Friday, March 20, 2020

European Settlers in the New World essays

European Settlers in the New World essays Title: Fell, Barry. America B.C.: European Settlers in the New World. New York: Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., 1976. Author: Howard Barraclough Fell (1917-1994). Fell is an accomplished marine biologist from Harvard, also became the professor of comparative zoology at Harvard. An interest in languages and societies encouraged him to teach himself most the languages he knew. His controversial interpretations often served only to enrage mainstream archaeologists. Scope: In this book, Fell lays out the evidence showing that there were numerous pre-Columbian contacts between Europe, Africa, and Asia and the New World going back at least three thousand years. Thesis: This book rounds up a wide range of epigraphic material which he claims demonstrated settlement by a variety of West European and Mediterranean voyager. Summary: The inscriptions are written in various European and Mediterranean languages. They speak of visits from ancient ships and of permanent colonies of Celts, Basques, Libyans, and even Egyptians. These findings came to light in 1975 in the course of an archeological survey of New Hampshire and Vermont. The book states that three thousand years ago bands of roving Celtics crossed the North Atlantic to discover North America. Phoenician traders came to join with the Egyptian miners and became the Wabanaki tribe, these people wrote in ancient Celtic alphabet called Ogam. As one historian, Professor Norman Totten, has pointed out, it means that 2,500 years of American prehistory must now be transferred to history; for history begins when writing begins. You can infer from the writings that the colonists intermarried with the Amerindians and so their descendants still live today. Conclusion: Before I read this book, my knowledge of pre-Columbian discoveries of the Americas was limited to what we discussed in class. After reading this book, I have been enlightened to many ...

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

How to Style Names of Food

How to Style Names of Food How to Style Names of Food How to Style Names of Food By Mark Nichol When it comes to names of comestibles and beverages, whether to capitalize proper names that are part of their names can give one indigestion. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary tends to uppercase such terms though it often (but not always) advises that capitalization is not necessary but The Chicago Manual of Style recommends lowercase forms. The Associated Press Style Book, the guide of record for newspapers and many magazines, tends to vary more arbitrarily in its guidelines. Here’s some food for thought: Merriam-Webster’s capitalizes names of cheeses derived from geographical locations Brie, Cheddar, Stilton, Swiss but they can safely be lowercased without confusion, which is what The Chicago Manual of Style recommends. Several names for types of meat frankfurter, hamburger, and wiener derive from place names, but notice that they’re all lowercase. France, once the epicurean center of the world, has inspired much nomenclature about food French bean and French bread, just to name two but the adjective in â€Å"french fries† refers to the type of cut, so it’s generally not capitalized. Scotch is not necessarily capitalized when it refers to whiskey, but it is uppercased in â€Å"Scotch broth† and â€Å"Scotch egg.† Bourbon is not capitalized. Names of cocktails are often uppercased â€Å"Bloody Mary,† â€Å"Harvey Wallbanger† especially, as with these examples, if they’re named after people (but note margarita). But alcoholic drinks named after locations (daiquiri, manhattan) aren’t capitalized, except for â€Å"Irish coffee.† One particularly difficult area is names of foods from other countries. Because the names are transliterated and may come to English through more than one middleman language, more than one spelling may enter the language. When in doubt, remain loyal to one style guide or a periodical about cooking. If a term has not yet been included or mentioned, search for it online with various spellings and see how authoritative Web sites treat it. What about menu items? On an actual restaurant menu, it’s acceptable to capitalize names of dishes, because they are the equivalent of headings on that type of document, but names of ingredients in a descriptive passage below the item name should not be capitalized unless they already deserve that distinction. However, in text, words used to describe something served at a restaurant should be lowercase unless they’re place names (â€Å"Peking duck†), brand names (â€Å"chicken-’n’-Cheetos), or house concoctions (â€Å"Sous-Chef Sammy’s Lava Soup†). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. HadDo you "orient" yourself, or "orientate" yourself?50+ Words That Describe Animals (Including Humans)