On this page, I collect my notes about the writing rules I consider the most appropriate. These include the preferred transliterations of names of places, literature, and people. When I am uncertain about English grammar and spelling, I consult R. M. Ritter’s The Oxford Guide to Style, R. W. Burchfield’s revised third edition of Fowler’s Modern English Usage, Jan Svartvik’s Engelsk universitetsgrammatik, the style guide of The Economist, and the Oxford dictionaries.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian ruler.
America rather than United States, but both are permissible.
anti-Semitism, dislike of Jews, noun. anti-Semite, someone who dislikes Jews, noun. anti-Semitic, adjective.
Bashir Assad, Syrian ruler.
Bet Din, rabbinical court of Judaism. Batte Din, plural.
Britain, not UK or United Kingdom or Great Britain. Briton, noun. British, adjective.
CE for Common Era and BCE for Before Common Era. Never AD or BC.
Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan ruler.
Europe rather than European Union, but both are permissible.
health care, noun. health-care, adjective. Never healthcare.
Halacha, Jewish law, noun. Halachic, adjective.
homophobia, dislike of homosexuals, noun. homophobe, someone who dislikes homosexuals, noun. homophobic, adjective.
Islamophobia, dislike of Muslims, noun. Islamophobe, someone who dislikes Muslims, noun. Islamophobic, adjective. Always capitalized.
Judea and Samaria rather than the West Bank. The latter might be added in round brackets for clarification. Refers roughly to the area Jordan occupied in 1950 and Israel captured in 1967.
the Koran, holy book of Islam, noun. Koranic, adjective.
Muhammad, prophet and founder of Islam.
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli politician.
the Netherlands, country in Europe. Never Holland.
Yitzhak Rabin, late Israeli politician.
the Riksdag rather than the Swedish Parliament, but both are permissible.
Muammar Qaddafi, Libyan ruler.
al-Qaeda, Islamist terrorist organization.
xenophobia, dislike of strangers or foreigners or of anything foreign or strange, noun. xenophobe, someone who dislikes strangers or foreigners or anything foreign or strange, noun. xenophobic, adjective.
