Editorial Philosophy
Dr Eystein Thanisch
Source: audrey.wikidot.com/glossing ; creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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It might be helpful to explain a little more about my general approach to editing and proofreading.
I am not a grammar fetishist. I have an excellent command of English grammar and I ensure that your document emerges clear, professional, and eloquent in this regard. But I do not enforce rules for rules’ sake. Language, in this sort of context, is a tool, and I always focus on effect and functionality rather than on intrinsic form. As a researcher in a specialised field myself, I am highly sensitive to technical terminology and precise formulations, and this governs any emendations I propose. I also appreciate idiom and turns of phrase and preserve these in your work wherever possible. One of the most pleasing things said to me in this job was a PhD supervisor’s comment that I had managed to correct their student’s language without in any way obscuring the student’s distinctive style. |
I do not have all the answers. You are the expert, the creator, or, at least, the one taking responsibility. In identifying incongruities, tensions, and contradictions, and in raising questions, I aim to clarify outstanding decisions that you have to make and the implications of your various options, in terms of meaning and emphasis. You might disagree with me that an issue I have raised is an issue at all; hopefully, even this intellectual process will lead to you discovering something about your argument or intentions for yourself. Equally, of course, in work where time is of the essence and the focus is on grammar and format, my interventions are both decisive and reliable.
I am interested in understanding your work. Curiosity about the world is part of the reason I am in this business but, more importantly, language and ideas are thoroughly intertwined. Ideas can only exist for us socially in language and language is generated by ideas. Thus, even if I am only proofreading your work to deal with language issues, I will still engage with it thoughtfully and critically. There are situations where language and ideas must be dealt with separately (for example, to ensure scholarly integrity in academic coursework) but, otherwise, I can provide experiential, non-subject-specific feedback on any aspect of your work.
By way of conclusion, I offer this service under the name Intentio Editing for three reasons. First, Latin intentio, like “intention”, its descendant in English, can mean the vision which consequent action is meant to make reality. I am here to help you make the reality match your vision more closely and, perhaps, even to help you further clarify the vision. Secondly, intentio, in Latin, connotes more than an inert objective, also encompassing the visceral strain and effort made towards achieving that objective (cf. “tension”). You have worked hard, and I am willing to work hard too to enhance what you have done. Thirdly, the dictionary definition of intentio (see Home) is surprisingly long and varied. Language is complex and open to powerful, unexpected nuance, so it is worth scrutinising and discussing.
I am interested in understanding your work. Curiosity about the world is part of the reason I am in this business but, more importantly, language and ideas are thoroughly intertwined. Ideas can only exist for us socially in language and language is generated by ideas. Thus, even if I am only proofreading your work to deal with language issues, I will still engage with it thoughtfully and critically. There are situations where language and ideas must be dealt with separately (for example, to ensure scholarly integrity in academic coursework) but, otherwise, I can provide experiential, non-subject-specific feedback on any aspect of your work.
By way of conclusion, I offer this service under the name Intentio Editing for three reasons. First, Latin intentio, like “intention”, its descendant in English, can mean the vision which consequent action is meant to make reality. I am here to help you make the reality match your vision more closely and, perhaps, even to help you further clarify the vision. Secondly, intentio, in Latin, connotes more than an inert objective, also encompassing the visceral strain and effort made towards achieving that objective (cf. “tension”). You have worked hard, and I am willing to work hard too to enhance what you have done. Thirdly, the dictionary definition of intentio (see Home) is surprisingly long and varied. Language is complex and open to powerful, unexpected nuance, so it is worth scrutinising and discussing.
Writing, Phaedrus, has this strange quality, and is very like painting; for the creatures of painting stand like living beings, but if one asks them a question, they preserve a solemn silence. And so it is with written words; you might think they spoke as if they had intelligence, but if you question them, wishing to know about their sayings, they always say only one and the same thing [...] for writing has no power to protect or help itself.
(Plato, Phaedrus; trans. Fowler)
