The proof reader
When one reads today’s average newspaper, one has reason to regret the recent passing of Johnny Glacken.
John was a proof reader of the old school. He had been trained at The Western Producer by Tom Boyd, a Scot who believed there was nothing more sinful than a split infinitive or a misspelled word.
Tom, and later Johnny, would march to the desk of the perpetrator, point out the error and, if any argument ensued, would trace the word back to its roots to explain why it was spelled that way.
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In the eulogy at Johnny’s funeral, a family member said the proof reader’s favorite home reading was the dictionary, tracing proper usage for each word contained therein. That’s dedication.
Today we have Spellchek and other electronic proof readers. These are accurate to a degree but if you inadvertently write vary when you mean very, these computer aids won’t notice the error.
So far we haven’t any device that can analyze the sentence to see if the word fits the context.
Some years ago it was decided by most publishers that electronic scanners made it possible to phase out proof readers. The Western Producer editors, recognizing the limitations of Spellchek, instituted a rule that every page should be proof-read by at least two persons in the editorial department.
This might sound reassuring, but let me tell you even some of Canada’s most distinguished authors and educators make spelling or grammar errors without realizing they are doing so. It took me many a year to discover the correct use of immigrate and emigrate and that there are two m’s in accommodate.
We’ll miss the Johnny Glackens of this world.
