NGS Style Manual - A -

Words with a voiced h are preceded by a (e.g., a historical guide); an unvoiced h takes an: heir, herb, honest, honor, hour. Most of the derivatives of these five also take an except for the derivatives of herb, most of which take a: an herb, a herbivore.

After a possessive, omit initial A or An of a title: Dickens's Tale of Two Cities, Ambrose Bierce's Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

a-

Verbals like a-brewing are hyphenated unless one word in Webster's.

à la, à la carte, à la king, à la mode

Roman.

A Special Place

Name of series in the magazine. (Changed from Special Places.)

abbé

Always use the with this title: the Abbé Breuil.

ABBREVIATIONS

See also Letters of the Alphabet, Plurals.

In general, abbreviations should be avoided in text and legends, at least on first use, except for a few standard forms (a.m., B.C., etc.). Many common abbreviations are listed in this stylebook. If an entry is not here, follow the first form listed in the latest edition of Webster's.

1.	Plurals of abbreviations without periods are generally formed with s, no apostrophe:

VIPs GIs TVs UFOs

VCRs IOUs CD-ROMs S&Ls

C-54s Type IIs PCBs

 

If a double s combination occurs, add apostrophe plus s:

SOS's

 

Plurals of abbreviations with periods and of letters of the alphabet used as nouns take apostrophe plus s. Plurals of italicized letters add italic apostrophe plus roman s:

Ph.D.'s ABC's straight A's

Model A's Model T's

p's and q's his Scottish r's

 

Plurals of noun abbreviations with a single period usually add only s:

vol., vols.

 

Plurals of Btu and rpm and of abbreviations for metric units are the same as the singular: 12,000 Btu, 2,000 rpm, 2 m, 23 mg, 11.64 L.

 

2.	Days and months are not abbreviated in text or legends but may be abbreviated in footnotes and map notes. See also days and months.

 

3.	Units of time are not abbreviated in text or legends but may be abbreviated in footnotes and map notes and used without periods for design reasons. The following abbreviations are both singular and plural:

	sec.	hr.	wk.
	min.	day(s), do not abbreviate	mo.
			yr.

 

4.	The books of the Bible are not abbreviated and are set in roman without quotation marks.

 

5.	Geographic names are spelled out in both text and legends, with very few exceptions such as D.C., U.S., and C.I.S. Spell out United States on first appearance. Generally abbreviate Saint but not Fort or Mount. On maps, abbreviations such as St. and Ave. may be used.

 

6.	Ordinal numerals are spelled out through tenth, above that: 11th, 21st, 32nd, 43rd.

 

7.	Map coordinates and compass directions: latitude 72° 54' N, longitude 165° 53' W (note spaces and comma); 21° north (first use); 21° N; NE, SW, WNW.

 

8.	Weights and measures may be abbreviated in credit lines and map notes. Such abbreviations do not take periods; plurals do not add s or es: vase 12 cm, 16 mm, f/22, 11 sq mi, three hr, 8-in snake, 11 min 30 sec, 49-yr span. See also Metric Measurements.

 

9.

Organizations and individuals: If there is much material about an organization, give its full name at least once; however, well-known names may be shortened even on first appearance and do not take periods: DuPont, IBM, Ford, MIT, Caltech, UCLA, UN, UNESCO, USGS. Generally do not abbreviate Company or Corporation or use an ampersand unless it is so done on the organization's letterhead. Limited Liability Company may be abbreviated as LLC (no periods). With individuals, no periods are needed: FDR, JFK, LBJ, but T. R.

 

10.	Civilian titles: The following titles are always abbreviated with a proper name: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Sr., and Jr. (with commas before and after Sr. and Jr. with full name). Certain titles are normally not abbreviated:

President Secretary Congressman the Reverend

Vice President Senator Ambassador Professor

Governor Representative Mayor the Honorable

 

11.

Military titles on first appearance are abbreviated with full name: Lt. Gen. David Wooddell. Subsequently, use last name only with appropriate part of title spelled out: General Poole. When a military rank is used with a title of nobility or royalty, spell out the military rank: Admiral Lord Mountbatten. See Military Ranks for a listing of ranks with abbreviations and use.

