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‘Et al.’ – Correct Usage for Harvard Referencing

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the idea that in-text references are a ‘quick link’ to the sources given in the reference list at the end of your essay. ‘Et al.’ is simply a way of making your in-text reference more concise and unobtrusive. Where a source document has been written by more than two authors (some guidelines say more than three authors) then you should replace all but the first author surname with ‘et al.’ So, a book by John Smith, Sam Jones, Jane Green and Tom Brown published in 2008 would be listed in text as ‘(Smith et al., 2008)’. The surname listed in the main body of the text will then always be the surname under which the source is listed alphabetically at the end.

The term comes from Latin and is a shortening for ‘et alii’, ‘et aliae’ or ‘et alia’, all literally meaning ‘and the others’ (the ending depends on the gender of the ‘others’ being referred to). Given that ‘et al.’ is a shortening it is important to remember the full stop at the end of ‘al.’ to indicate that.

Once it comes to giving detailed information on the source in the reference list, ‘et al.’ should never be used. All the authors of a paper, article or book must be listed at the end, both to identify the source precisely but also to acknowledge co-authorship and the importance of all contributors not just the one whose name comes first alphabetically! So, ‘Smith, J., Jones, S., Green, J. and Brown, T. (2008) Harvard Referencing – All you Need to Know, Oxford: Oxford University Press.’

If you need your help with writing your References OR you require any editing services such as proofreading, copy editing, document formatting, then please visit www.proofers.co.uk.

#proofreading #proofreading service #English consistency #harvard referencing

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Consistency – Why does it Matter?

The simple answer is that it matters because inconsistency can detract and distract readers from the clarity and meaning of your work.

Consistency applies on different levels. Firstly, if your subject uses conventions in terms of presentation it is important to follow them – otherwise it’s like turning up to a job interview in jeans and a t-shirt when the interviewers are all wearing suits and the interview guidelines included a note to wear smart clothing. If your subject requires you to use the IEEE referencing system and you present the sources using Harvard then you have excluded your work from serious consideration.

If you’ve followed the formal guidelines but some of your sub-headings are capitalised throughout and some only use a capital letter for the first word, or if you are using UK spellings for words such as ‘analyse’ and your computer sometimes autocorrects to ‘analyze’, your work can appear sloppy. Academic writing prides itself on precision and care. If you turn up to that interview wearing odd socks or with your shirt hanging out, it may not preclude you from getting the job but it will certainly affect those all-important first impressions.

If your work is worth putting into writing then it is worth that little extra time to ensure that it is neat, consistent and ready to make an excellent first impression. Proofreading services can help here. Most of us find it extremely difficult to look critically at our own work – to notice mistakes in a document we are very familiar with. A proofreader is trained to look out for common mistakes and inconsistencies and will look at your work with fresh eyes.

If you need your document proofreading, we here at Proofers can help! For more information visit www.proofers.co.uk today!

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Why Is Proof Reading Important

Have you ever read a newspaper where you are reading an article and then all of a sudden it does not make sense due to spelling errors, missing words and words that should not even be in there, grammatical and typographical errors? Unfortunately this is not uncommon, newspapers are one of the worst organisations when it comes to written errors and these basic and silly errors drastically reduce the readability of your article, but this could be avoided by using a professional proofreader.

So what is a proof reader? Proofreading is when an experienced person will look at a document and check it for grammatical and typographical errors, making sure the document or article is free from errors allowing you to have an enjoyable read. A Proofreader will look at the document and will check for spelling, punctuation, grammar, font, style, spaces, making sure everything is correct.

Although all computers now have some sort of word press application like Word which comes with its own spell-check, errors can still occur. Unfortunately there is no spell-check application that will catch all mistakes that can happen when writing any document you need to hire the services of a proofreader.

A professional proofreader will be experienced with good language skills and a keen eye for detail, checking each sentence and each page of the document to make sure it is readable with no errors.

Each organisation that produces documents of any kind should either hire an in house proofreader or a professional proofreading company such as Proofers, who provide experience and professional proofreading personnel.

For some reason a lot of newspapers do not take proofreading seriously, but proofreading is a very important part of writing. A lot of newspapers now rely on the actual journalist to proofread his own work which is a huge mistake. Proofreading is a professional service that should be offered by a trained professional and just because a journalist is trained in reporting what is happening around the world, it does not mean he or she is qualified in proofreading services.

