Editor's Corner

Hello all!

I hope you were entertained and educated by the articles I wrote before I went on vacation. I definitely have some stories and photos to share with you. I’m not quite ready to be creative because, despite wearing an N95 mask much of the time, I returned with my first case of COVID. (And did not return with my luggage, which is another story.)

For now, I will tell you something that I was surprised with: English comes second in Ireland. The directions, labels, and signs you see are listed in Irish (Gaelic) first, then in English. I asked a tour guide about education over there, and he said that most kids learn both Gaelic and English from the start—but the further you get into the countryside, the more likely it is that Gaelic is the language of choice. You are likely to hear people communicating in both, but they are so different. Here are a couple of signs so you can see how Irish Gaelic looks:

And the Irish are ahead of the curve on recycling and reuse, though I wasn’t sure about how many things you could actually use this soap for:

More soon when I’m a little more coherent.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning, folks. Kara wrote the following Editor’s Corner article and asked me to send it out for her while she’s on PTO. Enjoy!

Hello, you amazingly well-educated folks!

Today’s rhetorical advice is anaphora. Anaphora is “the repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect.” (Merriam-Webster)

There are examples of anaphora all over the place: music, poetry, writing, speeches, prose, and more. The example from M-W is:

“we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground”

I read that with a back beat and dance moves because I thought, “That sounds so musical.” I’m embarrassed to say it is actually from Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” I stopped bopping around and got serious. Here is an example that most of us are probably more familiar with. From Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I have a dream” speech:

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

And Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech about the battle against Nazi Germany is full of anaphora. All of these speeches are memorable and have some kind of rhythm to them.

And music definitely uses anaphora. From Pro Writing Aid, we are reminded of the Police, Destiny’s Child, Taylor Swift, and others. Here are the three groups (or people) mentioned:

In the 1980s, The Police used anaphora to creepy effect in the hit, “Every Breath You Take.” Anaphora lets the listener know they are always being watched.

Every breath you take

And every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

I’ll be watching you

In 2002, the speaker in Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” proved their ex wrong, with assistance from anaphora.

You thought that I’d be weak without you, but I’m stronger

You thought that I’d be broke without you, but I’m richer

You thought that I’d be sad without you, I laugh harder

In 2014, Taylor Swift used anaphora to demand answers and emphasize her sense of betrayal.

Did you have to do this?

I was thinking that you could be trusted

Did you have to ruin

What was shining? Now it’s all rusted

Did you have to hit me

Where I’m weak? Baby, I couldn’t breathe

That’s a bunch of examples, but there are more in poetry and prose. Today I’m just going to stick with these and let you see how the rhythm in the words works to make these emotional and memorable.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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Good morning, everyone. Kara prepared the following article and asked me to send it out for her since she is enjoying some European PTO. Enjoy!

Hello, folks. Today I’m taking you back to July 15, 2017. This is a portion of a column written by Richard Lederer called, “Be Careful Not to Dangle Your Participles in Public.” It’s from his column in the San Diego Union-Tribune, and I hope it provides you with some laughs.

The AP Press Guide to News Writing advises: “The language has many ways to trip you up, most deviously through a modifier that turns up in the wrong place. Don’t let related ideas in a sentence drift apart. Modifiers should be close to the word they purport to modify.”

Here’s a police lineup of modifiers that have gone wrong: I guarantee you that each specimen is genuine, certified, authentic and unretouched.

• “We spent most of our time sitting on the back porch watching the cows playing Scrabble and reading.”
• “In The Valley Between a prim teacher flees from a runaway bull clad only in his underwear,” a book review informs us.
• “A Muncie woman has been sentenced to 10 days in jail after driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of twice the legal limit.”

And on and on it goes:

• With his tail held high, my father led his prize bull around the arena.
• Doctors were giving Michael Jackson propofol to help him sleep up to 12 years before his death.
• Damaged by bat droppings and lying under a film of dirt in a cave near the Ein Gede Oasis, the Bedouin pocketed the manuscripts and began an arduous bidding process with Professor Eshel.
• The famous animal trainer, Keller Breeland, was the first person to use B.F. Skinner’s work to train performing animals along with his wife, Marian.
• The city council has put a proposal to designate a place for homeless people to congregate and sleep on the back burner.
• A screaming intruder made it onto the front lawn of the White House Sunday while President George W. Bush was at home before being apprehended by Secret Service officers.
• Oregon famers cannot remove a wolf caught in the act of attacking livestock without a permit.
• Two white men with their faces covered with pistols entered and demanded access to the cash register.
• Aided by a thousand eyes, the author explains how ants navigate and how they use dead reckoning.
• Amber was escorted by her father wearing a strapless silk wedding gown designed by Maria Lanting and carrying a tropical flower bouquet.
• The dog was hungry and made the mistake of nipping a two-year-old that was trying to force feed it in his ear.
• French mastiffs, also known as dogues de Bordeaux or Bordeaux bulldogs, are fighting dogs with big heads that can weigh more than 50 kilograms. [KC – 110 lbs.]

