Word of the Month: Fandom

1 July 2002

The word of the month for July is fandom, n., a base of enthusiasts for a particularly activity, book, movie, or television series; originally from baseball; from fan + [king]dom; (1903).

Fandom is quite a sub-cultural phenomenon. The word dates to the turn of the 20th century and was originally used to refer to baseball fans. But it achieves it greatest linguistic heights in the realm of science fiction. Science fiction fans have their own lingo in referring to themselves and to their activities.

Fans engage in criticism and discussion. They write their own stories, or fan fiction. They publish web sites and magazines devoted to their subject. All this activity generates a vocabulary and jargon unique to these sub-cultural groups.

The following terms are not exclusively used by science fiction fandoms. Many non-science fiction fandoms use them as well, and some are distinctly not from science fiction, wingnut for example. Within each individual fandom, there are specific terms relating to that subject, but for the most part I’ve included only those that are used across several fandoms or that are names for a particular grouping of fans, like Trekkie.

In the definitions that follow, series refers to any continuing chain of stories about a common set of characters and with a common setting. It can be a series of books, like Harry Potter, a television series like Star Trek, or movies like Indiana Jones.

Alternative history, n., fan fiction that changes the premise of an established series.

Alternative timeline, n., fan fiction that diverges from the canonical series at a specific point.

Anime, n., Japanese animation style.

APA, n., Amateur Press Association, a group of fans who all contribute to a limited circulation fanzine that is distributed among them; (1950).

BEM, n., acronym for bug-eyed monster.

BNA, n., abbreviation for Big Name Author.

BNF, n., Abbreviation for Big Name Fan, a fan who is well known among fellow fans.

Booter, n., fan of the Reboot TV series (1994-98, 2001), the first computer-animated television series. Also Bootnik.

BtVS, n., Buffy the Vampire Slayer. US television series (1997-present).

Canon, n., the accepted “true” history of a series; what is considered canon varies with the fandom, e.g., J.K. Rowling’s books are the canon for Harry Potter, the movie is not. In Buffy, the Vampire Slayer fandom, the TV series is canonical, the movie (which came first) is not.

Completist, n., an obsessive and often indiscriminate collector; (1955).

Con, n. and affix, convention, a gathering of fans; (1944).

Contrib, n., clipped from contribution, a submission to an APA or zine.

Cosplay, n., from cos[tume] + play, to dress up as anime characters.

Crossover, n. and adj., the mixing of characters from two distinct fandoms, may be fan fiction as in Kirk meets Luke Skywalker, or may be canonical, as in the detectives from Law & Order and Homicide: Life On the Streets cooperating on a case in episodes of the two TV series.

Cyberpunk, n. & adj., science fiction sub-genre centered on computers and disillusioned heroes in a world run by multi-national corporations. Bill Gibson’s Neuromancer series is classic cyberpunk. The Matrix is probably the best known example of cyberpunk.

Doctor Who, n., UK television series (1963-89).

Dwarfer, n., Red Dwarf fan, UK television series (1988-99).

Ep, n., clipping of episode.

Fan n.; an aficionado, one devoted to a particular series of stories, 1887, originally from baseball; probably a clipped form of fanatic; often thought to come from fancy or fancier, but there is no strong evidence of this. In fandom, fans are those that actively participate in groups, cons, or zines. Casual readers/viewers are not considered fans, no matter how much they like the series.

Fanfic, n., fiction, written by fans, about characters in literature, movies, or television; clipping of fan fiction.

Fanwank, n., an explanation made up by fans to resolve an inconsistency or explain an anomaly in the story; from fan + wank (masturbate); also a v.

Fanzine, n., a magazine for fans of a particular series of stories, from fan + [maga]zine; (1941).

Fen, n., plural form of fan. Parallels man/men in form.

Filk, v., to write a song parody about the subject of one’s fandom. Also n. for the product of filking.

Furry, n. & adj., fandom subgenre concerned with anthropomorphic animals.

Gafiate, v., to quit fandom, from acronym GAFIA for “get away from it all.”

Gay Nazis for Christ, n., self-appellation given in front of mundanes. Supposedly, BNA Robert Heinlein was guest of honor at a con. While sharing an elevator with some mundanes, they asked him who all these strange people were. This was his reply.

Gamer, n., a fan of role-playing games; (1976).

