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SOME OF MY USE-OF-LANGUAGE BIASES

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

When you read this blog, you may reach what, I guess, may be an obvious conclusion: I have too much time on my hands.

So, with that time, I have thought lately about some of my language biases. They are as follows:

  1. USE OF HYPHENS

I fall down on the side of over-using hyphens because I think doing so contributes to readability.

Consider just one example.

The word bi-partisan, which is used a lot these days as we anticipate another national election in only a few days. If you don’t use a hyphen, someone could pronounce the word as bip – artisan. What is a bip – artisan anyway?

  1. USE OF COMMAS

I am one who no doubt could be accused of over-using commas. As with hyphens, I do so because using commas contribute to readability.

  1. SPACES BETWEEN TYPED SENTENCES

This is very arcane issue, I know. But I started my professional career as a journalist. Using the Associated Press Stylebook, we always were taught to put two spaces between sentences.

Then, for some reason, AP Stylebook writers decided recently that one space would so. Well, not for me. I got used to two spaces and so that’s what I continue to do – just because I have the freedom to do so.

  1. CAPITALIZATION

This is one of the least understood aspects of language. Some people over-use capital letters. Others under-use them.

I try to err on the side of over-use. Examples are the uses of the words governor and legislature. Often, they are not capitalized. But I believe there is a solid rationale to do so, so I do.

  1. ABBREVIATIONS

As a journalist, I was taught to abbreviate a lot of words. Representative, when attached to a person, became Rep. _______. Senator became Sen. ___________.

Names of states were abbreviated in almost every circumstance.

As a master of my own destiny in retirement, I choose to avoid most abbreviations because, again avoiding them contributes, I believe, to readability. 

  1. SPLITTING INFINITIVES

The advice here is, don’t. If you remain focused as you write, it is relatively easy to avoid this common, but, for me irritating, tendency.

  1. LINKING NOUNS AND VERBS

This is another of the most common violations of solid language use.   Think only of this sentence: The committee did ______ work. Should the pronoun be “its” or “their.” It should be “its,” but many people, either in talking or writing, end up using “their.”

If, in this example, you think the word “their” sounds better, then change the sentence to read, “The committee members did “their” work.” In this case, “their” is accurate.

Enough already. Those are, for me, a collection of seven hot-button language issues. With so much time on my hands, I may find more.

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