Spelling and punctuation
This
section looks at the common difficulties that writers may encounter with the
spelling of words in English. These include English’s irregular separation of
syllables or use of the apostrophe to indicate omissions. There are also
sub-sections to highlight the differences between punctuation in English and CATALAN.
1. Syllabification (separation of syllables)
The
division of syllables in English is extremely complex because English is not
written as it is spoken.
For example, we pronounce learning /ˈləː.nɪŋ/ but we separate it learn-ing. The separation method depends on the
etymology and spelling of the word. Even most native English speakers
occasionally need to consult a dictionary to know definitely how a word should
be separated.
As is the case in CATALAN, all
doubled consonants are generally
separated: rub·ber, broc·coli, ped·dle, scuf·fle, smug·gle, yel·low, gram·mar, ten·nis, cop·per, cor·rect, fos·sil, glut·ton, guz·zle.
The suffixes -ing and -er are almost
always separated, except when following a doubled consonant. So, tub·ing, spac·ing, hold·ing, brief·ing or
grudg·ing, but, run·ning, pas·sing, bet·ting, run·ner, pas·ser, bet·ter, etc.
There are a few words ending in -ling and -ler for which this rule also does not apply. The most important are an·gling, crack·ling, cy·cling, dan·gling, kin·dling, sti·fling, twin·kling and wres·tling, an·gler, han·dler, knuck·ler, ram·bler, sam·pler, spar·kler,
sprin·kler, tum·bler, whis·tler and wran·gler.
We might
also mention words ending in the suffix -ling
for which, obviously, the -ing ending is not a suffix: dar·ling, duck·ling, dump·ling, earth·ling, ink·ling, sap·ling, seed·ling, sib·ling, star·ling, ster·ling.
Compound words are of course
separated between the words: bag·man.
If you
are in doubt, consult a good dictionary. Here, for example, is the entry in
Webster’s Dictionary for learning showing both its syllabification and
pronunciation: learn·ing (/ˈləːnɪŋ/).
2. Punctuation marks
The use
of punctuation marks in English and CATALAN is quite similar, though
there are differences. In the following thirteen sections we will give a brief
description of the use of punctuation marks in English, paying special attention to those cases in which it differs
from that of CATALAN.
2.1. Apostrophe
The most important use of the apostrophe in English is in contractions, ie constructions in which a letter or group of letters is
elided. Contractions are nearly always used in oral
English. In written English they are generally considered to give a
more relaxed and informal tone to the writing; they should therefore be
avoided if this is not the intention of the writer.
Some common examples of contractions
are:
Between a pronoun
and the following verb forms: am, are, is, have, has, had, will and
would:
I’m, she’s (she is or she has), you’ve, they’d (they had or they would)
Between all auxiliary verbs, except am, and not:
aren’t, isn’t, wasn’t, weren’t, haven’t, hasn’t, don’t, doesn’t, didn’t, can’t,
couldn’t, shan’t, shouldn’t, won’t, wouldn’t, mustn’t
Because the verbs is and are can be
contracted with both the personal pronouns and the adverb not, negative constructions using these elements can be expressed
in two ways: for example, You aren’t
thinking = You’re not thinking; She’s not here = She isn’t here.
In informal style, apostrophes
are used to form contractions between the words how, when, where, why, who, what and that and the auxiliaries is,
has, have, did, will and would. However, not all combinations are possible.
The words how, when, where, why, who, what and that can all
contract with is:
How’s he doing? When’s
the meeting? Where’s
your brother? Why’s
that? Who’s she? What’s going on? That’s funny.
The auxiliaries have and has are generally limited to contractions with how, where, who
and what; has can also be contracted with that:
How’ve you been? Where’ve they gone? Who’ve
they seen? What’ve we
got
here? Where’s he gone? Who’s fallen? What’s he done? That’s been used.
The auxiliary did can be contracted with how, where, why and who:
How’d (How did) you get there? Where’d they take my clothes? Why’d you lie to me? Who’d you see?
The auxiliary will can be contracted with who,
what and that: Who’ll know? What’ll
happen? That’ll be nice.
The auxiliary would can only be contracted with who: Who’d like more cake?