Hammerspace, n., type of n-dimensional space in badly written fan fiction from which characters can produce life-saving tools or devices, such as hammers.

H:LOTS, n., Homicide: Life On The Streets. US television program (1993-99).

Hugo, n., award for science fiction. Named after Hugo Gernsbach, an early sci-fi editor.

Jossed, adj., previously written fan fiction that is rendered inconsistent with canon by subsequent developments is jossed; after the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Joss Whedon, who is famous for unexpected plot and character twists.

Mary Sue, n., a fan fiction or guest character who is an avatar of the author, is nearly flawless, has the key to an episode’s dilemma, and who has a romantic encounter with an established character; (1974). The term is derogatory. From Star Trek fandom. The term Mary Sue can refer to male characters as well as females, but sometimes males are called Marty Stu, Harry Stu, or Gary Stu.

Mistie, n., fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST), US television series (1988-99) that lampooned old science fiction and horror films.

Moonie, n., Sailor Moon fan, Japanese anime television series (1992-97).

Mundane, n., a non-fan.

Redshirt, n., anonymous character that is clearly destined to die in a story’s or episode’s early going; from the red-shirted security guards of original Star Trek series.

Relaxacon, n., a small con with little in the way of planned program. Essentially a party.

Retcon, n., a clipping of retroactive continuity; altering the established backstory or canonical history to provide for a desired change in plot direction; also a v.

Self-Insert, n., fan fiction where the author appears as a character.

Ship, n., a clipping of relationship; a hoped-for romantic or sexual relationship between two characters. Those who desire such a relationship are called shippers.

Slash, adj. and n., a romantic or sexual pairing of two characters in fan fiction, especially a homosexual one; from the convention of using a “/” between the two characters names to designate such works, such as Kirk/Spock or K/S; (1984 for adj.; 1988 for n.).

Spinoff, n. & v., a series based around one or two characters from an already established series, to create such a series. Originally a business term (1957), applied to broadcasting in 1963.

Spoiler, n., information that reveals the plot or outcome of a story.

Spoiler space, n., space left at the top of newsgroup messages, so that people don’t inadvertently read the spoilers contained therein.

ST:TNG, n., Star Trek: The Next Generation. US television series (1987-94).

ST:TOS, n., Star Trek, US television series (1966-69). The TOS stands for The Original Series.

Trekker/Trekkie, n., a Star Trek fan; there is no consensus on which of these terms is derisive and which is complimentary, but invariably one is used derisively and the other in a complimentary fashion; 1973 for Trekkie, 1978 for Trekker.

Twinking, v., the sudden granting of new powers, skills, or abilities to a character that conveniently enables them to escape a situation or change the direction of a plot.

-verse, suffix, used to describe the fictional world of a particular fandom, distinguishing it from the real world, e.g., the Buffyverse or Trekverse; from universe.

Winger/Wingnut, n., a fan of The West Wing, US television series (1999-present).

Zine, n., a clipping of magazine; (1947).

Prescriptivist's Corner: Quotation Marks

1 June 2002

It seems like a silly question, but when is it proper to use quotation marks? And how should they be used? Quotation marks are one of the basic forms of punctuation, but they are among the most often misused. And the situation is complicated because American and British styles differ on the point. (And on the name. They’re inverted commas in Britain.)

As to the first question, when should quotation marks be used, there are six different situations when they are appropriate.

1) When making a direct quotation.
2) When referring to a word as a word, as in: the word “word.”
3) When using a word ironically or when not in agreement with the word’s applicability, as in: Vinnie provides loans at “reasonable” rates of interest.
4) When coining a new word or using slang or a technical term that will likely be foreign to the reader, as in: the “vig” was thirty percent. But quotation marks should only be used for the first reference.
5) To mark the titles of poems, articles, essays, and book chapters.
6) To mark epithets, as in: Vinnie “The Squid” Calamari or Louis XIV, “the Sun King.” Commonly accepted epithets that substitute for the real name, like Babe Ruth, need not have quotation marks.

Quotation marks should not be used for emphasis. If you want to emphasize a word, use italics or a bold font. If those fonts are not available (say you’re still using a typewriter or using ASCII text), then underlining or *marking* with asterisks are the appropriate ways to denote emphasis.

Italics are also acceptable for marking neologisms (number 4 above).

Okay, so we know now when to use quotation marks, but how do we use them? First, we’ll deal with the American practice and then note the differences between that and British practice.