Any author thinking of writing a book should hire a proofreader to make sure the book is free from errors and make sure the book is readable and not going to spoil the plot for the reader by having grammatical or punctuation errors.

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The Most Common Homophones

You are writing the initial chapter of your book on Microsoft Word. Intermittently, a red squiggly line appears under a misspelt word. Immediately, it is corrected and you let out a sigh of relief.

Now, rewind back. You are writing the initial chapter of your book on Microsoft Word. However, a helpful red line doesn’t appear under each misspelt word. Why? Because each misspelt word is a homophone. According to Oxford Dictionaries a homophone is

“each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling (e.g. new and knew)”.

Just to let you know – we like helping people – so we have compiled a list of the most common homophones that confuse people.

Two – To

Here – Hear

There – Their

Week – Weak

Sea – See

Maid – Made

Pair – Pear

Saw –Sore

Cheque – Check

Wood – Would

Through – Threw

Hire – Higher

Fined – Find

Waist – Waste

Poor – Paw

Knew – New

Court - Caught

We hope this list of homophones helps you in your writing. Remember, we can proofread all your written work for an affordable price!

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Proofreading Gaffes are Humourous, but Deadly

Proofreading mistakes have embarrassed writers past and present. But they will always remain a source of humour for all of us. If only they has used a proofreading service!

Lawful Sinning

Cheating partners were reassured by the 1632 edition of the King James Bible that they had holy backing for their illicit sinning. With a missing word, the seventh commandment read “Thou shalt commit adultery, instead of “Thou shalt not commit adultery”.  Shortly afterwards, the church ordered the destruction of all the adultery-endorsing bibles. 

Unintentional bargain

For a short while in 2002, you could buy an Aiwa Hi-Fi for only £8.43, instead of £89.00 from Comet. What a whooping bargain! Undoubtedly, Comet lost a huge chunk of its profit after lucky buyers took advantage of this seemingly minor error

Racist Cannibals?

 “Salt and freshly ground black people”. No exaggeration! This was written in a popular cookbook for pasta recipes published by Penguin Group in Australia. It cost the publishing company a painful $18,500 to republish the cookbook.   

Not only can misspellings, grammatical errors and missing words tarnish your reputation, they also cost you thousands, if you are a company.

Humans, by nature, make mistakes and errors. So it is very important that the services of a proofreading company are used to complete your book, business proposal, essay etc. to perfection.  

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Differences between Proofreading and Copyediting

Many people presume that proofreaders and copyeditors carry out the same tasks. Even though their tasks are similar, there area number of differences in their responsibilities. These are outlined below.

  Proofreading

According to the Society for Editors and Proofreaders:

“The proofreader reads the copy for consistency in usage and layout, for accuracy in the text and references and for typesetting errors. The proofreader, however, is only acting as a quality check, making sure that the copy-editor or typesetter has not missed something. He or she is not responsible for overall consistency and accuracy.”

  Essentially, the task of a proofreader is to meticulously read a text and correct all errors of punctuation, grammar and syntax. In addition, a proofreader checks the formatting, layout and referencing of a text. These are the responsibilities of a proofreader. A proofreader will not dramatically alter a text, restructure it to improve it or even change its flow. These are the tasks of a copyeditor.

  Copyediting

According to the Society for Editors and Proofreaders:

'A copy-editor makes sure that an author's raw text, or copy, is correct in terms of spelling and grammar and is easy to read so that readers can grasp his or her ideas. A copy-editor also tries to prevent embarrassing errors of fact, alert the publisher to any possible legal problems and ensure that the typesetter can do a good job.'

  A copy editor dramatically restructuresa text, alter formatting or provide suggestions to completely rewrite a section. Furthermore, they may actionstylistic alterations and suggest improvements to the text to develop its voice and it’s the author’s effect.

In a nutshell, these are the difference between proofreading and copyediting.

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It’s that time of the year again…..

It’s that time of the year again. So far, the most you’ve written is 5,000 words for an essay. Suddenly the word count has been amplified by another 5,000 words. And the pressure has trebled. After days of deliberation, your supervisor and you have finally agreed upon a subject which will further develop previous studies or deliver some previously unknown findings. And these deliberations will not end until you’ve submitted the dissertation. The almost endless restarts and discussion are the least of your worries.

