Thank You

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your birthday wishes! I am just having a lazy day hanging around and reading a book, with the cats curled around me on the couch. This is a strange time of life. I always had an image of myself as a 23-35 something, and then, as an “old lady” with reading glasses and grandchildren. Now I know I will probably not have kids, so there will be no grandkids. I don’t have a husband or wife either. I have a new career–after rising like a phoenix out of the fires of my crazy 30s. I do what I want when I want. I already have the reading glasses, and constantly lose them. I now see why old ladies have those things around their necks so they won’t lose their specs. I’m probably going to get one too, but mine will be punk rock, made out of safety pins and barbed wire. I have not always been nice to the people in my life, but my crimes have usually been a lack or attention, not ones of intention. I have barged through my life, abandoning people as each new phase of my life concluded, so I have few long-term friends. For anyone whom I have hurt, I apologize. Only now do I see the error of this way of thinking. I attach to places and things more than I do to people. I remember every inch of the house of my childhood, but do not remember the faces of childhood friends. I keep the family heirlooms, like the copper kettle that sat on the hearth of my grandparent’s home in Arizona and had been in the family for a few generations before I got it. I wear my grandmother’s ring and dote on her jewelry. I have many treasures fished out of my other grandmother’s famously full basement. She, like I, have trouble throwing anything away. The ground on which I live, and the buildings in which I have lived, have been the batteries that recharge me when I am tired or upset. I am an introvert, and am perfectly happy with one or two social events per week. I try to go out more so I will “meet someone.” Couples tell me it will just “happen when it happens.” This annoys me. I want, as Leonard Cohen sang, to find someone with whom I can “be alone together.” I have a new house and would love to share it with the right person, if that materializes. If not, so be it. I feel, at this age that, if I died today, I would have no complaint to the powers-that-be. I have already lived a rich and wonderful life. I have never been hungry. I have loving parents and a strong and proud sister. I have my 6-year-old nephew Kyle, who breaks my heart with tenderness when I see him smile. One day I realized that he is very pidgin-toed on his right foot, exactly like I am. So even if I don’t have kids, a bit of my DNA lives on even in him. I have loved some wonderful feline companions. And I have cried like a baby when they have had to leave this world. Their ashes will be buried with my body or ashes–I have yet to determine how I want to leave this mortal coil–by fire, or by being buried again in the Earth that has nurtured this body, and the spirit within, for so many years. I know that more exists in all the universes than anyone can comprehend. I know there is a master plan behind this amazing tapestry of life. We are stardust. I look forward to that day, many millions of years from now, when this universe caves back into the nothingness from which it came. I recall having a lot of discussions about the universe when I was on the drugs that amplify the mind, and the brilliance within. I can remember a few nights smoking sweet weed with one or two of my old college friends and contemplating life, the universe, and everything. I still contemplate today, but weed makes me throw up now for some reason. Maybe it was just supposed to be the drug of first awakening, a “gateway drug” into universal wonder and awe. But my mind plays with these cosmic questions every day, sober or not. When I was a kid, I told me parents I wanted to be one of those people who wrote poetry and sat around in cafes, fomenting revolution and talking philosophy. I remember them saying that they did not think that there actually were any such jobs! Anyway, I thank you all for sharing a part of life’s journey with me, even if it was only for a brief time. Deep understanding and compassion can happen in a heartbeat. Because my life has been so rich and full, I can certainly say, on the day of my birthday, that it is, as our Native American friends are heard to say, “Today is a good day to die.” I want to end this long post with a shout-out to all of my Scripps College sisters, many of whom I will see this weekend at our class reunion. You are all remarkable women. LOL XOXO Jen

Les Words de France–Inspired by Lance Armstrong

I hate cyclists. I hate those shiny spandex suits and aerodynamic helmets. I hate how cyclists clog the road when you are driving, encroaching on your right lane, so that you must slightly swerve into the left lane to stop from hitting them. I hate when they actually drive in your lane, which is for CARS. I do not want to drive behind someone so unprotected on a rinky-dink bike who may dodge and weave and then possibly get hit and sue ME. Finally, I hate seeing rows of them riding en masse early Sunday morning, when any decent person is still in bed. There, I got it off my chest.