Other common contractions include:
bo’s’n (boatswain), fo’c’s’le (forecastle),
ha’penny (half-penny),
jack-o’-lantern (jack of the lantern),
ma’am (madam), o’clock (of the clock), rock ‘n’ roll (rock
and roll), will-o’-the-wisp (will of the wisp) and young’un (young one)
Besides their use in contractions, apostrophes are also used to mark the Saxon genitive
(see section Sy 1.1.) and in the plural of letters:
Tom’s, Neus’s, the Virtual Library’s website. How many i’s are there in Mississippi?
2.2.
Comma
As is the case in CATALAN, in English the comma
is used in the following contexts:
To
separate enumerations
Examples:
The assignment
requires us to think, write and speak.
The University’s governing team meets
with students in China, Mexico, Brussels, Santo Domingo and
Puerto Rico.
As
shown in the examples above and in line with the UOC Language Service’s
recommended style, a comma is normally not used before the last element in a
series, that is, before the conjunction and.
An exception is made, however, if the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous:
The months with the most connections are October and November, and March, April and May, coinciding with the start
of the semesters.
Before a coordinating conjunction
Examples:
Our physics
teacher is receiving an award next
week, and we’re
having a party to celebrate it.
English
has very few verb forms,
but their various
functions often cause problems.
The comma is normally omitted if the coordinated sentences
are short:
My name is Esteve
and I work at the University.
Before
or after subordinate and prepositional clauses
The comma is generally
used when the subordinate or prepositional clause precedes the main clause, or,
if following the main clause, when the main clause is long or complex:
Since you’re here, you
might as well help me.
While
I agree with your goals, I abhor your methods.
If we come to the extreme, our society will come to resemble the type of society that Hobbes described.
Under
the new concept
of education, schools
are no longer places to teach, but rather places to learn.
The teachers’ group
has agreed to go on strike next
Wednesday, even
if the official union position is against it.
The comma is not generally used if the subordinate or prepositional clause is short and follows the main clause, or, in the case of prepositional clauses, if the clause is very short:
The evaluation is complex
because there are different kinds
of impacts. I’ll do it even
if they tell me not to.
In Seattle
people live well.
After
dinner we went for a walk.
In
parenthetical expressions
Examples:
My mother, who lives in Scotland, is coming to stay with us next week.
Roger, noticeably excited, began to speak.
He came in
and, looking him up and down, told him off.
In elisions
Examples:
Sweden is a grand
country; and its capital, a beautiful city.
Italy is famous for
her composers and musicians, France, for her chefs and
philosophers, and Poland,
for her mathematicians and logicians.
When
addressing another person
Examples:
Hey, Joe, where are you going?
Listen,
honey, they’re playing our song.
In interjections
and asides
Examples:
Good grief, what a mess!
Your comments, if you don’t
mind my saying
so, reveal an astonishing
ignorance of the situation.
In the
separation of digits
It is important to keep in mind that, unlike CATALAN,
English uses commas to separate figures larger than 9999: 10,000;
25,950, etc. (in CATALAN, 10.000; 25.950, etc.). Moreover,
English uses a point to separate decimals, whereas CATALAN uses a
comma. Compare:
$525,429.50 (525.429,50
$).
2.3.
Semicolon
The
semicolon is used in English exactly as it is used in CATALAN;
specifically, it is used in the following three cases.
To separate two closely related sentences
It was the best of times; it was the worst of
times.
Women’s
conversation is cooperative; men’s is competitive.
A semicolon is often used before adverbial conjuncts such as however, on the other hand, otherwise,
etc.
Schools have considerable autonomy; however, they must meet
certain objectives.
We’ll fight
the eviction; otherwise we’ll be homeless.
To
separate elements in a series when the elements are long or complex, or when
they include other punctuation marks (especially commas)
A study
was done; next,
an interactive consultation; and lastly,
a digital terrain model was introduced.
Of these three
special prizes, one is for projects; one is for products and one is for
services.
2.4.
