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Serial Comma
The serial comma (also referred to as the series comma, Oxford comma, or Harvard comma) is a comma placed after the second-to-last term in a list (just before the conjunction) when writing out three or more terms. For example, a list of three countries might be punctuated with the serial comma as "France, Italy, and Spain" or without it as "France, Italy and Spain". The serial comma can help avoid ambiguity in some situations, but can also create it in others. There is no universally accepted standard for its use. The serial comma is popular in formal writing (such as in academic, literary, and legal contexts) but is usually omitted in journalism as a way to save space. Its popularity in informal and semi-formal writing depends on the variety of English; it is usually excluded in British English, while in American English it is common and often considered mandatory outside journalism.''The Oxford Style Manual'', 2002: "The presence or lack of a comma before ''and'' or ''or'' .. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books by decree in 1586. It is the second-oldest university press after Cambridge University Press, which was founded in 1534. It is a department of the University of Oxford. It is governed by a group of 15 academics, the Delegates of the Press, appointed by the Vice Chancellor, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford. The Delegates of the Press are led by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as OUP's chief executive and as its major representative on other university bodies. Oxford University Press has had a similar governance structure since the 17th century. The press is located on Walton Street, Oxford, Walton Street, Oxford, opposite Somerville College, Oxford, Somerville College, in the inner suburb of Jericho, Oxford, Jericho. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Strunk Jr
William Strunk Jr. (July 1, 1869 – September 26, 1946) was an American professor of English at Cornell University and the author of ''The Elements of Style'' (1918). After his former student E. B. White revised and extended the book, ''The Elements of Style'' became an influential guide to writing in the English language, informally known as “Strunk & White”. Life and career William Strunk was born and reared in Cincinnati, Ohio, the eldest of the four surviving children of William and Ella Garretson Strunk. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Cincinnati in 1890 and a PhD at Cornell University in 1896. He spent the academic year 1898–99 at the Sorbonne and the Collège de France, where he studied morphology and philology. Strunk first taught mathematics at Rose Polytechnical Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1890–91. He then taught English at Cornell for 46 years, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, disdaining specialization and becoming an expert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semicolon
The semicolon (or semi-colon) is a symbol commonly used as orthographic punctuation. In the English language, a semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought, such as when restating the preceding idea with a different expression. When a semicolon joins two or more ideas in one sentence, those ideas are then given equal rank. Semicolons can also be used in place of commas to separate items in a list, particularly when the elements of the list themselves have embedded commas. The semicolon is one of the least understood of the standard marks, and is not frequently used by many English speakers. In the QWERTY keyboard layout, the semicolon resides in the unshifted homerow beneath the little finger of the right hand and has become widely used in programming languages as a statement separator or terminator. History In 1496, the semicolon is attested in Pietro Bembo's book ' printed by Aldo Manuz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambiguity
Ambiguity is the type of meaning (linguistics), meaning in which a phrase, statement, or resolution is not explicitly defined, making for several interpretations; others describe it as a concept or statement that has no real reference. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty. It is thus an Attribute grammar, attribute of any idea or statement whose intention, intended meaning cannot be definitively resolved, according to a rule or process with a finite number of steps. (The prefix ''wikt:ambi-#Prefix, ambi-'' reflects the idea of "2 (number), two", as in "two meanings"). The concept of ambiguity is generally contrasted with vagueness. In ambiguity, specific and distinct interpretations are permitted (although some may not be immediately obvious), whereas with vague information it is difficult to form any interpretation at the desired level of specificity. Linguistic forms Lexical ambiguity is contrasted with semantic ambiguity. The former represents a choice between a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syntactic Ambiguity
Syntactic ambiguity, also known as structural ambiguity, amphiboly, or amphibology, is characterized by the potential for a sentence to yield multiple interpretations due to its ambiguous syntax. This form of ambiguity is not derived from the varied meanings of individual words but rather from the relationships among words and clauses within a sentence, concealing interpretations beneath the word order. Consequently, a sentence presents as syntactically ambiguous when it permits reasonable derivation of several possible grammatical structures by an observer. In jurisprudence, the interpretation of syntactically ambiguous phrases in statutory texts or contracts may be done by courts. Occasionally, claims based on highly improbable interpretations of such ambiguities are dismissed as being frivolous litigation and without merit. The term ''parse forest'' refers to the collection of all possible syntactic structures, known as '' parse trees'', that can represent the ambiguous sente ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hart's Rules For Compositors And Readers