Abenaki

Singular and plural.

Abominable Snowman

Also called yeti.

Aborigine, Aborigines, Aboriginal

Capitalize in Australian context. Do not use Abo. In all other contexts: aborigine(s), noun; aboriginal, adjective.

above

Avoid when north of or more than is meant. Acceptable: above the Arctic Circle, above zero.

ACADEMIC DEGREES

No spaces: B.A., A.B., B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., D.Sc., Sc.D., Litt.D. Plurals add apostrophe and s.

Academy Awards

Lowercase the academy and the awards when standing alone; no hyphens are required in name of award: best actress award. Also known as the Oscars.

ACCENT MARKS

Follow Webster's.

Foreign terms that have not become anglicized should be set in italics on first use and given proper accents if from a Latin alphabet. A word may become roman and still keep its diacritical mark: mañana. Anglicized words may be italicized on occasion to emphasize their foreign flavor: mañana, kat.

Place-names from foreign languages appear in roman; retain diacritical marks if original is from a Latin alphabet except in commonly anglicized names: Montreal, Quebec, Istanbul. If a place-name is transliterated from a non-Latin alphabet, diacritical marks are generally not used except on atlas and supplement maps. Place-names from Arabic or Cyrillic follow the common anglicized spellings. Follow NGS atlas, then the Board on Geographic Names.

Languages with Latin alphabets: Retain the original diacritical marks (accents, apostrophes, dots, cedillas, glottals, etc.) in unanglicized words in the following languages: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hawaiian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. Some anglicized terms from these languages also retain their accents (follow Webster’s).

Modern style is to retain accents on French capital letters, especially in French place-names, as in Île de la Cité. The word à does not carry an accent when capitalized.

In Spanish retain accents on capital letters.

Use accents on American Indian words as well as on words of other indigenous peoples if the language is written in the Latin alphabet.

Although Vietnamese is written in the Latin alphabet, the number of accent marks can be distracting and may therefore be omitted.

Commonly used diacritics:

a calf-size dog a two-for-one bargain iron-and-steel mill

a two-act comedy iron- and steelworks Civil Warera houses

low- to high-income housing forest- and bush-loving antelope nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered ships not nuclear-armed and -powered ships

	New York skyline, but New York-born man or New Yorkborn man South American countries Latin American ways (NGS preference) San Francisco area resident Old English customs pre-Columbian vase un-Burgundian ways

a six-month-old child He looked sixtyish. He was six months old. a three-year-old; age three flowers nine days old nine-day-old flowers at 65 (preferable to at age 65)

in his 30s twentysomething 3-year-old goldfish 11-year-old structure 50-year-old boat 101-year-old building the big 6-0

American Indian Movement

AMERICAN INDIANS, NORTH AND SOUTH

The terms American Indian, Indian, and Native American are all acceptable and can be used interchangeably, although Native American, a broader term, may include Aleuts and Eskimos. Be sensitive to individual preference when using these terms and whenever possible use a specific group or tribal name.

For a specific group follow the spelling in Webster's or the Style Manual. For tribal plurals do not add s: Comanche, Cuna, Shoshone, Aztec, Maya; for individuals, s may be added: three Comanches. But a Blackfeet, the Blackfeet nation, the Blackfeet in U.S. context.

See also Amerindian.

American Landscapes

Name of a series in National Geographic.


American Sign Language

ASL preferred to Ameslan.

America's Cup, Americas Cup

America's Cup: yachting context.

Americas Cup: golfing context.

Amerindian

Although this term has dropped out of use in the U.S. as a synonym for American Indian, it is commonly used in some Caribbean countries, particularly Suriname and Guyana.

See also American Indians, North and South.

amid

Not amidst.

among, between

Among is normally used with more than two things: the four shared it among themselves. Between is used with two; it also may be used with more than two to suggest an individual relationship one to the other: a treaty between three powers.

ampersand (&)

Avoid except when used by organization on its letterhead: AT&T, C & O, Texas A&M, etc.

