Report on ACES 2017 in St. Petersburg, Florida

By Berna Ozunal This year, 591 people travelled to St. Petersburg, Florida, for the annual American Copy Editors Society (ACES) conference held from March 23 to 25 at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotel—the second-highest attendance ever. I went to St. Pete’s for a few reasons this year: I enjoyed last year’s conference in Portland … Continue reading Report on ACES 2017 in St. Petersburg, Florida

Webinar: What’s wrong with this sentence?

Correct usage of language is paramount to effective communication. The education system—from primary through post-secondary—does not offer students the tools needed for communicating effectively, whether verbally or in writing. The webinar is based on a workshop that was originally developed for the Canadian Authors' Association national conference, and has since been presented to numerous groups, … Continue reading Webinar: What’s wrong with this sentence?

Webinar: A linguist’s guide to grammar

What you learned in English class will help you with syntax about as much as what you learned in driving lessons will help you with mechanics—you get by fine until one day you find yourself stopped in the middle of a sentence with smoke coming out from under the hood. In this webinar, we're going … Continue reading Webinar: A linguist’s guide to grammar

Nitpicker’s Nook: March “it’s almost spring” edition

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. Irish editor and “swivel-chair linguist” Stan Carey blogs about how usage snuck/sneaked into The Simpsons. Writer and teacher John Kelly dishes up some fresh hell on … Continue reading Nitpicker’s Nook: March “it’s almost spring” edition

The Nitpicker’s Nook: February edition

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Carol Harrison Does the current state of world affairs leave you without words? Thankfully Planet Word, the soon-to-be museum of linguistics in Washington, DC, won’t … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: February edition

The Nitpicker’s Nook: January edition

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Carol Harrison Forgive me if this is a couple of months old, but it’s funny! Don’t fart in the House. What you should read before … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: January edition

The Nitpicker’s Nook: December’s linguistic links roundup

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Carol Harrison ’Tis the season for giving or gifting?: The Atlantic’s Megan Garber argues against gifting. Hey, girl! The analytics website FiveThirtyEight crunches the numbers … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: December’s linguistic links roundup