In no. 20 of this series, Watch out for the Dragon, I started highlighting some differences between what Dragon NaturallySpeaking (DNS) dictates and correct spellings according to the New Oxford Style Manual, which I base both my work and this series on. If I cannot find what I’m looking for in the style manual, I turn to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
Here are today’s ten words, which, as ever, are based on the spellings I find in the New Oxford Style Manual or the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Regular readers will know that, in the absence of alternative instructions from my client, I base my translations into English on Oxford.
Given that we are bombarded with not only different versions but also varying levels of written English on a daily basis, my brain cells can get a trifle confused on occasion, so I look words up just to make sure that I’m being faithful to the style I have chosen to follow and can answer any queries (if any come my way) on why I have chosen to spell a word a certain way.
If you use Dragon NaturallySpeaking (DNS) or another dictation software, you’ll probably have realised by now that it sometimes has a life of its own. That’s why you need to pay attention to spelling and that you are being faithful to whichever style manual you are following (either your own personal decision or dictated by the client), especially as the spellchecker in Word might not highlight spellings as wrong that are not consistent with your style guide. Regular readers will know that I base my work on the New Oxford Style Manual. From now on in this series I’ll be highlighting terms that DNS can get wrong.
Please read my post Why All the Fuss about Spellings and Style Guides? for an explanation of why I think it’s important to be consistent in our work and be aware of the types of details I focus on in the Bite-sized Tips series.
Here are another ten spellings that have cropped up in my translations/revisions and which I’ve looked up in the style guide I base my work on, the New Oxford Style Manual, to make sure I’m getting them correct. When this set of four books cannot give me a satisfactory answer, I then turn to the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
There are a number of reasons why I focus my interest on spellings both on the blog and in my work, and if you’d like to know what they are, then please read my post Why All the Fuss about Spellings and Style Guides?. Links below the post will take you to other entries in the series, and you can also find a full list of all the past bite-sized tips posts here.
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