Anasazi

Singular and plural. The Navajo term archaeologists use to distinguish the early peoples of the ancient pueblos and now variously translated as "alien ancient ones," "ancient ones," "ancient enemies," or "ancestors of people other than our own," i.e., the ancestors of non-Navajo. Some modern Pueblo Indians (the descendants of the Anasazi) consider the term derogatory and prefer ancestral Puebloan or ancient Pueblo people.

Anchor fence

Trade name. Generic term is chain-link fence.

ancient, old

In a strict sense ancient means no later than the traditional end of the Roman Empire (A.D. 476) or, in the Western Hemisphere, no later than Columbus's discovery. However, in a more general sense ancient may be used as a synonym for old. Let context determine how strict to be.

angel, archangel

Lowercase: the archangel Gabriel.

ANIMALS

Refer to an animal as it, unless sex is known; generally avoid using who with animals.

As a general rule, for breeds of animals capitalize any part of the name that derives from a proper noun: a Boston bull, the Holstein cow, a Black Angus, but arctic hare, etc. Names given to pets or wild animals take initial caps and no quotes: Mary Crocodile, Koko. Lowercase numbered groups or individuals: group 817, male 204, herd 111, bull number 55.

Animal sounds and bird calls are italic, no quotation marks; for plural add roman s to the italic word and apostrophe: the black-and-white male's dreo, dreo, dreo mating call; hoo's; high-pitched whoo-ing call.

See also Breeds, Names (section 4), and Scientific Nomenclature.

Annan, Kofi

Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan.

Antarctic

Capitalize as geographic feature; lowercase plants and animals listed in Webster's:

Antarctica Antarctic Circle Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic continent Antarctic coast but antarctic beech

Antarctic life Antarctic snow Antarctic wastes Antarctic waters Antarctic scientist

Antarctic Convergence, Antarctic Polar Front

Use Antarctic Convergence for the region about a thousand miles off the Antarctic coast where cold waters meet warmer waters from the north. Some scientists use Antarctic Polar Front as a synonym, but that term is not as familiar and could be confusing since it can also refer to a meteorological event.

Antarctic Ocean

The National Geographic does not recognize this place-name. Though the waters surrounding Antarctica are sometimes called the Antarctic Ocean or Southern Ocean, they are only the southernmost parts of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans.

See also Southern Ocean.

antenna, antennae, antennas

antennae: biological reference

antennas: aerials

anthropomorphism

Be cautious in applying human attributes to other animals. Saying that salmon is a bear’s favorite food implies likes and dislikes and is not the same as saying salmon is a bear’s main food. Saying an iguana loves to sit on a warm rock is not the same as explaining the biological reasons for such behavior. On the other hand, recent scientific research has shown that some animals may indeed have feelings, and scientists themselves sometimes use anthropomorphic language to describe animal behavior, especially in highly intelligent mammals. Used with discretion, anthropomorphism may help tell a story and accurately convey information to a lay reader.

anti-

If not in Webster's, hyphenate this prefix before i and capitalized words or when a hyphen will improve readability:

anti-Catholic anti-intellectual

anti-egalitarian anti-Irish

but Anti-Federalist (historical usage)

antivenom

NGS prefers antivenom to antivenin. Exception to Webster's.

Antony, Mark

NGS preferred spelling for Marcus Antonius.

anymore

One word as adverb; use only in negative or conditional context or in a question. Use any more only when more alone makes sense: Don't give me any more liver.

anytime

Spell the adverb as one word when replaceable by the phrase at any time; when it cannot be, use as two words: The meeting can be scheduled anytime, but I will not have any time for it.

AOL Keyword

Capitalize Keyword when used in the phrase AOL Keyword. The Society keyword is NatGeo. The magazine's keyword is NatGeoMag.

Apostle

Capitalize in biblical context:

the Twelve Apostles, the Apostles the Apostle Paul, the Apostle the Apostles' Creed an apostle of peace Paul the Apostle

APOSTROPHE

Plurals of abbreviations without periods and of figures are generally formed with s, no apostrophe. For abbreviations with periods and letters of the alphabet used as nouns, add apostrophe plus s. If double s combinations occur, add apostrophe plus s. Plurals of italicized letters add italic apostrophe plus roman s.

