africa
The Centre for the Book and municipalities countrywide
The South African National Library’s Centre for the Book – which is the
library’s outreach unit and has as its mission to promote easy access to books
for every citizen and a culture of reading, writing and publishing in all local
languages – is responsible for coordinating World Book Day celebrations in our
country. Municipal services throughout South Africa are tasked with organising
events at libraries and other venues in order to celebrate the day.
The aims of the centre’s celebrations are to:
1) raise awareness about the importance of reading;
2) reach out and give people access to books;
3) educate people to care for and about their library facilities;
4) celebrate books.
Outreach activities include a nationwide poster campaign, during which some
30 000 posters are distributed each year. They also feature a door-to-door
reading campaign, which happens on 22 April. This year, the campaign took
place in Kuruman, Northern Cape. (www.nlsa.ac.za/index.php?option=com_co
ntent&view=article&id=53&Itemid=41)
Launch of the Nal’ibali Children’s Literacy Charter
Nal’ibali, the national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, chose 23 April 2014
to launch its Children’s Literacy charter at Constitution Hill. The charter,
available free of charge in all 11 official South African languages as a download
(www.nalibali.org), is ‘a celebration of and guide to the range of literacy
experiences all children should have to best enable them to learn to read and
write’. (From invitation to event) It is also ‘a guide for adults, who are their
children’s first teachers, to do what they can to put the conditions and
resources in place to ensure all children have equal access to their right to
become fully literate citizens’. (www.publicityupdate.co.za/?idstory= 64698,
11 April 2014)
The charter comprises 11 rights.
These were based on ‘sound evidence
from research, input received from the
South African public, fellow literacy
organisations and experts – as well
as from the children, reading club
facilitators and volunteers who attend
Nal’ibali Reading Clubs across the
country.’(Ibid)
Carole Bloch, director of the Project
for the Study of Alternative Education
in South Africa (a driving partner in
the Nal’ibali campaign) – opened the
proceedings. This was followed by
a story enacted by Chris van Wyk,
well-known writer and storyteller,
and a talk by writer and human rights
activist, Elinor Sisulu. Children from
schools in the area attended what
was a very joyous event.
For details on the impressive Nal’ibali
campaign, or to access children’s stories
in a range of South African languages
and tips on reading and writing with
children, visit www.nalibali.org.
Children took pride of place at the launch of the charter. Shown addressing them are Carole Bloch and Chris van Wyk.
Images courtesy of Nal’ibali / www.nalibali.org
page 3 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group
ISSN 1815-3607
PO Box 1847, North Riding 2162
Email: peg@editors.org.za
Website: www.editors.org.za
Views expressed are not necessarily
shared by the editors or the publishers.
Contents
Editor: Alison M Downie
Chair’s chatter
1
Subeditors and proofreaders: Ruth Nicola,
Marita Botha, Isabelle Delvare, Ken McGillivray,
Alison M Downie, Corné Janse van Rensburg
Footnote summit
5
Layout: Lesley Price, Ispiral@mweb.co.za
Computer tips for editors
6
PEG administration, website
support and egroup coordination
Surviving as a freelancer
7
’n Dief aan die kers book review
8
Gauteng networking brunch
9
B is vir byvoeglike naamwoorde en bywoorde
10
Getting down to the nitty-gritty
12
Fundraiser for mentoring scheme award
13
Falling even deeper into a comma
14
Who’s your colleague anyway?
17
Nuwe Afrikaanse boek nou beskikbaar – HAT
19
Forthcoming Branch events
Saturday, 31 May
Nitty-gritty practical editing
workshop: Aspects of consistency 1.
EES-Siyakha Conference Centre,
Parktown.
Saturday, 7 June
Branch AGM, Jacana Publishers,
Melville.
Western Cape Branch
Saturday, 31 May
Xhosa nitty-gritty practical editing
workshop, to be presented by
Faith Saliwa-Mogale, Western Cape
manager of PanSALB.
Webmaster
Sukaina Walji
sukaina@littlegreycells.com
Egroup coordinator
Kim Rasmussen
tzar42@gmail.com
PEG national executive
Chair and national events convenor
Isabelle Delvare
idelvare@gmail.com
Vice-chair and membership
status secretary
Barbara Op't Hof-de Wet
lingolizzy@gmail.com
Treasurer
Graham Townshend
treasurer@editors.org.za
#outandabout
Gauteng Branch
Administrator
Ellyn Barry
ellynbarry@telkomsa.net
Saturday, 7 June
Branch AGM at the Centre for the Book.
Friday–Sunday, 13–15 June
South African Book Fair.
Saturday, 21 June
English nitty-gritty practical editing
workshop presented by Alex Potter.
National Events
Wednesday & Thursday, 14 & 15 May
Franschhoek fiction editing workshop.
Saturday, 28 June
National AGM at the Centre for
the Book.
page 4 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
Mentoring scheme coordinator
Irene Stotko
stotko@worldonline.co.za
Publications coordinator
Alison M Downie
sticklersinc@gmail.com
Communications coordinator
Sukaina Walji
sukaina@littlegreycells.com
Accreditation
Norman Blight
nhblight@iafrica.com
Gauteng Branch chair
Jenny de Wet
jen.dewet@yahoo.com
Western Cape Branch chair
Cornelius Janse van Rensburg
cm.jansevanrensburg@gmail.com
.................................................................
For other portfolios of the Gauteng
and the Western Cape Branches,
visit our website at www.editors.org.za
#digitalprogress
Footnote summit
By Corné Janse van Rensburg
‘The summit is …
a conference for
publishers, corporations,
content providers and
suppliers to the
publishing industry.’
The inaugural Footnote Summit took place at the Cape
Town Lodge, Cape Town, on 6 November 2013. The summit
is billed as a conference for publishers, corporations, content
providers and suppliers to the publishing industry. At this
conference, different business models are discussed, connecting
different types of publishing content. Digital publishing – and the
reach of digital products – is explored.
It seems to be the trend that conferences on e-publishing precede large book
fairs across the world: Digital Book World (www.digitalbookworld.com) takes
place in New York City before BookExpo America (BEA); the Digital Minds
conference precedes the London Book Fair; and CONTEC Frankfurt is held
before the Frankfurt Book Fair. The Footnote Summit aims to fill the existing
gap in the South African market. This year’s summit, scheduled to take place
on 12 June, precedes the South African Book Fair, which will be held from
13 to 15 June.
The 2013 Footnote Summit started promptly with a welcome address by
Wesley Lynch, CEO and founder of Snapplify (www.snapplify.com), a leading
global digital publishing solution that enables publishers to sell and distribute
their content by cellphone and over the Internet.
The first speaker was Malcolm Seegers, the digital publisher at Macmillan
South Africa (www.macmillan.co.za). The title of his presentation was:
‘The need for a digital reading platform for the academic industry (and all
publishers) and the criteria for this to be implemented successfully’. Speaking
from the viewpoint of Macmillan’s focus on education (school, college and
university), Malcolm explained the advantages and disadvantages of selling
digital media on the digital rights management (DRM) platform.
