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Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2002 20:01:15 +0200
From: [unknown]
To: PhyloCode mailing list <phylocode@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu>
Subject: Orthography (rather long)
I've been informed that some list members had problems with my elabor= ately formatted post on orthography on August 31st and the one on species n= ames on September 9th. Here is a modest proposal what to change Article 17 to= , with my questions in brackets: ---------------------------------------------------------------------= -- Article 17. Orthographic Requirements for Establishment 17.1. In order to be established, a clade name must be composed of mo= re than one letter and consist exclusively of letters of the Latin alphabet, = which is taken to include j, k, w, y and z, rare or absent in classical Lat= in. If other letters, ligatures, or numerals appear in a name, it cannot be established (but see Note 17.1.1). When such letters, ligatures or nu= merals appear in the protologue of a preexisting name, they must be transcri= bed at the time of conversion in conformity with the preexisting code that i= s applicable to the taxon concerned. [Is there a case where non-Latin letters appear in a preexisting name= ? There are cases where numerals are used in specific epithets (*13-punctata*= for ICZN *tridecimpunctata*), but I don't know if any of these was publis= hed that way or if this is restricted to the field guides I saw them in.] Note 17.1.1. The use of diacritical signs, including diaereses, is no= t part of the orthography of a name, though it may be included in an establi= shed name as an optional pronunciation guide. Clade names that only differ= by having different diacritics on/under the same letter(s) are homonyms.= The use of transcriptions for diacritics, such as ae, oe, ue for German = =E4, =F6, =FC, in names that are considered for publication is encouraged. 17.2. A name may not contain hyphens. Hyphens in a preexisting name m= ust be deleted at the time of conversion (see also Art. 18.7). [I only recommend implementation of this article, and Art. 18.7, if h= yphens will get a role in species names, or as markers for PhyloCode names o= r suchlike. -- Why no apostrophes? Because apostrophes don't exist in L= atin, I suppose, but can *Chuanjiesaurus a'naensis* be considered Latin anywa= y? (In this example the apostrophe shows that the type locality's name is co= mposed of the Chinese syllables a and na in this order.) -- But wait! Isn't = the current Art. 17.2 contained in Art. 17.1, "consist exclusively of let= ters", anyway?] 17.3. When a preexisting name has been published in a work where the = letters u and v or i and j are used interchangeably, or are used in any other= way incompatible with modern practices (e.g., one of those letters is not= used or is used only when capitalized), those letters must be transcribed = at the time of conversion in conformity with modern usage. Example 1: *Vffenbachia* Fabr. (1763) would be changed to *Uffenbachi= a* when converted. [I really don't think anybody will think of the following... but theoretically one could produce an incredible fight about whether thi= s article can be applied to, for example, the first i in *Amurosaurus riabinini*. Oops, that's a species name anyway.] 17.4. In order to be established, the spelling of a converted name mu= st be identical to that of the preexisting name on which it is based. Recommendation 17.4A. When a preexisting name is converted, the spell= ing in prevailing use should be retained. As a general guideline, adoption o= f a spelling by two-thirds of the authors who have used the name in the p= ast 25 years would qualify as prevailing use. If it is not clear which spell= ing is the prevailing one, the original spelling should be adopted for the converted name, except for the correction of orthographical (includin= g typographical) errors and the mandatory corrections imposed under Art= icles 17.1-17.3. In this code, the original spelling is the one used in the protologue. [Question -- does this mentioning of "orthographical errors" allow, o= r even mandate, to convert *Ginkgo* (if at all, of course) to *Ginkyo*? (The= former originated as a stupid reading mistake from bad handwriting.) And *Haliaeetus* to *Haliaetus*? (The former originated as a typo or some= thing similar.) And *Tsintaosaurus* to *Qingdaosaurus*? (The latter would c= onform to the Pinyin transcription which has been mandatory in the People's = Rep. of China since 1979.) Article 18.2 only speaks of transliterations, not = of transcriptions... :-) ] Recommendation 17A. Names established under this code should be easy = to use and easy to remember. Euphonious names are preferred. In general, sho= rt names are desirable and the number of syllables should be kept to a m= inimum. Recommendation 17B. Many converted and new clade names will be intend= ed to be Latin or Greek words. They should follow the rules of these langua= ges how to form such words. Correction of preexisting names that are incorrec= t in this way is encouraged. However, failure to follow this recommendatio= n does not nullify the establishment of names under the PhyloCode. Example 1. Ceratopsia Marsh, 1890, Ceratopsidae Marsh, 1888, Ceratops= omorpha Wolfe & Kirkland, 1998, Neoceratopsia Sereno, 1986, Protoceratopsidae [author, year] and a few related preexisting taxon names (all ultimat= ely derived from *Ceratops* Marsh, 1888) that are likely to be considered= for conversion are incorrectly formed, each should not have an s. A few a= uthors have called for emendation. While Ceratopsia, Ceratopsomorpha and Neoceratopsia are not governed by any preexisting code, Ceratopsidae = and Protoceratopsidae are, and emendation is impossible for them under th= e ICZN. Recommendation 17B recommends emendation during conversion. However, considering the widespread usage of the incorrect spellings, it might= be considered unnecessarily confusing to do so. On the other hand, emend= ation would bring the mentioned names in line with correctly formed names l= ike Brachyopoidea [author, year], Brachyopidae [author, year], Eryopoidea= Cope, 1882, Eryopidae Cope, 1882, Polydolopoidea Ameghino, 1897, Polydolopi= dae Ameghino, 1897 (from *Brachyops* [author, year] and *Polydolops* Ameg= hino, 1897, respectively) that are likewise valid under ICZN. The decision = is left to the author of the converted names [will very likely be the same pe= rson for all]. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Okay. Fire back, everyone. :-)