Did you know that a whole 10% of your dissertation mark is dedicated to grammar, punctuation, spelling and syntax? That’s a difference between a 2:1 and a 1:1. Yes, a supervisor will spot the gaps in the research, the disjointed aspects of the literature review and the overlaps with previous studies, but he won’t touch upon the errors of grammar, syntax and punctuation. It simply is not his job. He’s not an English teacher; instead he’s a lecturer in Criminology, Journalism and Economics etc.

To guarantee the obtainment of that 10%, you must submit it to a professional proofreading service. You see, it’s not just about reviewing your work. Your work should reflect your strengths, your passion for the subject and your ability to produce something full of intelligence. With the pressure mounting and the workload almost unmanageable, it is better for you to submit it to a professional proofreader, who is well-versed in the facets of grammar, punctuation and syntax. This way you guarantee yourself an honours degree.

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The difference between affect and effect

Should I use affect or effect? Many people, especially native English speakers, are confused by these two words. So to lay this matter to rest, here are the common definitions of the words.

From the two, the least in number of common definitions is affect. From the perspective of grammar, affect plays the role of a verb in a sentence. Affect is a synonym of influence and it means to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause them to change. For example: It's a disease which affects mainly older people.

On the other, the effect has multiple, common definitions. From the perspective of grammar, effect plays the role a noun in a sentence. Effect can either mean the result of a particular influence or to use. For example: The radiation leak has had a disastrous effect on the environment, and, the new salary increases will take effect (= begin) from January onwards.

Effect also has a few specialised uses.  Most probably, you’ll come across in a newspaper or you might hear it from a bureaucrat. We’ve written a few sentences which carry these specialised usages. Can you work out what they mean?

They had to wait ten minutes for the anaesthetic to take effect before they stitched up the cut.

So in effect the government have lowered taxes for the rich and raised them for the poor.

She said she was unhappy, or words to that effect.

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Common mistakes

Whether it’s a misplacement of a relative pronoun or writing it twice, everyone makes appalling mistakes which change the meaning of a sentence or render a sentence nonsensical.

The most common mistake we’ve corrected so far is the absence of a comma. Many people forget to place the comma before ‘such as’ and after the subsequent series of examples when this idiom appears in the middle of a sentence. For example:

Previous prime ministers, such as Winston Churchill, Clement Atlee and Lady Thatcher, have instigated wars in during their days in 10 Downing Street.

A mistake which is made out of negligence doesn’t always go well with a keen reader. We’ve noticed that the same concept is repeated twice in one sentence. For example:

Those charged with designing new cruise ships and skyscrapers share a common bond.

Either use share or common, but not twice in one sentence. You can have a common bond or share a bond.

Sometimes people attribute a plural noun to a singular subject. For example:

The materials and technology used in aircraft design over the past 10 years has improved rapidly.

The modal verb should be ‘have’ because it is attributed to two objects, materials and technology.

Sometimes the opposite of what is described above happens. For example:

Bertrand Russell, claimed that one of his literary models were the Baedeker Guides, for their unambiguous clarity. 

The modal verb should be ‘was’ because it is attributed to one of his literary models.

We hope that this helps you guys in your studies and at work!

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Save yourself from the blunders of job applications!

At Proofers, we get our fair share of student and graduate CVs and covering letters. Whether it’s the easy-going ‘i’ or the overly passive tone of a student who’s on a dissertation hangover, the documents are always riddled with blunders, or as they call it on YouTube, bloopers. So here are a few useful tips which do not guarantee a dream job, but they will improve your chances of getting one.

You first point of contact with your potential employer is your application. From these they will decide whether to invite you for an interview or to save one more tree, i.e. to shred it and recycle it. The bottom line is present yourself professionally.

R u comin 2nite? It’s fine if you communicate with you friends in txt spk, but it’s a no go area when it comes to job hunting. If the reason for writing in txt spk is to stand out of the crowd, then your choice of voice is superb. The recruiter will read the application, read it again, pass it around the office and by the time it returns to the recruiter, you would have made everyone’s day. Then it will enter the realm from where no application returns; the bin.

You’ve graduated from university, so your knowledge of English grammar and punctuation should match your level of education. In Eats, shoots and leaves by Lynne Truss, a bamboo leaf munching panda bear turns into a violent gun totting killer in restaurent because of an erased comma. If the ‘l’ is removed from ‘plane’ you’ve suddenly become a modern version of Aladdin flying on a glass pane.

