What a Typo Is Not, Part I
I figured I’d take a moment or two for tonight’s entry to enumerate what the League does not consider to be typos. Since no TEAL Manual of Style exists (yet, anyway), some followers of the League’s exploits might get the impression that our fixes were carried out in a somewhat arbitrary manner. I admit that I am a man of mercurial and occasionally conflicting impulses, with a thoroughly subjective eye toward defining grammatical sins and misdemeanors. My overall philosophy, however, is pretty straightforward: we should be clear, and we should be consistent. Everything else is just pedantry, no? So what is not a typo?
Comma underuse or overuse. Those outraged by the abuse of apostrophes might naturally turn toward the defense of their low-hanging cousins, as well. Keep in mind, though, that commas (or their omission) allow a writer to control the pace and feel of a sentence as few other things can. If a writer wants to talk about “a cold grey night,” should we really compel her to stick a comma between the two adjectives? Her meaning is clear without it. I will sometimes put a comma in to separate two verbs using me as the subject, but won’t use a second “I” after the comma. (E.g., the previous sentence.) Technically this violates certain ancient taboos. I am enjoying the privilege of my comma, but I’m not paying the price. Does it really matter?
Variations from one’s own Style Manual. You may have memorized the Chicago Style rule that lists must contain a comma before the “and” (e.g., “I purchased rifles, bandoliers, and grenades at the military surplus store”), but that doesn’t mean that a sentence by someone operating under AP Style (”… rifles, bandoliers and grenades …”) is wrong. Even if you’ve always used the AP Style fashion for s-ending possessives (Indiana Jones’ stubble) in your own writing, you still can’t declare that somebody going by Chicago (Indiana Jones’s stubble) is incorrect. Often the problem with this one is that many people are unaware that more than one accepted approach exists. They would be surprised indeed at the subtle wars that are waged among the adherents of the various manuals. Certainly each manual has its own usefulness within the medium it seeks to govern; the rules of a specialized academic journal will be different than that of a general-circulation newspaper because their priorities are dissimilar. But no one manual can lay claim to, say, a random sign in a storefront window.
Slip-ups in speech. Many readers, giddy from the enchantment of the corrections that we made on signs around the country, asked us to do the same for the way that people talk. The League dreads the thought of attempting to police the speech of human beings, both for practical reasons and the sinister import of such a task. I trip over my tongue just as much as, if not more than, other folks. My stutterings, mumblings, and malapropisms disappear into the aether soon after I’ve spoken them. A gaffe that I have written into a sign, however, will remain visible to the world as long as the sign is up. Which could be a very long time.
Sentence fragments. Sometimes a writer will throw in a sentence fragment for dramatic effect. Or for various other reasons! As long as the meaning in the paragraph remains clear, I think it’s silly to ban fragments just because they’re unorthodox. They can be quite efficacious. And a little bit sexy, too.
Tune in next time; I’m sure there’s plenty to argue about here for now.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:20 am
I love the story on both of you in today’s Chicago Tribune. I say go for it! I learned grammar from a fabulous teacher when I was a senior in high school and I have not forgotten. The worst offense I have come across is wallpaper I put in my bathroom. It is a Ralph auren, upposedly “designer” wallpaper picturing east coast islands and towns. I counted 20 misspellings in it! I wrote the Ralph Lauren company, but of course heard nothing. Hey, who was their proofreader? I have put your blog on my “favorites” and I will keep track of you. Good luck in your job hunt. The article said you both went to Dartmouth…..there’s no finer place than New Hampshire.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:14 am
When I first started working in the communications dept. someone in another part of the office asked me to settle–once and for all–the issue of the serial comma. Being new, I didn’t know what our policy was and told her both ways were correct, depending on the style guide. It turned out we used Chicago, but she hated the serial comma. New boss, new style guide (she’s an AP nazi, actually: there are no exceptions!). Too bad the serial comma hater retired…
May 21st, 2008 at 10:21 am
“…as long as the sign is up. Which could be a very long time.” := “…as long as the sign is up — which could be a very long time.” || “…as long as the sign is up, which could be a very long time.” (others likewise)
May 21st, 2008 at 11:16 am
I loved the article in today’s Chicago Tribune; keep up the good work! Here is something that has irked me for a long time, and I am curious if it irks to you, also. It is the misuse of the quotation mark and the apostrophe to indicate measurement in inches and feet. It shows up on packaging, newspaper advertisements, billboards; it’s an epidemic. Apparently, a lot of people do not know, nor do they care, that there are actually symbols for these.
