need IBM Stryle Guide reference

[Syed.Hosain at aeris.net]

Ah! Here is additional stuff in the Microsoft Manual of Style that
illustrates  my concerns about using gerunds in body text. Hope this
helps!

	Gerunds
		A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun. Use
gerunds to form the titles of procedural Help topics.

	Correct
		Managing Hardware and Software
		Installing New Software

	Incorrect
		How to Install New Software

	Gerunds can sometimes create ambiguity, especially for a
worldwide audience. Include whatever words are necessary to make your
meaning clear, or rewrite the sentence.

	Ambiguous
		You can change files using the Template utility.

	Clearer
		You can change files by using the Template utility.
		You can change files that use the Template utility.

	Using gerunds to describe general concepts, such as "clustering"
and "networking", can be a problem for localization. Not all grammars
allow gerunds to be used in this way, so a single word may be translated
as a phrase. In Dutch, for example, "imaging" is translated as "image
processing", and "licensing" is translated as "the granting of
licenses". Further, not all gerunds are translatable in all languages,
so some loss of meaning is inevitable. If you must use gerunds to
describe concepts, work with your localization program manager or
localization vendor to keep the impact of such words to a minimum.

Z

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Syed Zaeem Hosain (Syed.Hosain at aeris.net)
> Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 1:00 PM
> To: 'Jim Owens'; Framer's List
> Subject: RE: need IBM Stryle Guide reference
> 
> Hi, Jim.
> 
> I do not have the IBM style Guide, but some other references below ...
hope this helps.
> 
> Both "The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition" and the "MLA Style
Manual and Guide to Scholarly
> Publishing" are silent on the topic of gerunds. At least, there is no
index entry for gerund. (MLA =
> Modern Language Association of America.)
> 
> But the "Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publishing, 3rd
Edition" says:
> 
> 	Use a gerund (-ing form) rather than an infinitive (to form) in
titles of procedural topics,
> especially in print. After some brief context-setting information to
help the reader decide if she has
> found the right topic, the heading that introduces the procedure
itself should be an infinitive
> phrase.
> 
> 	Style of indexed keywords
> 	Follow most of the same general style guidelines as those used
for printed indexes:
> 	* Use gerunds (the -ing form) rather than infinitives (the to
form) or the present tense of
> verbs for task-oriented entries, unless they are unsuitable, as they
may be for languages, systems, or
> localized versions.
> 	* Avoid generic gerunds that users are unlikely to look up:
using, changing, creating, getting,
> making, doing, and so on.
> 
> Also, separately (not what you asked about though), I have concerns
about using gerunds in body since
> they can change the meaning of the text - and can be particularly
confusing for non-native English
> readers. So, "use them very sparingly in body text" is my approach.
> 
> Z
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf
> Of
> > Jim Owens
> > Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 12:04 PM
> > To: Framer's List
> > Subject: need IBM Stryle Guide reference
> >
> > Referring to the IBM Style Guide, a correspondent has informaed me:
> >
> > "Do not use gerunds in headings. IBM rule"
> >
> > but my 2004 copy of the IBM Style Guide says explicitly to use
gerunds
> > in headings (under "Headings and subdivisions of text"). Is there a
> > later edition in which this has changed?