Month: February 2009

Excerpt about hyphens vs. dashes from upcoming book

Common English Blunders, Hyphens

I recently announced that I am finishing a new book about hyphenation.

I searched far and wide for a book like this one, to no avail, so I decided to write my own!

Actually, the book is almost done, but I am also working on some bonuses to accompany the book.

You see, I found that I had so much to say that I could not fit it all in one book, but I want you to have it all.

Here is an excerpt from the opening section of my upcoming book about hyphenation.

I hope that you enjoy it.

Typographically speaking, a hyphen is different than a dash, of which there are several:

  • a figure dash (U+2012), which has the same width as a digit in typefaces with equal-width digits, commonly is used within telephone numbers (e.g., “555‒1212”), and is represented in HTML with the numeric form “‒”;
  • an en dash (U+2013), which typically has the width of the letter “n”, commonly is used in ranges (e.g., “5–7 years”), and is represented in HTML with the numeric form “–” or as the entity “–”;
  • an em dash (U+2014), which typically has the width of the letter “m”, commonly is used to identify a parenthetical thought, and is represented in HTML with the numeric form “—” or as the entity “—”;
  • a quotation dash (U+2015), which is used for introducing quoted text, is used in some languages to print dialogue, and is represented in HTML with the numeric form “―”.

If you enjoyed this informative discussion about dashes, then you will enjoy my new book. Stay tuned!

Oh, and by the way: I highly recommend that you use, as appropriate, the above HTML codes in your own Web authoring. They will “class up” the text on your Web pages!

UPDATE: My How to Use Hyphens book is now available in softcover and several eBook editions. Learn more here!

“Allude” vs. “Delude” vs. “Elude” vs. “Illude”

Common English Blunders, Verbs, Versus

I sometimes see or hear pairs of these words confused.

Problem:
These four verbs are not synonyms.

Explanation:
I was watching an episode of the Fox TV show “Fringe”, which included some FBI agents chasing a bad guy.

One actor seemed to say “alluded” — spelled A-L-L-U-D-E-D — when telling another actor that the bad guy had escaped.

The verb “allude”, which dates back to the early 1500s and is spelled A-L-L-U-D-E, means to refer indirectly or casually. This verb comes from the Latin verb “alludere” (to play beside), from “al-” (toward) and “ludere” (to play).

What the actor should have said instead was “eluded” — spelled E-L-U-D-E-D — when referring to the bad guy’s escape.

The verb “elude”, which dates back to the mid-1500s and is spelled E-L-U-D-E, means to escape or avoid by trickery, cleverness, or speed. This verb comes from the Latin verb “eludere” (to evade or deceive), from “e-” (out of, from, or beyond) and “ludere” (to play).

I believe that many English speakers tend to pronounce “allude” and “elude” identically as “uh-lude”.

This is a mistake. The solution is to pronounce the “al” in “allude” in just the same way that one should pronounce the “al” in “allegory”, and to pronounce the “e” in “elude” in just the same way that one should pronounce the “e” in “email”.

Some people confuse the verb “elude” with the verb “delude”, perhaps because these two words differ by only one letter.

The verb “delude”, which dates back to the early 1400s and is spelled D-E-L-U-D-E, means to mislead the judgment or mind of. This verb comes from the Latin verb “deludere” (to play false), from “de-” (down) and “ludere” (to play).

Finally, the verb “illude”, which dates back to the mid-1400s and is spelled I-L-L-U-D-E, means to trick or deceive. This verb comes from the Latin verb “illudere” (to ridicule or mock), from “il-” (in) and “ludere” (to play).

I sometimes see or hear “illude” and “delude” used interchangeably, apparently because writers or speakers see “ill”, which looks negative and therefore somewhat like “de”, instead of “il”, which is the actual prefix of “illude” and is simply a variation of “in”.

The verbs “illude” and “delude” are not quite synonyms. Although both verbs generically mean to deceive, the verb “delude” is more about unconscious or unintentional misleading, especially reflexively, whereas the verb “illude” is more about conscious or intentional trickery.

Solution:

  • Use “allude” when one means to refer indirectly or casually.
  • Use “delude” when one means to mislead the judgment or mind of. The verb “delude” is often used reflexively.
  • Use “elude” when one means to escape or avoid by trickery, cleverness, or speed.
  • Use “illude” when one means to trick or deceive.

“They’ll reciprocate back for you.”

Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Self-negation, Verbs

I heard someone say this in an interview the other day.

Problem:
The adverb “back” in “reciprocate back” is redundant.

Explanation:
I heard an Internet-marketing guru make the statement “They’ll reciprocate back for you.” in an audio file recorded as part of an interview series sponsored by Brad Callen, the maker of Keyword Elite.

The verb “reciprocate” when used without an object usually means to make a return, so the meaning of “reciprocate back” would be to make a return back.

Because the “re” in “return” means back, one could argue that someone who “reciprocates back” would never make a return (e.g., for something given).

For fun, I searched Google for the expression “reciprocate back” (with the quotation marks, to avoid variations) and got about 7,920 matches, which is relatively low.

I continue to believe that the growing tendency, at least in American English, to add the adverb “back” after many “re” verbs reflects a growing ignorance about the meanings of the roots of English words.

Solution:
“They’ll reciprocate for you.”