I look forward to following your travels, and wish you much success in wiping out ignorance and apathy in the world of grammer.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Enjoyed the Trib article and laughed out loud. I’m a graphic designer and notice all the mistakes…it’s a curse. The misuse of compliment/complement and stationary/stationery are my personal pet peeves. Keep up the good work, fellows!
May 21st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Finally. I’m not the only one. Seeing blatant typos and egregious misuse of apostrophie’s (ouch) actually cause me physical pain.
Thank you so much for easing my burden.
May 21st, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Thankfully I’m an ardent Chicago Tribune reader and read today’s fantastic article on your quest to correct those vexing grammatical mistakes. I’m a writer/editor by trade and my colleagues and I loved reading about your initiative, which basically personified our silent grief at the disintegration of correct spelling and language usage. I almost wish you would have stopped in Joliet while in the Chicagoland area…you could have taken care of “T & D Bowling Specialist’s” or the “nachoes” sign at the local Dairy Queen.
In any case, thank you! If I work up enough courage, I’ll stop by the aforementioned places and see what I can do.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Saw the piece about your efforts in today’s Chicago Tribune Tempo section. I applaud your zeal for TEAL.
Keep on correcting!
May 21st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Yea Big Green! I’m an ‘89, and I see the world through the same eyes. My husband, also an ‘89, thinks I’m crazy and annoying, but I feel he should be on my side. Keep it up!
P.S. My personal pet peeve is when people mix up the word “ironic” with “coincidental” (i.e., Alanis Morrissette’s song “Ironic”). Not something you’ll see on a billboard, but still wrong.
May 21st, 2008 at 5:20 pm
There was a company I drove past daily with a large identifying sign “Concept’s.” I wrote to them asking if there was hidden purpose behind their name, or just a misspelling/typo. Never heard back. The company is gone now. I wonder, perversely, whether their demise was a reflection of their poor business practices as represented by their name.
For amusement or cringing, you might want to link to Apostrophe Catastrophe: http://apostrophecatastrophes.blogspot.com/
Thanks from all of us who care about the language.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Excellent article in the Tribune today. Keep up the good work. After a while you see these typo’s (everywhere) and you rail against them but it starts becoming so pervasive that you just feel like giving up. You have given me hope again and I will not just accept them. Thank you.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Wow! Finally, two more people who will not suffer fools in grammar gladly. Thank you! Enjoyed the interview with you two in today’s Tribune (”Typo Personalities”).
I regret to write that my contribution today has less to do with typos and more to do with pet peeves regarding speech carelessness. At the moment I mean the use of the word “gentlemen” by TV newscasters referring to any unappealing thug arrested as a suspect for a crime in time for the 10 o’clock news.
I offer as an example an e-mail I wrote to a radio station a year ago:
(04/17/2007 Mon around 11:45 p.m.)
WGN Steve and Johnnie Show
I could not believe my ears - a half hour ago I heard a speaker, or a caller, on your show, refer to the Virginia Tech shooter as the lone unidentified “gentleman” who may have “even come from China”. “Gentleman”!! ?? He was a mass murderer! How could the speaker so carelessly use that term? Who was he afraid of offending? We hear this too often these days even by police, this cavalier misuse of the word “gentleman” in an attempt to describe arrested criminals.
Give us a break, please. You or Steve should have corrected this particular individual immediately. I’m sure the parents of the slain Virginia Tech students would have taken exception to the term “gentleman” being so thoughtlessly applied to this marauder. Otherwise, Jeffery Dahmer was simply a misunderstood “gentleman” who had a strange hobby.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Brilliant! Love your quest and the Trib article was a riot.
As a graphic designer, I’m with you on the front lines of the typo battle. Regrettably, I often find typos and grammatical errors in resumes and letters from other designers. It happens all too often. The record is 12 in one cover letter.
Visiting the ethnic neighborhoods of any big city will reveal a different type of typo — the broken English sign. These are quite often a misuse of the plural form, but once in awhile you find some charmingly mangled slang, like “Johnny’s Three Decker Sandwiches” on Touhy.
I also recently noticed a large sign for Harold’s Chicken Shack that advised patrons to PHONE A HEAD!
Keep it up fellas — I’ll watch for your book!
