Use of English

checklist

translation

chemical compounds

Chemical compounds and alloys should be hyphenated, but the elements should not be capitalised:

The current in the dipole magnets is carried by cables made of niobium-titanium (NbTi).

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grammar

cheque (bank)

translation

Cherenkov radiation

Not Cerenkov. Though Cherenkov is a somewhat clumsy anglicisation of the original Russian, the "Ch" ensures unambiguous pronunciation.

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spelling, style

CHF

Swiss francs

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

CHIS

CERN Health Insurance Scheme

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

CHISB

CERN Health Insurance Scheme Board

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

CIXP

CERN Internet Exchange Point

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

CLIC

Compact Linear Collider

Spell out in first use then use acronym for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier, translation

CLICdp

CLIC Detector and Physics study

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

CLOUD

Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (PS 215 experiment)

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

CMB

Cosmic microwave background

Spell out in first use then use acronym for the CERN Courier

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Courier

CMS

Compact Muon Solenoid

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

CMS control room

Courier

CNGS

CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso project

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier, translation

CNRS

Conseil National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Centre for Scientific Research), France

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

co-author, co-worker

use hyphen

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style

coefficient

no hyphen

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translation

coexistence

no hyphen

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translation

collaboration

“...by the ALICE collaboration” in text, but “ALICE Collaboration” in image credits/references

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Courier

Collaboration Board

initial capital letters

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Courier

collective nouns

Do they take a singular or plural verb? It depends on the sense, but use singular where possible.

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grammar, translation

Collide @ CERN

Capital C. The "at" sign in the name can sometimes cause problems with Drupal text formats. To get around this, whenever Collide @ CERN appears in text, separate the @ from the text with spaces.

Collide @ CERN is a three-year artist’s residency programme at CERN.

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spelling, style

collision

The forceful striking together of two or more particles in an accelerator.

Define the type of collision using hyphens:

Lead-ion collisions are more complex and take longer to analyse than proton-proton collisions.

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style

collision or event?

Use "collision" to refer to the exact point in time and space at which particles collide.

An "event" is a snapshot of what happens after a collision; an event is picked up by the detector: particles decay and their decay products form tracks or deposit energy in the detector.

Event displays from the detectors show the collision point in the middle – everything around it makes up the event.

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style

collision point

The point in space within a particle detector at which two or more particles collide to form an event.

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colloquium, colloquia (pl.)

Don't use it in web texts. Use seminar instead.

See Words to avoid in web texts. 

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style

colour

translation

commas

Don’t use an Oxford comma in straightforward lists with no risk of ambiguity: The good, the bad and the ugly, NOT the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Do use it in lists of long phrases each containing their own punctuation, or in cases in which it is essential to convey the correct meaning: I dedicate this book to my parents, J.K. Rowling, and Martin Amis not I dedicate this book to my parents, J.K. Rowling and Martin Amis.

If possible try to remove the need to use an Oxford comma in your writing. 

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style

common law (noun), common-law (adj.)

translation

communiqué

(no italics)

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translation

COMPASS

Common Muon and Proton Apparatus for Structure and Spectroscopy (NA58 experiment)

Acronym doesn’t need spelling out for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier, translation

compel, compelled, compelling

spelling, translation

competence

spelling, translation

comprise

spelling, translation

compromise

spelling, translation

concertation

use italics

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style, translation

connection

spelling, translation

consensus

spelling, translation

consortium, consortia (pl.)

spelling, translation

contractions

Contractions such as “there’s” “they’re”, “didn’t”, “he’ll” and “she’d” do not automatically make a story more accessible. Contractions can appear annoyingly chatty, and can be imprecise too (“it’s” can stand for “it is” or “it has”) and so detract from clarity. If anything, contractions make a story harder to understand, especially if there are several of them in the same sentence.

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grammar, style

converter

spelling, translation

cooperate, cooperation, coordinate, coordination

no hyphen, except in the CERN Courier

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Courier, spelling, style, translation

corrigendum, corrigenda (pl.)

spelling, translation

cost accounting (noun), cost-accounting (adj.)

translation

cost allocation (noun), cost-allocation (adj.)

translation

cost centre

translation

cost-benefit (adj.)

use hyphen

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translation

cost-effectiveness (noun), cost-effective (adj.), cost effective (pred.)

style, translation

cost-oriented

use in preference to cost-orientated

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spelling, translation

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