VIPs GIs TVs

1890s C-54s Type IIs

Ph.D.'s ABC's SOS's

straight A's p's and q's his Scottish r's

See also Possessives.

APPELLATIONS AND EPITHETS

Generally capped and not quoted if well established: Abe Lincoln, the Great Emancipator; Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale. If less well established, lowercase within quotation marks: Perle Mesta, "the hostess with the mostest," Teddy considers himself the "bull of the woods." His reward was to be dubbed "his rotundity."

See also Nicknames.

APPOSITION

Words in nonrestrictive apposition are set off with commas; those that restrict preceding material are not.

1.	Nonrestrictive apposition merely adds information to something already identified: John's play, Phalanges, was a flop. (John wrote only one play.)
2.	Restrictive apposition completes the identification: Shakespeare's play Macbeth is on the reading list (one of many plays by Shakespeare).
3.	Relationships take commas or not depending upon how many relatives of the same kind there are. If there is but one, use commas: my wife, Nellie, and my son, Bob, came too (only one wife and only one son); Bob and his wife, Ann; but Bob and wife Ann. If there are two or more, no commas: her sister Millie and her cousin Karen came too (more than one sister and more than one cousin).

Aqua-Lung

trade name

aquanaut

Lowercase: aquanaut Elaine Bradley.

Arabian Gulf

The internationally accepted name is Persian Gulf, although Arab countries call the body of water the Arabian Gulf. Where scale permits, National Geographic maps include a map note about the Arabian Gulf. (Note that this treatment supersedes that found in the eighth edition of the world atlas.) If Arabian Gulf is used in text, it should be explained. Do not capitalize states in Persian Gulf states.

Arabian Nights

Initial caps, roman; italic when book is meant.

Harun al-Rashid of Arabian Nights fame
I conjured up scenes from the Arabian Nights.
These customs flavor the fables in Arabian Nights.
The palaces looked like Arabian Nights creations.
The Arabian Nights fortress that guards the bay

ARABIC LANGUAGE, TRANSLITERATION OF

Place-names: Well-known place-names follow the common anglicized spellings; follow NGS atlas, then the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Omit diacritical marks in text and on page maps though they appear on atlas and supplement maps. For hyphens with compound place-names, follow the NGS atlas; if the place-name is not in the atlas, omit hyphens both on page maps and in text. Al, El, or other articles should be used without hyphens and capitalized at the beginning of a name but lower cased in the middle: Al Karak, El Gezira, Kafr el Sheikh.

Personal Names: Do not use diacritical marks. The preference of the individual should govern the anglicized spelling of a personal name.

arch

Forms one-word compounds if not in Webster's, but hyphenate with a proper name: archconservative, arch-Republican.

archaeology



ARCHITECTURE

Capitalize the name of an architectural style when it derives from a proper noun; otherwise, lowercase: Corinthian, Doric, Gothic, neo-Gothic, high Gothic, Ionic, Romanesque, Early American, Greek Revival, etc., but art deco, baroque, classical, colonial, federal, rococo.

Arctic

Capitalize as geographic feature. Strictly speaking, Arctic refers to the region north of the Arctic Circle, though the term "Arctic region" can be used to include nearby areas of the subarctic. Lowercase plants and animals found in Webster's:

Arctic Circle the Arctic Arctic Ocean high Arctic Arctic region Arctic zone

Arctic boots Arctic life Arctic coast Arctic scientist eastern Arctic town Arctic night

arctic char, tern, bear, fox, hare, wolf Russian Arctic people Arctic people high Arctic islands subarctic (noun and adjective)

Argentine

NGS prefers Argentine as noun and adjective: not Argentinian.

ark

Ark of the Covenant, the ark; Noah's ark.

arm in arm, arm-in-arm

People walking arm in arm (adverb); arm-in-arm soldiers (adjective).

Armada

Spanish Armada, the Armada.

armed forces, armed services

For units of the armed forces (division, regiment, etc.), see Military Units and individual entries.

