have been cases where identifying children has breached orders relating to custody <strong>and</strong> access.Always check with a parent or guardian to make sure it is okay to identify a child.Famous namesNames always need checking (see following pages for the spelling of some difficult names).Where there is doubt over a spelling <strong>and</strong> confirmation is not readily available check to see whatversion is most often used.Accident victimsWhen the names of accident victims are withheld because next of kin have not been told, saythe names are not available. Avoid saying police have released the names of…(simply give thenames of the people when appropriate to do so). Makes of cars are usually irrelevant in crashes –unless a collision happens between, say, a Rolls-Royce <strong>and</strong> a Mini Minor.FOREIGN NAMESThese can be dangerous. Some Thai, Indian <strong>and</strong> Sri Lankan names can be more than a dozenletters long. Check every one.The third <strong>and</strong> last name in an Asian name is not necessarily the surname. SBS presenter Lee LinChin calls herself Ms Chin, but her formal name is actually Chin Lee Lin.As a <strong>guide</strong>:Cambodian: Cambodians except members of the royal family use both their names in allreferences, for example Pol Pot.Chinese: The family name is the first name. Thus Lim Yew Lee is Mr Lim.Indonesian: The <strong>style</strong> varies from region to region. For example, Sujatmo Martosuhardjois Mr Sujatmo; but Ali Alatas is Mr Alatas. Raden, Datuk <strong>and</strong> Tengku are titles, not names. Youwill have to ask.Japanese: In Japan the family name comes first: Yamnanaka Ichiro. But when speaking orwriting English the custom is to reverse the order, so you would refer to Mr Ichiro Yamnanaka,then Mr Yamnanaka.Korean: The last two names are hyphenated. Otherwise use the same <strong>style</strong> as with Chinese.Thus Yoo Ji-hwan is Ms Yoo.Thai: Most Thais have two names. The first is the given name <strong>and</strong> the second the familyname. Use both names on first mention, then use the first only. So Chuan Leekpai is Mr Chuan.Vietnamese: Most Vietnamese have three names. Although the first is the family name,the last name is the one by which people are usually addressed. For example, Pham Viet Thanhshould be referred to as Mr Thanh.PLACE NAMESThese are traps, especially those from Aboriginal languages. Woollongong or Wollongong?Woollongabba or Woolloongabba? This book lists many (see following sections, included A-Z).If it’s not here, use the postcodes list in the phone book or an atlas. Do not guess.Don’t necessarily trust the spellings in previous reports, whether you are reading them on adatabase (including Wikipedia) or in a paper. If the spelling has been wrong previously it maynot have been corrected.UQ <strong>SJC</strong> STYLEBOOK <strong>2012</strong> – PAGE 22
A to Z list of word use, spelling, punctuation <strong>and</strong> grammarAabbreviationsAbbreviations <strong>and</strong> acronyms are constructions formed from the initial letters of groups ofwords. Familiar abbreviations are RAAF, ACTU, MIM, BHP, CJC. Some acronyms havebecome words. These include Anzac, Qantas, laser, radar, scuba, flak, gestapo, Nazi. Manyothers are not written as words, although often pronounced as words. These include WRAN,ASIO, NATO, CSIRO, NASA, TAFE, EARC (Williams, 1975: 141). Most should be writtenin full at first reference, followed by the acronym in brackets. Note that no full stops areincluded. Avoid adopting (or inventing) obscure acronyms. Use the full title at first reference,then generic terms such as ‘the association’, ‘the group’ or ‘the committee’ in later references.Aboriginal people, Aborigines Use ‘Aboriginal’ as the adjective, ‘Aborigine(s)’ as the noun(note the capital A). The preferred noun form is ‘Aboriginal people’.The names ‘Koori’ (NSW,Victoria or Tasmania) <strong>and</strong> ‘Murri’ (Qld) may be used where geographically appropriate <strong>and</strong>are often preferred by Aboriginal people. Other state names are ‘Nungar’ South Australia<strong>and</strong> ‘Nyungar’ Western Australia. The term ‘Black’ should be avoided: it is not a meaningfuldescription <strong>and</strong> may be considered offensive by many Aborigines. On the other h<strong>and</strong> it isappropriate to quote an Indigenous person using the term.Do not confuse Torres Strait Isl<strong>and</strong>ers with Aborigines. Although the two peoples often worktogether for political purposes, they do not have the same heritages <strong>and</strong> cultures. ‘IndigenousAustralians’ is a term that covers both peoples.absolutely is both overused <strong>and</strong> misused. It means free from imperfection, complete, perfect,but is often wrongly used to mean ‘I agree’, or rather ‘I strongly agree’ but is overused when itoccurs several or many times in a single conversation. Such ubiquitous perfection is extremelyrare, not common.accents (See also foreign words) Many words in common use originally had accented letterswhich are no longer used – cafe, cliche, façade, role. Where not using the accent could causeconfusion, it should be retained – the noun resumé (NOT résumé) as distinguished from theverb resume. Some words <strong>and</strong> phrases have not been so Anglicised <strong>and</strong> retain their accents(vis-à-vis). Names with accents should normally retain them – John le Carré.accommodate, accommodation frequently misspelled. Note double c <strong>and</strong> double m.according to Contains a hint of suspicion. Prefer ‘said’. The alternative ‘according to’ may beuseful in introductions, in which case the paragraph should be in present tense. (See indirectspeech.)active voice This is the form used wherever possible in news writing. Use the active form:The hammer hit the nail.rather than the passive form:The nail was hit by the hammer.The word ‘by’ is often an indication that passive voice has been used.actor/actress no need to distinguish gender. Use actor for both, unless source insists. (See Miss,Ms, Mrs)AD,BC historic references. AD is before the date. BC is after the date.PAGE 23 – <strong>2012</strong>UQ <strong>SJC</strong> STYLEBOOK