User:Amgine/SG Details-T
Amgine's style guide details |
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0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
20/20
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edit-t
editWhere possible, use the -t as opposed to the -ed suffix to form the simple past or past participle of verbs. This is controversial in some cases, believed by some (primarily North American) contributors to be archaic. In fact the -t form is far more widespread than many realize, is often more succinct, occasionally avoids confusion with an adjectival form (eg, the learned scholar learnt in her youth.) The following are especially recommended:
Preferred | Deprecated |
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table
editAvoid verb use; in the UK it means to bring forward or take action, while in the USA it means the opposite.
tableau
editSingular. Plural form is tableaux.
table d'hôte
editAlthough derived from French, the phrase has a specifically English sense of a complete meal for a fixed price, and so is not italicized as a foreign term.
tad
editOverused, clichéd.
Tajikistan
editAdjective, proper noun, and language are all Tajik.
take-off, takeoff
editThe noun.
take off
editThe verb, never hyphenated.
takeover
editThe noun.
take over
editThe verb.
take part
editAvoid; prefer participate.
take the mickey, take the piss
editNever use except in direct quotes (and then, never censor as take the p— or anything similar.)
Taliban
editNot Taleban. A plural proper noun. (Translation of Pashto طالبان: "students" or "seekers")
talk show
editNot talkshow.
tally-ho
editHyphenated; plural tally-hos.
The woolen hat named after Tam o'Shanter from the eponymous Robert Burns poem.
Trade name of oseltamivir, an anti-viral drug. It is not a vaccine.
Tamil Tigers
editFull formal title is Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but Tamil Tigers is sufficient in most cases. However, do not shorten to either Tamil or Tigers alone; either might be misleading as over-broad.
Tangier
editNo final 's'.
The vice-executive head of the Irish government, similar to Deputy Prime Minister. Note the title is not capitalizedi in Irish Gaelic, but it is capitalised when used as a proper noun in English.
The executive head of the Irish government, similar to Prime Minister. Note the title is not capitalized in Irish Gaelic, but it is capitalized when used as a proper noun in English.
target
editAvoid use as a verb; prefer to aim, to direct. Attempt to restrict its use to military/hostile actions
tariff
editNever tarriff.
tartan
editTartan is most commonly used to describe a plaid woolen fabric, generally one whose coloring pattern is associated with a military or Scottish association. By no means are these patterns limited to such organizations, or solely associated with the British Isles; similar patterns date from the Neolithic era.
Taser
editTrademark; the generic term is stun gun. Note that most countries classify this weapon as deadly
tattoos, tattooed, tattooing
editAlso, tattooer, tattooist, tattooment, and tattooage. But never tattoed.
taxman, taxpayer
editNo hyphen. Taxman is cliché, and often pejorative, therefore avoid use except in direct quotes.
Tchaikovsky
editFull name Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Clichéd loan-word from Yiddish; avoid. Plural is tchotchkes.
tea words
editTwo words | One word |
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There are regional variations and exceptions; a private Japanese-style tea house differs from a retail teahouse, for example.
teams
editSporting teams are generally plural, no matter the actual proper noun, in most contexts. Example: The Wild are leading in their conference. The exception is in business reporting. Example: The New York Jets reported its largest annual revenues.
team-mate, team-mates
editHyphenate.
techMARK
editThe FTSE techMARK 100, in that capitalization, a technology index on the London stock exchange.
teen
editDo not use as a substitute for the adjective teenage, teenaged.
teetotal
editNot teatotal, or other variants.
Tehran
editNot Teheran.
Telefónica
editFull name Telefónica S.A., note acute accent.
telephone numbers
editIn general, there is no benefit, ever, to reporting a phone number on Wikinews.
If a phone number must be recorded, use the country code with prefixed '+', and the national phone number format which usually involves a city or area code number, sometimes a local exchange number, and finally the phone number. For example, a US phone number might appear as +1 123 456-7890. A UK number might appear as +44 0151-234 8464. Note that specific punctuation is the style used in the given country; hyphenation and parentheses are used as sparingly as possible.
television
editTV is acceptable in either headlines or body text. Use full station title on first use, abbreviations are acceptable thereafter (Canadian Television Network, thereafter CTV; Australian Broadcast Company Television, ABC-TV, etc.) Where a specific broadcaster is not known, use the construction [region] television, for example, Norwegian television blah blah.
Television programme titles are italicized, as with other creative works. See #titles of works.
temperatures
editThe preferred form, except in articles specifically about weather events in the United States, is 15C (59F), minus 20C (-4F). Note the use of "minus", not negative. Outside parens, prefer the word and not the symbol. There is no need to use ° or the word degree. Do not refer to temperatures as "hot" or as "cold"; use high or low.
Avoid the use of temperature changes; they are very prone to errors. A temperature rise of 2C is not a rise of 36F - it is actually a rise of approximately 4F.
tenpin
editNot ten-pin. Tenpin bowling is the sport, while each pin is also a tenpin, particularly in the UK.
terrace house
editNot terraced house.
terrorist, terrorism
editIn almost all cases, avoid use except in direct quotes. In particular, avoid gratuitous use as a marketing ploy by groups attempting to spin or bias the press, such as "anti-terrorism legislation" or "war on terrorism". Terms such as guerrilla or insurgent, paramilitary, armed gangsters, or similar are generally more specific and may be more applicable to a given situation.
Be aware a government or state actor may use terror as a tool to govern or exert influence, and in fact is usually better equipped and positioned to do so than any small group of opposition.
Test match
editFor cricket or rugby, capitalised. For cricket this is used only for games between official Test nation teams (Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe.) For rugby it is used for matches between official national teams. Other matches are lower-cased test matches.
tête-à-tête
editWith circumflex and grave accents.