ARMY

Capitalize when preceded by the name of a country (as long as army is part of the official name) or when the name is well established: United States Army, British Eighth Army, Russian Army, Red Army, People's Liberation Army, Iraqi Army; but Israeli army, Japanese army.

When army is used by itself, capitalize in references to the U.S. Army, but lowercase such references to any foreign army. Spell out units through Tenth.

United States Army, the Army, Army officer the 19th Army, the army the Indian Army, the army, army officer Red Army, the army Union Army, Grant's army, Confederate Army Army of the Potomac, the army

For Army ranks and abbreviations see Military Ranks.

Army Corps of Engineers

Full title is U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the Engineers, the corps.

ARTICLE REFERENCES

References to articles in previous issues or to another article in the same issue are usually given within parentheses in the text. Generally follow the title given in the National Geographic Index or on the article's title page, not the title on the cover or on the contents page, when they differ. Follow the punctuation of the running foot if there is one. If more than one article is cited, give the most recent article first, unless they should be read in a different order for better understanding: 

The Stilwell Road was finished only months before the war ended. (See "Burma Road," November 2003.) Mike Fay trekked from Congo to the Gabon coast (see the October 2000, March 2001, and August 2001 issues). I had already found several burial sites carved into a cliff, including one prepared for a top official of Ramses the Great (see "A Pharaoh's Peacemaker," October 2002) and another belonging to a woman named Maia. The oil pipeline crosses the eerie rock piles of the Nuba Mountains. (See "The Nuba: Still Standing," page 60.)

 

If a footnote is preferred, follow the examples below:

 

*See "Irish Ways Live On in Dingle," by Bryan Hodgson, National Geographic, April 1976. "The Friendly Irish," by John Scofield, appeared in the September 1969 National Geographic. *See "The Essential Element of Fire," by Michael Parfit, in the September 1996 issue.

 
See Footnotes

In the Letters column, use the title on the contents page, unless it does not clearly identify the subject of the article.


ARTICLES

Use quotation marks around the titles of articles from books or journals and around the titles of chapters of books. See also Titles of Articles and Titles of Art, Literary and Musical.

Articles of Confederation



as well as

As a preposition this phrase means "in addition to" or "besides" and usually takes a gerund: She spends time in the laboratory as well as teaching three classes a week. As a conjunction, it means "and in addition" or "and not only" and needs parallel construction: She teaches as well as researches. A phrase beginning with "as well as" after a singular subject does not change the singular verb and is often set off by commas: John, as well as Jane, is . . . .

Asante

Preferred to Ashanti as NGS spelling.

Ascension

Capitalize when meaning the ascent of Christ into heaven.

Asian

Asian is preferred to Oriental and Asiatic as both noun and adjective. Not Asiatic in reference to a person, but Asiatic lion.

Asian elephant



Asian Games, 14th Asian Games



Assiniboine

The spelling preferred by the people themselves.

assure, ensure, insure

Assure means to promise or remove doubt; ensure, to make certain; insure, to guarantee by contract.

ASTERISK

Use asterisk (*), dagger (), double dagger (), and section mark (§), in that order, for footnotes.

These marks, in text, follow all marks of punctuation except the dash or sometimes the parenthesis.

Regardless of where the asterisk falls on the page, the footnote, with rare exceptions, should go at the bottom of the last column of text.

Try to avoid using an asterisk or a footnote in the first or last column of an article.

Editor's, author's, and photographer's notes are not cued to an asterisk in the text.

See also Footnotes, and Author's and Photographer's Note.

astronaut

Lowercase: astronaut Frank Borman.

ASTRONOMICAL TERMS

The proper names of astronomical bodies are capitalized; generic terms are usually lowercased.

the Virgo cluster; Local Group; our local supercluster the Milky Way, the Milky Way galaxy; galaxy NGC 7252; Andromeda galaxy, or M31 supernova 1981b, or SN 1981b; supernovae quasar 3C 273 constellation Orion; Cassiopeia (Lady in the Chair); the Southern Cross; Ursa Major (Great Bear) the Horsehead Nebula; the Great Spiral Nebula of Andromeda, the nebula Van Allen belt, Kuiper belt Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, but Oort cloud Polaris, the North Star; Barnard's star; Eta Carinae; Mu Arae; Gliese 236; 55 Cancri Halley's comet or comet Halley the asteroid Geographos Allende meteorite Great Red Spot the solar system Planet X aurora borealis, aurora australis big bang black hole

Objects are sometimes designated by a catalog number or abbreviation and a number: Abell 2218, or A 2218; New General Catalogue 6165, or NGC 6165; Messier 31, or M31; Lings 1251 or L1251.