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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I’m sending this Editor’s Corner for Kara Church who is galivanting around Ireland:

Hello, folks! I wanted to give you something fun to read and…well, maybe easy to read. This list is from Mental Floss and lists The Hardest to Pronounce Town Name in Every State—And How to Say It. The topic of hard to pronounce places is fascinating to me. I remember my mom told me that when she moved to Washington from Pennsylvania, she pronounced Puyallup as POO-YA-LOOP, and nobody knew what she was talking about (see below for the true pronunciation).

I’m sure there are places in the rest of the country (outside of the West Coast) that I would pronounce incorrectly, too, because I’ve pretty much always lived “over here.” Here’s one: Tyewhoppety, Kentucky. (I love that name!) Or perhaps McGaheysville, Virginia? It’s pretty amazing how our rules for pronunciation just go out the window when mixing English, French, Indigenous American, and other languages. These will definitely define you as a tourist!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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Good morning, fellow travelers. The other day I sent out a list of the most difficult city names to pronounce, across the U.S. I was still fiddling around with that Mental Floss article when I saw the map at the bottom of this article. It is an etymological map of the states and their capitals. We’ve covered things like this before, but I love etymologies and love this map because it’s all there for us to see, but it’s brief. (I’ve been taking a LinkedIn® course about infographics and our visual vs. text understanding and memories.)

If you want to read the entire article, it is here in Mental Floss. For the short version, here is their introduction, and then a link to the map. Enjoy!

The multicultural history of the United States is evident from maps of the country. French, English, Spanish, Hawaiian, and Algonquian are just a handful of the languages you would need to speak to understand the literal meanings of every American place name. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a polyglot to read a U.S. map like a book; just take a take a look at the graphic below for the English translations of capital city and state names.

To put together this etymological map of America, Wordtips pulled from multiple resources, including the American Library Association, the Online Etymology Dictionary, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The website used a minimum of two sources to determine each etymology in the report.

Etymological Map of the U.S.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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Good day, everyone. Today I have another rhetorical device for us to learn about: analepsis. No, it’s not the three dots in a row; that’s an ellipsis. From Merriam-Webster, analepsis is:

A literary technique that involves interruption of the chronological sequence of events by interjection of events or scenes of earlier occurrence: flashback

Really? A twenty-two-word, fancy-dance description for flashback? Okay, I’m being cranky, but that’s what it is. Finding examples of analepsis was not so easy, and honestly, the best search results I got were from AI. Sorry AI-haters.

Before we look at examples, here are some reasons you might want to use a flashback in your creative writing, not your technical writing.

Reasons for flashbacks:

• Providing backstory: Filling in crucial details about characters’ histories, motivations, and the events that shaped them.
• Developing characters: Revealing past experiences that explain characters’ present actions, behaviors, and personalities.
• Establishing context: Giving readers a deeper understanding of the setting, relationships, or cultural nuances of the story.
• Building tension and suspense: Presenting past events that foreshadow future conflicts or reveal secrets relevant to the present storyline.
• Creating empathy: Helping readers connect with characters by understanding the events that influenced their choices and emotional landscape.

And in literature, here are just a few examples:

• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: The entire novel is essentially a flashback, with Marlow recounting his journey into the Congo to a group of listeners, creating depth by contrasting past and present. [KC –
  Apocalypse Now is loosely based on this story. I recommend both the book and the movie.]
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Flashbacks explore Jay Gatsby’s past, including his devotion to Daisy Buchanan, providing context for his motivations and the unfolding drama. [KC – Also a book and a movie, though, I think I’ve enjoyed the history of the book and movie more than the actual media.]
• Night by Elie Wiesel: The memoir utilizes analepsis to convey the author’s harrowing experiences during the Holocaust, emphasizing the lasting impact of the past on the present. [KC – Harrowing, yes. Worth the read, yes.]
• The Three Apples (Arabian Nights): The story begins with the discovery of a dead body, and the murderer later reveals their reasons for the murder in a series of flashbacks, deepening the mystery. [KC – I am not familiar with this, but it sure sounds good!]

