MLA: How to Cite a Tweet

The MLA Weighs In: How to Cite a Tweet (h/t DKM)

I find it interesting that the protocol is to cite the tweet in its entirety. A tweet cannot be subtweeted? Curiously, it also has nothing about hashtags.

How do I cite a tweet?

Begin the entry in the works-cited list with the author’s real name and, in parentheses, user name, if both are known and they differ. If only the user name is known, give it alone.

Next provide the entire text of the tweet in quotation marks, without changing the capitalization. Conclude the entry with the date and time of the message and the medium of publication (Tweet). For example:

Athar, Sohaib (ReallyVirtual). “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).” 1 May 2011, 3:58 p.m. Tweet.

The date and time of a message on Twitter reflect the reader’s time zone. Readers in different time zones see different times and, possibly, dates on the same tweet. The date and time that were in effect for the writer of the tweet when it was transmitted are normally not known. Thus, the date and time displayed on Twitter are only approximate guides to the timing of a tweet. However, they allow a researcher to precisely compare the timing of tweets as long as the tweets are all read in a single time zone.

In the main text of the paper, a tweet is cited in its entirety (6.4.1):

Sohaib Athar noted that the presence of a helicopter at that hour was “a rare event.”

or

The presence of a helicopter at that hour was “a rare event” (Athar).

FLUKE -- it all seems a little fishy

Rush Limbaugh's recent target of opprobrium has a demonstrably unusual surname: FLUKE.

FLUKE can mean one of several things
1) a flat fish, similar to a flounder.




2) one of the triangular plates of iron inside the anchor which enter the ground and hold the ship in place--so named because the resemble in shape the fluke fish.
3) in billiards: a successful stroke made by accident or chance, more generally, any thing accomplished by luck or chance. (and the origin of this one is unknown).

BODICE

BODICE, an oddly spelled plural of "body," because this contraption was originally made of two parts that fastened in the middle (formerly sometimes called "a pair of bodies").

GAFFERS and GAFFES

If you've ever wondered when the credits rolled: GAFFER: in the 16th century it meant "elderly rustic," apparently a contraction of godfather; originally "old man," it was applied from 1841 to foremen and supervisors, and this sense carried over in the twentieth century to the specific meaning of "electrician in charge of lighting on a film set."

I discovered this while looking for the origin of GAFFE, which Romney has been making a few of lately. The origins are unclear, so nothing coherent to report, but it appears to be originally a slang term that entered English from French in the 20th century.

Thusly Spoke Zarathustra

Fun word from a student's history paper: "thusly." According to the American Heritage Dictionary: "Thusly was introduced in the 19th century.... It appears to have first been used by humorists, who may have been echoing the speech of poorly educated people straining to sound stylish."

Improper Nouns -- The Brouhaha over Mattel's Scrabble Knockoff

Turns out the release of a Scrabble knock-off that allows the use of proper nouns (and words spelled backwards) is sending the diehards into a tizzy. The tizzifying of the diehards seems to have excited the blogosphere, who appears to delight in the democratization of the game.

Mattel, everyone's favorite maker of serious toys, hopes (quoth the BBC) that "the change will encourage younger people to play." Ha! Younger people. Have we no values? No standards? Are the youth really so shallow, so difficult to please?

It turns out that it is all an overblown media story. Hasbro, the real maker of Scrabble, has no relation to this knockoff, and has no plans to change its rules, assures Slate, which asks "how did this latest games marketing gimmick turn into a global foofaraw?" Apparently, simply a few reporters who didn't check their sources.

Sigh of relief, but reflections on the excitable nature of word lovers.

By the way: foofaraw is a new word for me. It can mean
1. a great fuss or disturbance about something very insignificant.
2. an excessive amount of decoration or ornamentation, as on a piece of clothing, a building, etc.

National Museum of Language

When I go to College Park, MD, I'll look forward to checking out the National Museum of Language: "Promoting a better understanding of language and its role in history, contemporary affairs, and the future." The website is awful. The Washington Post reported that it seems to be struggling, but it has a real charm. The guide for docents is even posted online, with info about various writing systems and instructions about how to lock up the museum at the end of the day.