Editor's Corner

Good morning, little chickadees. Before I launch into a review of the mantra “I before E, except after C,” I have a few more social media terms for you from the Building Brand Character & Constant Contact glossaries.

· B2B
Business-to-Business

· B2C
Business-to-Consumer

· Back Link
(inlink, incoming link) Any link from one site that points to another.

· Barnacle SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The act of attaching yourself or your company to a larger, more authoritative site, such as a directory like Yelp, in an attempt to increase rankings and occupy more real estate in search results.

· Bit.ly
A free URL shortening service, most commonly used to condense long URLs to make them more shareable on social media sites like Twitter. (Other URL shortening websites include tinyurl.com, ow.ly, and is.gd.)

· Black Hat
Spammy tactics that violate best practices outlined by search engines, such as the Google Webmaster Guidelines. These tactics are used to gain quick visibility in search rankings, but are frowned upon by search engines and usually result in decreased rankings.

· Blog
(contraction of web log) A website that is typically updated in a consistent manner that consists of discrete entities (“posts”), typically listed in reverse-chronological order.

· Blogroll
A list of recommended blogs on a person’s or business’ blog site.

· Bot
(robot, spider, crawler) A program that performs a task more or less autonomously. Search engines use bots to find and add web pages to their search indexes. Spammers often use bots to “scrape” content for the purpose of plagiarizing it for exploitation by the spammer.

· Bounce Rate
The percentage of users who enter a site and then leave it without viewing any other pages. [KC – Also, the number of times a kid can jump up and down in a bounce-house before getting injured.
J]

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My apologies for the “vacation brain” mistake in yesterday’s email. I’ll try not to make up any words in today’s email. What I will do, though, is share some terms that are fairly fresh to our language. I was asked to provide information on some of the young, social media terminology that has arisen over the past ten years. I found a lot of articles and glossaries out there, but I’ve selected Building Brand Character & Constant Contact as my primary resources.

Note: Terms evolve quickly; some of these may already seem ancient to those of you who super-savvy. J

Over the next few weeks I’ll review terms from avatar to YouTube, in between our other language lessons.

Today we start with 0 to 9 and the letter A:

· 301
A permanent redirect that directs a user or search engine from an old site page to the new.

· Aggregator
A web-based tool or application that collects syndicated content. [KC – Examples: Reddit, Google News, BuzzFeed, Gawker, etc.]

· Algorithm (algo)
A program used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning. In online marketing, these are typically used by search engines to determine what site pages are displayed for a certain keyword or phrase.

· Alt Text
The description for an image or graphic, which isn’t typically displayed to the end-user. This code is incredibly useful because search engine spiders cannot “read” images, so this text acts as a description, allowing it to be crawled and indexed. Optimizing alt text is a quick and easy way to rank in search engine image results.

· Analytics
A program that tracks and reports important site metrics, such as number of visits and their sources. Google Analytics is the most popular tool for this, and is also free.

· Anchor Text
The visible text of a link. This is important to both a site’s users and the search engines, because it describes the relevancy of the link through text.

· Angie’s List
A site, founded by Angie Hicks, where users can rate and review service companies in their area.

· API
Short for Application Programming Interface, this is a programming format that a website or piece of software uses to allow other websites to interact with it. For example, Constant Contact’s Join My Mailing List app for Facebook (http://apps.facebook.com/ctctjmml) was created using an API that integrates Facebook and Constant Contact.

· App
Short for application, this is a program or add-on, usually for Facebook or for a mobile device (i.e., an iPhone or Blackberry). Its purpose is to deepen user interaction and provide greater depth of functionality and engagement. An example is the Constant Contact Join My Mailing List app for Facebook (http://apps.facebook.com/ctctjmml), or the Facebook app for the iPhone and Android phone.

· Astroturfing
(Opposite of full disclosure) The practice of disguising the source of a message, usually for political or marketing purposes, as a grassroots participant. Many site users are vehemently against these practices, such as those from Reddit.

· Avatar
An online picture that’s associated with your social media accounts. Business people typically use a headshot for personal accounts, while companies and organizations use their logo.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Hello folks! I hope you enjoyed last week with your hostesses Donna and Jackie. I had an enjoyable break with most of my family down in the steamy hot state of Jalisco, in the city of Puerto Vallarta. While I was off swimming with sting rays, dolphins, and humpback whales, my mom was at home watching over our dogs. Interestingly, she was one of the only people that sent in a question while I was gone. She asked, “If a mom is maternal, a dad is paternal, and a brother is fraternal—what is a sister?”