Full
stop (AmE: period)
The punctuation mark called
punt in CATALAN has various names in English. When used to indicate the end of a sentence or in abbreviations, it is called full stop in BrE and period in
AmE. When used as a decimal separator it is generally pronounced point (eg 6.2 is
pronounced six point two). Finally, when used to
separate internet protocol addresses
and named web addresses, it is called dot:
69.94.110.70 is pronounced sixty-nine dot ninety-four dot one ten dot seventy;
google.com is pronounced google dot com.
Its use
is exactly the same as in CATALAN, with the exception that CATALAN
uses a comma rather than a point to separate decimals (eg $650.50, 650,50 $).
However, there are questions of style:
In BrE the full stop is
normally omitted after titles and in initialisms – abbreviations pronounced as
letters – (Mr, Ms, Dr, USSR, etc.),
whereas it is normally included in AmE (Mr.,
Ms., Dr., U.S.S.R., etc.). However, the full stop is never used in acronyms
(abbreviations pronounced as words, such as NATO: /ˈneɪtəʊ/).
In AmE,
full stops are used inside quotation marks even when they are not part of the
quoted sentence; in BrE, the punctuation indicates whether the full stop forms
part of the quotation. Compare:
“Carefree”
means “free from care or anxiety”. (BrE)
“Carefree” means “free from care or anxiety.” (AmE)
2.5.
Colon
As is
the case in CATALAN, a colon is used
to indicate that what follows is a demonstration, an example or
a consequence of what is referred
to before; sometimes it is simply an enumeration
of elements.
Examples:
I know one thing:
I’m never going to live in a big city.
Please
send photocopies of the following documents: your passport, your driving licence and your birth
certificate.
In BrE,
the first word following a colon is always in lower case, unless there is some
other reason for capitalizing it. In AmE, it can also be capitalized if what
follows is a complete sentence. Compare:
BrE: I’ve just had some good news: my brother-in-law has been offered a job.
AmE: I’ve just had some good news: My brother-in-law has been offered a job.
Colons are also used for speech in
scripts:
Groucho: How many children
do you have? Contestant: Sixteen.
Groucho: Sixteen! That’s amazing!
Contestant: I love my wife very much.
Groucho: I
love my cigar, but I take it out every once in a while.
Unlike CATALAN, English usually uses a comma
before quotations:
I believe it was Pope who said, “To err is
human, to forgive divine”.
Em
penso que va ser Pope que va dir: “Errar és humà, perdonar és diví”.
An exception is made when
the quote is in apposition, when it explains what comes before:
He reminded
me of Alexander Pope’s words:
“To err is human,
to forgive divine”. (The quote explains what Alexander Pope said.)
Also unlike CATALAN,
which uses the point, in English the colon is used to separate hours, minutes
and seconds:
The file was last
modified at 12:35:10.
Es
va modificar l’arxiu per última vegada a les 12.35.10.
Finally, the colon is used to separate chapters and verses
in the Bible and other sacred texts:
Matthew 7:12, Sura 5:18.
2.6.
Ellipses
(suspension dots)
As in CATALAN,
ellipses are used in English to indicate a pause, an incompletion, a reticence
or an interruption in the sentence. They are also used to indicate that a part
of a quotation has been omitted. Examples:
I’m sure he’s a charming young fellow,
but... Don’t count your chickens...
If she’d only
get better... or die.
“I’m
broke; can you lend me...” “Don’t even think about it!”
In the
Times it says,
“Prisoners from allied
countries... were due
to be released Thursday.”
Unlike in CATALAN, in English ellipses should
not be used as a synonym for etc.
S’hi inclouen
alguns tipus de noms (composició, finalitat, pertinença...).
Certain nouns
(composition, finality, belonging, etc.) are included.
Finally,
an ellipsis at the end of a sentence with no sentence following should be
followed by a period (for a total of four dots).
They talk a lot, but
when it’s time to get down to work....
2.7.
Question mark
As in CATALAN,
the question mark is used in English to signal that the sentence should be
pronounced in an interrogative tone of voice. It is never used initially.
Who goes there?
Why do women not choose
to study ICTs? Where
do you want to search?
2.8. Exclamation mark (AmE: exclamation point)
As in CATALAN,
the exclamation mark is used to indicate wonder, surprise and other significant
emotions.