The names sun and moon are lowercase. Earth is capitalized as the name of our planet whether used in context with other planet names or not. Do not capitalize when meaning dirt or the terrestrial part of our planet compared with sea and sky and in compounds such as earthquake, earthshattering, earthbound.

Aswan High Dam, High Dam, Aswan Dam, the dam



Atahualpa

NGS preferred spelling for last Inca ruler of Peru.

Athabaskan

NGS uses this spelling, preferred by the Alaska Native Language Center and other organizations in Alaska and Canada, even though the Smithsonian retains the spelling Athapaskan.

Atlantic

Atlantic coast (all uses) Atlantic coast states Atlantic seaboard transatlantic

mid-Atlantic Mid-Atlantic Ridge North Atlantic

atlas

National Geographic Atlas of the World, National Geographic atlas, the atlas; Our Fifty States, the children's atlas; Atlas of North America; Historical Atlas of the United States, the historical atlas.

atomic age



AU

Abbreviation for astronomical unit, a unit of measurement equal to the average distance between the sun and Earth, or 93 million miles.

Australasia

Usually Australia, New Zealand, and surrounding islands of Melanesia.
See Oceania.

Australian Commonwealth, the commonwealth



australopith, australopithecine

New classification uses the term australopith for a human ancestor in the subtribe Australopithecina of the Hominini (hominin) tribe. Traditional classification used the vernacular term australopithecine for a member of the hominid subfamily Australopithecinae.
See also hominid, hominin.

author

Both masculine and feminine.

AUTHOR'S AND PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTE

Nonstaff authors and photographers are usually identified within an article in a note at the bottom of a column of text and separated from the text by a rule (layout will determine exactly where the note should go). The note is not indented, is in italics, and has no special treatment for the contributor's name.

___________________________________________________ This is New Yorkbased photographer Robert Clark's second cover story for 2007. He has now resolved to reduce his carbon footprint by biking and recycling. ___________________________________________________ Doug Chadwick, of Whitefish, Montana, and Michael Melford, of Mystic, Connecticut, have covered many of the world's scenic wonders for NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

auto-immune, auto-immunity, auto-immunization

National Geographic Society Alexander Graham Bell Medal Chairman's Award Grosvenor Medal Hubbard Medal La Gorce Medal (formerly the Special Gold Medal)

Other Awards Purple Heart Distinguished Service Medal Croix de Guerre (roman) Medal of Honor (not Congressional Medal of Honor, though awarded by Congress) Presidential Medal of Freedom (not Medal of Freedom) Olympic gold medal Overseas Press Club Tony Award (notable achievement in theater) Grammy Award Ellie (American Society of Magazine Editors' award)

See also Emmy, Academy Awards, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and congressional Medal of Honor.

awhile, a while, while

Do not confuse the adverb awhile with the noun phrase a while:

awhile: adverbWe stood awhile on the dock; awhile back.
a while: article and nounWe stood for a while on the dock; a while ago; wait a while.

Avoid using the conjunction while, which means at the same time, to mean though or whereas. Incorrect: While most Canadians speak English, Québécois speak French. Write: Though most Canadians. . . .

"axis of evil"

Lowercase this term and use quotation marks on first reference: President Bush has named Iran as part of an “axis of evil.” Branded an “axis of evil” power (along with Iraq and North Korea) by U.S. President George W. Bush, Iran’s Islamic republic is controlled by religious clerics.

Axis powers, the Axis

World War II context.

ayatollah

Lowercase except before a personal name.

Aztec

Noun (singular and plural) and adjective, preferred to Aztecan for spelling of adjective.