ROME: 7th November '04 --  Many readers may find the English Style Guide prepared initially for use by confreres at the Salesian General Administration, to be of value to them as well.  This style guide attempts to bring a sensible uniformity to technical aspects of written text, using Salesian examples and Salesian language issues.

    Because English is amongst the most widely spread of the languages in use in the Congregation, there are many varieties accepted.  The style guide for the most part is able to present a universal standard in English, avoiding controversy over local choices, particularly since its focus is not on vocabulary, though some translation issues are offered in this area too.  In certain areas it makes a choice for British English.  An obvious such area is that of spelling, in particular the choice of -ise instead of -ize.  This instance suggests one practical reason why British English was adopted for the style guide: there are no exceptions to -ise, whereas there are a number of exceptions if one adopts -ize.

    The material contains hyperlinks, so that a reader can move quickly from the index to a selected area, then back to the index.  The majority of examples are taken from Salesian texts, though it was admittedly a little difficult to find a Salesian text referring to the Starship Enterprise, one of the examples contained therein.  We have yet to set up Salesian intergalactic communities!

    To obtain the guide, you need to enter the reserved area of www.sdb.org  (and may need to register for that?  In which case use homepage to quickly do so).  Go to the area of file sharing, Salesians, and you will find the English_Style_Guide.doc there.  Also available there is a .doc version of glosdben, much updated as of yesterday.  If you prefer a PDF version of this latter item you exit the reserved area and go instead to 'resources' from the homepage, then 'animation notes' and you will find it there.

    Happy reading and we hope the guide is useful at whatever level, including for those who are using English as an Other Language and need a little help along the way.

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