Picasso Was a Descriptivist!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I recently attended Picasso and the Allure of Language at Duke University's Nasher Museum of Art. The exhibit examined the painter's relationship with another art form: writing. The written word inspired Picasso both as a visual artist and as a poet and playwright. If you've seen any of his artwork (click on the image in the link above for examples, including book illustrations), it's no surprise Picasso didn't subscribe to traditional rules of language. As he put it:

"If I begin correcting the mistakes you speak of according to rules with no relation to me, I will lose my individuality to grammar I have not incorporated. I prefer to create myself as I see fit than to bend my words to rules that don't belong to me."

This passion for innovation was central to Picasso's longtime and influential friendship with Gertrude Stein, who played around with the rules of language herself. In her lecture "Poetry and Grammar," Stein said:

"If writing should go on what had colons and semi-colons to do with it, what had commas to do with it, what had periods to do with it what had small letters and capitals to do with it."

Copy editors, by default, are prescriptivists, who not only follow but enforce the rules. That's one reason why I like to edit creative writing, where characters can say "I wish I was" instead of "I wish I were" if it's true to their voice, and authors can choose to use alternative punctuation or none at all. You don't do away with rules; you just create your own.

So I guess you could say I'm a descriptivist sympathizer. After all, without Picasso and Stein types, we wouldn't have cubism or stream of consciousness technique or the interrobang.

But it's probably best they're not copy editors.

Thanks to Ivy for pointing out the Picasso quote as blog fodder.

Handy Hint: Because vs. Since

Which is correct?
A) I'm writing about word usage because it's a popular topic.
B) I'm writing about word usage since it's a popular topic.

If you read the results of my recent poll, you know both statements are true. But what about using the word "since" in place of "because"? I wish I could say it's one of those trick questions where they're both correct, but, as with many word usage issues, it's not that simple.

Most editors—as well as their style manuals and reference books—will tell you it's perfectly OK to use "since" in this sense (as in answer B). The Chicago Manual says the belief "the word relates exclusively to time" is "erroneous," citing hundreds of years of causative usage. The AP Stylebook takes a slightly less supportive stance, stating "since is acceptable in a causal sense when the first event in a sequence led logically to the second but was not its direct cause." Merriam-Webster uses each word in the definition of the other. So we're all pretty much in agreement, yes? Not quite.

Unfortunately, words with dual meanings can create confusion. For example, "I've been planning to write a word usage post since it was voted the most popular blog topic" could mean from the time of the vote or because of the vote. For this reason, more cautious grammarians recommend we narrow the meaning of "since" to a past point in time.

And they do have a point, which most grammar texts acknowledge and some style guides embrace. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which is used in the social and behavioral sciences, advises, "since is more precise when it is used to refer only to time (to mean 'after that'); otherwise, replace it with because."

As always, if there's the potential for misunderstanding, choose your words carefully. But in general, here's one word usage issue that's not really an issue. Most of us, including myself, use both "since" and "because" to indicate causation. When I try to maintain a distinction between the two, it seems forced.

Now, I wouldn't necessarily argue this point on a copy editing test. But if you're hired and put in charge of the style guide ...

Readers Respond

In the tradition of year-end roundups, I'm using the last post of 2009 to summarize the results of my recent poll asking readers which post topics are your favorites. With sixteen of the forty-nine total votes, "word usage" won out. I wasn't too surprised, considering the most popular post written this year was about "a while" and "awhile."

As The Chicago Manual of Style says, "the great mass of linguistic issues that writers and editors wrestle with don't really concern grammar at all - they concern usage: the collective habits of a language's native speakers." (The Big Offenders series focuses on common - and controversial - usage issues, but there are more posts on this topic under the label "word usage.")

Although "grammar" refers to the structure of language, it's often used as a catchall to include related subjects, such as usage, punctuation, and spelling; therefore, it makes sense this topic would take second place with eleven votes. Coming in next are the profession-related posts, which appeal to a subset of readers: "style" ranked third with eight votes, and close behind, "copy editing" and "writing" tied for last place with seven votes each.

Thanks to those who voted - I'm looking forward to writing about all of these topics in the New Year!

The Apostrophe Explained

Of all the punctuation marks, perhaps the one that causes the most confusion is the apostrophe. Although there are only a few ways to use it, it seems there are multiple ways to misuse it.

So I was excited to see this article from Lifehacker about a "How to Use an Apostrophe" flowchart. Instead of just telling people to use apostrophes with possessives and contractions, it breaks down the rules - and their exceptions - with examples and illustrations (cartoon kittens make punctuation seem less scary).

Regarding whether to use an apostrophe with a possessive ending in "s" (Chris' kitten or Chris's kitten), which are both correct depending on your style preference, the chart promotes - my favorite - consistency.

I would only make one addition: note the direction of the apostrophe, particularly in "the late '90s." See how it curls to the left? Apostrophes always curl in this direction. If the mark curls to the right, it's an opening single quotation mark.

For examples of what not to do, check out Apostrophe Abuse and Apostrophe Catastrophes. (Apparently the abuse has become so catastrophic, there's even an Apostrophe Protection Society.) You'll notice that using an apostrophe to make a word plural (kitten's rather than kittens) is a common mistake, which is probably why the flowchart tackles this usage first. Maybe it's also the reason for this suggestion: "when in doubt, don't use an apostrophe."

Thanks to Scott for the link.

State of the Blog Address

It's Blue Pencil Editing's one hundredth post! It took me more than two years to get here, but it's about quality, not quantity, right? (To those of you who post daily, I tip my hat.) So, in honor of this milestone, I'm taking stock by taking a poll.

As my tagline indicates, this blog was created as a resource: for editors (such as myself) and for those in need of editorial enlightenment (also like myself - it's a continuous learning process). I've covered a variety of topics (editing, grammar, language, proofreading, punctuation, spelling, style, word usage, writing) and resources (articles, blogs, books, products, Web sites), often in response to reader suggestions. (For an overview, see Labels.)

In keeping with this mission, I'm asking readers which posts you find the most helpful and entertaining - the posts with the most, if you will. (See poll to the left; you can select more than one answer.) And if there's a particular post or series of posts (be my guest, big offenders, dear BPE, handy hint, reviews) you especially enjoy, let me know!

I'm looking forward to your responses. Here's what I've learned from this blog so far: many, many people want to know the difference between "toward" and "towards"; interest in grammar and language is thriving; and there's an online community of witty, wonderful word nerds I might not have met otherwise.

Thanks for reading!

Handy Hint: Continual vs. Continuous

Which is correct?
A) I continually confuse continual and continuous.
B) I continuously confuse continual and continuous.

Well, that depends. When choosing between continual and continuous, you must consider the context. Do you occasionally forget which is which, or have you never been able to tell the difference? If it's a recurring event, it's continual (answer A). If it's constant, it's continuous (answer B). To remember, I associate the ending of "continual" with the ending of "annual," which refers to a repeated occurrence (yearly).

Although many argue the two words mean the same thing, others disagree. AP and Chicago styles distinguish between them, and Merriam-Webster falls somewhere in the middle, categorizing them as synonyms but acknowledging their different implications.

I would like to thank my mom for asking whether I'd covered this topic yet—her continual suggestions and continuous support are greatly appreciated.