Texan, Texas
editThe adjectival form is Texas, as Texas Cowboys, Texas wildlife, while the noun for a person from Texas is Texan.
textbook
editSingle word, no hyphen, same as guidebook, handbook, etc.
Thaksin Shinawatra
editThe former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin at second mention. (Note: Convicted of fraud and corruption in absentia, Thaksin is now a citizen of Montenegro.)
thallium
editHighly toxic element.
thalidomide
editHighly teratogenic pharmaceutical.
that
editOverused, and often incorrectly used. "That" defines, "which" gives additional information.
In news writing, use "that" to connect a subordinate indicating clause, or as a determiner to indicate a specific noun. Do not use as a pronoun, adverb. Do not assume constructions "[name] said" must be followed by "that"; only use that when necessary for clarity. He said no explanation would be forthcoming sounds like an exact quote, which might be misleading. He said that no explanation would be forthcoming is less ascriptive, however She said the effort must be made is more vigorous than She said that the effort must be made.
Acceptable usage:
- Live simply that others may simply live.
- The route that I take is shorter.
Questionable usage:
- She said that the parliament was united on the issue.
Unacceptable usage:
- He was that ill he could not get out of bed.
- That was an exciting event.
- Who was that you were talking with?
- The marathon was not that challenging.
(See also which)
the
editUpper case in titles of books, poems, works of art, television or radio shows, place names. In most other contexts, lower case. Note especially, newspapers are lower case, the Washington Post, the Globe and Mail, or the Times.
the then
editDo not use this construction. Use constructions such as then Prime Minister, or who was President at the time, or Mrs Clinton (then Miss Rodham). Note: no hyphen.
theatre, theater
editIn names, generally lowercase where appended as the Bolshoi theater, Shanghai Grand theater, upper case where preceding in names as Theatre Royal, Covent Gardens, Theatre Rhinoceros.
there is, there are
editMay often be omitted without any alteration to the meaning of the sentence. There are three challengers aiming to get the job vs. Three challengers aim to get the job.
theirs
editOwnership is without an apostrophe.
thermonuclear
editThermos
editThis is a trade mark, and needs capitalisation.
think
editAvoid constructions similar to think early-Edwardian. Simplest alteration is to add the word 'of': think of early-Edwardian.
think-tank
editPreferred over thinktank or think tank.
thirdly
editDo not use except in direct quotes. (Also do not use firstly, secondly, etc.)
they
editMust agree with subject in number.
Third World
editCaps. Avoid as the term is dated and objectionable (referring to countries neither aligned with the western powers nor the eastern powers during the w:Cold War.) Prefer instead newly industrialized countries, developing economies, or developing nations, or related constructions.
titles of address
editSee Social titles
titles of works
editThe title of a work may be presented typographically in several ways, and on Wikinews the title of a periodical is italicized, eg The Times of London. The title of a given article in the periodical is capitalised in the style of that periodical, and italicized, eg: Outside the Box, not Life outside the box (title case style, not sentence case style.) Note capitalisation styles do not necessarily apply to the subtitle, if any.
thorough
editOver-used and often bombastic; avoid clichés/pleonasm use such as thorough investigation, thorough inquiry, thorough check, and thorough reform.
thoroughbred, thoroughgoing
editNever hyphenated.
threefold, threepence, threesome
editNo hyphens.
3G
editThird generation mobile telephony.
threshold
editNot threshhold.
Tiananmen Square
editLocated within Beijing.
tidal wave
editAvoid use other than related to tides. See tsunami.
time
editGeneral formats:
- 6 a.m. not 6:00 a.m. nor ever 06:00 a.m.
- 10:30 a.m., or whenever the minutes are known but are not 00.
- 7 o'clock last night or in the morning, but 7 p.m. yesterday, 7 a.m. tomorrow.
- noon, never 12 noon or 12 p.m. Likewise, midnight.
Weeks begin on Monday, but Sunday references to the following week are this week. Avoid starting anything with Last week...
Do not insist on placing a time reference at the start of the sentence or paragraph. You would not say "I this morning ate breakfast," so do not write "The Premier this morning announced..." Make the time element a natural part of your sentence. "The initiative announcement was one of several in the Premier's morning press conference."
time words
editSingle word | Separate | Hyphenated |
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Timór-Leste
editFormerly East Timor. Full title Democratic Republic of Timór-Leste. Yes, I know en.WN uses East Timor: it is wrong in doing so.
titles of works
editBook titles, poems, songs, albums, and any other artistic work are not italicised, quoted, nor in bold font. Words in a title are capitalised, excepting a, and, at, for, from, in, of, the, to; the exception to the exceptions being when in the initial position or after a colon.
titles of people
editSocial titles are uniquely relevant to geography. The general rules described in the Style guide serve for most situations. A planned sub-section will be SG Details-Social titles.
to be fair
editThe phrase is generally over-used. However, the use as subjunctive clause preceding a statement, eg To be fair, his economic policies..., must be avoided. The phrase is unnecessary, and biasing as it introduces doubt regarding earlier statements.
today
editIn general, avoid. See rant at Relative time.
toilet
editRefers to the room, not the lavatory
tomorrow
editIn general, avoid. See rant at Relative time.
total
editAvoid verb use; prefer add up to, amount to, similar constructions. Noun use is normal.
See also numeracy regarding creating sums.
tsunami
editThe preferred term for a seismic-induced sea wave. Tsunami is a term borrowed from Japanese (津波, 津浪, つなみ), and usually refers to a wave caused by tectonic or volcanic forces.