More importantly, one of your cherished skills won’t look reputable anymore. Attention to detail is a must have in many jobs today.    

Everyone knows that you just have begun to recover from three, four, or maybe even five years of writing academic assignments, but you don’t have to continue your excessive passive voice. Instead, become active in your writing. Get to the point and don’t beat around the bush. The passive voice is where the subject is acted upon instead of acting itself. The typical giveaway is the use of ‘to be’ and its various forms: is, was, were, am, are. Look at this example:

·         Passive: I was responsible for producing the weekly newsletter

·         Active: I produced the weekly newsletter

Using the active voice gives you more things to write about and it drives the point home with a recruiter.

Don’t excessively hit it on with the ‘I’. I managed the bar staff at The Intercontinental during the weekend. I improved the customer satisfaction rate and I increased the number of customers during my managerial position. In conclusion, I increased the profits of the pub. Too many ‘I’s give your application a childish voice. This doesn’t reflect well on you personality and character as you’ve recently graduated from university.

Before firing of your application, proofread it. It may save from many months of job hunting. We hope that these tips help you during your job search.      

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Punctuate your text

“Eats shoots and leaves” and “eats, shoots and leaves.”

Which phrase is punctuated correctly? The correct phrase is the one which carries your intended meaning. Even though they both contain the same words, their meanings are dissimilar. The first one means “consumes vegetation i.e. shoots and leaves” , whereas, the second one means “eats firstly, fires a weapon secondly, and leaves the scene thirdly.”

Correct grammar and syntax (sentence structure) are essential ingredients for the creation of a comprehensible, logical text; however, punctuation is often neglected to the detriment of the text. Time and again, essays, dissertations, theses and business which superficially seem to be immaculate, are, in fact, riddled with misplaced and missing commas.  

As shown in the introductory example, the misplacement of two commas changes the entire meaning of a phrase, clause or even a sentence. It can even fictionally remove two groups of people from existence as shown in the following example:

The English footballer and model, David Beckham, returned…… 

This seemingly correct phrase suggests that there is only one English footballer and model, and other English footballers, as well as models do not exist. The two commas must be removed in the above example to do justice to all the English footballers and models.

One of the many roles of the comma is to join two separate independent clauses together; however, writers of all levels habitually make one mistake and that is the Comma Splice. University students studying at undergraduate level and even at postgraduate level are prone to make this mistake. Look at the following example:

They have a dancing bear here, the visitors enjoy watching it. 

Often, students and professionals who are not well-versed in punctuation and grammar will suppose that the above example is undeniably correct even though it is not. Here, the grave error is that a conjunction is not placed between the two independent clauses. These are the several correct versions of the above example:

They have a dancing bear here and the visitors enjoy watching it. 

They have a dancing bear here, and the visitors enjoy watching it. 

They have a dancing bear here; the visitors enjoy watching it.

They have a dancing bear here, so the visitors enjoy watching it. 

  Finally I’ve almost written this article. Did you spot the mistake in previous sentence? A comma must be placed immediately after the adverb finally.  

Geoffry Nunberg provides an example that summarises the delicate nature of punctuation.

Order your furniture on Monday, take it home on Tuesday.

Order your furniture on Monday; take it home on Tuesday.

Whereas in the first sentence a conditional meaning is intended ('if you order your furniture today, then you can take it home on Tuesday'), the inserted semicolon in the second sentence indicates a sequence of two commands ('do X; do Y'). If these two sentences were spoken in a natural conversation, almost no one would be able to differentiate between the two. That is why punctuation is as important as grammar and syntax. Bad punctuation guarantees bad results.    

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Top tips for chronic spelling offenders

First-year university students are the worst spelling offenders, despite spending 13 years of their lives in the education system, according to a 2008 Telegraph report. The report states that basic words, such as “their”, “speech” and even “Wednesday”, are incorrectly spelt by them. To put British university students to further shame, the report states that students from Singapore and Brunaimake fewer spelling mistakes, despite speaking English as a second language.

Correctly spelling a word is of the utmost importance for students and professionals alike. For a university student, one spelling mistake is the difference between a first class grade and an upper second class grade. For a professional, it is more detrimental. Because of an overlooked spelling mistake, they could lose a client or even worse, get fired. And finally, for a business, it is most detrimental and damaging. Their reputation could be tarnished.

