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Subject:Plural form of appendix? From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:TECHWR-L Writing <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>, debra -dot- jones -at- editure -dot- com Date:Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:00:42 -0400
Debra Jones wondered: <<I was taught (in my technical writing course)
that the plural form of appendix is appendixes. The Style manual-
printed by the Australian Commonwealth Government-also says
appendixes. I am working with a bid manager (a contractor) who is
using appendices because her husband found on the internet that
appendixes means more than one appendix (body part).>>
Your manager's distinction is a useful one, and parallels the
distinction between "indexes" (those things at the back of the book
that technical communicators try not to create) and
"indices" (mathematical parameters), but neither distinction is
universally observed.
The best answer in all such cases is to use a dictionary designed for
the language your documentation will use to resolve the problem: in
your case, presumably Australian and therefore the Macquarrie
dictionary.
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Geoff Hart (www.geoff-hart.com)
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
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Effective Onscreen Editing: http://www.geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/onscreen-book.htm
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