Direct quotations should be surrounded by double quotation marks, as in: Vinnie said, “if the payment is late, you’ll need crutches.” If paraphrasing, do not use marks, as in: Vinnie told me if we didn’t pay, he’d break our legs.

Single quotation marks should be used for quotes within quotes, as in: She said, “Mr. Calamari stated in his testimony that, ‘there ain’t no such thing as the Mafia.’” For quotes within quotes within quotes, you revert to double quotation marks again, alternating them for each subsequent nested quotation.

Quotations that are inset in block form, usually long excerpts, do not require quotation marks.

When marking running quotations that are several paragraphs long, use open quotation marks on each paragraph, but use the closing marks only on the final paragraph:

Vinnie said, “I was shocked and horrified to find that the man had been threatened.
“I’m a businessman, I have no need for threats.”

When marking dialogue, place each speakers’ words in their own paragraphs with their own quotation marks, no matter how brief the words are:

“Did he pay up?”
“Yeah.”
“Any trouble?”
“No. He didn’t want to pay at first, but he understood real quick.”

Do not use quotation marks in Q-and-A or interview format where each statement is preceded by the speaker’s name or other identifying notation:

Prosecutor: Did you threaten to break the man’s legs?
Calamari: No, it was a friendly conversation.

At the end of the quoted material, place periods and commas within the quotation marks, regardless of whether or not they are part of the quote, as in: “That’s three Gs you’ll owe me next week,” Vinnie said.

Exclamation points and question marks are treated differently than periods or commas. They go inside the closing mark if they are part of the quoted material and outside if they aren’t. For example: Vinnie asked, “do you have the money you owe me?” and Did Vinnie say, “I’ll break your legs”?

As we mentioned, British usage varies somewhat from the American style described above. The first major change is with the double vs. single quotation marks. British practice is to reverse the sequence, single marks are used first and double marks for quotes within quotes: She said, ‘Dinsdale Piranha told me that if I didn’t pay I would “go for a swim in the Thames”.’

The second major difference in style is that British usage requires you follow the same rules for periods and commas as you do for question marks and exclamation points. They go inside the quotation marks if they are part of the quoted material and outside if not. Note the example at the end of the last paragraph. The period at the end is not part of Piranha’s quotation; it is part of the woman’s. So, it is outside one mark and inside the other.

Which style, American or British, you use depends on who you are writing for. The editorial rules of the publisher should prevail. If you have the luxury of choosing the style, it really doesn’t matter so long as you are consistent.

Words on the Web: alt.usage.english FAQ

1 June 2002

If you’re not familiar with Usenet, you’re missing out on a rich part of the Internet experience. Usenet (short for “Unix User Network") is a hierarchy of discussion groups on all manner of subjects. It got its start back in 1979 when the Internet was still known as Arpanet. The discussion groups range from 3dfx.game.discussion to z-netz.wissenschaft.technik. Every subject under the sun has its own discussion group. The one we’re interested in is alt.usage.english (or AUE).

As you might guess, AUE is all about English grammar and style. The group discusses the English language (and also occasionally other languages); how particular words, phrases, and syntactic forms are used; their origin; where in the English-speaking world they’re prevalent; and how they should be used.

Recent topics of discussion include comma splices, why wormer and dewormer mean the same thing, and is there a Russian bias in OED etymologies?

The group is quite an active one, and keeping up with all the daily messages can be time-consuming. But the FAQ is available to all, not just those who read the group.

Most of these discussion groups have lists of frequently asked questions (FAQ) for newcomers to the particular group. Supposedly these FAQs exist so that regular contributors don’t have to answer the same questions over and over again. But often these FAQs are more than lists of questions and answers. They often contain detailed information on all aspects of the group’s topic, as well as conventions and idiosyncrasies of the group. For example by reading the FAQ on alt.folklore.urban, you will find out that posting smileys in your messages to that group is frowned upon.

The AUE FAQ is no exception. Compiled by Mark Israel, it was last updated in 1997 (an eternity in Internet time, but given the subject it’s hardly outdated; one notable exception is the discussion about when the new millennium starts, which is vestigial at this point).