So proofers have prescribed a few tips for students, professionals and businesses struck with this illness.

Everybody reads, right? Because of the advent of the internet, smartphones, touch tablets….the list can go on, books have been shelved. Instead of reading, we are spoilt for choice; either we can play video games at the touch of a buttonor catch up with the latest episode of Eastenders with a swipe of a finger. 

As you read more, you’ll notice an improvement in you spelling. You don’t have to constrict yourself to books. Today, the news is available at the swipe of a finger. Quality and red top newspapers, such as The Guardian and The Daily Mail, have expanded into the realm of mobile applications. While you’re commuting to university, work or home, you can catch up with the latest transfer bid for Manchester United or, if you more serious, you can stay parallel with the latest news on Boris Johnson. Our point is that you should read if you want to improve your spelling.

If you’re more serious about spelling, go one step further. Use a dictionary. Yep, that thick book which we glanced at primary school and then dropped as soon as we realised that it contained words. If you unsure about the spelling of a word, just flick through a dictionary to find the correct spelling. In fact, you don’t need a dictionary. Today, a dictionary is available at the click of a button. Websites, such as thefreedictionary.com contain the meanings of words which are almost practically unknown.

Most importantly, pass your important document to the well-trained eyes of a proofreader. Most professional proofreaders are avid readers, who enjoy reading a variety of topics. Day in, day out, they are practising their skills, so they are naturally talented at spelling difficult words. 

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The fallacy of the checkers

Whence up on a thyme their was a plant cold Grate. The papal of Gratesale cheese two Tesco’s.  However they’re Cowes dead to years a go, so day become fosters. 

Of course, we all don’t commit major crimes against grammatical and spelling rules, but the above paragraph highlights a really important issue in the world of writing. Students, professionals and budding authors use spell checkers to correct any errors in their written work. If the text contains a few spelling mistakes, they are easily recognised and corrected by a spelling checker. (I’ll write about grammar checkers later on in this post.)

However, if you submit paragraph, like my example, into a spelling checker, I guarantee that no errors or only a few will be recognised and corrected. Copy and paste my example into a spelling checker, if you don’t believe me.

Spell checkers are not infallible. They are programmed to recognise spelling mistakes. And that is the limit of their intelligence.  They cannot recognise the appropriate words for a sentence. They are lazy, software potatoes. As long as the word is correctly spelt, they won’t bother to go beyond their programmed intelligence.

Sometimes, if you do write a correctly spelt word which has a homophone, the program will not give you the appropriate word. Here are ten homophones that will confuse you and a spelling checker:

First Word

Aural

Accept

Adapt

Advice

Affect

Altar

Bail

Band

Brake

By

Second Word

Oral

Except

Adopt

Advise

Effect

Alter

Bale

Banned

Break

Bye

Grammar checkers are programmed in a similar fashion to spelling checkers. The can easily recognise simple mistakes, which are made by the average Joe. But before you rush to the “best” grammar checker, read what Geraldine Woods has to say about them.

"It's comforting to think that a little green or red line will tell you when you've made an error and that a quick mouse click will show you the path to perfection. Comforting, but unreal. English has half a million words, and you can arrange those words a couple gazillion ways. No program can catch all your mistakes, and most programs identify errors that aren't actually wrong." (Geraldine Woods, Grammar Essentials For Dummies. Wiley, 2010)

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The Differences between Copy Editing and Proofreading

Although the terms copy editing and proofreading have been used interchangeably on occasion, they are very different, and there is only the tiniest overlap of responsibility.  The Copy editor who is  responsible for copy editing, will see the manuscript, copy, text or document first.  Although copy editors, like good proofreaders, possess a good eye for detail, spelling mistakes and are able to spot an obvious mistake, that is not their main job.

A copy editor checks the “content” for many things: terminology consistency and appropriateness; correct jargon terms; semantics of the written page; sees that it follows a certain style in some cases; and may even shorten or rearrange the text to improve it.  Copy editing follows the “C” rules of: Copy clear, Correct, Concise, Complete and Consistent.