Why the rant on the honorable sport of cycling? Well, recently, I watched a documentary about Lance Armstrong. That guy is what my dad would call “a piece of work.” He should have been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles just for being such an asshole. I feel sorry for all of the people that he hurt to keep his “doping” a secret.

So what does this have to do with grammar?

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT SPEAK FRENCH. French speakers, please let me know if anything in this post is incorrect!

In the documentary, one person incorrectly used Tour de Frances as the plural form of that infamous race. We grammarians know that the correct English plural form is Tours de France. Why is this so? People often make this mistake.

In English, we usually put adjectives before the nouns that they modify: the blue sky. We also can put the adjective after the noun in a prepositional phrase: the sky of blue.

Tour de France is a proper noun (the name of something), so we English speakers would never change the name to Tour of France. But if it was just a tour that happened to be in France, we could say either tour of France or French tour.

However, in French, adjectives almost always come after the noun that they modify. For example, Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum), Champs-Élyseés (Eylsian Fields), or États-Unis (United States).

When words get lifted from French, the usage of adjective-after-noun may not change. This is true of many English governmental and diplomatic terms translated from French. Why? Historically, French was the agreed-upon common language for diplomatic affairs between European nations.

Words that denote titles ending in general are one example: surgeon general, attorney general, secretary general.

Some governmental titles keep the noun-before-adjective usage by translating the French preposition into English. For example, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Interior.

What are the French terms? (I found the French translations and usage information at http://context.reverso.net/translation/french-english.)

Secretaire d’ Ètat (Secretary of State)

Procureur Général (Attorney General); however, Ministre de la Justice is also given as a translation. Avocet, another word for attorney, gives us the English word advocate.

Chirurgien Général (Surgeon General); however, Ministre de la Santé and Directeur du Service de Santé Publique seem to be terms more equivalent to our U.S. Surgeon General. In usage examples, Chirurgien General seems to mean a general surgeon (like a general practitioner) or the head surgeon of a hospital.

. . . at this point, you may be asking, What is the fucking point of this post again? I know I would be. Here it is:

In these cases, the first word has the plural “s” because it is the noun. So the plurals are secretaries general, attorneys general, secretaries of state—and Tours de France.

This post is a shout-out to my college friend Lynn, who cannot be at our college reunion this weekend 

because she now lives in France.  

Thanks for the Typo, Darling!

I JUST GOT some feedback from a reader, who pointed out a typo in my last post. I used the word “versus” [against] correctly in the headline but “verses” [lines of poetry or song] in the text.

Strangely, my spellcheck on WordPress labeled “verses” as incorrect—and I wondered why. So I referred to http://www.merriam-webster.com. This site has chapter and verse about “verse” but gives no plural, so I assume that “verses” is the correct plural for “verse.” If the plural was unusual, it probably would have been noted.

http://www.merriam-webster.com is an essential tool for writers and editors. The website provides up-to-date definitions and spelling.

I would like to thank my readers for pointing out typos. My typos demonstrate that even an editor needs an editor!

Editing Islam: Sunni versus Shiite: What’s the Big Deal?

Editing Islam: How to tell a Shiite from a Sunni?

9/11 made the United States, as well as much of the non-Muslim world, sit up and take notice of Islam—this often-strange and mysterious faith that has 1 billion followers world-wide. We Americans get most of our information from TV, newspapers, and online sources. But how do our editors and journalists learn about Islam? I have no idea. Some are very astute; you can tell that they have done their homework. Others are still woefully inadequate and incorrect when reporting on Islamic issues.

