In my Google Chrome bookmarks bar, I have links to the two style guides I use the most: the Microsoft Writing Style Guide and the Google developer documentation style guide. I have several more in book form on the desk beside me. And in my info directory on my hard drive, there's a directory with quite a few others. I guess I'm a style guide junkie.
I just found a new one that could be especially useful in these testy times. Language, Please is " a free, living resource for journalists and storytellers seeking to thoughtfully cover evolving social, cultural, and identity-related topics."
The most useful part of the site for most readers will likely be the Style Guidance section, which covers topics, such as class and social standing, gender and sexuality, and race and ethnicity.
Here's an example from the guide:
blind / low vision: There can be a wide range of experiences among people with blindness or vision loss. Total blindness is the complete loss of sight, while low vision is significant loss of sight; legal blindness is specifically defined as having 20/200 visual acuity. Terms like “vision impairment” or “visually impaired” can be read as portraying blindness negatively. Person-first language when discussing blindness can also be used, such as the “person who is blind” or “person with low vision,” though taking into account the person’s preferred terminology whenever possible aligns your framing with their lived experience.
I will be bookmarking this site, not so much for my own writing, but to help me understand some of the terms I keep running into in my daily reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment