29 April 201726 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Bite-sized Tips No. 24: Quotation Marks or Italics

During my translation work I often come across words that the author has put in italics, quotations marks, or in italics within quotation marks. And often the way they use them throughout the text is inconsistent.

As translators, we have to take a step back from the usage in the original document and remember the rules of our own brand of English. Mirroring the source is not an option. And we also have to smooth out all the inconsistencies.

Whether you put words, terms, titles, etc., into italics, quotations or in roman type will depend on the style manual you have been told to follow. And if you haven’t been given any specific instructions, it’ll depend on whether you use a British, American, Canadian, Australian, etc., guide for your work. You’ll find a long list of style guides (over 40) on the Writing-related Resources page.

5 October 201512 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Bite-sized Tips No. 21: Spellings Part 16 – Getting Trickier Every Time

Spellings Part 16 – Getting Trickier Every Time

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.

11 July 201511 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Bite-sized Tips No. 18: Spellings Part 14 – Some Tricky Ones

Spellings Part 14 – Some Tricky Ones

Below are another ten spellings I’ve looked up to make sure that I’m getting them right according to the style guide I try to base my work on (the New Oxford Style Manual). As you will see, the spellchecker in Microsoft Word doesn’t agree with Oxford a lot of the time, which, in my opinion, is another reason why it’s so important to have a clear idea of the style guide you want to follow (you might like to read this post I wrote on the subject).

31 May 201526 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Why All the Fuss about Spellings and Style Guides?

I expect some people will see my latest bite-sized tips post and wonder what it’s all about and why I bother with these lists of spellings and occasional forays into a bit of grammar based on the New Oxford Style Manual. If you’re one of them, then wonder no more because I’m going to reveal my main reasons below.

31 May 201511 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Bite-sized Tips No. 17: Spellings Part 13 – Some that might trip you up

Spellings Part 13 – Some that might trip you up

Today we look at another ten spellings, based on the New Oxford Style Manual, which can cause some confusion. Sometimes people add hyphens when they’re not necessary, and other times they leave them out and write the term as two words when it should really be hyphenated. I hope today’s post will confirm what you already know and/or prove useful. All of today’s spellings can be found in the New Oxford Spelling Dictionary, and most also appear in the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, which occasionally provides a brief comment on the spelling rule.

24 May 201511 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Bite-sized Tips No. 1: Common Mistakes Part 1

Common Mistakes in Papers for Publication Part 1

The services I offer include editing papers for publication. As most of these have been written directly into English by Spanish university researchers, more often than not they contain a number of errors. In this first of what I hope will be many blog posts on the subject, I have highlighted ten mistakes which crop up again and again. I base my work on the New Oxford Style Manual, but I have also indicated the preference of The Chicago Manual of Style where this differs.