Arthur Atwell, CEO and founder of Paperight (www.paperight.com),
discussed the following five tough truths about selling to publishers:
1. People like you; organisations don’t;
2. The right person is rarely the right person (the person you initially
speak with);
3. Most people don’t speak XML;
4. Anchored numbers (specific targets) are sticky;
5. Risk and regret loom large.
Chris Borain, commercial director at the Daily Maverick (www.dailymaverick.co.za),
stood in for Styli Charalambous, publisher of the online newspaper. He spoke
about six ways in which technology is changing journalism. He considered
consumers, marketing, deliverables, barriers to entry, paywalls, and how and
if it is possible to make a profit.
John P Wheeler, vice-president strategy and emerging technologies at SPI Global
(www.spi-global.com), addressed the conference goers just before the networking
lunch. The title of his presentation was: ‘The digital future is now – discussing
trends in the market place, and tablet and mobile penetration, along with
strategies for manufacturing content in a digital first (or digital only)
methodology’. His presentation can be viewed at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=qXWZuADnJX0#t=21.
page 5 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
Making the most of monetising your
mobile content in Africa with ad
placements was the theme of Nicolle
Harding, country manager at Buzzcity
(www.buzzcity.com). She spoke briefly
about the current use of cellphones
(90%) and the growth of cellphone
ownership and usage (600%) in Africa;
a money-model for mobile devices; and
the interesting link between radio and
the use of mobile devices.
The last speaker at the summit was Brent
Meder, art director at the Cape Media
Corporation (www.capemedia.co.za),
who spoke about launching South
Africa’s first interactive digital magazine
using Adobe DPS in November 2011.
Brent stressed that the Internet is not
equal to digital advertising; that trades
peoples are not interested in others’
advertisements; and that the quality
of digital advertisements is of prime
importance.
The Footnote Summit ended with a
question-and-answer session during
which the audience had the opportunity
to ask the speakers questions and vice
versa. For more information about the
next Footnote Summit on 12 June 2014,
visit www.footnotesummit.com.
#savingyoutime
Computer tips for editors
By Melanie Law
Gauteng members of PEG will remember the superb and very
informative ‘MS Word for editors’ workshop presented by member
Melanie Law towards the end of last year. Subsequently, we asked
Melanie to consider contributing to PEGboard on IT-related issues,
which she kindly agreed to. In this first of a new series of articles,
she discusses time-saving techniques.
In the last 40 years, the role of the professional editor has changed
dramatically. Gone are the days when editing was done solely on paper and
the only tools required to do a good job were a bright-red pen and a trusted
dictionary. Advances in technology mean that it is now vital for editors to be
able to work with electronic documents in word-processing programs.
Despite the many benefits that come with the advances in technology, learning
how to use them can be daunting. I can recall a number of occasions when,
after hours of work, my computer unilaterally resolved not to save my changes,
or when the decidedly evil device thought it would be fun to completely re-do
the formatting on a particularly long document. I have learnt the hard way that
basic computer skills are a necessity for any good editor, and now use several
tricks and techniques to make the process of editing more efficient. Needless
to say, the number of days on which I contemplate murdering my computer
has now been substantially reduced.
In this first article on computer tips for editors, I discuss four of the more
useful tips and techniques that are beneficial to editors.
Find and Replace
F&R
Find and Replace is a wonderfully powerful tool that
most word processors have on offer. I often use this tool
to find all instances of a piece of text and change them
quickly, which is particularly handy when ensuring
consistency or making global changes to a document.
The key to using Find and Replace effectively is to
carefully and accurately delimit what it is you are searching for. To do this,
I always consider the distinctive features of the piece of text I am looking at.
Does it have a particular formatting characteristic? Does it have surrounding
punctuation?
To open the Find and Replace tool, simply press the ‘Ctrl’ and ‘F’ buttons on
your keyboard. A dialogue box will open automatically, providing you with
the options to find and/or replace pieces of text. Selecting the ‘More’ button
at the bottom left-hand corner of the dialogue box opens up additional options
for narrowing down the search, which is very helpful when the text you are
looking at has unique formatting features. For example, if you want to replace
the word ‘hat’ with ‘beanie’, then you should instruct the tool to look for the
word ‘hat’ followed by a space. Otherwise, you may inadvertently change all
instances in which the sequence of letters 'hat' appears, and you may end up
changing ‘that’ to ‘tbeanie’.
page 6 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
AutoCorrect
AC
AutoCorrect is
another very useful
tool I often use.
This tool can be
annoying, but
learning how it
works, and how to customise it to suit
my needs, has really helped me when I
edit. AutoCorrect allows you to change
the way your word processor corrects
or formats text as you type. There is a
default list of options, but this can be
changed to suit your needs. The most
useful advantage of this tool is that
it allows you to instruct your wordprocessing program to automatically
insert a piece of text when you press
a series of keys. This is very useful
when you have to retype long strings
of recurring text or long, difficult
words. For example, if I need to insert
‘statement of income and expenditure’
many times in a text, I can instruct
MS Word to insert this for me after
I press the letters ‘sir’.
To add an item to the AutoCorrect list,
select the ‘Office button’ in MS Word
and then choose ‘Word options’ or
‘Options’. A dialogue box will open up
from which you must select the ‘Proofing’
button, followed by ‘AutoCorrect
options’. A new dialogue box will now
open up. In the ‘Replace’ box, type the
code or sequence of keystrokes that will
activate the AutoCorrect insertion, and
in the ‘With’ box, type the word, phrase
or piece of text that should appear.
Then save the change. In the example
above, I would type ‘sir’ in the ‘Replace’
box and ‘statement of income and
expenditure’ in the ‘With’ box.
Special characters
There are many occasions when I have
stared at my keyboard trying to figure
out how to insert a special character
(like the degree symbol or an em-dash).
Many symbols are not included on a
standard keyboard, but MS Word does
have a tool that allows you to insert a
great many symbols and equations. >
<…/ 6
‘The more time you spend exploring the various tools and buttons
in a program, the more likely you are to learn about, and master,
their uses.’
Most importantly …
¾
If you need to insert a special character, select the
‘Insert’ tab from the main ribbon and then click on
the ‘Symbol’ or the ‘Equation’ button which appears
in the far left-hand corner of the Insert menu. The
‘Symbol’ button gives you access to symbols that
are not on your keyboard, while the ‘Equation’ option
allows you to insert mathematical structures and
symbols. Word even allows you to add a symbol to
the AutoCorrect list from the Symbol dialogue box.
The most important advice I can give
is to take some time every week to
play around with your word-processing
program. The more time you spend
exploring the various tools and buttons
in a program, the more likely you are
to learn about, and master, their uses.
As the saying goes, practice makes
perfect.
#tipsforfreelancers
Surviving
as a
freelancer
By Julia Smuts
On Saturday, 18 January 2014, Cape Town PEGgers were treated to
a very informative and encouraging workshop on this topic by our
erstwhile national and local PEG chairperson, John Linnegar, who
now spends several months of the year in Antwerp, Belgium, where
he teaches and pursues doctoral studies.
The function was held in the committee room of the Centre for the Book,
an impressive old-world building in the heart of the Mother City, right across
from the Company’s Gardens. The day’s events covered a wide range of many
of the practical issues that freelance editors and translators face every day.
