North Dakota State University
Agriculture Communication Department
LET'S COMMUNICATE
Electronic Newsletter
January 1998 No. 25
WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
"Ol' Diz knows the king's English. And not only that, I also
know the queen is English."---Jerome Herman "Dizzy" Dean
***
"Comprise" is a word that can bring mild-mannered grammarians and
copy editors to blows. Most purists, and even many not-so-
purists, insist that "comprised of" (as in, The committee is
comprised of seven members) is absolutely wrong. To comprise
means to contain, as in, The campus comprises 50 buildings, so
nothing is ever comprised of something else. Instead of
"comprised of," say these authorities, use "composed of" or "made
up of." Others maintain "comprised of" is perfectly acceptable
and cite examples back to the Round Table being comprised of King
Arthur's knights. My take: with substitutes readily available,
it's much easier to avoid using the word at all. (I have this
nagging suspicion that many writers use it because they think it
sounds more important than "made up of.")
***
But enough of this seriousness. Heard any good mondegreens
lately? (What's a mondegreen? Funny you should ask!) Mondegreen
is a coined word for a mishearing or misinterpretation of a word
or phrase. It comes from a 1954 magazine article by Sylvia
Wright, who told of hearing a Scottish ballad, "The Bonny Earl of
Murray," that contained (she thought) the verse:
Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands
Oh, where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl o' Murray
And Lady Mondegreen.
She was never sure why poor Lady Mondegreen had to die along with
the earl, then much later learned that the perpetrators had
actually slain the Earl of Murray and LAID HIM ON THE GREEN. Some
famous mondegreens include the Sunday school student who liked to
sing about the cross-eyed bear named Gladly (from the hymn Gladly
the Cross I'd Bear), and the popular Crystal Gayle recording,
Doughnuts Make my Brown Eyes Blue. Many years before I heard of
modegreens I heard a person express surprise when he saw the term
"wind-chill temperature" in writing. He had been hearing it (on
his car radio, presumably) as "windshield temperature." (The
term was obviously less used back then, which makes me long for
the good old days, but that's another rant.) So does all this
have a practical application for effective communication? Not
really, except maybe to be cautious about using that trendy new
phrase you just heard in written form before you are sure you
heard it right.
COPYRIGHT AND THE INTERNET
Be aware of copyright law before placing material belonging to
someone else on a Web site. Especially remember that copyright
law applies not only to text but also to graphics, cartoons,
photographs, and other forms. In most cases you will need
permission from the copyright holder before placing material on a
Web site. Also be aware that permission granted to use, for
example, a photograph in a printed publication does not
necessarily extend to posting the publication on a Web site. Get
permission for ALL intended uses. Works in the public domain may
be used without permission. There may be cases where use on a Web
site falls within fair use guidelines, but clear guidelines in
this area have not been developed. At least until such guidelines
are developed, the best course is to avoid posting copyrighted
materials without permission.
P.S. (PHONE SAVVY)
The voice mail or answering machine message says, "I'm away from
my desk or on the phone, but I'll call you back as soon as I
can." You assume that's the truth, so you leave a message
requesting a quick reply. Two or three days pass, and still no
return call. You call back, and someone else in the office tells
you that person is really gone all week on business, on vacation,
or because of illness or a family emergency.
Ever had this happen? Frustrating, isn't it?
For voice mail and answering machines to be accepted and
respected by colleagues and clients, it is essential that they be
used properly. A general rule is to change your phone message if
you will be out of the office all or most of a day or longer.
Here are some tips:
*Learn how to change your message from a remote location. If you
forget to change the message before leaving the office, you can
do it from any other phone on most systems.
*If you can't change it from a remote location (or haven't
figured out how to), call someone else in your office and ask
them to change the message on your machine.
*In case of an emergency, someone else in the office needs to
have or take the responsibility to change the phone message.
(Becky Koch and Agnes Vernon)
LET'S COMMUNICATE
If you have questions or comments, or would like to submit information or
make a suggestion, contact:
Agriculture Communication
Attn: Becky Koch
7 Morrill Hall
Phone: 231-7875
FAX: 231-7044
e-mail: bkoch@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Go to Let's Communicate Index
|