The FAQ includes:
• Guidelines for posting
• Recommended dictionaries & books
• Artificial dialects
• Pronunciation
• Usage disputes
• Punctuation
• Foreigners’ FAQs
• Word origins
• Phrase origins
• Words frequently sought, and
• Spelling

Even if you never visit the AUE newsgroup or post a question or reply, the FAQ is a valuable on-line resource. There’s not much that you won’t find in other references, but it’s a one-stop shop for English language info.

It does have some specific Internet-oriented advice. A section of the FAQ discusses how to represent pronunciation in ASCII text. Also the section on specific problems that non-native speakers frequently encounter is useful and not found in many style or grammar manuals. And buried throughout are puzzles, wordplay, and fun forms that make the FAQ suitable for leisure reading (if you’re into this stuff that is).
So, if you want to find out how to pronounce ghoti, how many words end in –gry, the origin of golf, or whether it’s “company is” or “company are,” the AUE faq is only a mouse click away.

Book Review: Language and the Internet

1 June 2002

David Crystal, author of numerous books on language and linguistics, has written the first book-length study on the effects the Internet is having on language. In Language And The Internet Crystal provides an overview of the different forms of Internet communication and how language is used and modified in and by those media. Crystal’s conclusions are broad and tentative, as one might expect of such a large topic and such a new technology, but they are well-reasoned, supported by data, and often quite surprising, bucking the conventional wisdom.

Pundits have often opined that the Internet will be the death of grammar and spelling, that it will destroy thoughtful writing by encouraging sloppiness that is covered by the band-aid of a smiley or emoticon. Or that it will kill other languages, leaving only English as the sole survivor. Crystal carefully takes each of these conclusions apart, showing how people are adapting the tool of language to fit the new technology and enriching language and communication as a result.

Crystal divides the Internet into five broad media, e-mail, asynchronous chat-groups, synchronous chat-groups, virtual worlds, and the web. In each he finds that people have adapted language to meet the particular requirements and uses of that particular medium. He calls this new, adapted form of language netspeak.

Netspeak occupies a middle ground between speech and writing, sharing characteristics of both. Internet communication is not done face-to-face, as speech is usually conducted, hence it lacks the facial and body clues that accompany speech. But it also lacks the intonations and aural clues of speech, which makes it different from telephone conversations, which also lack visual clues. Some forms of netspeak are spontaneous like speech and not revisable, as writing is.

To give an example of how netspeak creates new conventions to overcome these particular difficulties, smileys and emoticons were invented to overcome these difficulties. They take the place of visual and aural clues. They are not required in formal writing because the time available to carefully chose one’s words and to revise and edit. This time is lacking in the immediacy of netspeak and some tool is required to replace those visual and aural clues, hence emoticons.

Scattered throughout the book are wonderful examples of the new terms and coinages that make up the new vocabulary of the Internet. From RUOK, to flames, to e-cash, he gives us a snapshot of a wild and woolly field of online language growth and change.

Crystal’s book is not the last word on the subject; rather it’s the first. We’re at the beginning of what will likely be the greatest revolution in the use of language since the invention of the printing press, and this book is the first to take a systematic and measured view of the changes so far.

Hardcover; 282 pages; Cambridge Univ. Press; ISBN: 0521802121; 1 October 2001; $20.00

Word of the Month: Watergate

1 June 2002

Thirty years ago this month, five men were arrested breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, DC. Among those arrested was James W. McCord, Jr., the security director for Republican President Richard Nixon’s Committee to Re-elect the President. The investigation into the break-in would expose ever larger circles of corruption and abuses of power in the Nixon White House and would eventually, in August 1974, lead to the resignation of the president.

Watergate, as the collection of scandals came to be known, was the biggest American political scandal of the 20th century. It left an indelible mark on US history, politics, and on the American political lexicon. So, in honor of this 30th anniversary, our word of the month is:

Watergate, n., a hotel-apartment-office complex along the Potomac River in Washington, DC. In 1972, the Democratic National Committee had its offices in the complex and on 17 June of that year burglars working for the White House broke into the offices to plant listening devices. Watergate became the name of the associated scandal. Subsequent Washington scandals were commonly dubbed with the -gate suffix, such as Koreagate, Irangate, and Monicagate.

Other terms created or popularized by the scandal are:

Big Enchilada, n., the person in charge, the most important person or thing. Coined by Nixon’s Domestic Policy Advisor John Erlichman in March 1973 in reference to former Attorney General John Mitchell. The term follows in the tradition of big cheese, big fish, and bigwig. Erlichman claims he used enchilada because of his fondness for Mexican food.

