The Oxford Guide to Style

639 Pages·2002·12.31 MB·English

by  R. M. Ritter

THE OXFORD GUIDE TO STYLE

The Oxford
Guide
to S t y le
R. M. RITTER
OXPORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXPORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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First published 2002
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ISBN 0-19-869175-0
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32
Designed by Jane Stevenson
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Preface
The Oxford Guide to Style is the revised and enlarged edition of Horace
Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford. Over
the course of thirty-nine editions, Hart's Rules has grown to be the stan
dard work in its field, explaining subject by subject each major aspect of
punctuation, capitalization, italics, hyphenation, abbreviations, foreign
languages, and other publishing matters big and small.
Horace Henry Hart (1840-1916) was Printer to the University of Oxford
and Controller of the University Press between 1883 and 1915; he can
fairly be called one of the most influential printers of the last two cen
turies. The first edition of his Rules was a slim twenty-four-page booklet
just over 5 by 3 inches, first produced in 1893. It was originally intended
only for printing-house staff of the Clarendon Press, the learned imprint
of Oxford University Press. The title page plainly stated that the booklet
contained 'Rules for Compositors and Readers, which are to be observed
in all cases where no special instructions are given'. Since the Press
printed a good deal of work for other publishers, with house styles of
their own to be followed, Hart's instructions were from the very first to
be used by default, in the absence of directions to the contrary, rather
than imposed unilaterally as a Procrustean diktat.
After Hart found to his amusement, copies of his free booklet on sale in
London he decided it would be sensible for OUP to print it for the public
in 1904, as it seemed 'more than complaisant to provide gratuitously
what may afterwards be sold for profit'. Over time, as the size and authority
of the Rules grew—aided by its publication and worldwide dissemination—
the book assumed a life of its own far beyond the confines of Oxford. Suc
ceeding generations have found it indispensable to anyone concerned
with the business of putting words into print. Like its companion volume
the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, Hart's Rules was the first guide
of its kind, and both are considered classic works of reference: Peter Sut-
cliffe, in his Oxford University Press: An Informal History, describes them as
'two of the most influential books ever published by the Press'.
Readers familiar with Hart's Rules will find changes from previous
editions. It is quite natural that this should be so: if recreating two such
vi Preface
long-lived books teaches one anything it is that the language and its
contexts are mutable, and implacably resistant to rationalization.
Consequently instances will occur in which the advice given here may
not be the best choice, and the prudent author or editor will act accord
ingly.
Publishing today, with its fluid roles, complex technology, and diverse
media, would be utterly alien to the world Hart knew. Nevertheless, the
fundamental functions of author and editor, and the basic stages of type
script, proofs, and publication, have not altered—however much their
form has—and these Hart would recognize immediately. For no matter
what changes occur in the expectations and responsibilities of those who
originate, manipulate, and disseminate words, and in the means by
which they go about it, the goal remains to accomplish each task
efficiently and accurately. In part for this reason I use editor wherever
possible in this guide to denote anyone involved with adjusting text. This
term is intentionally vague, to reflect the variety of titles and duties now
commonplace in publishing: it is less useful to mark out obligations than
ensure the result is as intended, whether on paper, online, or somewhere
in between.
Examples and their representation are designed to be as straightforward
and intuitive as possible. Italic type is generally used to indicate specific
examples of usage. Exceptions occur when some ambiguity might other
wise arise, as in passages discussing the use of italic versus roman type. In
such cases examples are printed within quotation marks, in italic or
roman type as necessary.
It would be too much to hope that a wide-ranging book devoted
specifically to matters that even very clever people get wrong would itself
be free from error, despite the best efforts of others to point the way for
me. As such, advice on how this text may be improved or corrected is wel
come, as it has always been for previous editions.