''Hart's Rules'' is the oldest continuously updated style guide in the English language, providing advice on topics such as punctuation, citation, and typography. Printer and biographer Horace Hart first issued the work in 1893 for the compositors and readers of Oxford University Press (OUP). It has evolved through multiple editions to become one of the most influential works of its kind. Origins The first edition of ''Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford'' appeared in 1893, as a privately circulated 24-page booklet, printed on small-format blue card and issued without charge to staff of the Oxford University Press. Its compiler, Horace Hart (1840–1916), had been appointed Controller of the Press in 1883, tasked with modernizing what was then a struggling and bifurcated institution — divided between a commercially successful Bible Side and a faltering Learned Side. The original ''Rules'' had more modest aims than their later successor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horace Hart
Horace Henry Hart (1840 – 9 October 1916) was an England, English printer and biographer. He was the author of ''Hart's Rules, Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers'', first issued in 1893. Early life and early career Hart was born in Suffolk in 1840; his father was a shoemaker. He was sent to the printers Woodfall & Kinder in London at the age of fourteen, and was apprenticed to the compositor’s trade two years later. He became the manager of Woodfall & Kinder by the age of twenty-six, but left to take over management of the London branch of the Edinburgh-based Ballantyne Press. He left Ballantyne Press in 1880, when he was appointed manager of the head office and main works of William Clowes & Sons, which was then the biggest printing house in Britain. He left, however, after only three years at Clowes, when vacancy for Controller of the Oxford University Press (OUP) was advertised. Oxford University Press Hart served as Printer to the Oxford University, Universit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smithsonian Magazine
''Smithsonian'' is a magazine covering science, history, art, popular culture and innovation. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' magazine, was asked by then-Secretary of the Smithsonian, S. Dillon Ripley, to produce a magazine "about things in which the Smithsonian nstitutionis interested, might be interested or ought to be interested." Thompson later recalled that his philosophy for the new magazine was that it "would stir curiosity in already receptive minds. It would deal with history as it is relevant to the present. It would present art, since true art is never dated, in the richest possible reproduction. It would peer into the future via coverage of social progress and of science and technology. Technical matters would be digested and made intelligible by skilled writers who would stimulate readers to reach upward while not turning them off with jargon. We would fin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius (; ; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and Renaissance humanism, humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preservation of Greek manuscripts mark him as an innovative publisher of his age dedicated to the editions he produced. Aldus Manutius introduced the small portable book format with his ''enchiridia'', which revolutionized personal reading and are the predecessor of the modern paperback book. He also helped to standardize use of punctuation including the comma and the semicolon. Manutius wanted to produce Greek language, Greek texts for his readers because he believed that works by Aristotle or Aristophanes in their original Greek form were pure and unadulterated by translation. Before Manutius, publishers rarely printed volumes in Greek, mainly due to the complexity of providing a standardized Greek typeface. Manutius published rare manuscripts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. Mostly written and edited in London, it has other editorial offices in the United States and in major cities in continental Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The newspaper has a prominent focus on data journalism and interpretive analysis over News media, original reporting, to both criticism and acclaim. Founded in 1843, ''The Economist'' was first circulated by Scottish economist James Wilson (businessman), James Wilson to muster support for abolishing the British Corn Laws (1815–1846), a system of import tariffs. Over time, the newspaper's coverage expanded further into political economy and eventually began running articles on current events, finance, commerce, and British politics. Throughout the mid-to-late 20th century, it greatl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a privately-held company, private, Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit cooperative owned and operated by its member newspapers for most of its history. In mid-2010, however, it announced plans to become a business, for-profit business owned by three media companies once certain conditions were met. Over the years, The Canadian Press and its affiliates have adapted to reflect changes in the Mass media, media industry, including technological changes and the growing demand for 24-hour news cycle, rapid news updates. It currently offers a wide variety of text, audio, photographic, video, and graphic content to websites, radio, television, and commercial clients in addition to newspapers and its longstanding ally, the Associated Press (AP), a global news service based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
McGraw Hill
McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, digital learning tools, and adaptive technology to enhance learning experiences and outcomes. It is one of the "big three" educational publishers along with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Pearson Education. McGraw Hill also publishes reference and trade publications for the medical, business, and engineering professions. Formerly a division of The McGraw Hill Companies (later renamed McGraw Hill Financial, now S&P Global), McGraw Hill Education was divested and acquired by Apollo Global Management in March 2013 for $2.4 billion in cash. McGraw Hill was sold in 2021 to Platinum Equity for $4.5 billion. History McGraw Hill was founded in 1888, when James H. McGraw, co-founder of McGraw Hill, purchased the ''American Journal of Railwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