Bug, n. and v., electronic eavesdropping device. From underworld slang going back to 1919, because a small microphone resembles an insect. Common in criminal argot and in crime and spy fiction before Watergate, the word gained widespread currency as a result of the press coverage of the break-in.

Cover-up, n. and v., concealment of wrongdoing, obstruction of justice. The term actually dates to the 1930s underworld slang, but was popularized by Watergate.

CREEP, n., unofficial acronym for the Committee to RE-Elect the President; the official abbreviation was CRP. Surprisingly a Democrat didn’t coin this derogatory acronym, but rather Republican National Committee Chairman Bob Dole did. He thought his organization was being given short shrift in the campaign.

Deep Throat, n., an informant, particularly the one that aided reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post in uncovering the Watergate scandal. That pair’s editor, Howard Simon, coined the name. The name is a play on the term deep background, newspaper jargon for a source who is only used to confirm what others have already told a reporter and who is never quoted—not even anonymously, and the title of the famous pornographic movie which was released in 1972 and quite popular at the time. The identity of Deep Throat has never been revealed.

Enemies List, n., a list of political opponents who are to be harassed and otherwise interfered with. The name was coined by White House Counsel John Dean who ordered the creation of the original list. Now used to refer to any such list of names.

Executive Privilege, n., the right of the US Executive Branch to withhold certain types of information from Congress and the public. While the concept goes back to the founding of the republic, the phrase is relatively new. It was first used in the 1950s and gained widespread use during Watergate.

Expletive Deleted, c.phr., phrase used in the publicly released transcripts of the Nixon White House tapes to mark where the president and his aides used profanity. The transcripts are filled with the phrase.

Follow the Money, c.phr., coined by Deep Throat as advice to Woodward and Bernstein. It refers to the investigative technique of tracing monetary payments to find who is involved a secretive venture.

Hardball, n. and adj., rough, aggressive competition. From the imagery of baseball v. softball, but the term isn’t originally from sports lingo. It was first used in 1944 in reference to the Chicago newspaper business. The term was widely used by the press to categorize the tactics of Nixon’s 1972 campaign and Watergate.

Plumber, n., one who plugs leaks of information to the press, the term was coined in 1970 by David Young, who along with G. Gordon Liddy, had the task of investigating White House leaks to the press. The name was later applied to the Special Investigations Unit, led by Liddy and Howard Hunt, which in 1971 took on this task of plugging leaks through illegal methods. Liddy’s and Hunt’s plumbers were most infamous for their failed break-in of the office of a psychiatrist in an attempt to uncover derogatory information about Daniel Ellsberg, a patient who had leaked The Pentagon Papers, an exposé about the prosecution of the Vietnam War, to the press.

Ratfuck, v., dirty tricks used to discredit an opponent during a campaign. Donald Segretti and Dwight Chapin coined the term during their college years in the late 1960s. They used it to refer to dirty tricks used in campus politics in Southern California. They brought the term with them to the campaign and the White House when they went to work for Nixon.

Saturday Night Massacre, n., the firing of three top Justice Department officials on 20 October 1973. On that Saturday night, White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned. Haig then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned. Haig next called on Solicitor General Robert Bork, who finally fired Cox. Bork went on to contribute another word to the American political lexicon. Bork, v., to attack and defame someone in the media. The verb is from the successful Democratic effort to stop Bork’s nomination to the US Supreme Court in 1987. The Democratic borking of Bork was, in part, revenge for his role in the Saturday Night Massacre.

Smoking Gun, n., incontrovertible evidence of guilt. Coined by Republican congressman Barber Conable during the Watergate investigation. The original smoking gun was a 23 June 1973 tape of a conversation between Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, where Nixon gave explicit instructions to have the CIA interfere with an FBI investigation of Watergate. The reference is to the imagery of finding a murderer still holding the smoking murder weapon.

Twisting in the Wind, c.phr., left exposed, abandoned. Another coinage of John Erlichman’s, he used the phrase “twisting slowly, slowly in the wind” in reference to the failed nomination of Acting FBI Director Pat Gray to the post full time. The phrase evokes the imagery of a corpse dangling from the gallows. Many other writers used the imagery before Watergate, but Erlichman supplied the exact wording for the catch phrase.