A sic, added just after a quoted word or phrase (or a longer piece of text), indicates that the quoted words appear exactly as in the original source. The usual purpose is to inform readers that any errors or apparent errors in the copied material do not arise from transcription, i.e. that they are reproduced exactly from the original writer or printer. Sic is generally placed inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally in parentheses or with italicization, (sic), [sic], etc. A sic may also be used as a form of ridicule or as a humorous comment, drawing attention to the original writer's mistakes.
Though occasionally misidentified as an abbreviation, sic is an English-language adverb (also a noun and verb[1])[note 1] that has its origins in Latin.[note 2]
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Etymology and usage history
The adverb sic—meaning "intentionally so written"—first appeared in English circa 1856.[2] It is derived from the Latin adverb sīc, which contains a long vowel and means "so",[note 3] "thus", "as such" or "in such a manner".[3] In English, sic is a homophone of sick /ˈsɪk/; its Latin ancestor is pronounced more like the English word seek [ˈsiːk].[4]
In one early instance, a letter written in July 1876 by Dr. Enoch Mellor to the editor of the Literary Churchman discussed "the cheap insinuation of ignorance which can lie in a bracketed sic."[5]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the verb form of sic, meaning "to mark with a sic", emerged in 1889, citing E. Belfort Bax's work in The Ethics of Socialism as one of the early examples.[1] That piece by Bax, "On Some Forms of Modern Cant," had actually appeared even earlier in Commonweal, published in 1887.[6]
Usage of sic greatly increased in the mid-twentieth century.[7] For example, in state-court opinions prior to 1944, the Latin loanword appeared a total of 1,239 times in the Westlaw database; in those from 1945 to 1990, it appeared 69,168 times.[8] The "benighted use" (see Form of ridicule) has been cited as a major factor for this increase.[8]
The "immoderate" use of sics created some controversy, leading some editors, Simon Nowell-Smith[note 4] and Leon Edel, to speak out against it.[9]
Conventional usage
Sic, in its bracketed form, is most often inserted into quoted or reprinted material in order to indicate accuracy in reproducing the preceding text despite appearances to the reader of an incorrect or unusual orthography (spelling, punctuation, etc.), grammar, fact or logic.[8][10] Several usage guides recommend that a bracketed sic be used primarily as an aid to the reader, and not as an indicator of disagreement with the source.[8][11]
A sic may show that an uncommon or archaic usage is reported faithfully,[12] such as when quoting the U.S. Constitution: "The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker..." However, various writing guidebooks discourage its use with regard to dialect such as exemplified in American and British English spelling differences.[7][11][13] For instance, the appearance of a bracketed sic after the word analyse on a book cover led Bryan A. Garner to comment, "... all the quoter (or overzealous editor) demonstrated was ignorance of British usage."[8]
When no orthographic or grammatical irregularities are apparent, siccing may indicate a factual or logical error, which has been done, for example, with various notable Bushisms—or slips of the tongue by former U.S. President George W. Bush.[14]
Formatting
When placed within quoted material, square brackets are almost invariably used: "[sic]".[7] Alternatively, the sic can appear after the quote in parentheses (round brackets): "(sic)", especially when the error is obvious.[15] Sometimes, the word sic appears italicized within the brackets:[16] "[sic]", following the convention that italic type is used to indicate foreign words, though this has become rarer in recent times.[11][note 1] While most style guidelines including The MLA do not require italicization, others do, such as the APA Style.[note 5][17]
Because sic is not an abbreviation, it is incorrect to place a period inside the brackets after the word sic[18][19] (see also improper abbreviation).
Correcting versus siccing
Various usage guides, such as The Chicago Manual of Style, recommend "quiet copyediting" (unless where inappropriate or uncertain) instead of inserting a bracketed sic, such as by substituting in brackets the correct word (if known) in place of the incorrect word[8][20] (see also "backlash" in Form of ridicule).
