ILLUSTRATION:DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS

Illustration titled "Día de los Muertos".

ILLUSTRATION: O TEJO

Illustration titled "O Tejo".

FOREIGN ACCENTS: HOW SHOULD YOU APPROACH THEM?

Following on from the post about the BBC and its inability/ refusal to use diacritics (accents/ special characters) in news stories on its website, I have decided to investigate the matter further in order to see what the position of other major means of communication is regarding the use of "foreign" accents in the reporting of news.

After looking at the official style guides of The Times, The Guardian, The Economist and the European Commission Directorate-General for Translation - English Style Guide, it is quite apparent that the BBC is alone in its refusal to use accents. Below, you can read excerpts from the style guides.

The Times Online style guide states that:

Accents: give French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian and Ancient Greek words their proper accents and diacritical marks; omit in other languages unless you are sure of them. Accents should be used in headlines and on capital letters. With Anglicised words, no need for accents in foreign words that have taken English nationality (hotel, depot, debacle, elite, regime etc), but keep the accent when it makes a crucial difference to pronunciation - café, communiqué, fête, fiancée, mêlée, émigré, pâté, protégé; also note vis-à-vis, façade.
The Times Online Style Guide

Here is The Guardian's advice:

Accents: use on French, German, Spanish and Irish Gaelic words (but not anglicised French words such as cafe, apart from exposé)
The Guardian Style Guide

The European Union Commission Directorate-General for Translation has this to say:

Foreign words and phrases used in an English text should be italicised (no inverted commas) and should have the appropriate accents, e.g. inter alia, raison d’être. (Exceptions: words and phrases now in common use and/or considered part of the English language, e.g. role, ad hoc, per capita, per se, etc.)
Personal names should retain their original accents, e.g. Grybauskaitė, Potočnik, Wallström.
Quotations. Place verbatim quotations in foreign languages in quotation marks without italicising the text.
Latin. Avoid obscure Latin phrases if writing for a broad readership. When faced with such phrases as a translator, check whether they have the same currency and meaning when used in English.
The expression “per diem” (“daily allowance”) and many others have English equivalents, which should be preferred e.g. “a year” or “/year” rather than “per annum”.
European Commission Directorate-General for Translation - English Style Guide

Here is the advice of The Economist Style Guide regarding use of accents:

On words now accepted as English, use accents only when they make a crucial difference to pronunciation: cliché, soupçon, façade, café, communiqué, exposé (but chateau, decor, elite, feted, naive).
If you use one accent (except the tilde [strictly a diacritical sign]), use all: émigré, mêlée, protégé, résumé.
Put the accents and cedillas on French names and words, umlauts on German ones, accents and tildes on Spanish ones, and accents, cedillas and tildes on Portuguese ones: Françoise de Panafieu, Wolfgang Schäuble, Federico Peña. Leave the accents off other foreign names.
Any foreign word in italics should, however, be given its proper accents.
Remember to put appropriate accents and diacritical marks on all foreign words in italics (and give initial capital letters to German nouns when in italics, but not if not). Make sure that the meaning of any foreign word you use is clear.
The Economist Style Guide

It remains to be seen whether The Times, The Guardian and The Economist practice what they preach. I would like to think that they do. My own view is that accents should be used wherever possible, especially when reporting people's names. It doesn't take much effort.

HTML: SPECIAL CHARACTERS

Call me a pedant if you so wish, but find it annoying when I see foreign names and words (especially Spanish ones) spelt incorrectly on the internet, especially in news items. This may seem trivial, but there is absolutely no reason why news providers such as the BBC should not be using accents consistently and correctly. I sent a complaint to the BBC several years ago asking them why they did not use accents in foreign names and places, only to be told that they preferred not to due to "problems with the interpretation of accents in different web browsers". A rather lame excuse, I think.

Since then, web design has moved on significantly and such "problems" should no longer exist (in theory, at least). Yet the BBC continues to omit any trace of accents in its coverage of world news. So I decided to write to them again. Below is a copy of the complaint that I sent them:

Please could you tell me why BBC journalists fail to spell foreign names correctly throughout the BBC website. There is a complete disregard for accents in, for example, French, Spanish and Portuguese names, which - in my opinion - is both unprofessional and disrespectful to the languages in question and the people who speak them. On a technical side, there is no need to omit written accents; with the use of the correct HTML code, these accents will appear correctly on all web browsers.