After completing a brief ‘SWOT’ analysis for themselves, the participants
shared with the rest of the attendees how they saw their own strengths and
weaknesses – a very comforting exercise, particularly for the less experienced
among us. We then went on to hear from John about how to grapple with the
niceties of running a freelance business: from choosing a suitable work space,
equipment and furnishings to dealing with publishers, students and other
clients; marketing our services; calculating rates for a variety of services;
and invoicing.
page 7 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
John guides Cape Town members through the
minefield of surviving as a freelance editor
After a delicious finger lunch, served
in the colonnaded semi-circular foyer,
research books were given to two lucky
participants whose names were drawn
by John. The afternoon discussion
turned to working with self-publishing
authors and finally to dealing with
tax-related issues.
Having set the eager editing audience
on a firm footing for the year ahead,
John was thanked warmly and wished
well in his endeavours abroad. We left
the cool interior of the Centre for the
Book, the new ‘home’ of the Cape Town
branch of PEG, and braved the blazing
heat of the midsummer’s afternoon and
the world outside.
#nuwewoordeboek
’n Dief aan die kers:
Skelm woorde deur die eeue
Outeur: Anton F Prinsloo
Resensent: Annamarie Mostert
Hierdie woordeboek vind aanklank by taalpraktisyns se speurvernuf;
speurvernuf wat hulle telkens aan die dag moet lê om hulle van
veranderende woordbetekenisse te vergewis. Dr. Anton Prinsloo
wend hierdie speurvernuf kundig aan in sy keuring, verklaring en
beskrywing van ongeveer ’n duisend Afrikaanse woorde waarvan
die oorspronklike betekenisse deur die eeue heen bykans ongemerk,
maar verstommend verander het.
Vandaar die gepaste titel van hierdie woordeboek, ’n Dief aan die kers:
Skelm woorde deur die eeue. In die voorteks werp Prinsloo meer lig op die
betekenis van die ou Afrikaanse uitdrukking ‘daar is ’n dief aan die kers’
in sy oorspronklike konteks, sowel as in die konteks van hierdie uitsonderlike
woordeboek. Hierdie uitdrukking verwys oorspronklik na kerswas wat skeef
aan die een kant van ’n kers afloop; die dief sou dan die was ‘skelm-skelm
aan een kant van die kers steel’. In hierdie woordeboek word tyd die
woorddief wat die woordbetekenisse deur die eeue heen omvorm.
Prinsloo verduidelik in die voorteks (‘Hoe werk die boek?’ ) die werkswyse
wat gevolg is om die betekenisverwisseling van die woorde vas te pen.
Hiervolgens word die vetgedrukte trefwoord gevolg deur sy hedendaagse
woordeboekdefinisie in kursief gedruk waarna ’n beskrywing van die woord
se veranderende betekenisse volg.
Dit is juis in die keuse en beskrywing van trefwoorde waarvan die betekenis
‘erg prettig (en skelm) deur die tyd skeefgetrek is’ dat Prinsloo se kenmerkende
sin vir humor sterk na vore kom. Wie sou byvoorbeeld kon vermoed dat die
betekenis van die elegante bolla, die Franse chignon, verwant is aan die
Engelse chain? Prinsloo bied die leser die volgende beskrywing van hierdie
woord se geskiedenis:
Hierdie krul hare aan die agterkop was van die 13de eeu af gewild
onder dames. Uit ’n sekere hoek het dit gelyk soos ’n ketting-skakel
waarmee die aandag van die mans hopelik gebind sou word.
Dit sou voorts ook nie help om ’n patrollie soldate uit te stuur om die woorddief
te vang nie, want die woord patrollie is self ’n skelm woord aldus die volgende
inskrywing:
patrollie – groep soldate of polisie wat verkenningswerk doen
Volgens die Franse was die patrouille ’n nagwaak. Hulle sê maar net so
omdat hulle te deftig is om te erken dat dit ’n skelm woord is: patrolleer
het ‘deur die modder aanstruikel’ beteken.
Die outeur kniehalter ook nie die leser met gekompliseerde grammatikale
verduidelikings van woorde se herkoms wat in die tale van die antieke
wêreld skuil nie; hy verkies om die kernbetekenis van die woord slegs uit
page 8 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
die werkwoord toe te lig. Die herkoms
van die woord avontuur wat vandag
omskryf word as ’n ‘voorval, opwindende gebeurtenis’ word byvoorbeeld
só beskryf:
Volgens die Romeine was ’n
avontuur iets wat ’n mens nie
sou kon vermy nie en wat gaan
kom. Aventura het ‘iets wat
gaan gebeur’ beteken (uit ad
‘om’ + venire ‘kom’).
Vervolgens word die naspeur van
hierdie woordeboek se uitsonderlike
versameling etimologieë ’n onvergeetlike ervaring wat die oorspronklike én
die moderne gebruik van die woord
avontuur kombineer – dit word ’n
onvermydelik opwindende gebeurtenis.
Die keurige tipografiese versorging
van die sagtebanduitgawe, uitgegee
deur Pharos Woordeboeke, dra ook
daartoe by dat die alfabeties geordende
trefwoorde maklik nageslaan kan word. >
<…/8
Alhoewel daar ’n oorvleueling van inskrywings soos adamsappel en
amasone in hierdie woordeboek en in Die aap in jou koffie: Afrikaanse
eponieme van A tot Z is, word elkeen van hierdie woorde se betekenisse
vanuit ’n unieke invalshoek beskryf wat eie aan die besonderse aard van
elke boek is. Vergelykenderwys handhaaf albei woordeboeke ’n balans
tussen die taalkundige en -vermaaklikheidswaarde van die leesstof.
Die lokteks agterop die boek beklemtoon die vermaaklikheidswaarde
van Prinsloo se humoristiese styl deur die boek te beskryf as ‘ligte, prettige
leesstof’. Hierdie jongste toevoeging tot die Afrikaanse woordeboekinventaris
is ’n aanwins vir alle liefhebbers, taalpraktisyns en redigeerders van die
Afrikaanse taal wat die naspeur van woorde se herkoms nuttig, insiggewend
en vermaaklik vind.
Oor die outeur
Dr. Anton Prinsloo se insiggewende bydrae tot die herkoms van Afrikaanse
woorde en uitdrukkings getuig van sy jarelange betrokkenheid by taalwetenskap. Hy het alreeds nege boeke gepubliseer en verskeie artikels
geskryf. Dr. Prinsloo is al vir die afgelope dekade lank die skrywer van
die rubriek ‘Taalkruie’ wat in die
Volksblad verskyn. Sy woordeboek
oor kontreitaal, Annerlike Afrikaans, is
bekroon met die ATKV-Sanlamtoekenning
vir die beste taalkundepublikasie in 2009.
Hy het in 2003 die CJ Langenhovenprys
vir Taalwetenskap van die SuidAfrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap
en Kuns ontvang. Dr. Prinsloo was
Voorsitter van die Taalkommissie
van die Akademie, van die Nasionale
Taalliggaam vir Afrikaans en van die
Komitee vir Taaladvies van die SAUK.
Uitgewer: Kaapstad: Pharos
Woordeboeke, 2013
Formaat: 274 bladsye; sagteband
ISBN: 978-1-86890-176-0
Kleinhandelsprys: R250,00
#selfpublishing
Gauteng networking brunch
By Pam Makati
The first PEG event in Gauteng for 2014 was the networking
brunch held at the picturesque Willows Country Lodge in Pretoria
on Saturday, 22 March. Isabelle Delvare opened the event with
a hearty welcome and introduced the speaker for the event:
David Robbins, co-owner of Porcupine Press, who addressed
the members on the topic of self-publishing.
