I’ve been listed in a few book dedications – I used that verb deliberately, as they’re generally mentions in relation to mailing lists where quite a few people contributed. I’m always thrilled, of course, and waylay the nearest person so I can shriek ‘this is ME!’ – but I’ve never had that ‘To Tracey’ thing. I suppose when Thundercat finally publishes The Amazing Adventures of Thundercat I can expect some kind of front matter mention, even if it’s only ’she could have fed me on time once in a while.’
I’ve been doing some editing for a German PhD candidate who was writing in English, and he’s submitting next week, so this weekend was the final installment. And I was thoroughly pleased to read the following paragraph:
I am also very grateful to those who participated in the experiments, and to Tracey S. Rosenberg for correcting what I thought was English. I do not know which of the two tasks is more annoying.
I’m guessing the experiments, as his English was pretty darn good. The most frequent issue with non-native English speakers is when they’re writing perfectly grammatical English, but it simply doesn’t sound right. We all know what is meant by ‘the cat is placid’ but it’s a sore thumb. Sometimes this happens when they’re thinking in their native language and translating literally, so the nuances get lost. I find it charming, but alas, my job is to make it sound academic. Which, I think, I succeeded in – so fingers crossed that the experiments were as thoughtfully pursued as the quest for native-level English, and that the PhD comes soon!
In the category of ‘I have no idea why I find this amusing but I kind of do’: I’ve been keeping up with the Typo Eradication Advancement League’s quest to correct typos across America, ever since linking to them several entries ago, and I got mentioned over in their own comment threads (right here) under the description ‘you are mentioned in this woman’s blog’. And here is this woman mentioning you again. Rock on, etc.
Which reminds me, I saw a t-shirt today which meant to say zebras but actually said zebra’s. I’ll post a picture after Rhys and my phone spend more than ten seconds in the house at the same time.
