英语语法：210 Chicago Style

Grammar Girl here.

Today's topics are style guides and how to deal with book titles.
Joe called in with this question:

With all of the style guides that are out there -- “APA,” “MLA” -- why would anyone use "Chicago"? I was finding it very hard to believe when I first looked at the “Chicago” style guide after the “APA” and “MLA” references that the “Chicago” style guide that was something that was used by anything less than a commercial writer. Possibly on someone's doctoral thesis, but for an undergraduate to have to deal with that kind of detail just seems ridiculous. Just wanting to hear your opinion on this.

The Chicago Manual of Style is one of the oldest and most comprehensive style guides on the market. The fact that it is so comprehensive can be both a strength and a weakness, and Joe points out the weaknesses: it can take a while to find what you are looking for, and the size of the book can be intimidating¹ to students. Nevertheless, I find it indispensable because it has so much information that I can't find anywhere else.

The way I work is that I usually reach for the Associated Press Stylebook first because it's short and clear, so it is easy to find things if they are included. But, I often have to go to Chicago to find things that aren't included in AP. For example, I started with AP, but then went to Chicago to find out how to deal with a shortened book title, because in his question Joe shortened the Chicago Manual of Style to simply Chicago (and I learned that you treat it just as you would a regular title, and italicize it, or in the case of Grammar Girl style, it goes in quotes because listener questions are already italicized). It turned out that the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers also had a section on shortened book titles, so in this case I could have looked there next and found the answer, but often I just jump to Chicago because I know the answer will always be there.

Another example of something I could only find in Chicago is how to handle punctuation² in bulleted or numbered lists. I couldn't quickly find anything on this subject in MLA or AP, but it is covered in Chicago.

These types of questions might seem arcane³, but for me they come up every day, and I imagine that they would come up at least occasionally for other writers, including undergraduates. Chicago also has an excellent index that I find more helpful than the strictly⁴ alphabetical⁵ layout of some other style guides because it doesn't leave me wondering if I couldn't find what I wanted just because it was was listed in some way that I hadn't considered. For example, would shortened book titles be under “book titles,” or “shortened book titles,” or “titles,” or something else?

Style guides also have different uses. For example, the Associated Press Stylebook is primarily for writers who work at newspapers or news magazine; the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is obviously for writers of research papers, and it's used most commonly in the liberal arts and humanities. Writers of research papers in the sciences, on the other hand, may be more likely to use the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association or American Medical Association Manual of Style  If I had to peg⁶ down The Chicago Manual of Style, I'd say that its primary audience is book authors, but as you might have gathered by now, I think Chicago is great for everyone.

Again, this may all seem arcane, but it is good to have the right style guide for the right purpose, and also to know what the other style guides advise. For example, last week when I was looking for as many ways as possible to use quotation⁷ marks, I used AP style to say that book titles can go in quotation marks. A lot of people wrote in to say that was wrong because almost all the other style guides say book titles should be either italicized or underlined. I'm guessing that most of the people who wrote in aren't familiar with AP style, and there's really no reason they should be. So, even though it isn't wrong, I probably should have clarified which style guide I was using because there are differences between the style guides (and especially because AP is in the minority by saying to use quotation marks).

And, Travis from Omaha, Nebraska, asked an interesting question related to book titles. He wanted to know what to do when the style says that titles should be underlined but you are writing for the web, where underlined words look like links. First, it's pretty easy to avoid this problem because most style guides say that you should italicize titles or put them in quotation marks. If the style is absolutely emphatic⁸, for example if you're following the style of a medical journal for referencing citations⁹ and it has to be underlined, then underline it and hope for the best. Otherwise, pick a style that is more web-friendly and either italicize the title or put it in quotation marks.

I think that style guides are evolving in response to the web to deal with problems like this anyway. For example, my copy of the MLA (the fifth edition) says to underline titles and doesn't give the option of italicizing, but I found an online reference that says the sixth edition recommends either underlining or italicizing book titles, so I suspect style guides are evolving in response to the specific problems with underlining on the web.

And, here's an interesting side note: underlining text is a way to tell typesetters that you want them to set the words in italics. So, if you are writing in a way that italics aren't possible, such as writing something by hand or if you are really retro and are using a typewriter, then you underline the text that would have otherwise been italicized.

 

1 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

2 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

3 arcane   

adj.神秘的，秘密的

参考例句：

• The technique at one time was arcane in the minds of most chemists.这种技术在大多数化学家心目中一度是神秘的。
• Until a few months ago few people outside the arcane world of contemporary music had heard of Gorecki.直至几个月前，在现代音乐神秘殿堂之外很少有人听说了戈莱斯基。

4 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

5 alphabetical   

adj.字母（表）的，依字母顺序的

参考例句：

• Please arrange these books in alphabetical order.请把这些书按字母顺序整理一下。
• There is no need to maintain a strict alphabetical sequence.不必保持严格的字顺。

6 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

7 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

8 emphatic   

adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的

参考例句：

• Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决，不容有任何人怀疑。
• He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。

9 citations   

n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬

参考例句：

• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Some dictionary writers use citations to show what words mean. 有些辞典的编纂者用引文作例证以解释词义。 来自辞典例句