I seem to be finding a lot of really bad signs these days. I actually found two in the same day. I didn’t think about taking a picture of the second one though. I always seem to forget about the camera on my phone. So, I have to go back to the grocery store and get a picture of the other sign.

But, for now, here’s the latest, greatest finding that I have to report:

Where’s the mistake? Well, it should say cannons instead of canons.

A canon is a law or rule. It is also a group of books, particularly religious books. It is also a term used to describe a church dignitary. Of course, it’s also the name of a large, electronics company.

A cannon is a weapon, or in this case a large water gun.

It’s a mistake that should have been caught by someone at the amusement park. But, even worse is the fact that the mistake obviously slipped past the printing company too. What a shame.

So, now I’m off to get a picture of the other sign. I wonder how many other “sign snafus” I will encounter!

This is a good resource for writers. While the focus of PlainLanguage.gov is on “Improving Communication from the Federal Government to the Public”, it still contains many helpful guidelines and resources. In order to give you a better idea of what “Plain Language” is, here is the description given on their website:

Most people who don’t live in New England, the South, or the Midwest will tell you they don’t have any type of accent. However, as a person who has lived in many different areas of the United States, I can attest that this simply isn’t true. There are many, many regions in the US that have accents; whether the folks who live there will readily admit it or not is a different story!

This “Accent Test” is a fun and fairly accurate quiz. I’d encourage you to take the test and let us know if it was accurate for you. Have fun with it! In the coming months, I hope to explore a little bit more in-depth some of the regional colloquialisms that I have noticed while traveling or living in various areas of the United States. Our spoken language is quirky and always interesting!

Do you consider yourself to be a logical thinker? Do you like patterns? Are you observant and easily notice patterns? Do you follow set ways of getting things done? If you answer yes to most of these questions, then you might enjoy the puzzle I came across here. Of course, you also might end up putting your fist through your computer screen too!

I made it to level 3 on my first try. However, I’m going back to see if I can make it further. I’ll let you know how I make out! How about you? How far did you get?

Why is proofreading important? Here’s a great example of why you need to double check your work. It’s also a good example of a poor printing company. A company who produces material for other organizations really should be responsible enough to double check the content they are printing. Five minutes of time reviewing the project probably would have eliminated an error that has now been reported and scoffed at nationwide.

WESTLAKE, Ohio – A Cleveland-area principal says he’s embarrassed his students got proof of their “educaiton” on their high school diplomas.

Westlake High School officials misspelled “education” on the diplomas distributed last weekend. It’s been the subject of mockery on local radio.

Principal Timothy Freeman says he sent back the diplomas once to correct another error. When the diplomas came back, no one bothered to check things they thought were right the first time.

The publisher has reprinted the diplomas a second time and sent them to the 330 graduates.

Source: Yahoo News 6/9/08

By the way, if I were the principal…I’d find another printer for next year’s diplomas. I wonder what the first error was that caused them to be sent back…

While I certainly do not agree with George Orwell on politics, religion, and many other issues, I do appreciate his tips on writing well. He was a passionate defender of good writing. Here are some of Orwell’s more famous writing tips.

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:

1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

And he will probably ask himself two more:

1. Could I put it more shortly?
2. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails. I think the following rules will cover most cases:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

* From Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”