Archive for July 2009
On-line, Online, or On line: Which Is Correct?
“Surprising Things You Can Do On-line” was a headline found on the front cover of the Reader’s Digest in November 1999 issue.
“Swiss Post Moves Some Mail Online” was a headline of the America’s most reliable newspaper in 12 July 2009 The New York Times Internet issue.
“On line computer recalibration of instruments” was the title of an article published by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) and hosted by the Harvard University domain name.
With over billions of Web pages on the Internet, as these appeared on 18 July 2009 via the Google search engine including http and www-starting domain names, various Web sites use any of the three forms of “online” regardless of their credibility and fame. Three of the world-renowned reference and university Web sites show nonstandard variants of “online” to the usage of the Internet and technical language. The Reader’s Digest used “on-line” as a prepositional phrase, The New York Times used “online” as preposition, and the Harvard University or the ADS used “on line” as an adjective. This is what makes the loss of standard; thus, it must be put into a serious scrutiny to avoid proliferating inappropriate syntax in the cyberspace.
What is the etymology of “online” used in the cyberspace? This word has been common since the 18th century, and is used in asking and/or answering during telephone calls such as “May I know who’s on the line?” In the 19th century America, Douglas Engelbart coined the term “online” when he developed the first prototype computer mouse as part of the oNLine System (NLS) in Stanford Research Institute. Few years later, computer programmers began to use the simplified “on line” of the telephone etiquette, “on the line.” However, usage of the term “online” always leads numerous scholars and experts of American language and Internet language to different arguments.
Writers and editors of our team are required to follow the standard used by most of the reliable sources, as approved by the INTELLIGENTIAResearch™ Management. For consistency, “online” should be used as an adjective while “on line” is used as preposition. The term “on-line” is not used in most reputable publishers, as they prefer the simpler form of word. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary has only one entry: “online.”
Examples of Accurate Usage
Adjective: The online debate has been launched on the webmaster’s Web site.
Preposition: Official members of the team will meet their counterparts on line.
References:
Reader’s Digest
The New York Times
The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System
