Why “the Internet” Shouldn’t Be Stripped of Its Proper Noun Status

Breaking news! Read all about it—The Associated Press, one of the most widely followed authorities on written style, has lowercased the word “internet” in their 2016 style guide.

Starting today, AP uses lowercase internet and web in all instances. #APStyleChat

The decision has sparked much debate in the editorial and technology industries and beyond, but this isn’t the first time that an AP Stylebook change has caused some ripples . . . and perhaps even confusion. Case in point: why in the world is there a hyphen in “e-commerce” but not “email”?

The Evolution of the Term

The word originated as the adjective “internetted,” basically meaning “interconnected” when describing a network of multiple computer networks. “Internet” eventually replaced “internetwork” as the standardized term, evolving from an adjective into a noun.

The Importance of the Word “The”

There’s a distinction here between “an internet,” which simply refers to one of those networks of networks, and “the Internet,” the global network of networks. While “internet” is most commonly used in the context of the latter, many IT professionals and network engineers would be happy to correct you on the important difference a single article makes.

The Argument for Lowercasing

“The Internet” has been a proper noun for quite some time, but due to its prevalence in our daily lives, does it really need to be a proper noun anymore? Many argue that it shouldn’t; in casual use, it most often refers to the global network, and regular people tend not to talk about lesser internets. This means that we should let go of the practice of moving our pinky to the Shift key while typing.

The Reasons It Should Stay Capitalized

Basically, the above argument is silly when you phrase it in a different way: people shouldn’t capitalize things if they’re used a lot. However, we still capitalize “Mom” despite seeing her every day. The capitalization for many moms or even “my mom” is different from “Hey, Mom!” because in the last case “Mom” is a proper noun—the way we make the distinction between an internet and the Internet (even if the latter is used more).

The Internet as a Geo Locale

The first place to look for capitalization conventions should perhaps be in how we treat important places, locations, and landmarks. Unconventionally, the Internet is a sorta kinda place, and many places get capitalized: Paris, the Grand Canyon, Florida, the Empire State Building. “The desert” and “the universe” are not capitalized despite their geographical nature, the reason harking back to the original proper noun vs. common noun debate.

The Internet as a Unique Entity

So what exactly determines whether “the Internet” should remain a proper noun, deserving of capitalization? AP lets “usage dictate style,” but is that the common sense approach? Slate makes the most compelling argument—the Internet is a completely new, unique, and disruptive thing in our lives. If that’s not enough, I don’t know what is.

What are your thoughts: Internet or internet?

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Amanda Edens is an editor and content marketer with a wide range of talents from management to design. Check out her blog at www.askyoureditor.com or follow her on twitter @askyoureditor

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The past perfect continuous tense (also known as the past perfect progressive tense) shows that an action that started in the past continued up until another time in the past. The past perfect continuous tense is constructed using had been + the verb’s present participle (root + -ing).

Unlike the present perfect continuous, which indicates an action that began in the past and continued up to the present, the past perfect continuous is a verb tense that indicates something that began in the past, continued in the past, and also ended at a defined point in the past.

He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.

I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion.

When, for, since, and before are words that you may see used alongside the past perfect continuous tense.

Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.

The program that was terminated had been working well since 1945.

Cathy had been playing the piano for 35 years when she was finally asked to do a solo with the local orchestra.

He had been throwing rocks at her window for five minutes before she finally came out on the balcony and said, “Hey, Romeo.”

How Do You Spell the Color Gray?

As a noun, gray usually refers to the color. It can be used as an adjective when we want to say that the color of something is a shade of gray. It can also be used as a verb, for when something turns gray. But regardless of its use, you’ll sometimes find that gray is not spelled the way you think it should be. Or, you might be reading this and thinking “those people at Grammarly really don’t know their spelling—it’s grey.” So, what’s behind the grey/gray dilemma, and is there any difference between them, besides the obvious?

Grey and gray are two different spellings of the same word. Gray is more common in the U.S., while grey is more common in other English-speaking countries. In proper names—like Earl Grey tea and the unit Gray, among others—the spelling stays the same, and they need to be memorized.

Gray vs. Grey—Where Does the Difference Come From?

Does your vowel choice really make a lot of difference in the case of the color gray? It doesn’t.

Here’s a tip: The spelling doesn’t affect the meanings, and both spellings are perfectly fine. However, be sure to use the style appropriate for your geography.

The pronunciation remains the same regardless of the spelling you’re using. In fact, both spellings have the exact same origin.

Both gray and grey come from the Old English word grǽg. Over time, many different spellings of the word developed. The Middle English poem “The Owl and the Nightingale,” which was written in the twelfth or thirteenth century, uses the spelling “greie.” The fourteenth-century translation of the French poem “Roman de la Rose” uses the spelling “greye.” “Graye” can be found in the poem “Piers Plowman” written by William Langland in the second half of the fourteenth century. Examples of the spellings we use today can also be found in Middle English literature.

By the eighteenth century, “grey” had become the more common spelling, even though the legendary lexicographer Samuel Johnson thought that “gray” was a better version. In the nineteenth century, English dictionaries followed Johnson’s cue and prescribed “gray” as the correct version, but to no avail. By the twentieth century, “grey” had become the accepted spelling everywhere except in the United States.

Here’s a tip: Gray is more common in the United States, and grey is more common in the rest of the English-speaking world.

So, you can write:

The thing that stuck with me from the time I spent in London was the gray sky.

But you can also write:

The thing that stuck with me from the time I spent in London was the grey sky.