Examples:
Hooray! Help!
Good grief! What a pity!
Do whatever you are inspired to do, and share your
ideas! This has been an excellent two
months!
Don’t touch that wire! Now you’ve done
it!
2.9.
Dashes
Dashes are used, both in English and in CATALAN,
to signal a parenthetical thought.
In English, some style guides suggest that an unspaced em dash (—) be
used (eg We thought — or wanted to
think— that the train was late), while others recommend that the
shorter en dash (–) be used with spaces
on either side (eg We thought – or wanted to think – that the train was late). The UOC Language
Service recommends the latter style.
Unlike in CATALAN, in
English double quotes are used in dialogues, rather than en dashes:
“We are
concerned with how to employ
the technology properly,” said the director of the programme.
–Ens preocupa com
s’han de fer servir les tecnologies adequadament –va dir el director del programa.
2.10.
Hyphen
Hyphens are generally
used in four contexts in English: between elements in certain numbers;
after prefixes and before suffixes;
between compound words;
to indicate that a word has been divided at the end of a
line.
Numbers
As in CATALAN,
the hyphen is used to separate compound numbers between twenty-one and
ninety-nine; it is also used for the ordinal numbers in this range:
twenty-one, twenty-two... ninety-nine;
twenty-first, twenty-second... ninety-ninth
Note that, unlike in CATALAN,
in English the hyphen is not used to separate a single digit and hundreds: we
write four hundred, not four-hundred.
The hyphen also comes
between elements in fractions, unless either the numerator or denominator
already contains a hyphen:
a one-third share, a
three-quarter turn, a five-eighths inch screw
(hyphen in the
numerator) twenty-one hundredths lead
(hyphen in the denominator) three one-thousandths calcium
The
hyphen is not used when a fraction
is followed by a preposition:
three eighths of
an inch, four fifths
of the sample,
one millionth of a gram Prefixes
and suffixes
In English,
hyphens are used with prefixes
and suffixes to support ease of reading,
a concept that is somewhat
subjective. Definitive rules for their use do not exist and examples such as mini-skirt
and miniskirt are both perfectly correct.
Moreover, British and American usage varies somewhat, so when in doubt,
the writer should consult a dictionary. Nonetheless, there are certain cases in
which a hyphen is always used:
After the
prefixes all-, ex-, half-, quasi- and
self-:
all-knowing, ex-minister, half-fare,
quasi-scientific, self-adhesive
When a prefix comes before a capital
letter or number:
pro-German, non-EC countries, anti-American demonstrations,
post-Napoleonic Europe, pre-1500 English
literature
When the prefix is added to a word
that already has a hyphen:
a pseudo-open-minded
attitude, non-Spanish-speaking Catalans
A hyphen is also added after
a prefix that precedes a two-word combination;
the space between these two words then becomes hyphenated: Blue Period Picasso becomes pre-Blue-Period Picasso.
The hyphen is also mandatory in the
following cases:
When
the combination prefix + word could be confused with another word with the same
spelling: re-count (count again), recount (tell).
When the prefix is a single letter or
number:
U-boat, T-square,
10-speed bicycle, 8-cylinder engine
Preceding the suffix -elect: president-elect
In
short, hyphens are nearly always used when their lack would cause confusion.
This is especially the case when the last letter of the prefix is the same as
the first of the following word:
anti-imperialism, aprés-ski, bird-dog, get-together,
knock-kneed,
non-negotiable, part-time, pre-election, sloe-eyed,
test-tube and water-repellent Compound
words
The
formation of compound words is quite complex and is discussed in detail in
sections Mo 1.2. (Noun + noun) and Mo 2.3. (Compound adjectives). In
general, the use of the hyphen depends
on the formation of the word: firecracker
is written as one word because the two elements, fire and cracker, combine
well and are easy to read, but fire-eater
is hyphenated to avoid the conjunction of the two e’s. Moreover, the more a word establishes
itself within the lexis, the more likely it is that the two elements that form the compound word will combine.