Alternatively, when both the original and the suggested correction are desired (as they often are in palaeography), one may insert inside brackets (after sic or without sic) the word recte, meaning "rightly" in Latin,[21] followed by the correct word:
- "An Iraqi battalion has consumed [sic, recte assumed] control of the former American military base, and our forces are now about 40 minutes outside the city."[14]
According to the Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music Style Sheet, there should be no punctuation before the corrected word when using recte.[22] Sometimes only sic and the correction are in the bracket—[sic correct phrase] (i.e. recte is omitted).[23]
Other usages
The following are some unconventional or rare uses for sics:
Wordplay
Various wordplays regarding the word sic are possible, arising either from its second polysemic meaning "to attack" or from its homophone sick. The latter case is exemplified by the humorous expression "Poor grammar makes me [sic]"—which has been featured on clothing and postcards.[4][24][25]
Another example of this kind of pun can be found in the website Tv Tropes, which uses it as an article title[26] as well as in a letter to the American Journal of Roentgenology criticizing their apparent overuse of the sic as a kind of "sick joke" against those from a foreign-language background that could lead readers to become "sick of your sic."[27] (see linguistic discrimination below for more information on the AJR letter)
Form of ridicule
The use of sics can be seen as an appeal to ridicule, whether intentional or not, because it highlights perceived irregularities. The application of sics with the intent to disparage has been called the "benighted use" because it creates a "false sense of superiority" in its users.[8] The following example from The Times demonstrates how the interpolation of a sic can subtly discredit a quoted statement:
- Warehouse has been around for 30 years and has 263 stores, suggesting a large fan base. The chain sums up its appeal thus: "styley [sic], confident, sexy, glamorous, edgy, clean and individual, with it's [sic] finger on the fashion pulse."[28]
However, there have been cases of sic's usage being interpreted as ridicule that have resulted in backlash towards the publications in which they appear. Backlash can also happen as a result of a misplaced sic even when there was no intent to disparage. When the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) failed to remove a sic after the typographical error it referred to was rectified in the quoted message, the television network received criticism for apparently suggesting that a belief in the afterlife is odd or erroneous.[29] (By convention, when no orthographic or grammatical errors are present, the use of a sic often indicates an error in logic).[10]
Self-siccing
While chiefly used in text that is not one's own, occasionally, a sic is included by a writer after his or her own word(s) to note that the language has been chosen deliberately, especially where a reader may naturally doubt the writer's intentions.[30] Bryan A. Garner dubbed this kind of siccing as the "ironic use," while giving the following example from Fred Rodell's Nine Men:[8]
[I]n 1951, it was the blessing bestowed on Judge Harold Medina's prosecution [sic] of the eleven so-called 'top native Communists,' which blessing meant giving the Smith Act the judicial nod of constitutionality.
Nonetheless, a writer's siccing of his or her own words may lead readers to confuse the source of the sic as being the book's editor and is often considered strange even when the sic's source is understood.
Linguistic discrimination
Siccing has been noted for its potential to encourage linguistic discrimination. One letter written to the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) has been cited in the journal's French counterpart, the Journal de Radiologie, regarding how potential prejudices among English-language journals may be causing a higher rejection rate of papers from francophone authors[31]—a concern because English is the lingua franca for medicine.[27] In the letter, the AJR was criticized for its frequent insertion of sics when presenting letters written by French and Japanese authors even though its letter submission agreement allowed for (and implied) copy-editing. In response, Lee F. Rogers, the Editor in Chief of AJR, apologized for the possible discriminatory interpretation and offered the following explanation for their decision to insert multiple sics rather than to copy-edit:[27]
It is true that our manuscript editors normally remedy errors in the use of the English language to ensure reader understanding and to avoid embarrassing our non–English-speaking authors. However, because of the seriousness of the allegations addressed, we believed that verbatim quotes were necessary. Under such circumstances, we did not think it correct for us to assume the meaning of misspelled words or the intent of the author of the letter in question.
Improper acronyms
On occasion, sic has been misidentified as an acronym for "said in context," "spelled in context," "said in copy," "spelling is correct," "spelled incorrectly," and other phrases.[32] These are all backronyms from sic.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b This article italicizes sic only when mentioning the word as a word, and not when using the word as a noun that refers to an instance of a bracketed sic. As such, its italicization here is no indication of foreignness.
- ^ Some sources insist that sic is a Latin word rather than an English derivation of the Latin sīc (spelled with a long "i").
- ^ The word so is another English adverb derived from sīc, according to the Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary.
- ^ Simon Harcourt Nowell-Smith was, according to an article in The Independent, a "great bibliophile and bibliographical scholar of the highest order."
- ^ 'The APA Style allows the underlining of sic as an alternative when italic type is not available. Also, this may or may not reflect the latest edition of the APA Style.
References
- ^ a b "sic, adv. (and n.)" Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition 1989. Oxford University Press.