Hmmm, looking at these examples I see a lot of grimness in flashbacks. Maybe we should look at Flashdance instead? Nope, I just watched the trailer and it’s pretty dated.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Wow. The other day I sent out a topic called Nick, based on an email I received from my friend Ron. I received so many unexpected responses from readers. From questions and comments about nicknames, to questions about the term “dame”—I can never predict what’s going to excite y’all.

One of my favorite comments, which will eventually be another topic, was this: “Be thankful he didn’t use the term ‘broad,’ which I think is a step down from dame.” There is so much there to discuss:

• Why didn’t you talk about nicknames? [KC – I got sidetracked.]
• Have you ever talked about nicknames like “Peggy” for the name “Margaret”? [KC – I’m not sure, but I have a bunch of new resources to look at. Thank you!]
• Where did the term broad come from? [KC – Another new topic.]
• What is a dame? [KC – Today’s topic.]
• Why is the term dame considered less than complementary in America, yet in Britain it is the female equivalent of a knight? [KC – Today’s topic.]
• What’s up with broad, dame, and other terms for women? [KC – I may have to leave this for Women’s Studies classes, which probably aren’t called that anymore.]

Let’s start with the etymology of the word dame. From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

dame(n.)

c. 1200, "a mother," also "a woman of rank or high social position; superior of a convent," and an address for a woman of rank or position, used respectfully to other ladies, from Old French dame "lady, mistress, wife," [KC – Think madam, mademoiselle] from Late Latin domna, from Latin domina "lady, mistress of the house," from Latin domus "house". [KC – AI says, “from the Latin root also comes madam,
madonna, and damsel.]

From early 14c. as "a woman" in general, particularly a mature or married woman or the mistress of a household. In later use the legal title for the wife of a knight or baronet.

Slang sense of "woman" in the broadest sense, without regard to rank or anything else, is attested by 1902 in U.S. English.

So, what is the difference in American and British definitions of dame? Well, in Britain, dame is still an honorable title. For example, Dame Judy Dench, Dame July Andrews, and Dame Helen Mirren have all been bestowed this title. As mentioned, it is the female equivalent of the title Sir, used by knights.

America was founded in reaction to kings and queens, and so we didn’t carry over the list of honorifics that they still use in England. I found bits and pieces about the “turn” of the word dame from positive to negative. Here’s part of an article from Does Dame mean girl? – Resto NYC:

As “dame” picked up negative connotations, it also increasingly became a slang or casual word for “woman” or “girl” in 20th century vernacular English.

In the 1800s through the 1920s, it was sometimes used as vulgar or lower-class slang by being paired with profanity, as in phrases like “son of a dame.” Here it indicated a woman of loose morals or low breeding.

But over the course of the 1900s, “dame” shifted from a reproachful slur to a more playful, informal word when referring to women. It gained popularity in pulp fiction, hard-boiled detective stories, film noir movies, and other genres aiming for edgy, urban flair. Writers used it to give a casual, street-smart tone, the way someone might use “chick,” “skirt,” or “broad” in conversation. [KC – And in the way that someone using “chick,” “skirt,” or “broad” in conversation today might get a boot to the head for being sexist.]

I saw a few other bits and pieces of information saying that during WWII, Americans might have picked it up from their British brothers. Whether the use coincides with the soldiers returning home and expecting all of the “Rosie the Riveters” to return home and be housewives, I don’t know. It’s interesting that the “reproachful slurs” for women were boosted as they became more independent.

But I digress. That’s your history of dame, as far as I can trace it.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning, dear people!

Today I have another rhetorical term for you: anacoluthon. At first, I thought this was a Greek swear word, but it’s not. It is defined as “syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence especially: a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another.” Here’s an example:

I told Gracie that we were coming to dinner—what’s that? A squirrel?

The shift, the inconsistency in the sentence, is used to create realistic dialogue, to show a change in thought, or to show emotion. I have a few examples of anacoluthon for you from Poem Analysis, and the great bard himself.

The works of William Shakespeare provide readers with a number of examples of anacoluthon. These can mainly be found when someone is trying to express something difficult, emotional, or complicated. It’s in these moments that it makes the most sense for sentences to interrupt one another, changing the feeling of the syntax.

King Lear

I will have such revenges on you both,

That all the world shall—I will do such things,

What they are, yet I know not

Hamlet

To die, to sleep–

No more–and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to?

To die, to sleep–

To sleep–perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub?

Then, there’s the anti-bard, AI. Here are a few examples from Copilot:

1. "You know, I really ought to—well, never mind."
2. "If you think I’m going to—look, just don’t."
3. "I can’t believe you—anyway, let’s move on."
4. "He said he would call, and then—nothing."
5. "It’s not that I don’t want to help, but—well, maybe I do."

