Don’t be too alarmed, Mr. Kissoon…it is a worldwide problem

Jun 19, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
In response to Mr. Frederick Kissoon’s letter “You need proofreaders, Mr. Lall” in KN (06-17-2014), I would like to say to him don’t be too alarmed. It is a worldwide problem.
Hardly a day passes without my finding that kind of slip in the prestigious Los Angeles Times. And, by the way, three versions of the word in question are used in the letter: proofreading, proof-reading, and proof reading. Part of the proofreading (one word is the preferred form) exercise is to ensure uniformity of word forms. It is better to use the incorrect form consistently rather than to mix it up (correct, incorrect, maybe).
What is very troubling with proofreading errors is that even though meaning is unaffected, the proofreading slip is considered a grave fault, even graver than the falsehood contained in the larger statement of which it is part. For example, if I say ‘four plus four equals sevn’, people would jump upon the misspelling (more a typo than anything else) rather than the fact that the statement as a whole is actually, factually, scientifically, and completely wrong.
Good old school proofreading is for sure disappearing. Electronic spellchecking and its variants are taking over. Sometime in the sixties I had to have a booklet on health careers written by Wordsworth McAndrew and me, proofread at the Government Stationery and Printing Office. I watched the professional lady do her thing. She started to read backwards, from the last page coming to the front page. More so, she was reading each page in reverse, that is, from the right-hand side to the left-hand side. On top of that, she placed a ruler under each line as she read with a pencil moving over the letters—not the words. I am saying read but she was doing something else; in retrospect, she was proofreading
I am moved to write this response because I myself am going through some proofreading blues right now. I am putting together a book written by a friend and I need to have it proofread. The worst thing a writer can do is to proofread his own writing. It is like Mr. Kissoon trying to defend himself without counsel in court against the Jagdeo libel suit. Even a proofreader who has written needs to have another proofreader proofread his stuff.
I looked around the schools to see if there are classes in proofreading. None. I called up someone who supposedly does it for a living. She said she was going to give me a big discount, a penny a word. When I multiply one cent by the number of words I got a figure that the book wasn’t even going to bring in—and this does not include printing costs. So there you have it.
And Mr. Lall, if you are going to hire proofreaders, please don’t require that they have a degree in English. The worst proofreaders are graduates with an English degree, especially if they specialize in literature. I know. I am one.
P. D. Sharma
Los Angeles, CA

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