- ^ 3sic. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Merriam-Webster, 2003. ISBN 0877798095, 9780877798095. (p.1156)
- ^ Charlton Thomas Lewis. An elementary Latin dictionary. Harper and Bros., 1890. (p.778)
- ^ a b Michael Kwan. "Grammar 101: What Does [Sic] Mean?." Beyond the Rhetoric. June 11, 2009
- ^ Robert Williams Dale and James Guinness Rogers. "Dr. Mellor and the Literary Churchman." The Congregationalist, Volume 5. Hodder and Stoughton., 1876.
- ^ E. Belfort Bax. On Some Forms of Modern Cant. Commonweal: 7 May 1887. Marxists’ Internet Archive: 14 Jan. 2006
- ^ a b c Bryan A. Garner. The Oxford dictionary of American usage and style. Oxford University Press US, 2000. ISBN 0195135083, 9780195135084
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bryan A. Garner. "sic." A dictionary of modern legal usage (2nd edition). Oxford University Press US, 2001. ISBN 0195142365, 9780195142365 (pp.806-807)
- ^ Leon Edel's "Introduction" to Henry James Letters (Volume 1, 1843 - 1875). Harvard University Press, 1974. ISBN 0674387805, 9780674387805
- ^ a b "Grammar and Style." USD History Guide for Writing Research Papers. Department of History, University of South Dakota. 6/12/2009
- ^ a b c William Coyle and Joe Law (2009). Research Papers. Cengage Learning. p. 72. ISBN 0-547-19081-6. http://books.google.com/?id=yKliWm106S8C&lpg=PA72&pg=PA72#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Carillo, Jose A. (March 6, 2010). "The role of the bracketed ‘sic’ in English prose". The Manila Times. http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/archives/12773-the-role-of-the-bracketed-sic-in-english-prose.
- ^ Remero, Donald (Updated May 9, 2010). "Quoting British / American English". ieosetta.com. http://www.irosetta.com/questions/307/quoting-british-american-english.
- ^ a b Zimmer, Benjamin (January 12, 2006). "The [Sic]ing of the President". Language Log. http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002755.html. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
- ^ Edward W. JessenCalifornia Manual of Style: A Handbook of Legal Style for California Courts and Lawyers (4th edition).
- ^ AAA Style Guide. American Anthropological Association, July 2009.
- ^ Parentheses, Ellipses, and Brackets. Writing Center, Johnson County Community College. Accessed: October 2, 2010.
- ^ Quotations. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Accessed: October 2, 2010
- ^ Wilson, Kenneth G. (1993). "sic (adv.)". The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press. http://cup.columbia.edu/bookpreview/978-0-231-06989-2/. Retrieved 2009-11-03. The particular entry is available in the online preview, via search.
- ^ "Quotations". The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Accessed: January 14, 2012
- ^ Janet Fairweather. Liber Eliensis. Boydell Press, 2005. ISBN 1843830159, 9781843830153. (p. xxix)
- ^ Bruce Gustafson. JSCM Style Sheet. Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, 2 January 2010.
- ^ Larry D. Christiansen. "Introduction" (Guidelines)
- ^ "Poor Grammar Makes Me Sic Sweatshirts & Hoodies." CafePress. Accessed: October 1, 2010.
- ^ "Somewhat Topical Ecards". someecards.com. http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/761f5e3b4af4b803c96abeabe869bea059. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
- ^ "Tvtropes article YouMakeMeSic". http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouMakeMeSic. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ a b c Arrivé, Lionel (2001). "Try Writing It in French or in Japanese". American Journal of Roentgenology 176 (2): 548. PMID 11159116. http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=11159116.
- ^ Ashworth, Anne (2006-06-21). "Chain reaction: Warehouse". The Times. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,26930-2234374,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- ^ Mark Finkelstein. "ABC's 'Sic' Choice Suggests Belief in Afterlife an Error [Update With Reply From ABC]." NewsBusters. 01/01/2007. Updated: 01/03/2007
- ^ H. W. Fowler. "(sic)." A dictionary of modern English usage. Oxford University Press US. Reprinted: 2009. First Published: 1926. ISBN 0199535345, 9780199535347
- ^ Arrivé, L; Dono, P; Lewin, M; Dahan, H; Monnier-Cholley, L; Tubiana, JM (December 2001). "Taux de publication des travaux originaux présentés oralement lors des journées françaises de radiologie 1996 [Publication rate of papers originally presented at the national french congress of radiology in 1996]" (in French). Journal de Radiologie 82 (12): 1719–22. PMID 11917637. https://www.em-consulte.com/article/123049.
- ^ e.g. "Abbreviations.com". http://www.abbreviations.com. Retrieved 2010-01-27., "Thefreedictionary.com". http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved 2010-01-27.