Some common compound nouns that are
generally hyphenated are:
passer-by,
dry-cleaning, x-ray, do-it-yourself, turn-over, pen-friend, t-shirt
Another
class of hyphenated nouns are those that have been derived from prepositional
or adverbial verbs. Some common examples are:
go-between,
run-around and write-up.
Similarly to CATALAN,
certain repetitive expressions are always hyphenated, such as the following:
south-southeast, north-northwest (etc.),
fender-bender, goody-goody, no-no, tom-tom and yo-yo.
Compounds using the Saxon genitive are also frequently
hyphenated:
bull’s-eye,
cat’s-paw, crow’s-nest, death’s-head and hand’s-breadth
The term in-law and
all its derivatives are always hyphenated:
brother-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
sister-in-law, son-in-law
In the case of compound
adjectives, if two words combine to modify a noun, they are usually hyphenated
when they appear before the term. For example:
a well-behaved child,
cold-blooded murder, a low-cut dress and
a
free-and-easy relationship
The
formation of compound adjectives is covered in section Mo 2.3. Some common
examples are:
quick-tempered, heart-felt,
nerve-racking, ready-made, out-going, class-conscious,
blood-red and watered-down
Finally, English uses the
hyphen in expressions that combine a quantity with a measure, such as five-mile walk, ten-foot pole, ten-dollar
bill, etc. Note that the measures are expressed in the singular.
2.11.
Parentheses
As is the case in CATALAN,
in English parentheses are used to set off comments, explanations and other
supplementary information. Examples:
The number of living languages (currently about 6000,
by most estimates) is
decreasing rapidly.
A total
of 751 students (9% more than the previous semester) registered for one of the 33 courses on offer.
2.12.
Box brackets
(square brackets) [], curly brackets
{} and angle brackets <>
Box brackets, also called
square brackets, are used in quoted text to insert additional explanatory
information. Examples:
We took them [the new
plants] back to the nursery.
I doubt whether
non-GUI interfaces [see definition] will ever become popular.
The expression [sic]
indicates an error that is in the original:
Between you and I [sic], I don’t think it’s
going to work.
Box brackets are also used in nested parenthetical
expressions:
Our three
colleagues (Bill, Rosa
[who you met
last summer] and Hugh)
will take care of the details.
Curly
brackets
and angle brackets
are normally only used in technical writing (mathematics, science, computer programming, etc.).
2.13.
Quotation
marks (single and double)
In English, quotation
marks are used to set off direct speech, quotations, titles, and both special
and improper words.
Examples:
“What makes
this model different is that we are one-hundred percent online,” says the Vice President.
“The
only thing we have to fear,”
declared President Roosevelt, “is fear itself.”
That
reminds me of Edison’s famous
words: “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine per
cent perspiration.”
The Prime Minister
condemned what he called “simple-minded solutions”.
Most programming
languages have methods for creating “arrays”. In English, nobody “does footing”; we jog.
Quotation marks are also used to indicate irony:
Only one party participates in the “elections”.
The UOC Language Service
recommends use of single quotes
for nested quotations. This is because, in
many cases (especially when using ASCII characters), the single quote and the
apostrophe use the same glyph. For example:
The editor
declared, “Describing the figures as ‘disappointing’ is an
insult to the British people.”
“At some point
you say ‘I want to work for a top company,’” says Mr Horn.
3. Diacritical marks (accents and the diaeresis/umlaut)
Here is
a list of some of the most important English words that are generally written
using diacritical marks, though in many cases they may appear without accents
as well. In some cases the marks are useful in that they distinguish the accented word from a similarly spelled word with no accent:
for example, resume = reprendre and
résumé = currículum. The examples given below are all words borrowed from French.
|
Words normally
written with diacritical marks |
||
|
à la carte |
coup d’état |
naïve |
|
à la mode |
croûton |
négligée |
|
après-ski |
crème de menthe |
purée |
|
bric-à-brac |
crêpe |
pâté |
|
bête noire |
déjà vu |
raison d’être |
|
café |
détente |
rosé |
|
canapé |
exposé |
résumé |
|
cause célèbre |
façade |
sauté |
|
château |
fiancé |
soufflé |
|
cliché |
fiancée |
séance |
|
consommé |
hors d’œuvre |
touché |