Eastern-Cape born David Robbins is an author who has published many books
of fiction, history, socio-political analysis and travel. He has written articles
on the issues of culture, the arts and key development issues confronting the
developing world. His articles have been published in leading South African
newspapers as well as South African, British and American journals.
David has won several awards for his journalism and other writings, including
the South African Literary Award and the CNA Literary Award. He was
recently shortlisted for the Via Afrika-Recht Malan prize for non-fiction.
David Robbins addresses the members over a
leisurely breakfast at Willows Country Lodge
During his talk, David addressed the actual process of self-publishing;
why one should self-publish; how to self-publish; and the challenges of
self-publishing in South Africa. He talked about the pros and cons of this
method and responded to questions and concerns raised by attendees
regarding the challenges that writers and editors face when working within
a self-publishing context.
The talk was followed by Willow Lodge’s delectable buffet breakfast, which
David and his lovely wife, Gail, enjoyed with us. We hope to include an article
on self-publishing by David in a future issue of PEGboard.
page 9 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
David and Gail Robbins with Isabelle Delvare
#bepalingenbeskrywing
is vir
byvoeglike naamwoorde
en bywoorde
Deur Corné Janse van Rensberg
In PEGboard se alfabetiese reeks redigeeronderwerpe
word daar in hierdie uitgawe aandag gegee aan byvoeglike
naamwoorde en bywoorde.
Onlangs het die volgende vrae in openbare forums opgeduik:
Skryf mens privaatskool en privaatsak of privaat skool en privaat sak?
Skryf mens reuse aandeel of reuse-aandeel? Skryf mens iets goed of iets
goeds? Wat van ‘aanlyn’: skryf mens aanlyninkopies of aanlyn inkopies?
En wat gebeur met: ‘inkopies vind ononderbroke aanlyn plaas’?
Om hierdie en soortgelyke vrae te beantwoord, is dit nuttig om weer
na die grammatika van byvoeglike naamwoorde en bywoorde te kyk.
1. Byvoeglike naamwoorde (b.nwe.)
• Wat is ’n byvoeglike naamwoord?
’n Byvoeglike naamwoord beskryf selfstandige naamwoorde
(die interessante boek) en voornaamwoorde (hy is interessant) in ’n
sin en word los van daardie woord geskryf. AWS 14.27 (2009:131).
• Hoe pas byvoeglike naamwoorde in ’n sin?
Die twee voorbeelde hierbo wys hoe byvoeglike naamwoorde gebruik
kan word: attributief of voor die selfstandige naamwoord wat bepaal
word (die interessante boek) en predikatief of deel van die predikaat,
ná die selfstandige naamwoord of voornaamwoord wat bepaal word
(hy is interessant).
• Waarom verbuig byvoeglike naamwoorde soms?
a. Byvoeglike naamwoorde verbuig dikwels om ’n onderskeid tussen ’n
letterlike en figuurlike gebruik (met -e) aan te dui bv. ’n nou pad maar
noue ontkomings, ryk vriende maar ryke ervaring.
b. Soms verbuig byvoeglike naamwoorde ter wille van beklemtoning bv. ’n
stoute kind, deur die lange dae, ’n liewe mens (die morfeem van affek).
c. Soms verskil die betekenis van die verboë vorm van die betekenis van
die onverboë vorm bv. die speler het ’n seker drie verbrou maar ’n
sekere mnr. Smit was hier.
d. Byvoeglike naamwoorde verbuig ook om trappe van vergelyking
(stellende, vergrotende en oortreffende trap) te vorm bv. helder,
helderder, helderste en belese, meer belese, mees belese. (Onthou om
toutologiese vorme soos meer gelukkiger en mees gelukkigste te vermy.
Onthou ook dat sommige byvoeglike naamwoorde logieserwys nie
trappe van vergelyking het nie bv. dood en uniek.)
• Wat is intensiewe (versterkte) vorme van die byvoeglike naamwoord?
Voorbeelde van intensiewe vorme van die byvoeglike naamwoord is:
die piepklein boek, hy is vreksuinig, my oupa is stokdoof, my plankdun
vriend. (Onthou dat intensiewe vorme nie trappe van vergelyking het nie:
pikdonkerder en pikdonkerste is nie moontlik nie.)
page 10 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
• Wat is die deelsgenitief (partitiewe
genitief)?
In uitdrukkings met ‘iets’ (bv. iets
goeds, iets nuuts, d.w.s. iets van
die goeie, iets van die nuwe) en
‘niks’ (bv. niks goeds, niks nuuts,
d.w.s. niks van die goeie, niks van
die nuwe), behou die byvoeglike
naamwoord die fleksiemorfeem -s
wat ’n restant van die genitiewe
naamval is.
Mens vind ou vorme van die
byvoeglike naamwoord wat op
ongewone vorme verbuig in ’n paar
vaste uitdrukkings bv. te eniger tyd,
onverrigter sake, op velerlei wyse,
op heter daad.
• Wat is nominalisering
(substantivering)?
Dikwels word byvoeglike naamwoorde as selfstandige naamwoorde
gebruik. Die selfstandige naamwoord
word net geïmpliseer bv. die mooie
sal seker die kompetisie wen, die
nuwe word altyd verkies, die blinke
lok mense. >
<…/10
2. Bywoorde (bwe.)
Bywoorde (wat ook graadwoorde genoem word) bepaal gewoonlik ’n
werkwoord of ’n byvoeglike naamwoord. Maar bywoorde kan ook ander
bywoorde, voorsetsels, telwoorde, voegwoorde en hele sinne bepaal.
Hy lees dikwels
bywoord bepaal werkwoord
Hy lees besonder dikwels
bywoord bepaal bywoord
Hy is uiters belese
bywoord bepaal byvoeglike
naamwoord
Hy het die boek vlak voor my gesit
bywoord bepaal voorsetsel
Daar was byna honderd boeke
bywoord bepaal telwoord
Hy sal dit lees, bloot omdat dit ’n treffer is
bywoord bepaal voegwoord
Hy sal miskien Maandag die boek lees
bywoord bepaal sin
Bywoorde wat ’n hele sin bepaal en nie net ’n spesifieke woord nie, word
bywoorde van modaliteit genoem. Ander modale bywoorde is bv. seker,
werklik, regtig, tog, immers, darem, dalk, nie, kamma, sommer, mos, glo, bra.
• Dit is soms nuttig om die soort bywoord te bepaal om die betekenis van ’n
sin vas te stel:
Hy lees soggens
bywoord van tyd
Hy lees buite
bywoord van plek
Hy lees ononderbroke
bywoord van wyse
Hy lees genoeg
bywoord van graad
Daarom het hy nie gelees nie
bywoord van oorsaak
Daarvoor het hy gelees
bywoord van doel
bepaling van die hele sin:
bywoord van modaliteit:
Hy sal dit onmoontlik regkry
ontkenning
Hy sal dit beslis regkry
bevestiging
Sal jy dit asseblief dadelik doen!
wens
Hy sal altemit weer probeer
twyfel
Hy het darem tog sy bes gedoen
toegewing
• In Afrikaans word bywoorde dikwels opgestapel: jy kan sommer nie net
hier aanmekaar sit en lees nie.