Low and behold, here is the reply that I have received from them:

Thank you for your e-mail.
Our policy is not to use any diacritics anywhere in our stories. This policy was introduced in the early days of the BBC News website to avoid problems with browsers rendering accents or other non-standard elements as garbled characters.
Arguably now accents are widely catered for in all browsers, but we have preferred to err on the side of caution.

This reply is less than convincing. If websites adhere to W3C web standards, there is no reason why accents should not be interpreted correctly in all browsers. Each "special character" has its own value in HTML code which, if entered correctly, will be read correctly regardless of the web browser that is used. It also raises questions as to whether you should continue to pander to the needs of browsers that are now completely out-of-date, but I won't go there.

You can draw your own conclusions from this, but personally speaking the generic response from the BBC just doesn't wash with me. If this were the case, the BBC world service and BBC Learn Spanish sites would be accent-free too.

RENT A VILLA IN CRETE

A while back, I was asked by Annie Robb (of Just Annie QPR fame) to create a banner for her Rent a Villa in Crete site. She is the owner of a 2 bedroom bungalow villa situated near the historic village of Plaka in western Crete.

About the villa

This 2 bedroom bungalow villa - christened Villa Annie - which is situated near the historic village of Plaka, approximately 2 kilometres from Almyrida in the Chania Regional Unit of western Crete. The property has amazing views of Souda Bay and the White Mountains and is an ideal holiday retreat for couples and families. The villa backs onto a shared pool (there are only 2 other villas on the plot) and is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens.

On the roof of the villa (accessed via the side stairway), there is a terrace equipped with pergola and luxury outside furniture which is perfect for sunbathing and taking in the breathtaking views (especially at sunset).

For more information about the amenities offered, visit the Rent a Villa in Crete website.

Pricing, availabilty, bookings and more information

If you would like more information about the villa or would like to book, contact Annie Robb on annierobb123@yahoo.co.uk.

JUST ANNIE QPR

A while back I was asked to create a banner for the Just Annie QPR blogsite. The blog is run by St Albans-based child minder and massive QPR fan, Annie Robb. The blog is a compendium of reviews, recipes, travel tips, ideas for parents and children and, last but not least, posts about Queens Park Rangers FC, who - depending on whom you care to listen to - are the the finest football team that the world has ever seen.

ILLUSTRATION: PEQUEÑITO

Illustration titled "Pequeñito".

ILLUSTRATION: OM

Illustration titled "Om".

ILLUSTRATION: OWLS

Illustration titled Owls.

ILLUSTRATION: GRAN VÍA

Illustration of the Schweppes Building in Gran Vía, Madrid.

ILLUSTRATION: CANTINA

Illustration of a cantina in Querétaro, Mexico.

ILLUSTRATION: BEARDED LADYBOY

Illustration titled "Bearded Ladyboy".

ILLUSTRATION: SHIVA

Illustration of Shiva.

ANTENATAL COURSES WITH YOGA MAMA

Yoga Mama antenatal courses are led by Ally Downey, a midwife with vast experience in antenatal care, delivery suites and postnatal care in both private and public settings. These 5-week courses are aimed at couples living in Putney and the south-west London are who are expecting their first child. The courses are organised in small, friendly groups with a maximum of 6 couples and are held on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 9pm.

It is advisable to book an antenatal course to start 8-10 weeks before your baby is due; possibly earlier if you are expecting twins. There are 5 antenatal sessions (each lasting 2 and a half hours), with a further postnatal session. The price of these courses is £295 (per couple).

FORTHCOMING COURSES

• 18th November to 16th December 2014 (for January births)
• 6th January to 3rd February 2015 (for February/ March births)

MORE INFORMATION AND BOOKINGS

For full information about the antenatal courses, visit the Yoga Mama website. If you have any further enquiries, send an email to midwife@yogamama.co.uk.

If you would like to book your place on any of the courses advertised, call 020 8789 3881.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CLOSE SHAVE

No need for alarm... It may look like the plane is on course to collide with the building, but it was probably a couple of miles away. The joys of having a fairly powerful zoom lens and living right next to the flight path to Heathrow Airport.

YOGA MAMA AT THE OM YOGA SHOW 2014

If you are looking for something to do on the weekend 24 - 26 October, why not pop along to the Om Yoga Show at Olympia Central?

Among the many exhibitors will be Cherie Lathey and her team at Yoga Mama. They will be offering yoga demonstrations and much more. To keep informed about what they have planned, like the Yoga Mama Facebook Page.