You would think that, 15 years after 9/11, those who bring us the 24-hour news cycle would have a better understanding of Islam and some basic, yet vital, Islamic terms and ideas. As editors and reporters cover the clusterfuck that is the Middle East, they often label people and groups as Sunni or Shiite. Now this info is good to know, but what do these terms actually mean?

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So here today I am going to give you the entry in the AP Stylebook that discusses this great schism in the Muslim faith. It is certainly just a drop of water in a very big well. As always, if you want more information, refer to the books in my Editing Islam Resources post. The AP Stylebook quote is verbatim, but I will add some notes in green paraphrased from Seyyed Hossein Nasr‘s book The Heart of Islam.

AP Stylebook, Religion Guidelines, page 461

“The schism between Sunni and Shiite stems from the early days of Islam and arguments about Muhammad’s successors as caliph, the spiritual and temporal leader of Muslims during that period. [The record is uncertain about whether Muhammad himself designated an heir. Shiites believe he privately chose Ali, but Sunnis dispute this.] The Shiites wanted the caliphate to descend through Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law [and first cousin. Much in the Shiite–Sunni conflict was about how a leader should be chosen, by bloodline or by merit. Those supporting merit, not lineage, chose Abu Bakr, who was a wise man and one of Muhammad’s first followers. Abu Bakr was the first caliph.] Ali eventually became the fourth caliph, but he was murdered; Ali’s son, al-Hussein, was massacred with his fighters at Karbala, in what is now Iraq. Shiites considered the later caliphs to be usurpers. The Sunnis no longer have a caliph.”

Nasr paraphrased: Shiites got their name from the words shi’at (partisans) of Ali. The word Sunni means follower of the sunna (actions) of the Prophet; and also is a term for “the majority.” Here is another tidbit: Currently, 87% of Muslims are Sunni and 13% are Shiite.

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Grammar note for editors and writers: Shiite–Sunni takes the en dash. It is also used in dates (“the July–August school session”) or where you might mean “versus” (the Bears–Steelers game”).

There are many spellings for Shiite Islam. I used Shiite here because that is the AP Stylebook spelling.  You will also see Shi’a, Shia, or Shi’ite. I prefer Shi’a Islam myself. However, because these words are transliterated from the Arabic, various spellings of many Islamic words are common.

Tip of the Week–For Whom the Bell Tolls (Pronoun Blunders)

Note: I am returning to the weekend schedule for my blog, so my regular posts will come out Saturday or Sunday.

EDITORS SOMETIMES find grammar problems that are actually attempts by the writer to use “correct” formal English. These involve the usage of “I”, “me”, “who”, and “whom.” Here, the ear can lead the grammar astray.

For example: Sheri went to the store with Cathy and I.

“Cathy and I” has a nice ring to it, but this is sentence is incorrect.

You can hear the error more easily when you omit the noun preceding the pronoun: Sheri went to the store with I. (Sounds weird.)

HERE IS another awful example: Sheri went to the store with he, Cathy, and her.

In this case, “her” is actually correct, but not “he.” Beware of lists, incorrect usage can slip in.

HOWEVER,  some writers still will mistakenly use the nominative, believing that it sounds like better English.

Correct Rule One: Personal pronouns that follow a preposition take the objective case (me, him, her, us, you, them).

THE NEXT problematic pronoun is “whom.” It is used in the objective case when modifying a preposition. Writers may use the word “whom” to add a sort of gravitas to the sentence, but this usage is usually incorrect.

Ex. Whomever butchered the Bard should be shot. And whom was that awful actress playing “Ophelia”?

A theater critic may be tempted to throw in some stuffy “whoms” when talking of Shakespeare, but these sentences are incorrect.

Correct Rule Two: Here, the personal pronoun takes the nominative case (I, you, he, she, it).

Ex. Whoever butchered the Bard should be shot. And who was that awful actress playing “Ophelia”?

