Comments on: What Does [sic] Mean?

By: Maeve

Maeve — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:30:54 +0000

Michael,
Nothing like a typo to bring us down to earth!

By: michael E. Plumb

michael E. Plumb — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:33:12 +0000

In first sentence “studies” = “studied”

Maybe my comment would have been more credible if I had gotten through the first sentence without a typo

By: michael E. Plumb

michael E. Plumb — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:32:06 +0000

I studies a lot of Latin, and can’t argue with the fact that “sic” means “thus” in Latin. I also agree that it is used the way described above – to indicate that the writer knows the preceding is incorrect, but replicated the error when quoting the original source.
What I have trouble with is reconciling the two. If I reference a quote from another source and inserted “thus” instead of “sic,” it wouldn’t really explain it to me. However I do remember my latin teacher telling us that “sic” was an abbreviation for “scriptum in corporum” (or something reasonably close to that), which meant “written in the body [of the original text].”
Admittedly, I can’t seem to find a corroborating source today, and I must admit, “scriptum in corporum” could have been a clever ruse designed to teach the class three Latin words instead of one, but I do find “scriptum in corporum” much more logical than “thus.”

By: Maeve

Maeve — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:28:19 +0000

Michael,
I wrote a post on brackets that may answer your question: http://www.dailywritingtips.co.....-brackets/

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:28:57 +0000

The responding emails have also helped me understand.
What is the difference in using brackets as opposed to parenthesis?

…and I used to be so good in English! The more I know, the more I don’t know…