As well as possessing journalistic skills and a college degree, copy editors need technical knowledge today with computer applications like Quark, Adobe indesign and Scribus.  Documents, newspaper copy and novel manuscripts are now mostly read on a computer screen as opposed to hard copies and paper as in times past.  They are also higher on the journalistic career path and get higher pay than proofreaders.

Proofreaders are the last to see something before it is typeset and goes to print.  They may see the same material multiple times.  There are different ways to proof, using two people; one reads aloud and the other follows visually or they exchanging work, under the concept that two sets of eyes better than one.  They do not need editorial or managerial skills as it is not a writing position.  What is needed is a good eye for detail, and the ability to work when stress levels are high and time is short.

One of the main differences between copy editing and proof reading, is the editor sees one main document, that he is trying to improve, whereas a proofreader may be just simply comparing two documents to see that they match exactly.

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Proofreading – What's all the fuss about?

Although the proofreader may be the last to see something before it's typeset and goes to print, they have little to do with the content.  They are not editors, reporters or managers, and do not need college degrees nor writing skills to do their job.  What is extremely helpful, is when a good proofreader is not only sharp on detail, but he also has the ability to work under high stress levels , and meet deadlines.

Editors, authors, managers and advertising copywriters depend on good proofreading to make sure their final drafts and final versions that make their way into the printed form are what they wrote, with no typographical errors, accidental omissions and other human errors; at Proofers we do just that!

In fact, the creativity and journalistic abilities of reporters, authors and writers are in direct conflict with the critical eye of a proofreader.  They may miss something obviously spelled wrong or letters transposed because they are reading the content and not scanning text.

Why is it so important?  Because a publishing house or a student is represented by what is on the final printed version.  For business purposes, and profitability, the products need to be of high quality, and meet all expectations of both contributors and the public to stay solvent.  A simple-to-make but hard-to-spot typographical error that makes a headline or a book cover could be costly indeed.

To hone proofreading skills, there are many exercises that are used, such as: reading upside down, reading a sentence backward, chewing gum or listening to music while proofreading and using natural light as opposed to fluorescent.

People who write their own resumes, biographical data and profiles, but do not proofread well, take the chance at presenting a negative image to the public eye and potential employers.  All resumes, if not given to a professional to proofread, should at the very least, be read by another couple of eyes for errors.  Preferably people who do not even know you well. 

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Differences Between American English and the Queen's English

George Bernard Shaw so aptly noted that England and America were like two countries divided by a common language.  Most of the time a person from the United Kingdom and a person from the United States of America, can carry on a conversation and understand each other reasonably well. It is not only the accent or dialect that throws one or the other off, but the terminology for a word.  Some have entirely different meanings.

  If a Brit said to an American that “the lorry over there with its bonnet up, is on a B road,” there may be some confusion.  What he meant in the American's lingo was “the 18 wheeler over there with its hood up is on a rural road.”  Similarly, if he also mentioned the lorry was ticking, it really meant to Americans that it was idling.  In this instance the words the Brit used were just different and not used in America, so could easily be incorporated into a person's new vocabulary.  But what really gets confusing, is when common words to both languages have different meanings.

  If an American was laughing at an old western movie and said the villain got “booted out the saloon,” a person from the United Kingdom may raise his eyebrows.  “Trunked out of a sedan?”  he would ask.  What has that got to do with a pub?

  Words  like shan't, whilst and full stop are unheard of in American dialogue.  Yet if they throw a spanner in the works, or won't touch something with a bargepole, American's get that!  Phrases like “a week today,” would be received pretty well by a non-Brit, but if they said “a fortnight on Friday,” an American would probably think (assuming he knew what a fortnight was)that it meant two weeks to the next Friday, where it is actually two weeks past this coming Friday.”

  Most spelling is consistent between the two languages except for s and z (like analyse-analyze) and an occasional ou instead or o (humor-humour), or the reverse of er to re like theatre. Nothing earthshaking in that area.  One country can read the typing of another with little problems.

  Not only is the Queen's English, or Oxford English different in dialect and pronunciation from American English, it is different within its own country as well.  No Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all speak differently and then divided down even more into subplots within their countries.

  Since the English were major influences on the civilization of America, being the first colonists and writing up the first papers and documents, how did such differences come about?  It probably stemmed form the mix of immigrants that came to America, and then following the civil war, when the divisions of the country started mixing and leveling off together, to create what we know as an “American.”

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In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made proof-readers.