• Sekere bywoorde kom in vaste pare met werkwoorde voor bv. ruiterlik
of rondborstig erken, onteenseglik bewys, gelate aanvaar, ruimskoots
vergoed, onderhoudend gesels.
• Onder invloed van Engelse bywoorde wat dikwels op -ly eindig (bv. ‘primarily’,
‘dutifully’), is daar ’n tendens om -lik aan byvoeglike naamwoorde te voeg
om bywoorde te skep. Bloedig word bloediglik, vrywillig word vrywilliglik,
wettig word wettiglik. Dit moet vermy word. (In Afrikaans word -lik eerder
gebruik om byvoeglike naamwoorde te vorm bv. hartlik, wonderlik.)
BYWOORD BEPAAL TELWOORD BYWOORD BEPAAL SIN
BYWOORD BEPAAL WERKWOORD
BYWOORD BEPAAL BYWOORD
BYWOORD BEPAAL VOORSETSEL
BYWOORD BEPAAL BYVOEGLIKE NAAMWOORD
page 11 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
3.Punktuasie by byvoeglike
naamwoorde en bywoorde
• Tussen twee of meer verboë
byvoeglike naamwoorde word ’n
komma gebruik bv. ’n ingewikkelde,
spannende boek.
• Tussen ’n bywoord en ’n byvoeglike
naamwoord word daar nie ’n komma
of koppelteken gebruik nie bv. ’n
besonder spannende boek.
• Tussen ’n byvoeglike naamwoord
en ’n kleurnaam word daar geen
komma gebruik as die byvoeglike
naamwoord die hele voorwerp
beskryf nie bv. ’n dik blou boek.
• ’n Komma word nie gebruik tussen
twee byvoeglike naamwoorde
wanneer die eerste byvoeglike
naamwoord die hele begrip beskryf
wat deur die daaropvolgende
byvoeglike naamwoord en selfstandige naamwoord gevorm word
nie bv. Afrikaanse literêre boeke.
• By saamgestelde byvoeglike naamwoorde wat uit twee byvoeglike
naamwoorde bestaan waarvan die
eerste deel onverbuig is en die tweede
deel verbuig, word ’n koppelteken
gebruik bv. die boek bespreek
politiek-godsdienstige kwessies.
• By saamgestelde byvoeglike naamwoorde wat uit ’n selfstandige naamwoord en ’n byvoeglike naamwoord
bestaan, word die dele vas geskryf
bv. bloeddeurdrenkte bladsye van
’n spanningsroman.
• Gebruik ’n koppelteken tussen twee
kleurname of ander byvoeglike
naamwoorde waar ‘en’ maklik gebruik
sou kon word bv. swart-wit buiteblad,
resep vir ’n soet-suur gereg.
• Skryf kleurname los van selfstandige
naamwoorde, maar skryf eendersklinkende stofname vas aan die
selfstandige naamwoord bv. silwer
papier maar silwermedalje, room
rok maar roomkoek.
• Soms het byvoeglike naamwoorde en
selfstandige naamwoorde saamgesmelt om ’n nuwe betekeniseenheid
te vorm. Onderskei dus tussen ’n
kortbroek en ’n kort broek, droëvrugte en droë vrugte. AWS 14.31
(2009:133–134).
• Soms is ’n byvoeglike naamwoord en
selfstandige naamwoord se betekenis >
<…/ 11
minder akkuraat as ’n samestelling van twee selfstandige naamwoorde.
SAAZ (2011:716):
S.nw. + s.nw.
Eerder as b.nw. + s.nw.
administrasiegebou
administratiewe gebou
administrasiekoste
administratiewe koste
strategiekonsultant
strategiese konsultant
strategiebeplanning
strategiese beplanning
weerverskynsel
weerkundige verskynsel
gestremdevereniging
gestremde vereniging
grondwetkenner
grondwetlike kenner
• Byvoeglike naamwoorde wat van eiename afgelei is, word aanvanklik
gewoonlik met ’n hoofletter geskryf. Mettertyd word die byvoeglike
naamwoord as ’n afleiding beskou en dan met ’n kleinletter geskryf bv.
Calvinistiese gestremdheid, maar chauvinistiese begaafdheid. AWS 9.19
(2009:53–54)
4. Antwoorde
In die lig van die bespreking hierbo,
skryf ons dus privaat skool en privaat
sak en nie privaatskool en privaatsak
nie; ons skryf reuse-aandeel en nie
reuse aandeel nie; ons skryf iets goeds
en nie iets goed nie; ons skryf aanlyn
inkopies en nie aanlyninkopies nie.
En in die sin: ‘inkopies vind ononderbroke aanlyn plaas’ is aanlyn ’n
bywoord van wyse (’n voorbeeld van
funksiewisseling in Afrikaans).
5. Waar kan ek nog hulp kry?
AWS 2009:558 en elders by hoof- en
kleinletters, koppeltekens, skryfwyse
los en vas.
SAAZ 2011:713–719 (par. 25.1–25),
720–721 (par. 25.26–30).
HAT T&F 2013:25–26 en vir punktuasie
66–72.
#nittygrittyworkshops
Getting down to the nitty-gritty
By Kristina Davidson
On a sunny Saturday morning in February, I joined 24 other PEG/
LAMP members for the first in a series of ‘nitty-gritty’ practical
workshops organised by PEG Cape Town. Facilitated by Peter
Merrington, the workshop’s aim was to give participants the
‘opportunity to learn and apply practical editing skills to different
types of texts’.
Peter Merrington was an amusing and engaging facilitator who provided us
with a wide variety of texts for the editing exercises, ranging from an in-house
newsletter to scenes from a novel set in Cape Town. As I have never edited
(and have no plans to edit) fiction, I particularly enjoyed the fiction examples.
For me, the best part of the workshop was the exchange of ideas and
discussion about how we would have edited the various texts. I was, as
always, amazed at the richness and variety of work that editors do. Having
said that, I think that the learning could have been greater if a summary of
the main issues in the text had been provided after each exercise, as time
did not allow for very detailed discussion of all the texts.
For future workshops, I would recommend a tighter structure, in order to
reduce the time spent going off at a tangent, which was interesting, but
meant that the workshop ran over time. Of course, this may be wishful
thinking, as, in my experience, any gathering of editors involves a lot of
talking. Controlling a group of opinionated editors is not easy, and I think
overall Peter did an excellent job!
page 12 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
The time and structure issues are
but minor quibbles. The nitty-gritty
workshops are a fantastic initiative.
I not only learned from the general
discussion based on the texts, but
was also reassured by the realisation
that other editors would have made the
same or similar changes as I. (I doubt
that I am the only PEG member to
question my ability to edit, especially
new or different texts, such as fiction.)
‘The nitty-gritty workshops are
a fantastic initiative.’
Congratulations to the PEG Cape
Town Committee for their hard work
and effort in putting together these
workshops. In particular, thank you
to Corné van Rensburg for his hard
work and to Peter Merrington for being
willing to be the first facilitator. I hope
that other experienced PEG members
will show the same willingness to
‘step up to the plate’ and share their
wealth of knowledge with members.
