Offencive

Robin Michael   Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:02 am GMT
Which one is correct?


I was thinking that the cartoon of Hilary Clinton could be regarded as offensive. You know there was a huge fuss about some Cartoons in a Danish Newspaper that caused offence in the Muslim world.

My spell checker cannot tell the difference.


I was thinking that the cartoon of Hilary Clinton could be regarded as offensive. You know there was a huge fuss about some Cartoons in a Danish Newspaper that caused offense in the Muslim world.
Lazar   Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:51 am GMT
"Offence" is correct for British English, "offense" for American English. (But note that "offensive" remains the same for both varieties.) Also, "cartoon" and "newspaper" should not be capitalized, and Hillary Clinton spells her first name with two l's.
Robin Michael   Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:47 am GMT
There is a good description of the spelling differences between American English and British English in Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences


such as: (noun/verb distinction in advice / advise and device / devise)


It certainly is a confusing area, and I obviously had some problems with 'Capitalisation'.

When I came across very unusual spellings for quite common words such as the name 'Ian' spelt 'Eon', I used to think that there was a family problem with literacy. I have now realise that some of these peculiar spellings are quite common Scottish spellings.

So - should 'Scottish' be with a Capital?
Robin Michael   Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:49 am GMT
I have now realise

I have now realised - This was a Typo!
Lazar   Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:34 am GMT
Yes, "Scottish" should be capitalized, but "capitalization", "capital" and "typo" should not be. :) Capitalization is used for proper nouns and their derivatives - for example, names of people and institutions; names of countries, cities, towns and geographical features; adjectives of nationality and religion. Aside from that, nouns and adjectives are not capitalized.
Robin Michael   Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:27 am GMT
Capitalisation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalization


"The full rules of capitalization for English are complicated. The rules have also changed over time, generally to capitalize fewer terms."

"....questionable capitalization of words is not uncommon, even in respected newspapers and magazines. Most publishers properly require consistency, at least within the same document, in applying a specified standard."

"...generally depends on whether the author perceives the term as a proper noun,"

"Common nouns may be capitalized when used as names for the entire class of such things, e.g. what a piece of work is Man"

"In legal English, defined terms that refer to a specific entity, such as "Tenant" and "Lessor", are often capitalized."

"In English, adjectives derived from proper nouns (except the names of characters in fictional works) usually retain their capitalization – e.g. a Christian church, "


>>>>>

So, I was using Capitalisation - to draw attention to words, which is wrong or 'my own style'.

>>>>>
I have too much time   Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:47 am GMT
The Wiki article does not say anything about 'drawing attention to words' or 'having one's own style'.
furrykef   Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:53 pm GMT
In any case, capitalization should not be used arbitrarily. When using nonstandard capitalization, it must be done skillfully, or the writer will simply look like he or she doesn't know how to capitalize properly.

Here is an example of nonstandard capitalization that works: "Joe believes that this is the One True Way of doing things."

Another, similar example: "I firmly believe that this is the Right Thing to Do."

It's a bit hard to explain, but the basic idea is to (humorously) make the phrase sound *really* important, and often as if it were a trademark. In fact, sometimes people jokingly insert a "TM" after such phrases: "Joe believes that this is the One True Way(TM) of doing things."

Douglas Adams parodied this phenomenon in the book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency:

<< He believed in a door. He must find that door. The door was the way to... to...

The Door was The Way.

Good.

Capital letters were always the best way of dealing with things you didn't have a good answer to. >>

- Kef
furrykef   Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:11 am GMT
I should also mention that the style of capitalization I just mentioned should be used very sparingly. If you do it once a week, you may be doing it too often. Generally it is best to just stick to standard capitalization conventions.