Word Wise: The Wednesday Word Wise Roundup

September 26, 2007

Monday (two days ago) was National Punctuation Day, a holiday that for some reason employers have yet to recognize with a day off from work so people can contemplate, meditate, ruminate and conjugate. (Some corporations – and elementary schools – have at least recognized it and acknowledge it with a variety of activities.) According to a nicely punctuated press release, the holiday is meant to remind America that, among other things, a “semicolon is not a surgical procedure.” Check out the Web site for links to information on all the best punctuation marks.

Coincidentally, the day before National Punctuation Day, Reuters ran a story, datelined London, about the disappearing hyphen, noting that in the newly published Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 16,000 words that previously had hyphens no longer do. (That’ll put a damper, no doubt, on next year’s National Punctuation Day celebration.) According to Reuters, “Bumble-bee is now bumblebee, ice-cream is ice cream and pot-belly is pot belly.” Ugh. "People are not confident about using hyphens anymore, they're not really sure what they are for," Angus Stevenson, editor of the Shorter OED, told Reuters. Well, if that’s the logic on which this hyphen debasement is based, then we might as well do away with a lot of other things people aren’t confident with, like algebra, putting on makeup, and lemon soufflés. The new hyphen-free words were either split into two (test tube) or smooshed into one (logjam).

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Why "Word Wise"?

When I started to send out a weekly writing tip to my Chicago colleagues at Edelman (the world's largest privately owned PR firm), little did I know how quickly the list of those receiving it would grow. But word spread, as word is wont to do, and for the past three years about 1,500 of my 2,400 colleagues worldwide have been receiving it. The tips, which are about grammar, usage and style, have a dual purpose – to remind my colleagues in public relations of the power of the written word (I’m lucky to work for a company that not only prizes, but expects, expert communications skills), and, more generally, to support and perpetuate clear, concise, creative, honest, lively, stylish, compelling writing everywhere. With “Word Wise,” I hope you’ll challenge me, challenge other readers, make suggestions, argue minutiae, add commentary, exchange ideas, and help all of us become the best writers we can be.