May 21st, 2008 at 10:14 pm
As a retired middle school language arts teacher I can say none of these mistakes surprise me! However, they still cause me great angst when I see signs like the banner that marched by me in the Dixon Petunia Festival Parade “Lawnchair Marching Dad’s”; 25,000 people come to that parade! Our son is an editor and took a photo of it to pass around the office on Monday. I also often see, as we go to our favorite restaurant in Davenport, Iowa, a sign that reads “Karls Klassic Kars”. You have no idea what that does to my internal organs everytime I see it. You two are my heroes, and I sincerely hope you create a book out of this experience. By the way, cool hat, Jeff!
May 21st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
i saw the story in the paper today. you were in wicker park adding an apostrophe to men’s and women’s. for the longest time i have been under the impression that an (’) is used to indicate missing letters as in contractions…the ‘n-o’ in can’t or the ‘a’ in they’re or the ‘h-a’ in could’ve, and used to denote possession in which case it hangs on the outside of the word (womens’ instead of women’s).
May 21st, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I’m with you guys!
On another front, as a math teacher I’m on the lookout for innumeracy in the form of price tags and sale announcements. Every thoughtful person knows that an item marked .79c actually costs less than a penny, even though the intended price is 79c, the “c” being a cents sign not available in this font. I once was asked to leave Arby’s when I tried to get a sandwich for a penny (”Keep the change!”) by using a professionally printed coupon that gave the price as .99c. I got the sandwich but was told not to return.
Like you, I usually get a “huh?” when I call a merchant on such an error.
By the way, why go easy (apostrophically) on corporations such as Menards (sic), Talbots (sic) and Walgreens (sic)? Kudos, however, to McDonald’s and others.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:41 pm
I read in Schott’s Almanac about the Oxford Comma, which is indeed optional! It is the comma that comes before “and” in a series, and while it is optional, I like it!
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:31 am
oh. my. lord. i read the article in the trib today and i want to meet you. i can’t help myself. i see so many typos all the time. signs all over the place. and it’s funny that the article references that you guys find *missing* apostrophes, cause i always find EXTRA apostrophes. “employee’s only.” employee’s WHAT only?
i want to meet you. i want to hang out with you. i purposely don’t use capitalization when i blog, but it’s an aesthetic choice. to tom shigalis .. it’s funny, i hate when i see people write “walgreen’s.” cause i know that it’s not the proper way to write it. i think walgreens is their last name? who knows. but i hate to see walgreen’s. it’s wrong!
anyway, i love all you word nerds.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:36 am
Thanks for pointing out that AP Style (or CMS, for that matter) does not rule the universe. It may in one’s workplace, but in matters of everyday language, it’s important to consider that there are many different approaches (which can, in and of itself, be interesting to explore). My own approach on the matter of “to serial comma or not serial comma” has often depended on where I’m working as an editor at the time!
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:23 am
Regarding “cold gray night”: I was taught that you don’t need a comma between two adjectives if you could put the word “and” in its place. You could say “cold and gray night,” so I think the comma is unnecessary.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I like this post. When I followed a link to the article in the Chicago Tribune, I thought it was very entertaining; however, I was a bit wary of your motives. Correcting grammar for better meaning is one thing. Correcting to impose your prescriptivist opinions is just pointless and annoying. I am happy to learn that you are descriptivists, and repair only those things that are clearly incorrect and could be confusing.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 am
Melissa, we’re trying to find some middle ground between the two camps.
May 24th, 2008 at 10:56 am
What typos are is a matter of not taking time, either to check and revise what you’ve written or to learn what’s right in the first place. So the people on your trip who asked, “Does it really matter?” consider their time so valuable that they are willing to settle for less than perfection if their audience gets at least the gist of their meaning. (But I’m sure they expect people like basketball players and concert musicians to achieve perfection and think that the time they have to put in is well spent.)
It used to be that you could motivate people by suggesting that bad text makes them look stupid. Now, since most people don’t seem to take the time to learn what’s right, the supposedly stupid feel that they’re in good company.
At the end of your comma section, you yourself wrote, “Does it really matter?” Punctuation is different in that there are different styles. In edited, published work, I see a whole lot more commas in compound predicates in fiction than in nonfiction. But within a style, yes, I think it matters just as much as spelling.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
[…] Read the rest of “What Is Not a Typo.” […]
June 4th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Let’s talk about pet peeves.
seperate instead of separate
would of instead of would’ve
definate instead of definite
I see them all the time. Even Stephen King has used the “would/could/should of” in at least one of his books!