[bksvol-discuss] Re: Changing Misspelled words?

  • From: "Sarah Van Oosterwijck" <curiousentity@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 12:38:11 -0600

I found this messed up riddle, which really bothered me.

"What occurs twice in a moment, once in every minute, yet never in a million
years?"

The answer is the letter m, but of course there is a problem with that
answer because the author  of the book made a mistake in the wording of the
riddle.  It is supposed to say, "What occurs twice in a moment, once in
every minute, yet never in a thousand years?"  At least that was the way it
was written the first time I came accross it.

The author just explained that m didn't occur in the word year, which is
correct, but the riddle written with thousand instead of million is much
clearer and unarguable.

Sarah Van Oosterwijck
http://home.earthlink.net/~netentity/


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gerald Hovas" <geraldhovas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 11:36 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Changing Misspelled words?


> Prat,
>
> Sorry, I agree.  I wasn't advocating changing the word, but trying to
point
> out what can happen when you cross that line.
>
> Actually, I think spotting these types of errors are as much entertainment
> for now as debating their intention would be to some people in the
future.
> Personally, I don't see how someone can be taken seriously when they try
to
> declare that the intentions of a famous writer or playwrite were to
portray
> a particular meaning or to symbolize some particular events in that
author's
> time in history unless that author or playwrite happened to indicate that
in
> their own commentary on their writings.  That's niether here nor there,
> except that future debates are probably a good example of how you can't be
> sure of an author's or editor's intentions and should refrain from
> re-editing the book.
>
> If you want a good example of people misinterpretting someone's
intentions,
> then you don't have to look any further than my original message since, as
I
> said, I wasn't advocating correcting the mistake.  , I happen to agree
with
> Peter, it's not the job of the scanner or validator to edit the book, but
to
> edit the scan of the book in an attempt to reproduce the contents of the
> book, and I think that's good policy.
>
> Now, people, instead of debating the rights and wrongs of validating
books,
> relax and see if you can come up with an error in a book that tops the
> KenMore for Kenworth mistake.  I'm sure there are a lot more humerous
> editing errors than this single example.
>
> Gerald
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Pratik Patel
> Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 10:43 AM
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Changing Misspelled words?
>
>
> Gerald,
>
> It's a mistake that the copyright editor made in this instance.  It's
sloppy
> fact checking by the author, and even sloppier work by the editors.  But,
> that is a matter of textual integrity.  After all, we would like some grad
> students 100 years from now to go and ask whether the author really meant
> Kenmore or Kenworth.  Entire dissertations are written on these topics.
We
> should afford blind/print disabled student who have access to this
material
> the same opportunity to write the dissertation on a similar topic.
>
> Pratik
>
> Pratik Patel
> Interim Director
> Office of Special Services
> Queens College
> Director
> CUNY Assistive Technology Services
> The City University of New York
>      ppatel@xxxxxx
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Gerald Hovas
> Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 10:00 AM
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Changing Misspelled words?
>
> Cindy,
>
> So where do you draw the line?  Would you correct the misspelling in the
> following paragraph from Ill Wind by Nevada Barr?
>
> Tom drove a real pickup and wore cowboy shirts with the sleeves ripped
out.
> What would he consider big? Surely not a snubby-nosed little Mitsubishi.
To
> a construction worker, "big truck" would mean a Kenmore, a Peter-bilt, a
> Mac.
>
> Did you even spot it?  If you didn't, then here's a hint.  Sears doesn't
> make big trucks, at least not under that brand name.
>
> The word should have been Kenworth.  At least I think that's how the
company
> spells it's name.
>
> BTW, it's not a mistake by the validator.  That's how it appears in the
> paperback.  So would you correct it knowing that Nevada Barr didn't mean
for
> her construction workers to be driving a home appliance? <grin>
>
> Personally, I would have left it the way it is in the book and wondered if
> anyone else would have spotted it.  Just for the record, for those of you
> who missed it, I didn't spot it either when I read it.  My father had to
> point it out to me.  Oh well, nobody's perfect. <smile>
>
> Gerald
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Cindy
> Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 9:01 PM
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Changing Misspelled words?
>
>
> Of course, as Guido says, books that have deliberately
> mis-spelled words to indicate character, dialect,
> English spelling, etc., should be left alone. But if I
> see a word that is obviously mis-spelled, and this has
> happened only occasionally, I assume that it's been
> overlooked in  the proofreading by the editor and was
> not intended by the author, and I have corrected it.
> Likewise, I have done the same thing, *very
> carefully,* considering the intent of the author, the
> characterization of the characters, etc., with some
> grammatical errors.
>
> (O.K., Guido and Prat, now you can roundly scold me
> and I'll apologize and say I won't do it again -- but
> who will know?)
>
> Cindy
>
>
> --- Guido Corona <guidoc@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > I agree,  especially spellings that may be archaic,
> > demotic, or otherwise
> > intentional should be left as they are in the print
> > copy.
> > Besides the already mentioned truly beloved Flowers
> > for Algernon,  there
> > is the entire body of work by H.P. Lovecraft,
> > written in
> > quasi-pseudo-middle-English.
> > Not to forget half of the body of work by Stephen
> > King,  which is full of
> > non standard spellings.
> >
> > The question is though:  what to do with obvious
> > typographical  problems
> > outside of quoted passages,  in text that appears to
> > be following modern
> > standard orthographical rules?  I am thinking of
> > some authors that seem to
> > be full of errors that cannot be attributed to OCR
> > problems.  James
> > Patterson--not one of my favorite authors by any
> > stretch--is a notorious
> > case in point,  and Clive Cussler has his share of
> > typos as well.
> > Do we lend a merciful helping hand to the needy
> > authors,and fix their
> > typeset typos,  or do we let the chips fall where
> > they may?
> >
> > An intermediate case is found in translated works.
> > I am thinking of the
> > most excellent hedonistic phylosophical Emmanuelle
> > II,  by the French
> > author Emmanuelle Arsan.  In the book I have found
> > both words that were
> > systematically mistranslated with facile terms that
> > are not consistent
> > with the author's elegant style,  and a couple of
> > sentences that were so
> > grammatically mangled to be deserving of an F in a
> > basic language class.
> > What to do?  Fix the 'obbrobrii' or leave them
> > intact?  In the latter case
> > we'd be trying to serve the author,  in the latter
> > we'd be true to the
> > translation.
> > As I have worked on this book prior to Bookshare
> > being started,  I took it
> > upon myself to fix the problems as I saw best.  Had
> > I to do the same work
> > now,  I am not quite sure I would behave as such an
> > 'interventionist'.
> >
> > I really do not have an answer.  This is an
> > intriguing issue indeed.
> >
> >
> > Guido
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Guido Dante Corona
> > IBM Accessibility Center,  Austin Tx.
> > Research Division,
> > Phone:  512. 838. 9735.
> > Email: guidoc@xxxxxxxxxxx
> > Web:  http://www.ibm.com/able
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "Chancey S. Fleet" <csflee@xxxxxx>
> > Sent by: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > 03/06/2005 04:36 PM
> > Please respond to
> > bksvol-discuss
> >
> >
> > To
> > <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > cc
> >
> > Subject
> > [bksvol-discuss] Changing Misspelled words?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I have to disagree on this one, guys.  I think that,
> > if you check the
> > print
> > copy and find the word spelled incorrectly there,
> > you should leave it that
> >
> > way in the Bookshare copy, for the sake of
> > authenticity.  In this
> > particular
> > case that's my only reason, but imagine what a
> > correction rampage would do
> >
> > to Judith Viorst's "If I Were In Charge of the
> > World" or the classic
> > "Flowers for Algernon".
> >
> > Best,
> > Chancey
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 5:17 PM
> > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Irwin the Sock
> >
> >
> > >A lot of kids books don't have page breaks.
> > >
> > > Smile, but indeed, it is a great book.  We also
> > have another child
> > > author's
> > > book in the collection, check out
> > >
> > > Me and My Veggies by Isaac Witlash SP, smile, I
> > think that is how you
> > > spell
> > > his last name, he was eight I think when he wrote
> > that book and is worth
> >
> > > the
> > > read particularly if you don't like peas or
> > Brussels sprouts.  smile.
> > >
> > > I have one more of these to submit, but need to
> > clean it up and the dog
> > is
> > > staring at me demanding in no uncertain terms,
> > that I am to get off this
> > > computer.  I agree, so this is enough for me for
> > today, well for now.
> > >
> > > Smile.
> > >
> > > Shelley L. Rhodes and Judson, guiding golden
> > > juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
> > > Graduate Advisory Council
> > > www.guidedogs.com
> > >
> > > The vision must be followed by the venture. It is
> > not enough to
> > > stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.
> > >
> > >      -- Vance Havner
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "siss52" <siss52@xxxxxxx>
> > > To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 5:03 PM
> > > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Irwin the Sock
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Oh, I did enjoy it!  It is a darling story and
> > there are no misspelled
> > > words.  I will fix Akron on the synopsis when I
> > upload it.
> > >
> > > The one thing I did not get was page numbers.
> > There are page breaks and
> >
> > > of
> > > course blank pages.  Will the automated equipment
> > number the pages or
> > what
> > > should I do about that?  I wonder what the author
> > is doing now, as he
> > > would
> > > be all grown up.  <smile>
> > >
> > > Sue
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Shelley L. Rhodes"
> > <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 3:14 PM
> > > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Irwin the Sock
> > >
> > >
> > > The answer is yes to the changing misspelled
> > words, as this book was
> > > published.
> > >
> > > And I was guessing at the city name, smile.
> > >
> > > Hope you enjoy it though, It sounded funny when my
> > librarian and I found
> >
> > > it
> > > in the library so we decided to give it a try.
> > and well, it is quite
> > > cute.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Shelley L. Rhodes and Judson, guiding golden
> > > juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
> > > Graduate Advisory Council
> > > www.guidedogs.com
> > >
> > > The vision must be followed by the venture. It is
> > not enough to
> > > stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.
> > >
> > >      -- Vance Havner
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "siss52" <siss52@xxxxxxx>
> > > To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 4:07 PM
> > > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Irwin the Sock
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Shelley,
> > >
> > > Having raised two very normal mischievous boys I
> > couldn't resist this
> > one.
> > > Ackron is wrong, should be Akron.  I know this
> > because Ohio is where I
> > > lived
> > > for most of my childhood.  In the case of a child
> > author, do we change
> > > misspelled words if there are any?  I would say
> > yes, but want to know
> > for
> > > sure.
> > >
> > > Sue
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > No virus found in this incoming message.
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> > Release Date: 3/4/2005
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > > Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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