I started to think about other Latin words with these prefixes (matricide, patricide, fratricide, homicide, insecticide, suicide—I know, very dark) and took a stab at it based on the word for “sister killing,” which is sororicide. I checked the dictionary for sororal, and indeed this wor means “of, relating to, or characteristic of a sister.” Additionally, Merriam-Webster tells us the suffix “-al” is added to words to mean “of, relating to, or characterized by.”

I’m sure you can think of other words formed by adding this suffix “-al” to mean related to or characterized by something:

· nocturnal (active during the night)

· diurnal (of, related to the daytime)

· floral (related to flowers)

· hierarchical (of, relating to, or arranged in a hierarchy)

· subdural (situated beneath the dura mater [part of brain])

For a huge list of words ending in this suffix, see this Wiktionary article.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend.

Let’s briefly chat about pronouns. A pronoun is a word that substitutes a noun. He, she, you, they, and it are examples of pronouns. It is important to use the correct pronoun so that it is clear which noun the pronoun is referring to.

When using pronouns, many people make the following agreement mistake:

• Incorrect: When the user logs in, they must have a password.

Pronouns must agree in number, if the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, you have to use a singular pronoun.

• Correct: When the user logs in, he or she has to have a password.

If you use a plural noun as your pronoun, then you have to use they.

• Correct: When users login, they must have a password.

Now go forth, seize this Monday morning , and conquer the pronoun!

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

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I have one more selection for you from 8 Pronunciation Errors That Made the English Language What It Is Today by David Shariatmadari.

When L Goes Dark

A dark "l," in linguistic jargon, is one pronounced with the back of the tongue raised. In English, it is found after vowels, as in the words full or pole. This tongue raising can go so far that the "l" ends up sounding like a "w." People frown on this in non-standard dialects such as cockney ("the ol’ bill"). But the "l" in folk, talk, and walk used to be pronounced. Now almost everyone uses a "w" instead—we effectively say fowk, tawk and wawk. This process is called velarisation.

When K Goes Dark

A dark “k,” in Editor’s Corner jargon, is when I disappear from the face of the earth for a brief amount of time. I could be fulfilling my training requirements for the CIA; perhaps I am spending some much needed time organizing my garage for an upcoming sale; some might even say I am going on sabbatical to research more Editor’s Corner topics. Nobody is quite certain…and that is the mystery of the Editrix.

In the meantime, I hand over my precious contact list to Donna and Jackie and bid you adieu.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
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is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Good morning, my little chickadees! Before I get down to business today, I’d like to congratulate Rebecca Robinson and Ruth Sherburne, the lucky Editor’s Corner contest winners! I’ll be sending you ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy (Rebecca) and He’s Got the Whole World in His Pants (Ruth) so you can read and sing mondegreens to your hearts’ content.

And now, for another pronunciation tidbit from 8 Pronunciation Errors That Made the English Language What It Is Today by David Shariatmadari. There are several more examples if you click the folk etymology link within the paragraph.

What the folk?

Borrowing from other languages can give rise to an entirely understandable and utterly charming kind of mistake. With little or no knowledge of the foreign tongue, we go for an approximation that makes some kind of sense in terms of both sound and meaning. This is folk etymology. Examples include crayfish, from the French écrevisse (not a fish but a kind of lobster); sparrow grass as a variant for asparagus in some English dialects; muskrat (conveniently musky, and a rodent, but named because of the Algonquin word muscascus meaning red); and female, which isn’t a derivative of male at all, but comes from old French femelle meaning woman.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Today I have a couple more tidbits from an article by David Shariatmadari, called 8 Pronunciation Errors That Made the English Language What It Is Today.

When Sounds Disappear

English spelling can be a pain, but it’s also a repository of information about the history of pronunciation. Are we being lazy when we say the name of the third day of the working week? Our ancestors might have thought so. Given that it was once "Woden’s day" (named after the Norse god), the "d" isn’t just for decoration, and was pronounced up until relatively recently. Who now says the "t" in Christmas? It must have been there at one point, as the messiah wasn’t actually called Chris. These are examples of syncope.

When Sounds Intrude

Our anatomy can make some changes more likely than others. The simple mechanics of moving from a nasal sound ("m" or "n") to a non-nasal one can make a consonant pop up in-between. Thunder used to be "thuner," and empty "emty." You can see the same process happening now with words like hamster, which often gets pronounced with an intruding "p." This is a type of epenthesis.

Don’t forget, today is the last day to enter the contest!

· Prizes: I have two collections of mondegreens by Gavin Edwards. You can win either ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy or He’s Got the Whole World in His Pants.

