That’s what the [sic] is for. It’s showing “here’s what the person literally said, to make sure we’re not misquoting them.”
It’s standard practice, as “stepping up and taking charge” would mean substituting someone else’s words for your own, which is a slippery slope. “Oh he said X, but meant Y, so I’ll write that instead” can very easily be abused by people actively looking to misrepresent other’s words.
Source: BA Journalism, who had to use [sic] when quoting non-native English speakers (was part of an immigration story). Whenever possible, I’d try to clarify/ correct mid-interview: “oh, you said A, but I think you might’ve meant B. Is that correct?” That way, you know for a fact it’s still their words.
The problem is, if you’re quoting someone or something, it is considered very unprofessional to make even the slightest changes, even correcting typos in written materials. That’s what the [sic] is for, to denote that this is literally how it’s written in the source.
The fact it comes from urban dictionary is immaterial. It could come from a Facebook post or a YouTube comment.
The fact is, when you’re quoting something, anything, taking such liberties with the quote, even if seemingly innocuous and well-intentioned, is a professional minefield no journalistic publication is going to want to touch.
What do you think [sic] means? Do you expect the average urban dictionary contributor to be able to spell?
no.
(edit: no* I don’t know what it means and now I’m embarassed)
Means they are deliberately quoting a source verbatim that they know contains an error, to avoid misrepresenting exactly what the source said.
thank you
You have made a mistake, learned from it and have backed down. You, sir, are covered in glory on this day.
I’m covered in something at least
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That’s what the [sic] is for. It’s showing “here’s what the person literally said, to make sure we’re not misquoting them.”
It’s standard practice, as “stepping up and taking charge” would mean substituting someone else’s words for your own, which is a slippery slope. “Oh he said X, but meant Y, so I’ll write that instead” can very easily be abused by people actively looking to misrepresent other’s words.
Source: BA Journalism, who had to use [sic] when quoting non-native English speakers (was part of an immigration story). Whenever possible, I’d try to clarify/ correct mid-interview: “oh, you said A, but I think you might’ve meant B. Is that correct?” That way, you know for a fact it’s still their words.
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deleted by creator
The problem is, if you’re quoting someone or something, it is considered very unprofessional to make even the slightest changes, even correcting typos in written materials. That’s what the [sic] is for, to denote that this is literally how it’s written in the source.
deleted by creator
The fact it comes from urban dictionary is immaterial. It could come from a Facebook post or a YouTube comment.
The fact is, when you’re quoting something, anything, taking such liberties with the quote, even if seemingly innocuous and well-intentioned, is a professional minefield no journalistic publication is going to want to touch.