Many other places to add “whoms” exist. For example, the infamous To whom am I speaking? or “To whom it may concern.”

The same rules apply to “thee” and “thou”:

Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

—John Donne

Editing Islam: What Jihad is About?

Disclaimer: I am not a Muslim, but I have studied this faith for many years. I find it woeful that writers and editors, 14 years after 9/11, still display such ignorance about the world’s fastest-growing religion. I hope that the Editing Islam series will benefit editors and writers, so that they can deal with Islamic subjects properly.

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My last Editing Islam (which I reposted today if you want to check it out) post dealt with what jihad is NOT. It does not mean holy war. If we as editors and writers use the term holy war, we are participating in the continued misunderstanding of jihad. In addition, if we call terrorist groups, like the Islamic State “jihadis,” we participate with them in the obscene warping of the word jihad and concept behind it.

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So how does the AP Stylebook define jihad?

“jihad Arabic noun used to refer to the Islamic concept of the struggle to do good. In particular situations, that can include holy war, the meaning extremist Muslims commonly use.”

So we see that even the AP Stylebook perpetuates the “holy war” definition. As mentioned in my earlier Editing Islam post, the term “holy war was coined by Christian crusaders who were sent by the Pope to fight against Muslims during the Crusades.

(Now you see why many Muslims were offended when George W. Bush, after 9/11, called for a “crusade” against terrorism. Many Muslims heard this just as another new crusade by the West to occupy and subjugate the Muslim world. If the president’s handlers had done a better job . . . well it probably doesn’t matter now. A new crusade against the “evildoers” has resulted in nothing for the West, except a greater hatred among Muslims.)

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As writers and editors, do we have an obligation to give equal time to those who know the true nature of jihad, or will we continue to let it be abased? When these terrorist organizations, which seem to be vying with each other to see who can commit the most gruesome human-rights abuses, tell us that they are acting under the flag of jihad, do we have an obligation to counteract this bullshit with the truth?

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So, you must be thinking WTF is jihad? OK, here goes.

There are actually two types of jihad. These were derived by the Prophet’s words, after his followers won a victory at over the ruling tribe of Mecca, which allowed them to come out of exile in Medina: “You have returned from the lesser to the greater (akbar) jihad.” When asked what the greater jihad was, he replied, “It is the jihad against your passionate souls.”

What does this mean? The fight to end injustice is a “lesser” pursuit than the fight within oneself to be a good person and a good Muslim.

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Seyyed Hossein Nasr writes of the greater jihad: “In Arabic, the term jihad is derived from the root jhd, meaning “to strive” or “to exert effort,” and in the context of Islam this striving and exertion are understood to be in the path or God. The person who performs such a task is a mujāhid usually translated in the West as “holy warrior.”

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“On this basic level it might be side that all of life, according to Islam, is a jihad, because it is a striving to live according to the Will of God and to exert oneself to do good and oppose evil.”

One of the main struggles for any Muslim is performing the five Pillars of Islam. As with many of these issues, this topic is vast, but I will summarize:

1. The Profession of Faith: “There is no God but God, and Muhamad is the Messenger of God.” This is called the shahada. Note here that the correct terminology is used. Allah is simply the name of God in Arabic. Allah is not separate from the God of Abraham and Moses.
2. Prayer five times a day (called salat)
3. The payment of charity to the poor (zakat)
4. The fast during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk (abstaining from food, water, tobacco, perfumes, and sexual relations).
5. The pilgrimage to Mecca (called the Hajj)

This sounds like a lot to do. But exceptions are allowed. If one is sick or poor, for example, and can’t make the hajj, that is acceptable. If someone is ill or a child and needs to be fed during the day, that is also acceptable.

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Wow, we have gotten so far! We have learned a little about the difference between the lesser and greater jihad and discussed the Pillars of Islam. I think that I will leave discussion of the lesser jihad (fighting oppression) until next Editing Islam post.