#beinittowinit
Fundraiser for mentoring
scheme award
By Irene Stotko
The prestigious Derrick Hurlin Mentoring Award was set up in
2012 to recognise excellence in mentoring. It is dedicated to the
memory of Derrick Hurlin, a great PEG mentor, whose family kindly
donated a floating trophy towards the award. Every year we offer
the Derrick Hurlin Award to the most deserving mentor on the
PEG Mentoring Scheme.
A monetary contribution has accompanied the trophy. Since we are a little low
on funds, we are running a raffle this year at all PEG events to fund the award.
Alison Downie, Joan Fairhurst and Irene Stotko started selling raffle tickets
for R10 each at the Gauteng brunch on Saturday, 22 March and quickly sold
25 tickets.
Book hampers
Two copies of the following two titles from Cambridge University Press thanks
to Isabelle Delvare:
• Butcher, Judith, Drake, Caroline & Leach, Maureen, Copy-editing:
The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors and Publishers, 2006.
• Mackenzie, Janet, The Editor’s Companion, 2011.
You will stand to WIN
one of two covetable hampers
of books and stationery, of the
sort bound to appeal to all true
editors. Draws will take place
during the PEG Conference
in October, at the main event in
Johannesburg and a linked
event in Cape Town.
Please continue to support
this competition.
Irene Stotko selling raffle tickets
for the Derrick Hurlin Mentoring
Award. The winners will be
drawn at PEG’s 21st anniversary
celebrations in October.
page 13 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
One copy of each title from Tafelberg
Publishers, donated by Marion Boers:
• Bredenhann, Douwleen, Living
without Liesl, 2010.
• Dommisse, Ebbe, Sir David Pieter
de Villiers Graaff: First Baronet of
De Grendel, 2011.
• Mouton, Jannie, “and then they fired
me”, as told to Carié Maas, 2011.
• Maas, Deon, Witboy in Africa:
Diary of a Troublemaker, 2010.
• Van der Vyfer, Marita, Just Dessert,
Dear, 2010.
• Pharos Afrikaans–English, English–
Afrikaans Dictionary, 2005.
• Von Meck, Anoeschka, My name
is Vaselinetjie, translated from the
Afrikaans by Elsa Silke, 2009.
More titles will be added to the
hampers during the year as we
approach more publishers.
#commasense
Falling even deeper
into a comma
#part2
By Lin Aecer
Welcome to Part 2 of the article on comma use and abuse, Part 1
of which appeared in the December 2013 issue of PEGboard. In this
third in a series of grammar articles, I consider a further clutch of
troublesome aspects of sentence construction involving the use of
the comma.
By now, some of you may be agreeing with copy editor and writer Jonathon
Owen that, strictly speaking, grammar refers to the structural rules of
language, namely morphology, phonology and syntax, not to punctuation
or usage. But I view punctuation as a kind of adhesive that holds authors’
words and thoughts together; it also replaces the pauses, intonations and
emphases of the spoken word where text on a page would otherwise be
mute. As such, in the opinion of this and other writers, punctuation is
an ‘equal partner’ with grammar in sentence construction and the clear
communication of ideas and information.
The comma problems included in this article, based on their proclivity to put
text editors to the test, are:
• when and where to use a comma or commas in conjunction with ‘however’,
‘moreover’, etc;
• when and where to use a comma or commas in conjunction with ‘that is’,
‘namely’ and ‘for example/for instance’;
• a single comma used with parenthetic expressions, instead of a pair of
commas;
• the comma associated with sentence adverbs;
• the comma that signals a sentence inversion; and
• when (or when not) to use commas in adjective strings.
Quotable quotes
‘Too many commas make writing choppy; too few
create misunderstanding.’ (Venolia 14)
With words such as ‘however’ and ‘moreover’
Words such as ‘however’ and ‘moreover’ are usually followed by a comma
when used at the opening of a sentence or are preceded and followed by a
comma when used in the middle of a sentence. Placed at the end of a sentence,
they should be preceded by a comma:
✓✓ However, it is always possible to apply this recognition from an
unprivileged social condition.
✓✓ Vollenhoven, moreover, does not regard Empedocles’ philosophy of
change and constancy as an attempt at integration.
page 14 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
✓✓ They do harbour some
problematic internal incoherence,
however.
When they are used to introduce a
clause, they must be preceded by a
semi-colon, not a comma (see below)
(Manning Murphy 144).
✓✓ I will be at the meeting; however,
I am likely to be late.
✓✓ You were insolent; moreover, your
conduct was tantamount
to insubordination.
In conjunction with ‘that is’,
‘namely’, etc
When and where should you used a
comma or commas in conjunction with
‘that is’, ‘namely’ and ‘for example/for
instance’? According to New Hart’s
Rules (at 72), a comma is generally
required after ‘that is’:
✓✓ Societal norms, that is, the norms
set by society as a whole, are
ignored at one’s peril.
Depending on the structure of a
sentence as a whole, a comma may
or may not be used after ‘namely’
and ‘for example’ or ‘for instance’:
✓✓ The theoretical owners of the
firm, namely the shareholders,
are nevertheless to be consulted.
✓✓ Alcoholic beverages – for example,
beer, whisky, brandy and gin –
were also available at the party.
Single commas with parenthetic
expressions
Parenthetic expressions can be viewed
as interruptions to the main idea
expressed in a sentence. This means
that the interruption must be ‘bracketed
off’ with a pair of commas to make the
sentence construction and the author’s >
<…/ 14
meaning quite clear. (Alternatively, if the writer intended to stress the
bracketed-off words, or even to under-state them, he or she might have
used a pair of dashes or parentheses (brackets), respectively, instead.)
✗✗ The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time
is to cycle.
✗✗ My brother you will be pleased
to hear, is now in perfect health.
A good test of whether a pair of commas is needed is to visualise the commas
as parentheses: Would I ever use only one parenthesis in a sentence? Your
answer to this question will indicate that a second comma must surely
be added to the sentence and so the two sentences above should have been
punctuated as follows:
✓✓ The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time,
is to cycle.
✓✓ My brother, you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health.
Quotable quotes
‘The comma is probably the hardest of all
punctuation marks to master. Not only is it the
most flexible, not only are its uses the most
varied, but it also carries few rules and has been
used (and not used) by great authors in many
different ways.’ (Lukeman 32–33)
It is a rule of Afrikaans sentence construction that a sentence containing two
main (or finite) verbs must have the clauses in which they occur bracketed off
with a comma:
✓✓ Sommige mense wat Engels probeer aanleer, vind dat hulle dit maklik
kan bemeester.
As a result of linguistic interference, this rule is often erroneously applied by
writers of English in South Africa (and, by the way, in the Netherlands and
Belgium too):
✗✗ Some people who try to learn English, find that they are able to master
it easily.
✗✗ Glaring gaps and inequities in health, persist both within and between
countries, causing difficulties in achieving the required health advances
equitably.
The problem here is that the subject of the verb ‘find’ is now separated from
its subject ‘some people’ by punctuation, which makes no sense in English
sentence construction. Similarly, ‘gaps and inequities’ has been separated from
the verb ‘persist’. (By the way, in the first example, ‘who try to learn English’
is a defining relative clause, so in any event it would not be bracketed off from
‘people’. As a result, there is no grammatical justification for the comma after
English in any case.) The correct equivalent of the Afrikaans should be:
✓✓ Some people who try to learn English find that they are able to master
it easily.