· How to enter: All you have to do is talk to your friends, family, and co-workers and see if they want to sign up for our daily language tips, tricks, tidbits, and trivia. Have your buddies send me an email to sign up and have them mention your name. For each person you send, I will enter your name in the drawing. Five friends? Five chances to win!

· Additional details: I’ll accept new names anytime, but the contest ends at midnight, Thursday, March 13. The winner for each book will be picked at random and announced on Monday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day).

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
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I was just about to get started down the winding path of number rules, when I was distracted by an article on pronunciation errors. Yes, we’ve discussed specific examples of mispronunciation before, but this is more general and provides some terminology for your reading pleasure. The following information is from an article by David Shariatmadari, called 8 Pronunciation Errors That Made the English Language What It Is Today.

Words that used to begin with "n"

Adder, apron, and umpire all used to start with an "n". Constructions like "A nadder" or "Mine napron" were so common the first letter was assumed to be part of the preceding word. Linguists call this kind of thing reanalysis or rebracketing.

When sounds swap around

Wasp used to be waps; bird used to be brid and horse used to be hros. Remember this the next time you hear someone complaining about aks for ask or nucular for nuclear, or even perscription. It’s called metathesis, and it’s a very common, perfectly natural process. [KC – I plead completely guilty of saying and spelling “prescription” wrong until my husband teased me mercilessly. Don’t ask me to say “library” fast, either.]

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Your grandmother might not like the way you pronounce tune. She might place a delicate "y" sound before the vowel, saying tyune where you would say chune. The same goes for other words like tutor or duke. But this process, called affrication, is happening, like it or not. Within a single generation it has pretty much become standard English. [KC
– The “delicate ‘y’ sound” is something I might call “the annoying ‘y’ sound,” but I guess I’m more blunt with my pronunciation of these words. You might hear that same pronunciation from some people when they use it in the words
Tuesday and due.]

Enjoy the remainder of the day!

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
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One of the changes I find myself making in a lot of documents is changing the word “if” to “whether.” These words can sometimes be used interchangeably, but not always. Since we are in the business of providing accurate documentation, let’s look at the rules behind the two words and some examples.

· Use if for conditional sentences—Sentences indicating that something might happen when a particular condition is met.

o George doesn’t know if he will leave for the Bahamas on Thursday; it depends on his work schedule. (He may leave Thursday if his work schedule allows.)

· Use whether to indicate a choice between two things.

o George doesn’t know whether he will leave for the Bahamas on Thursday or Friday; it depends on his work schedule. (He might leave on Thursday or Friday.)

In the following example, you could use if or whether interchangeably:

· Example 1

o I don’t know if I like African horned cucumbers; I’ve never had one.

o I don’t know whether I like African horned cucumbers; I’ve never had one.

In both cases, the message is that I haven’t had these cucumbers but I might like them once I try them.

In the following examples, you must choose between if and whether, depending on the meaning you want to impart:

· Example 2

o Mariella doesn’t know if Lola will come to her house for spring break or Easter. (Mariella doesn’t know if Lola is coming for spring break, Easter, or if she is coming at all.)

o Mariella doesn’t know whether Lola will come to her house for spring break or Easter. (Mariella isn’t sure which time Lola will pick for vacation, but it will either be spring break or Easter.)

· Example 3

o Text me if you are coming over after work. (Conditional. Text me only if you are coming over after work.)

o Text me whether or not you are coming over after work. (Not conditional. I’m asking you to text me either way.)

Note: If you are using “whether or not” to mean “regardless of whether,” then “or not” is required; otherwise, you can do away with “or not.”

Okay. You can relax now.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

Welcome to Monday! I hope you all had a restful weekend, though with that dastardly time change I suspect some of you might be upset over that “lost” hour. Note: Babies, dogs, and honey badgers don’t care what the clocks says; they want what they want when they want it.

I thought I was finished with the confused word pairs, but I found a couple more for your pondering pleasure. The definitions are paraphrased from Merriam-Webster’s definitions; the examples are mine.

Envy vs. Jealousy

The word envy implies a desire or longing for something that someone else has. Jealousy is wanting what someone else has, but is often coupled with unhappiness, anger, and rivalry, particularly in romantic relationships.

· I envy Stephanie’s wavy hair. It always looks so full and pretty!

· Biff was always jealous of Chad’s way with the ladies; even Biff’s girlfriend threw herself at Chad as if she were single.

Continual vs. Continuous

Something continual happens again and again within short periods of time; it may stop, but not for long. Continuous means that the action goes uninterrupted; it continues without stopping.

· The pounding in her head was continual, stopping only after the migraine medicine kicked in.

· Spring water flows continuously from Kootenay Lake and has even during historic droughts.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor