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  Sara Rosinsky • Shiny Red Copy

sara's Shiny red blog

Spelling counts.

7/12/2020

2 Comments

 
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​

I've said before that I am not a grammar Nazi. I have no interest in shaming anyone or trying to prove any kind of superiority. I promise.

I do believe, however, that many people—particularly businesspeople—want to write clearly and correctly, and I'm happy to help them achieve that goal.

So a while back, when a customer service rep typed "your welcome" to me, I shared the above screenshot on LinkedIn. I pointed out that it's an extremely common error and explained ​that when you say "you're welcome," you're creating a contraction of "you are welcome." I thought it might help some people better understand and remember the correct spelling.

(I did not​ write, or even imply, "Look how stupid this person is." I simply explained the correct spelling.)

I was surprised when I got this response from a "senior business development manager":
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Huh.

I had to think about that just a bit.

While I was thinking, I did a bit of "research" (read: Googling) about this conviction that so long as we can understand each other, we shouldn't be fussing about apostrophes and spelling.

And I discovered that this senior business development manager's opinion was not unique. I found a meme that echoed his sentiment with just a touch more vulgarity:
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I won't even comment on that missing apostrophe. I'll just address the question.

First—in my defense, I never correct people directly unless I know they want me to, and then I only do so privately.

But as for the "correctness" thing, I'll explain "why the fuck" it matters.

It matters because we live in a society. With conventions and expectations. And—occasionally—manners. We abide by certain rules to get along harmoniously. To establish credibility. To gain trust and respect. This is why you don't typically show up for a job interview barefoot or pick your nose when you're meeting your new neighbors. It's why you stand in line and wear pants in Starbucks. It's why your doctor doesn't buff his fingernails while he's listing your treatment options.

Also, writing is about connecting and communicating with our readers. We owe them the kindness of making our message as clear as possible. It's like holding a door open for them. It's polite. We're helping them along. We're putting in a good effort to save them trouble. We're showing them respect.

I admit that writing is a series of judgment calls, and I might write more casually on Twitter than I would on behalf of a higher education client. But fundamentally, I always try to think about the people reading my writing, and I try to treat them well.

So that's "the issue," and that's my position, for anyone who's wondering.

You're welcome.
2 Comments

Have you ever suffered from semantic satiation?

9/22/2019

8 Comments

 
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Just now, I was working on an email that includes a lesson about when to use "awhile" and when to use "a while." And after... well, a while, that "while" and "awhile" business started to look mighty weird. Almost like they weren't words at all but just a meaningless collection of letters.

If you've ever experienced such a phenomenon, then you've felt semantic satiation. Instead of paraphrasing the Wikipedia article, I will simply point you there, should you want to learn more about it.​
​If you find this sort of thing entertaining, do check out the related entry about the following, which is a truly legitimate sentence:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
Brown bird on top of black buffalo
Photo by Lewie Embling on Unsplash
​If you didn't know the sensation of semantic satiation before, I'll bet you do now. :)
8 Comments

What a week: CreativePro Week 2019.

6/16/2019

1 Comment

 
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Seattle, as captured by MILKOVÍ. Via Unsplash.
I just returned from a full seven days in Seattle—my first time visiting. I was attending CreativePro Week, a fantabulous conference I highly recommend for graphic designers. (Next year's will be held in Austin.)

Here are a few things I loved about it.

  • Within my first fifteen minutes at the conference, I ran into one of my favorite former colleagues from Publix Super Markets, Inc., dynamite designer and lovely human Neal Mitchell. As you can see, we were a good distance from the office we used to work in together. Small world and all that.
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  • I learned many great tips and tricks in Illustrator, my favorite Adobe program. Even though I've only been playing around with it for two or three years, when I attended what was called a "deep dive" by Laurie Ruhlin, I was thrilled to discover I didn't get overwhelmed, but was able to follow along just fine. (Thank you, LinkedIn Learning and SkillShare!)
  • I got to spend hours and hours learning about typography and lettering, which I find ceaselessly fascinating, from John D. Berry, Nigel French, and Laura Worthington.
  • I also attended TypeThursday Seattle, where designers shared typefaces they're working on and received thoughtful and wise feedback from other designers.
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That's me in the lower right-hand corner looking all fascinated by a presentation at TypeThursday. Photo by John D. Berry.
​
  • I gave an Ignite talk (20 slides auto-advancing every 15 seconds over 5 minutes) about the history of "lorem ipsum" placeholder text and many other topics having to do with English, etymology, printing, and the like. I learned SO MUCH preparing this talk. Did you know, for example, that the man who gave Timex its name, according to his son, liked to read Time magazine and used a lot of Kleenex, so he put the two names together? (This is a slide from my presentation.)
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  • I saw all sorts of neato flowers—some in front yards, some at Pike Place Market.
  • I met people from all over the world. Including New Caledonia, which I will admit I hadn't even known about. Sorry, New Caledonia—I am now properly enchanted by you.
  • I ate ever so well. I kid you not—those CreativePro people lay out a fabulous spread. Several times a day. And the Westin Seattle did an impeccable job of coordinating everything. It was like clockwork. Delicious clockwork.
  • Speaking of cuisine, I ate dinner at a place called Din Tai Fung. I was dubious when I learned that it's located in a mall (Pacific Place), but I was quite pleasantly surprised. As you can see from this photo, Din Tai Fung takes food preparation *very* seriously.
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  • ​I got to see my college roommate. Twice! One evening, she prepared a lovely meal that we, along with her husband, enjoyed alfresco on their balcony. Here was the view, overlooking Lake Washington.
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That photo is a pretty good representation of my trip: just lovely. I'm so glad I went, and I'm looking forward to CreativePro Week 2020!
1 Comment

I am not a grammar Nazi.

2/22/2019

6 Comments

 
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Grammar Nazi emblemThis is actually a thing.
We live in a time when I need to say this: Nazis are bad.

And I could use this space to analyze when the word "Nazi" has managed to qualify as amusing, and when it hasn't, and why. But that's not what I want to focus on.*

Let's leave the word "Nazi" aside for a few minutes and instead talk about the common prototype of  a dictatorial, hairsplitting, pedantic, shrill, strident curmudgeon who haughtily corrects everyone around her. Call it a grammar cop. Or a grammar dominatrix. A grammar fire-breathing dragon.

I'm none of those things.

What I am is a language lover. I'm a fan of clear, well-crafted sentences. And yes, I've been known to cringe when I hear or see errors of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and the like. But I'm not going to push anyone's nose in their mess and shame them for making a mistake.**

Instead, I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and assume that all of us are doing our best. We've all had different upbringings and educational opportunities, and we all have different kinds of brains. (Some people, for example, are predisposed to utter spoonerisms or misspell words. You can blame your genes.)

For those who want to write and speak more clearly and correctly, I will happily share what I know and try to provide assistance. Almost daily, I post little spelling and grammar hints (many of which you can see here) on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I want to help people distinguish between "me," "myself," and "I" and know their "they'res" from their "theres."

Essentially, my attitude toward language is one of fascination and appreciation. I want to share my enthusiasm. I want to spread the love. And there's nothing Nazi-like about that.


*Yes! I began a sentence with "and" and ended a sentence with a preposition. You can do that.
**And yes, I just used the singular "their" and "them"... on purpose.
6 Comments

Bad words are the best words.

4/17/2018

3 Comments

 
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I keep several lists of words.

One is called "words I can never remember," and I reach for it when aphasia strikes me. (One time, I couldn't remember the word "aphasia," and I knew the universe was mocking me.)

One list is called "words that sound good." This includes "Kinshasa" and "calliope."

My "words I like" list includes "hobgoblin" and "calamity."

My "more good words" list has "perfidy," "calumny" and "shamble."

Then I have this list that I add to when I read. It's for all those times I encounter a word and think, "I should use that word! It's so great." ​
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Notice anything about the words I appreciate? Lots of them are negative in some way. Contempt. Depravity. Pernicious. Degrading. Debauchery.

Is this proof that I'm twisted?

I don't think so. I believe that negative words tend to be powerful. Dramatic. Amusing. They tap into the darker side of life, where all sorts of visceral emotions lie.

I think "diabolical" beats "angelic." "Dastardly" is better than "upright." "Malevolent" wins over "innocent."

​What do you think? What are your favorite words?


​


​To leave or read comments, just click on the red "comments" link at the top of this post.
3 Comments

Your brain is out to get you.

3/18/2018

3 Comments

 
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Photo by Taskin Ashiq on Unsplash.
 "Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

I grabbed the previous statement from this article, but you can find countless similar passages online. Most of them have a congratulatory angle about how "You msut be a gneuis if yuor'e albe to udnretsnad tihs srcamelbd txet."

But you're not a genius. You're doomed.

Because when your brain automatically makes incorrect words seem correct, then how the heck are you supposed to identify misspellings? And don't say "autocorrect." Autocorrect is a conniving backstabber. If you write, "Libraries serve the pubic good," for example, autocorrect will just whistle nonchalantly and look the other way.

I am a professional copywriter, and a perfectionist by nature. And yet, I overlook spelling errors quite often. Too often. And I hvae olny my gneuis brian to blmae.

To leave or read comments, just click on the red "comments" link at the top of this post.
3 Comments

Eggcorns are all around.

12/8/2017

0 Comments

 
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Chances are, you've never heard of eggcorns. But once you know what they are, you'll start noticing them everywhere.

An eggcorn is a special kind of malapropism that makes a certain amount of sense. The word "eggcorn" is itself an eggcorn of "acorn"—because an acorn is shaped something like an egg. Other examples include:
  • old-timers' disease instead of Alzheimer's disease
  • feeble position instead of fetal position
  • self phone instead of cell phone
  • internally grateful instead of eternally grateful
  • rebel rouser instead of rabble rouser
  • cold slaw instead of cole slaw

To see (and contribute to) a long list of eggcorns, visit the Eggcorn Database.

Are there any eggcorns that you use or notice? Please share!
0 Comments

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