Chapter B

bible, the Bible

Broadly, any book, reference work, periodical, etc., accepted as authoritative or informative. In this generalized sense, lowercase.

Examples:

• When it comes to medical terminology, this Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary is my bible.
• Journalists often call the AP Stylebook the bible of journalism.

Capitalize when referring to any book or books of the Scriptures used by Christian faiths and others in the Old Testament or the New Testament. In this sense, as a whole, the Bible is a collection of writings compiled through centuries and authorized by various church councils, rather than a single book. The Old Testament is a Christian designation for the Jewish holy works known as the Tanach, what is often called the Hebrew Bible. Style for numbering chapter and verse is chapter name followed by verse. For example, Luke 21: 1-13.

From the Religion Journalism Association Stylebook:

• When citing biblical verses, in Protestant Bibles, Old Testament books, in order, are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. The Tanach contain the same books but in different order.
• Roman Catholic Bibles follow a different order, use some different names and contain seven additional, or deuterocanonical, Old Testament books (called the Apocrypha by Protestants): Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch.
• The books of the New Testament, in order, are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation (in Catholicism, the traditional name for this last book is Apocalypse, but the Catholic News Service advises using Revelation except in direct quotations).

Do not use the term Hebrew Bible, either in general or in stories about Judaism. For correct use, see Tanach.

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Black American Sign Language (BASL)

Considered a distinct dialect of American Sign Language (ASL). Black American Sign Language (BASL) developed due to exclusion and segregation of schools for the Deaf community in the United States.

The first school for deaf students opened in 1817 in the U.S. but was only open to White students. A school for Black deaf students later opened in 1869.

BASL uses two-handed signing; although the languages share some signs, hand placement varies with ASL using hand placement around the body and BASL using hand placement around the face; and BASL also includes facial expressions and physical space when signing. There are some differences in words and phrases, and not all ASL interpreters understand or can interpret in BASL.

On first reference use Black American Sign Language. On subsequent references, use BASL with the <abbr> tag:

<abbr title="Black American Sign Language">BASL</abbr>

Also see American Sign Language (ASL).

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Black, African American

OAJ suggests following the policies of the National Association of Black Journalists.

A person’s preference determines which term to use, but the aim should be as specific as possible: Haitian American, Jamaican American, Jamaican living in America (for a non-U.S. citizen living in the United States), African American or Black. If a person does not give a stated preference, but race is a relevant factor to the article, use Black. Do not include if it is not relevant to the story.

Black, when used to describe race, is capitalized. NABJ suggests aiming to use Black as an adjective rather than a noun, such as Black community, Black excellence, etc.

African American is two words as a noun, but a hyphenated word as an adjective. Also see compound noun and compound adjective.

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blind spot, blind to

Terms like blind spot and similar phrasing when used in phrases such as they have a blind spot to the situation or they are blind to the needs of others. Try to write around such phrasing or use alternative phrases:

• Feigned ignorance
• Lack of confidence
• Lack of knowledge
• Willful ignorance
• Turned away
• Ignored
• Drawback
• Deliberately ignoring
• Turning their back on
• Overcome by prejudice
• Doubly anonymous
• Had every reason to know

Also see blind, low vision.

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blind, low vision

Both the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) use the terms blind and low vision, not “vision impaired” or “vision impairment.” NFB also uses the phrase “people losing vision” to describe people becoming medically blind or low vision. We will adopt their terminology.

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Board of Education v. Rowley

A case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1982. In Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District Board of Education, Westchester County, v. Amy Rowley, parents Clifford and Nancy Rowley sued the district on behalf of their child, Amy, to require a sign language interpreter in the classroom.

In kindergarten and in first grade, Amy’s individualized education plan was prepared by the school district providing only a hearing aid and promoting lip reading. Her parents argued that without a sign language interpreter, Amy would only be able to understand 60 percent of classroom instruction.

The 6-3 decision led by Judge William Rehnquist defined free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Handicapped Children Act of 1975, abbreviated as HCA. Rowley provided that children be educated in the most inclusive environment. The court specifically noted four areas that special education:

A) have been provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge, (B) meet the standards of the State educational agency, (C) include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary school education in the State involved, and (D) are provided in conformity with the individualized education program required under section 1414(a)(5) of this title.

Because neither Rowley nor the Handicapped Children Act defined the standard of special education, the Federal District Courts and school districts were free to interpret the level of special education. The Rowley decision can be found at FindLaw Case Law Resources.

Also see Endrew F. v. Douglas County Schools and FAPE.

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book titles

Capitalize all major words in a book title and surround the title with the <cite> tag. Use this rule for most literary works, including fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, biographies, and anthologies. Examples:

• Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ first work, <cite>On Grief and Grieving<cite> will render as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ first work, On Grief and Grieving
• <cite>Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life</cite>, by Alice Wong will render as Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life, by Alice Wong
• The New York Time’s essay collection, <cite>How Race is Lived in America</cite> will render as The New York Time’s essay collection, How Race is Lived in America
• Walter Cronkite’s memoir, <cite>A Reporter’s Life</cite> will render as Walter Cronkite’s memoir, A Reporter’s Life

Periodicals, reference catalogues, encyclopedias, dictionaries, religious works, almanacs, handbooks, etc., also have major words capitalized, but are not surrounded by the cite tag. Examples:

• the OAJ Style Guide
• the Mahayana Sutras, a broad Buddhist text
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• The Associated Press Stylebook
• The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus

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Braille

A tactile system writing consisting of raised dots and can be used in any number of languages. The National Federation of the Blind says Braille is vital to the literacy of the Blind and Low Vision community because it teaches grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Some countries include Braille on their printed currency and coins. World Braille Day is Jan. 4.

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buses, busses

The plural of the word bus, a large vehicle used in transportation, is buses. Do not double the s at the end of bus when making it plural.

The word buss, with a double s, means kiss. While some dictionaries list an acceptable plural of bus the vehicle as b-u-s-s-e-s, the plural of buss is busses, including the double s, and would therefore create confusion.

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