ILLUSTRATION: PLAZA MAYOR

Illustration of Plaza Mayor in Madrid.

FREE BABY MASSAGE TASTER SESSION

Yoga Mama will be running a free baby massage taster session at The Putney Clinic of Physical Therapy on Tuesday 4 November, 11am. Hajni Varadi, massage therapist, will be giving a short talk and introduction to baby massage. The talk is free and is open to new and expectant parents alike.

Bookings

Spaces are limited, therefore booking is essential. If you would like to attend, call 020 8789 3881 or send an email to info@putneyclinic.co.uk, quoting November free baby massage as the subject.

ILLUSTRATION: O BRASIL

Illustration titled "O Brasil".

DO ONE, MATEY!

For when you're having one of those days when everything seems to go wrong.

YOGA MAMA IN EARLSFIELD

Yoga Mama will be running new pregnancy yoga and baby massage courses at ProPhysiotherapy in Earlsfield (Wandsworth) soon. To register your interest, call  020 8879 1555 or email enquiries@prophysiotherapy.co.uk.

ILLUSTRATION: BUDDHA

Illustration of Buddha.

PREGNANCY YOGA CPD

Yoga Mama is running a Pregnancy Yoga CPD workshop for yoga teachers on Sunday 30 November at The Putney Clinic of Physical Therapy from 10am - 4pm.

Cost: £65

** EARLY BIRD OFFER: £60, IF BOOKED BEFORE 27 OCTOBER 2014.

For full information about this workshop, visit the Yoga Mama website. To book your place, call 020 8789 3881 or email info@yogamama.co.uk.

PHOTOGRAPHY: FULL MOON

It's that time of the month again.... As of yet, no hairs have started growing on the palms of my hands.

HOUSE OF CALLY AT THE PUTNEY ARTS MARKET

Putney-based artist, Cally Lathey (of House of Cally) will be at the Putney Arts Market on Sunday 2 November 2014 from 11am to 5pm, where she will be exhibiting and selling her fantastic illustration work.

Putney Arts Market

Located on Putney Embankment (west side of Putney Bridge).
Nearest Underground station: Putney Bridge (District Line).

House of Cally

To see Cally's creations, visit the House of Cally website or the House of Cally online shop.

ILLUSTRATION: SKETCHES

SKETCH OF BATTERSEA POWER STATION

DESERT SCENE

PRADES EL POBLE

Sketches done on blank postcards using ball point pen.

ILLUSTRATION: RED ROOM

Illustration titled "Red Room".

ILLUSTRATION: DALA HORSES

These A4 illustrations, titled Dala Horses, are inspired by the decorative wooden horses (Dalahäst) from the Dalarna (Dalecarlia) region of Sweden. They were created using aquamarkers.

DALA HORSE © GINGER NUT DESIGNS

DALA HORSES © GINGER NUT DESIGNS

DALA HORSES © GINGER NUT DESIGNS

ILLUSTRATION: GANESHA

GANESHA © GINGER NUT DESIGNS

GANESHA © GINGER NUT DESIGNS

These two A4 illustration are titled Ganesha. They are inspired by the Hindu god Ganesha.  The first is in black and white (pencil and black promarker) and the second is in colour (fine liner pen and colouring pencils).

ILLUSTRATION: HESSENSTEIN PALACE

An illustration of Hessenstein Palace in Stockholm.

ILLUSTRATION: PRADES

Illustration of "Prades, el poble".

ILLUSTRATION: BATTERSEA POWER STATION

Illustration of Battersea Power Station.

ILLUSTRATION: LISBON CATHEDRAL

Illustration of Lisbon Cathedral.

ILLUSTRATION: BASILICA DE SAN FRANCISCO

Illustration of the Basilica de San Francisco, Madrid.

ILLUSTRATION: PLAZA DE CASTILLA

Illustration of Plaza de Castilla, Madrid.

ILLUSTRATION: SAGRADA FAMILIA

Illustration of turrets of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

ILLUSTRATION: RIDDARHOLMSKYRKAN

Illustration of Riddarholmskyrkan (Riddarholm Church) in Stockholm.

ILLUSTRATION: SÖDERMALM

An illustration of colourful houses in Södermalm, Stockholm.

ILLUSTRATION: RIDDARHOLMEN

An illustration of Riddarholmen, Stockholm.

ILLUSTRATION: STUREPLAN

An illustration of Stureplan, Stockholm.

ILLUSTRATION: GAMLA STAN

An illustration of Prästgatan in Gamla Stan, Stockholm.