Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2024 February 10

= February 10 =

Quick formatting question
Should Michelin Guide be italicized or not? The article itself has a split personality: The article title is, but mentions in the text aren't. In Category:Restaurant guides, some are (Good Curry Guide) and some aren't (Gault Millau). Clarityfiend (talk) 15:12, 10 February 2024 (UTC)


 * The ultimate purpose of the italicizing is to improve readability. Adding italics to many instances of a term within the body text, like in this example, can hurt readability. Temerarius (talk) 15:30, 10 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Our own Manual of Style, in, states:
 * Italic type ... should be used for ...
 * Officially named series of major works: The Lord of the Rings film series (see § Series titles below).
 * "Below" under Series titles we find:
 * However, the following should be set in italics:
 * Actual titles of a series declared by the author or publisher: Les Rougon-Macquart, The Chronicles of Narnia.
 * If we consider "Michelin Guide" to be the name of a series, our MoS wants it to be italicized. --Lambiam 20:53, 10 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:05, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

Vubbing
Is vubbing a word? People tell me it's the sound your mobile makes when you've set it to "vibrate only" and you get a text. 86.170.222.118 (talk) 17:53, 10 February 2024 (UTC)


 * If people are using it and understanding one another when they do, it's a word. I would argue that the same applies to a word invented and used for the first time, if hearers understand it, but others would consider that it has to become more widely adopted first: How widely? – there's where opinions differ.
 * English is not officially regulated by any organisation (in contrast to, for example, French). Dictionaries are descriptive, not proscriptive, and necessarily take some time to become aware of and include new(ish) words. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.199.107.217 (talk) 20:31, 10 February 2024 (UTC)


 * According to this, this and several other web resources, "vubbing" (presumably from "video" and "dubbing"), is a process whereby an actors lip movements can be made to match a dubbed soundtrack in another language, or to replace inappropriate words or phrases. But it's not unknown for English words to have two unrelated meanings. Alansplodge (talk) 23:27, 10 February 2024 (UTC)
 * More likely from "visual dubbing", itself shortened from earlier "audiovisual dubbing". --Lambiam 10:24, 11 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, that makes sense. Alansplodge (talk) 13:57, 11 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I am disappointed that there is no article about the existing English Academy of Southern Africa. --Error (talk) 15:38, 12 February 2024 (UTC)


 * The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195 @ Dictionaries are descriptive, not proscriptive, ... : I would love to see a proscriptive dictionary, one that lists the infinitude of words that we must not use. :) -- Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:19, 11 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Fang! Get..... "the comfy chair"!! Martinevans123 (talk) 21:26, 11 February 2024 (UTC)