We use gray/grey as a verb when we want to say that something is becoming gray/grey. Because gray/grey hair is usually associated with aging, we sometimes mention it as a way to show that someone is getting older:

John’s hair started to gray/grey long before he retired.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re using the word “gray” as a noun, adjective, or a verb. You can say that someone’s hair has grayed over a couple of months, but you can also say that it greyed. Things can be greyish, but they can also be grayish.

Grey and Gray—Are They Always Interchangeable?

In common usage, there’s no difference between the words grey and gray. Some people might believe each spelling refers to a different shade of gray, and it’s quite possible you’ll see this in practice when looking at color swatches.

But there are a couple of cases where you really should mind the vowels. One of those cases is greyhound, the dog breed. It should always be spelled with an e, not an a. It’s the other way around for the grayling, a species of fish with a name that’s always spelled with an a.

If Grey is someone’s last name, you obviously shouldn’t change it to Gray to match the way you think it should be spelled. Proper nouns are off limits—the vowels in them cannot be changed. And neither can the vowel in Gray, the unit for food irradiation—it’s always spelled with an a.

Gone vs. Went–Learn the Difference

Went is the past tense of go. Gone is the past participle of go.

Examples:

I go to the store. (present tense)

I went to the store. (past tense)

I have gone to the store. (past participle)

If you aren’t sure whether to use gone or went, remember that gone always needs an auxiliary verb before it (has, have, had, is, am, are, was, were, be), but went doesn’t.

I could have gone to the store yesterday.

I could have went to the store.

How do spelling and grammar affect news credibility?

This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.

Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!

If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.

Four Types of Book Editing

Four Types of Book Editing

1. Developmental Editing

Any or all of the following:

• Working with the client and, usually, the author of a book or other document to develop a manuscript from initial concept, outline, or draft (or some combination of the three) through any number of subsequent drafts
• making suggestions about content, organization, and presentation, based on analysis of competing works, comments of expert reviewers, the client’s market analysis, and other appropriate references
• rewriting, writing, and researching, as needed, and sometimes suggesting topics or providing information about topics for consideration of authors and client.

2. Substantive Editing

Improving a manuscript in any or all of the following ways:

• identifying and solving problems of overall clarity or accuracy
• reorganizing paragraphs, sections, or chapters to improve the order in which the text is presented
• writing or rewriting segments of text to improve readability and flow of information
• revising any or all aspects of the text to improve its presentation
• consulting with others about issues of concern
• incorporating responses to queries and suggestions creating a new draft of the document

3. Copy Editing (sometimes called line editing).

Any or all of the following:

• correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and word usage while preserving the meaning and voice of the original text
• checking for or imposing a consistent style and format
• preparing a style sheet that documents style and format
• reading for overall clarity and sense on behalf of the prospective audience
• querying the appropriate party about apparent errors or inconsistencies
• noting permissions needed to publish copyrighted material
• preparing a manuscript for the next stage of the publication process
• cross-checking references, art, figures, tables, equations, and other features for consistency with their mentions in the text

4. Proofreading. Comparing the latest stage of text with the preceding stage, marking discrepancies in text, and, when appropriate, checking for problems in page makeup, layout, color separation, or type.

Proofreading may also include one or more of the following:

• checking proof against typesetting specifications
• querying or correcting errors or inconsistencies that may have escaped an editor or writer
• reading for typographical errors or for sense without reading against copy

Definitions from Freelance Editorial Association

From Writers Write

It’s Time to End Grammar Snobbery

“Actually, it’s fewer.”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back. An acquaintance had just made the dreaded less-fewer slipup in casual conversation, and I had begun to correct him before I realized two things: I didn’t know this person well enough to correct his grammar in an email, let alone in a quip uttered on a Friday night. My correction could easily come off as patronizing advice, or worse, a jab at his intelligence.

I thought about this incident while watching The Guardian’s latest video on the reasons why grammar snobs are the worst, knowing that I wasn’t alone in my pedantry. A whole culture of correction and condescension to those who don’t know grammar rules has taken root on social media, and I have occasionally taken part in it.

I agree wholeheartedly with the video’s first point, that grammar snobs often use outdated rules and guidelines to fuel their trolling. I also would concede that many of these rules are not only impractical but also exclusionary—as in the case of the singular “they.” Language is as much a living, breathing organism as the populations that speak it, so we shouldn’t be mired in tradition when cultural shifts call for new usages, terms, and rules. It’s time to let grammar live.

Also, I’ve realized that public grammar callouts are rarely productive, especially when they target individuals who may not have learned standard English grammar rules in the first place. According to a recent Grammarly poll, only 59 percent of respondents learned grammar in school. The other 41 percent relied on friends, family, or other sources to absorb grammar rules. We don’t generally point out other knowledge gaps in our peers unless they cause real-world problems. For example, imagine an American publicly correcting a friend every time she said she was going to “vote for the president.” That person could (rightly) say, “Well, technically, we’re not a direct democracy, so you don’t vote for the president. Your vote counts toward an electoral college vote, which you hope will go toward the candidate you support.” Although this is correct, most people wouldn’t engage in this level of correction in casual conversation, since it doesn’t fix a problem or further the discussion.

But what are grammar snobs and pedants left with when we can’t harp on the “whoms” and scoff at the “furthers”?

Occasionally, I think it’s still appropriate to correct the grammar of a larger group or body. For instance, organizations that are in positions of authority probably should promote standard English usage and clear language, so they don’t confuse their constituents. And, as we’ve seen time and time again, typos in official documents can cost millions to governments and corporations.

On an individual level, though, I agree with The Guardian, even if I am myself a recovering pedant and an occasional snob. Grammar snobbery is “just plain wrong.”

Watch the whole video here: