Re: TR:UK - does good English matter?


"Andy Bunburry" <wottoast@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:wottoast-0903061415040001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When Peter Fox said last month on this ng that the next TR:UK would have a
feature on the ECML I said I would go and buy a copy. Well, it took a long
time to find one, I finally had to have one brought back from London last
week, and it is OK, lots of good news and the ECML feature is good
reading, even if the design is mediocre and the style and syntax often
poor - and I cannot grasp why articles on the VEPs, the Class 02 and
Dublin Trams are relevant to the mag's title....

The worst aspect is the lack of an editorial style sheet and the resulting
bad, and contradictory, English in some pieces. What really jars my grey
matter is the mixing of singular and plural verbs following company names
- for example, Virgin is singular ("Virgin has") in one article on page 9,
but plural in the other. ATW is plural on page 8, while 'one' is singular
in the same item, and ATW is then singular on page 11. And so it goes on.

These kind of errors would have got a "see me" from my first-year 1960s
Grammar school English master, and the sack from my first magazine
editorial job 30+ years ago. But does it matter these days when pupils
leave school with such a faint grasp of conventional English, grammar,
syntax and spelling alike? Or should a magazine be an educative example?
And why on earth employ someone as a railway journalist who thinks there
is more than one Virgin, or ATW, how did he even get an interview......

Peter, you need a sub-editor, at least (and copies of "Fowlers"), or how
do you expect senior industry managers to take your strident strictures
seriously if you let such "howlers" pass for printing?

I am glad that you thought tha magazine was "OK", but am sorry if you were
disappointed by the standard of English. We try for a high standard, but
sometimes things slip. I agree with you that "Virgin Trains" and "Arriva
Trains Wales", being the names of companies, should be singular and will
"try to do better, Sir" in future.

As for the content, although titled "Today's Railways UK", it does also
include Ireland. Indeed, from the next issue we have better Irish coverage,
since we have a new correspondent. Unfortunately we could not title the
magazine "Today's Railways UK and Ireland" - It would have been too much of
a mouthful.

But for your information, whilst the main scope of the magazine is current
affairs, we will also carry articles on past British rail operations in the
diesel & electric era. Occasionally an article may go back in time still
further to put something in context. And we cover trams as well as trains.

As for editorial staff, if you know anybody who wants a job, let me know.
Unfortunately staff with the required knowledge of the subject who are also
literate are few and far between.

Peter Fox, editor.


.

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