And there you have it! I think using this stylistic device is considerably easier than saying the word, anacolotholonectomy. Wait, I mean anacoluthon.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Dear Editrix,

Who is Nick and why is the word used in so many ways? (I nicked my face shaving, Al Capone’s nickname was Scarface, I nicked the dame’s necklace, etc.)

Sincerely,

Ron the Retired

Well, hello, dear Ron. From your examples, you seem to be keeping up with your creative writing—either that or you’ve become a jewel thief. And then there’s the word “dame.” Also, creative writing, I hope. If not, and you’re calling the women you know “dames,” I think I just figured out why the dating scene is rough for you.

My first thought after reading your list was, “Wow, that is a lot of references!” Then I thought some more and realized that “Old Nick” is also a name for the devil. I’m sure there are even more nick-related names. Here’s what I uncovered in the Free Dictionary idioms. The definitions are theirs; the examples are mine.

in the nick of time (arrive in the nick of time, just in the nick of time)
To appear or reach a particular destination at the last possible moment before being too late.

Example: As Callie lit the first sparkler and Jo set fire to the ground bloom flower, Daisy ran up to the group in the nick of time with her bottle rocket.

down the nick (slang, primarily in the UK)

Example: Rupert called me from the police station. He’s down the nick for disorderly conduct after drinking too much.

get nicked (slang, primarily in the UK)

1. verb To be stolen.

Example: My wallet was nicked from my purse at the street fair.

2. verb To be arrested.

Example: The police nicked Liam for tagging the underpass.

nick (one) for (something)

To cheat or swindle one out of something, especially money.

Example: If you buy anything from that website, be careful; the prices look good, but as you check out they nick you for tons of extra fees.

nick ninny (obsolete)

A foolish or simple-minded person.

Example: Audrey is a total nick ninny—dumber than a box of hair.

nick off (primarily heard in Australia)

To leave or depart very suddenly, abruptly, or hurriedly, especially without permission.

Example: Those girls smoking and drinking in the park are young; I bet they nicked off from school early to be naughty.

nick up

To scuff, scratch, cut, or dent in multiple places the surface of something, especially one that had previously been free of blemishes. A noun or pronoun can be used between "nick" and "up."

Example: Ron shaved too quickly and nicked up his face.

Old Nick (primarily in the UK)

An old-fashioned name for the devil in Christianity.

Example: I’ve been drinking plain old water for six months; I’d sell my soul to Old Nick for a cold can of diet cherry Pepsi®.

Full of Old Nick

Always making mischief.

Example: Ray’s mom told me he’s been full of Old Nick since he was little. It was only the Air Force that could tame him.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Ciao, cheery cherubic coworkers!

When I was looking at the list of rhetorical devices from Merriam-Webster, I thought I might skip alliteration because it’s one of the more common devices. I changed my mind, not wanting to show favoritism, so here I am with alliteration, and lots of examples. M-W defines alliteration as “the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.”

And now for the examples from my second resource: Literary Devices.

Everyday Examples

· rocky road

· big business

· jumping jacks

· no nonsense

· tough talk

· quick question

· money matters

· picture perfect

Pop Culture

· Coca-Cola®

· Dunkin’® Donuts

· Tonka™ Trucks

· Weight Watchers™

· Dippin’ Dots™

· Hip Hop

· Paw Patrol™

· Door Dash

· House Hunters

Here are just a few examples from the wonderful world of superheroes and cartoons. I’m sure you can think of many more!

· Bugs Bunny

· Clark Kent

· Daffy Duck

· Donald Duck

· Lex Luthor

· Lois Lane

· Mickey Mouse

· Pepper Potts

· Peppermint Patty

· Peter Parker

· Pig Pen

· Porky Pig

· Wonder Woman

Stan Lee, American writer, editor, publisher, and producer is responsible for many of the alliterative character names in comics and said:

I have the worst memory in the world, so I finally figured out, if I could give somebody a name, where the last name and the first name begin with the same letter, like Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Matt Murdock, then if I could remember one name, it gave me a clue what the other one was, I knew it would begin with the same letter.

Back to our resource, Literary Devices, here is another explanation of the use of alliteration in literature:

The repetition of initial consonant sounds can have a pleasing effect for readers and listeners. In addition, it calls attention to the rhetorical and artistic impact of the words in that alliteration signifies that the alliterative words are linked purposefully and thematically.

Example: Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.

Example: Alone (Maya Angelou)

There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

This literary device is a clever way to set a mood in literature or a speech, and it serves well to help us remember words from a song, or the name of our favorite comic book character. May you march to the hum of your own message and meet many mimes as you march. (Um…no, that’s more scary than fun.)

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/