The correct rendering of the second sentence would be:
✓✓ Glaring gaps and inequities in health persist both within and between
countries, causing difficulties in achieving the required health advances
equitably.
page 15 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
Sentence adverbs or conjunctions
and commas
Sentence adverbs and conjunctions
are important connectors (or linking
or transitional words or phrases)
between sentences and paragraphs.
They help the reader to follow a
writer’s argumentation. When a
sentence begins with an adverb or
an adverbial phrase or clause, it is
customary (and often clearer, especially
to non-native speakers of English) to
terminate the sentence adverb with
a comma to separate it from the main
sentence (usually the main idea being
expressed):
✓✓ Consequently, we’re unable to
conclude that our findings are
due only to one variable.
✓✓ In the summer, the family often
spends a few weeks at the seaside.
✓✓ South African skipper Graeme
Smith was confident he could
beat any team in the World Cup.
After all, he had some of the
finest Twenty20 players to win
matches for him.
✓✓ According to Strauss (2009:89),
movement is something original
in a functional sense.
✓✓ As if that were not enough, we still
had to fight our way through heavy
traffic to get to our appointment.
Note that, in each case, the main point
or thought of the sentence begins
immediately after the comma.
Commas that signal sentence
inversions
Often an author will invert the main
and subordinate ideas in a sentence
to give one idea more prominence
and therefore greater emphasis at
the beginning of a sentence. When
this is done, the two inverted parts
of the sentence must be connected
by a comma, as in these examples:
✓✓ Although he tried his best to
win gold at the Winter Olympics,
Stanislav had to settle for silver.
✓✓ Owing to bad health, James had
to retire prematurely.
✓✓ Not one for being in the limelight,
she surprised us all by appearing
at the charity event.
In each sentence, the words in italics
are the main idea being expressed
but are being given less emphasis
by being placed towards the end of
each sentence. >
<…/ 15
Commas in adjective strings
Where – and when – to place commas between adjectives in strings that
precede a noun is often a source of confusion to authors and editors alike.
Gowers (at 249) writes that where a series of adjectives precedes a noun,
it is a matter of taste whether there are commas between them or not, but
his view is largely unhelpful to text editors who need firm guidance.
Quotable quotes
‘... stops have two kinds of duty. One is to show the
construction of sentences – the ‘grammatical’ duty.
The other is to introduce nuances into the meaning –
the ‘rhetorical’ duty.’ (Gowers 239)
Knowing the following simple rule should help with making a decision about
the insertion of commas (New Hart’s Rules 70). There are two classes of
adjective: qualitative (tall, happy, serious, green [colour]) and classifying
(German, green [enviro-friendly]). A characteristic of qualitative adjectives
is that they can be used in the comparative and superlative forms (taller,
happiest) and be modified by a word such as very; classifying adjectives
cannot (more German?; less geometric?).
Usually, if a string comprises the same class of adjective, the adjectives must
be separated by commas; however, a comma should not be inserted between
adjectives from different classes:
✓✓ A tall, elegant German gentleman approached me.
✓✓ A silly, verbose, pompous letter.
✓✓ A verbose, pompous official letter.
What’s noticeable about the first
and third examples is that the final
adjective (German, official) is one
that describes the species of the noun
(ie classifying), so it must be regarded
as part of the noun and therefore not
be preceded by a comma. In general,
by their nature, classifying adjectives
should be positioned between
qualitative adjectives and nouns,
as with Persian below:
✓✓ A large Persian rug
✗✗ A Persian large rug
No comma is needed to separate two or
more classifying adjectives where they
relate to different classifying systems:
✓✓ annual economic growth
Together, both parts of this article on
comma use and abuse have, I hope,
clarified some of the more troublesome
problems involving comma usage in
English; I trust that, taken together,
they will enable you to improve texts
with greater self-assurance.
Should you have any other aspects
of comma usage you’d like to have
covered in PEGboard, please email
them to the editor.
Bibliography
GM Carey, Mind the Stop: A Brief Guide to Punctuation with a Note on Proof-correction
(Cambridge University Press, 1939)
Marion Field, Improve your Punctuation and Grammar 2nd ed. (Howtobooks, 2007)
Sir Ernest Gowers, The Complete Plain Words (Pelican, 1968)
John Linnegar, Engleish, our Engleish: Common Errors in South African English and How to Solve Them
(Pharos, 2009)
New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press, 2005)
Noah Lukeman, The Art of Punctuation (Oxford University Press, 2007)
Janet Mackenzie, The Editor’s Companion 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
Elizabeth Manning Murphy, Working Words (Canberra Society of Editors, 2011)
Patricia T O’Conner, Woe is I. The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English 2nd ed.
(Riverhead, 2010)
Jonathon Owen, 12 Mistakes nearly everyone who writes about grammar mistakes makes
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4312009?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false
(accessed 2 December 2013)
HB Treble and GH Vallins, An ABC of English Usage (Oxford University Press, 1973)
William Strunk Jr and EB White, The Elements of Style (Penguin, 2000)
Jan Venolia, Write Right: A Desktop Digest of Punctuation, Grammar, and Style 3rd ed. (Ten Speed Press, 1995)
page 16 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
#talentonourdoorstep
Who’s your colleague anyway?
By Alison M Downie
PEG is truly full of the most interesting people. The variety
of talent and experience among our members is quite
remarkable, even though we are sometimes unaware of
the accomplishments of our fellow PEGgers.
One of the most rewarding aspects of attending PEG workshops is the
opportunity to network and get to know other members a little better.
At the rates negotiation workshop held in Gauteng in 2013, it came
to light that Elaine Dodge, one of our relatively new members, had
just recently published her first book, Harcourt’s Mountain.
In this, the first article in this series, we chat to Elaine about her
book, and what led her to change careers in such dramatic fashion.
The synopsis
Spring, 1867 – the western frontier of British Columbia hardly
seems a likely place for romance. Filthy, terrified and confused,
Hope Booker is waiting to be sold off from the ‘bride ship’.
Luke Harcourt happens upon the sale. It’s not love at first sight,
but he feels compelled to save her from a life of slavery and
prostitution. To allay her fears of being raped by him, Luke
promises never to touch her. Despite being a man of his word,
however, he quickly finds it almost impossible to keep his pledge.
Battling their growing attraction to each other, Luke and
Hope must learn to live together in the forests of the wild and
almost unexplored mountains. They face white water, wolves
and dangerous people of various kinds.
Eventually, they are no longer able to deny their feelings for each other, but
their ‘happy-ever-after’ is shattered when a corrupt land baron forces Luke’s
hand. Enraged at the man’s actions, Luke rides into town, and disappears.
Alone and pregnant, Hope faces the prospect of the worst winter in ten years.
The trauma of fighting off a hungry grizzly brings on labour, but the baby
is stuck. Luke, meanwhile, wakes up on a ship bound for South America,
captained by a revengeful sadist who means to murder him. Luke’s chances
of survival are slim. Can he stay alive and make it back to Hope in time?
What the reviewers are saying
… With nothing else to do,
he studied the women on
deck. He couldn’t believe
any right-minded female
would willingly put herself
into this kind of situation …
Adventure and romance all in one! Elaine Dodge sure knows how
to keep one captivated in her story of Luke and Hope. As they
overcome their challenges, their love stands strong and irrevocable.
I fear I am now suffering from withdrawal symptoms. This can't be
the end, I have to know how their adventure continues.
