CONTENTS FEATURE: Use slashes prudently to avoid 'virgule pinkie' GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: Use slashes prudently to avoid 'virgule pinkie'     Workers' comp insurers and physical therapists would be wise to prepare for a new wave of injuries. First came carpal tunnel syndrome from intensive use of computer keyboards; more recently, users of handheld personal digital devices began complaining about sore "BlackBerry thumbs." Now, "virgule pinkie" is threatening to ravage the workplace.     The virgule—not to be confused with your cousin Virgil—is the lowercase character that shares the question mark key on computer keyboards. Many typists are giving their right pinkies a real workout these days with excessive use of the virgule, leaving documents so littered they look like roosters scratched their way across them—as in this passage: "Ever since 9/11 the chief building inspector/zoning enforcement officer in the city's Zoning/Planning/Building Department has neglected staffing/budget needs because he has been thinking 24/7 about little else but bonds/mutual funds and/or stock price/earnings ratios in preparation for his retirement."     Use of the virgule has become a punctuation fad.     Some people have come to regard the virgule as fashionable in phone numbers. The traditional practice of demarcating area codes with parentheses as in (530) 759-2000 is SO 20th-century, you know. Virgule aficionados now prefer their own format: 530/759.2000.     They use the virgule for casual abbreviations, as in "peas w/ carrots" (for "peas with carrots").     They use it as a separator between initials in some abbreviations, such as "A/C" in reference to "air conditioning."     It is often inserted into text as a surrogate for certain words. Oddly enough, the virgule is not used to replace large cumbersome words, but rather very short prepositions or conjunctions—typically "or," "to," "for" or "and." The expression "price/earnings ratio," for instance, really means "price-to-earnings" ratio.     While excusable as abbreviations in tables, such uses are nonstandard and inadvisable in running text because they are ambiguous.     The virgule (pronounced VURG-yool) is also known by several other names: solidus, oblique, diagonal, slant mark, slash or forward slash. It has six traditional functions: As an equivalent to the preposition "or," to indicate alternatives. An "on/off" switch is either on or off; "archeology/archaeology" shows a way of indicating differing spellings for a term. As a replacement for the word "per" in mathematical expressions. A reference to "five homes/acre" really means "five homes per acre." To indicate time periods that overlap calendar years, as in "2005/06 fiscal year." To indicate poetry line endings within running text (with spaces surrounding the virgule), as in "Mary had a little lamb; its fleece was white as snow / And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go." To separate numerators from denominators in fractions, as in "a kilometer is a distance of about 6/10ths of a mile." To create a shorthand format for expressing dates—in either of two formats, which can create confusion. Using virgules, Jan. 10, 2006, appears as 1/10/06 (in the United States) or as 10/1/06 (in the United Kingdom and many other countries).     Use of the virgule as a control character in computer programming to separate directory names and in Internet addressing (as in http://www.editpros.com) probably contributed to its newfound cachet as a "hip" punctuation symbol. But use of the virgule is frequently casual, careless and ambiguous.     Does the phrase "employer/employee health insurance costs," for example, refer to a cost-sharing arrangement, or to costs that might be paid by either the employer or the employee?     A request by a school district for the "signature of a parent/guardian" obviously means "parent OR guardian." But is the expression "parent/child relationships" intended to refer to interactions between a parent and a child—or does it represent relationships involving either the parent or child and someone else?     What is the meaning of the heading "Background/Analysis" in a report? Does it introduce an analysis of background information? Or does it contain background information about an analysis that was conducted? Or does it indicate that the content is about EITHER "Background" OR "Analysis"? Without proper intervening prepositions or conjunctions such as "for," "of" or "and," determination of the intended meaning is impossible.     The hyphen is the traditional punctuation mark that is used to indicate interaction between two individuals, objects or concepts. The hyphenated phrase "parent-child relationships" (in which "parent-child" functions as a compound modifier) much more clearly indicates interaction between a parent and a child than use of a virgule would.     Excessive reliance on virgules is symptomatic of lazy writing. The author of a report analyzing the "reliability/stability" of a piece of equipment appears indecisive for failure to choose between two synonymous terms. A writer who uses a virgule to connect words such as "parent/child relationships" has neglected to explain the precise relationship between those words. Such writing forces readers to connect the dots, a job that the writer should have done.     Replacing a preposition such as "or" with a virgule hardly economizes on space in a document; conscious use of the virgule in such instances implies capriciousness or eccentricity.     The next time you find yourself tempted to use a virgule, try to think of the proper preposition or conjunction that really belongs in its place, and use that instead. You'll give your right pinkie a well-deserved rest. GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions Helen Percy wrote:     "I enjoy reading your newsletter very much, but as I am British, your advice sometimes differs from what I think is correct. When I hear American expressions that I consider to be incorrect, I often wonder whether they are considered correct in American English or whether the Americans using those expressions are using bad grammar.     "One example I remember from my first visit to the States in 1994 was the announcement 'This train will depart momentarily.' My British friends and I giggled as we imagined the train leaving the station, and then after a few moments, returning sheepishly to the platform. So is the use of 'momentarily' to mean 'in a few moments' correct in American English, or have the Florida theme parks got it wrong?     "I think that I must have been receiving your newsletter regularly for longer than any other newsletter I subscribe to, or have ever subscribed to, and I hope you carry on producing it for a good while longer. Thanks!" The grammar coach replies:     We thank you for your kind comments, Helen, and we're pleased that you find our newsletter worthwhile. Oscar Wilde is credited with saying "The Americans are identical to the British in all respects except, of course, language." George Bernard Shaw, who concurred, said in reference to the U.K and the United States, "We are two countries separated by a common language."     American and British interpretations of the English language often are at variance, in pronunciation, terminology and syntax. Because the EditPros newsletter is written primarily for our company's business clients, we stress American usage conventions. At the same time, we encourage awareness of linguistic differences and avoidance of potential misunderstandings that could result from misinterpretation of American idiomatic expressions.     Writers must acknowledge that language is dynamic, and habitual misuse of terminology once considered nonstandard sometimes leads to eventual acceptance, despite dogged resistance from traditionalists. Such is the case with the adverb "momentarily." The American Heritage Dictionary comments in a usage note: "Momentarily is widely used in speech to mean 'in a moment,' as in 'The manager is on another line, but she'll be with you momentarily.' This usage rarely leads to ambiguity since the intended sense can usually be determined on the basis of the tense of the verb and the context. Nonetheless, many critics hold that the adverb should be reserved for the senses 'for a moment,' and the extended usage is unacceptable to 59 percent of the Usage Panel."     The Oxford English Dictionary shows two definitions for "momentarily": 1. for a very short time. 2 very soon.     The Cambridge Dictionary of American English, however, defines momentarily as "very soon" (giving the example "The train will be leaving momentarily").     The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers three definitions for "momentarily": for a moment; at any moment; in a moment. It elaborates, saying that the term is understood to mean both "before long" and "at the present time," although that second use is subject to criticism. But the dictionary defends that use, saying, "Since this sense has been in continuous use since the 15th century, it is not clear why it is objectionable. Perhaps a note in the Oxford English Dictionary (1909) that the sense has been obsolete since the 17th century in literary English is to blame, but the note goes on to observe that the sense is in regular use in most English dialects."     Analogous is disagreement about conflicting meanings of the adverb "presently." In addition to serving as a synonym for "before long" or "soon," it is used to mean "now"—to which some linguists object. The Oxford, Cambridge and Merriam-Webster dictionaries legitimize both meanings, however.     Regardless of acceptability or rejection of the term "momentarily," an announcement warning passengers about the imminent departure of a train should be as clear and concise as possible. A simple declaration that "the train is ready to leave the station" would be preferable.      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn a finder's fee of up to $500 Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros services? If you do, EditPros may reward you with a "finder's fee" of up to $500.     EditPros, established in 1993, performs writing, editing, proofreading and publication management services for newsletters, brochures, Web sites, annual reports, research studies, business proposals and other informational and marketing materials. Our office is in Davis, Calif., between Sacramento and San Francisco.     Our clients include educational institutions, private corporations, health-care organizations, trade associations, scientific research institutions, Web site developers and government agencies. We have worked with some of them for more than 10 years.     If you recommend our services to a friend or business colleague, and that introduction leads to an assignment for EditPros, we will award you a "finder's fee" equaling 10 percent of the amount we earn on the first assignment for the new client, up to a maximum finder's fee of $500. Naturally, the finder's fee is applicable only to clients for which we have not worked previously.     This offer will remain in effect until further notice. YOUR TURN: Ask the "grammar coach" or subscribe      We invite you to submit your questions to the "grammar coach," and we welcome you to subscribe to this monthly newsletter—which we'll send to your e-mail address at no charge. We respond to all "grammar coach" questions personally, but delays may occur because we must place top priority on assignments from our clients. We appreciate your patience and your interest.      You also can change your e-mail subscription address. For an address change, please indicate your existing AND your new e-mail address. Thank you. OUR PRIVACY POLICY for e-mail newsletter subscribers:      We do not use any commercial e-mail lists or automated mass-mailing programs, and we do not allow access to the list by anyone else for any reason. 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