Dreyer's English - Benjamin Dreyer 2022

People
Notes on proper nouns
The stuff in the back

I think I can safely say that no rational person is confident enough to type “Quvenzhané Wallis” or “Thandiwe Abdullah” or “Saoirse Ronan” without first checking the spelling of the name, but the number of proper nouns that wind up misspelled in manuscripts and, if copy editors and proofreaders are not vigilant, in finished books, is vast. In response to a few near misses and a few published oopses, I began keeping this list years ago; in fact, it’s the germ of the book you’re now reading, and I have a great sentimental attachment to it. And I can’t stop adding things to it.^*1

I suppose I might just say “If it starts with a capital letter, look it up” and end this chapter right here, but where would be the fun in that?

People^*2

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

Writer of fairy tales such as “The Little Mermaid” and “The Ugly Duckling.” The international Hans Christian Andersen Award is given every other year to authors and illustrators of children’s books.

Not “Anderson.”

ATTILA

Hun. Ruthless king of a vast empire in the fifth century C.E.

Not “Atilla.”

ELIZABETH BENNET

Headstrong heroine of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Just the one t in Bennet.

It’s not “Jane Austin.” Does that bear mentioning? I fear that it does.

GAUTAMA BUDDHA

Aka Siddhartha Gautama, aka the Buddha.

Sage.

Not “the Bhudda.”

Also, then, not “Bhuddist” but “Buddhist.”

JULIUS CAESAR

Roman emperor after whom caesarean delivery was likely not named.

Not “Ceasar.”

The salad—born, untraumatically, not in Rome but in Mexico—is also Caesar.

The activist Chavez (activist) and the entertainer Romero (who played the Joker in the classic 1960s Batman show), among many others, were Cesars.

NICOLAS CAGE

Film actor.

Not “Nicholas.”

Nephew of film director Francis Ford Coppola and cousin of FFC’s daughter, film director Sofia Coppola, whose surname is occasionally misspelled “Copolla.” (Italian words with double consonants seem to confound people; be on your guard.)

ROSANNE CASH

Singer/songwriter/writing writer.

Most definitely not “Roseanne.”

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Politician; nearly our nation’s first woman president. A two-l Hillary.

Novelist Mantel and actress Swank are one-l Hilarys.

E. E. CUMMINGS

Edward Estlin Cummings, in full. Poet.

His name is not “e. e. cummings.”^*3