
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 29, 1990                   TAG: 9006290692
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

JOURNALISTS SHOULD FEEL SIC OVER SUCH ERRORS

I WAS READING your story June 14 about The Rockbridge Weekly's publication of student letters when I came across the following: "Mistakes in spelling and grammar were simply followed by `sic' - spelling is correct - in the newspaper."

Perhaps the writer of this story is a graduate of Parry McCluer High School himself!

Sic, which is properly italicized, is not an acronym for "spelling is correct." That would be stupid, because you are trying to point out that spelling or grammar is incorrect, and was rendered by the original writer in the form printed.

Sic is the Latin word for "thus," indicating that the incorrect word or segment appears as originally written. Remember Sic Semper Tyrannis (Thus ever to tyrants)?

It is ironic that such an error would appear in an article about the lack of spelling and grammar knowledge among high-school students. Journalists should know the tools of their trade, which often include foreign words that have been absorbed into English usage.

Commenting on the point of the article, it is absolutely absurd that letters containing such egregious errors were given A grades. When I was in school, points were taken off for each spelling or grammar mistake, and letters or essays with such mistakes would never have been graded higher than a C. Perhaps this is why so many young people today can't read a simple article or even fill out an employment application.

\ BOB SHELL\ RADFORD

Editor's note: A correction ran in this newspaper June 15.

by CNB