— Di Pienaar, Amazon reviewer
I just finished this book and I loved it. It is set in British Columbia in
1867. Luke Harcourt is the main character in this story and I have
page 17 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
>
<…/ 17
to say he is one of the most wonderful men I have ever read
[about]. I couldn’t put this book down and I read it in one day. If you
want to read a beautiful story about two people that are getting to
know each other and slowly falling in love I recommend this book.
There are some pretty shady characters that really move this story
along and some adventures that you just don't see coming. Hope
there are more stories to come from this amazing author.
— Lorie Wolfenbarger, Goodreads reviewer
Harcourt’s Mountain by Elaine Dodge is a brilliant love story
set in extreme circumstances. Luke Harcourt is one of the most
honourable heroes I have ever read [about]. So honourable in fact
that I would have liked to have smacked him upside the head a few
times for not sharing his feelings with Hope. These star-crossed,
not-quite lovers keep their distance while the reader bites their
fingernails in anticipation. Hope evolves like a budding flower and
watching her adapt to her new surroundings with such finesse
is part of the draw to this adventure. I truly enjoyed Harcourt’s
Mountain by the very talented Elaine Dodge, and I give kudos
to this South African native for writing about a land so far off and
doing it so well. I recommend this tale to all and I hope you enjoy
it as much as I did!
— Kimberly Radicy Rocha, Book Obsessed Chicks
I really liked this book. It was a page turner that you wanted to
keep reading. Each page had a new event or adventure. Most
of the characters were [so] real that you could feel their emotions,
good and bad. I loved the animals that were part of the story.
The reading kept moving steadily along to the end. I laughed and
cried and it brought out a lot of feelings inside of me. Looking
forward to her next book.
— Shirl, Amazon reviewer
An excerpt from Harcourt’s Mountain
The women were brought out of the hold into the bright sunlight
till the deck was crowded with so-called brides blinking in the glare.
What it must have been like below deck during the journey Harcourt
shuddered to think. He’d captured a few slave ships during his time in
the United States Navy and this one had the same lines. He wouldn’t
be surprised to learn it had been built as one. It would be perfect for
this cargo. What were they after all, but another type of slave? It
would also explain the faint smell that emanated from it. The stench
soaked its way into the very fibre of the ship. You could never get rid
of it completely, unless you burnt it. A fitting end for a foul vessel, as
far as he was concerned.
With nothing else to do, he studied the women on deck. He couldn’t believe
any right-minded female would willingly put herself into this kind of situation.
Their clothing was in various stages of disrepair, their hair bedraggled. They
looked dirty, coarse and unkempt – even less attractive than the girls at the
Bright Star, if that were possible. It was obvious more than half were already
whores by profession. In response to the catcalling and the whistles they
pulled down their tops and shaking their shoulders let their breasts wobble
and bounce around. The men cheered and pushed to get to the front. The
bidding was fast and aggressive.
page 18 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
The first woman off the ship
disappeared into the mob. Harcourt
doubted very much she’d make it
through the day without being raped
by at least a dozen men. The whole
enterprise sickened him.
The auction took on a predictable
rhythm. Harcourt leaned back against
the wall, tipped his hat over his eyes,
and dozed off. After a few hours, the
crowd had thinned somewhat. Most
of the women had been sold. There
were only a dozen or so left. Harcourt
stretched. He was just about to jump
from his perch when a tall woman in a
predictably dirty, once light grey dress,
was brought forward. Perhaps it was
the dress that caught his eye. It was
silk, well cut and modest. It looked
expensive.
Harcourt’s eyes narrowed. This woman
was no prostitute. She’d made some
attempt to clean herself up and although
her hair needed a wash and good
brush, she had at least tried to bring
some order to it. She looked intelligent
and, despite the scared look in her eyes,
calm. Her hands were folded in front of
her. She was clearly a lady. She made
no attempt to catch the eye of any man
in the crowd. Instead, she looked over
their heads towards the mountains.
Perhaps she liked what she saw for she
took a deep breath, lifted her chin and
squared her shoulders.
Instinctively, Harcourt knew she would
be no man’s whore. And, like the doctor
had said, with the wrong man that
would probably mean a killing. There
was laughter from the men. A few
coarse jokes.
Harcourt glanced over at Butler. He was
talking emphatically to the constable.
He called over the big man from the
whorehouse, indicated the woman
and nodded at something the brute
said. Harcourt realised no one had
bid for her.
He stood up on his crate. ‘I’ll take her.’
Everyone turned to look at him,
including the woman.
Butler stroked his thin moustache with
his finger and thumb. He smiled. ‘Mr.
Harcourt, you know the rules. You must
bid for her. How much do you offer?’
‘One hundred dollars, in gold.’
>
<…/ 18
About the author
Elaine Dodge was born in Zambia, grew up in Zimbabwe and currently lives in
South Africa. She trained as a designer and worked in this field for a number of
years, also running her own company. A long stint in advertising followed. In
the last few years Elaine has worked in the television industry, winning the
odd international award. Writing was an aspect of each part of her career, but
she came to realise that it wasn’t enough. ‘I love telling stories,’ she says. ‘I’m
passionate about it, so in November 2011 I decided to ‘wrestle the Rottweiler’
and put those stories on paper. I feel most alive when I’m writing and delight
in letting my imagination run riot.
‘My first book, Harcourt’s Mountain, signed by Tirgearr Publishing, was
launched in August 2013. The reviews are now starting to come in and it has
been nominated for the 2014 RONE Awards. It’s so exciting! Right now, I’m
in the throes of writing my second novel, The Device Hunter, which is proving
to be an altogether different animal to Harcourt’s Mountain, both in genre and
temperament!’
Harcourt’s Mountain is available as an e-book from Amazon USA, Tirgearr
Publishing, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Apple, Kobo, Nook, Sony, All Romance
Books and Omnilit.
Do you know a PEG member you would like to see featured in PEGboard?
Contact the editor at sticklersinc@gmail.com.
Nuwe Afrikaanse
boek nou beskikbaar
Die HAT is ’n woordeboek. Reg so ver. Die beste
verklarende woordeboek in die land. Ditsem.
Waarin mens die woorde van Afrikaans kan
gaan opsoek en bondige, saaklike betekenisse
vir hulle vind. Maar wat nou as jy meer inligting
oor ’n bepaalde onderwerp benodig, meer as
waarvoor daar in ’n woordeboek plek is? Of jy
soek gebruiksleiding oor ’n bepaalde woord?
Want onthou, die HAT is volgens die jongste
leksikografiese metodes saamgestel, en daarom
beskryf hy hoe Afrikaanse woorde en uitdrukkings
tans daar uitsien, maar hy skryf nie noodwendig
voor hoe hulle gebruik word, of watter een beter
as die ander is nie. Siedaar, die HAT Taal- en
Feitegids! Propvol feite oor Suid-Afrika en die
wêreld. (www.leserskring.com)
ISBN: 9781775782438
Uitgewer: Pearson
Formaat: Sagteband, 245 mm × 170 mm
Omvang: 784 pp
Publikasiedatum: Desember 2013
Kategorie: Woordeboek/Naslaan
Ongeveer R345 (R275 by Leserskring)
page 19 | Newsletter of the Professional Editors’ Group | April 2014
Remember,
PEGgers: