Month: February 2008

“A no non-sense approach”

Hyphens

I saw this in a brochure for a professional course and book.

Problem:
The hyphen is misplaced.

Explanation:
Wow. Talk about nonsense.

The publisher of the brochure ought to be ashamed, especially given the brochure’s target audience (professionals in a field that shall remain nameless).

First, the word “nonsense” does not have a hyphen between its two syllables.

Second, given that “no” plus a noun (“nonsense”) are modifying another noun (“approach”), a hyphen is required between “no” and “nonsense”.

It boggles my mind to imagine how the author of the brochure decided to write this headline in this way. Perhaps the decision was driven by fear of hyphenating incorrectly.

Solution:
“A no-nonsense approach”

“Backward” vs. “Backwards”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Versus

I often see or hear “backwards” where “backward” is required.

Problem:
These two words are not always interchangeable.

Explanation:
The word “backward” may be used as an adjective or as an adverb.

The word “backwards” may be used only as an adverb in standard English.

These rules give us these examples of valid and invalid usage:

  • “He took a backward approach.” — valid as adjective
  • “He drove ten feet backward.” — valid as adverb
  • “He took a backwards approach.” — invalid as adjective!
  • “He drove ten feet backwards.” — valid as adverb

Solution:
Use “backward” for everything. This obviates the need to remember that “backwards” may be used only as an adverb.

“Acronym” vs. “Initialism”

Abbreviations, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Versus

Many people use “acronym” when they should use “initialism” instead.

Problem:
These two words refer to different types of abbreviations.

Explanation:
An “initialism” is formed from the initial letters in the words of a name, with each letter individually spoken.

HIV — from “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” — and NPR — from “National Public Radio” — are examples of initialisms.

An “acronym” is formed from parts of the words in a name and is pronounced as a single word. The parts can be:

  • initial letters (e.g., AIDS from “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”);
  • initial syllables (e.g., Interpol from “International police”); or,
  • arbitrary parts (e.g., amphetamine from “Alpha-methyl-phenethylamine”).

In case you’re wondering, a “truncation” is the name of the third major type of abbreviation (e.g., Minn. from “Minnesota”).

I believe that the tendency to refer to initialisms as acronyms can be traced to ignorance and to my “Devolution toward Simpler” hypothesis. Many acronyms are constructed with the initial letters in the words of a name, just as all initialisms are constructed, so there’s a natural confusion about these abbreviation terms. Beyond this, though, it’s simpler to say “acronym” than it is to say “initialism”.

Solution:
Use “acronym” when you say the abbreviation as a single word; use “initialism” when you say the individual letters of the abbreviation.