Setting Off Foreign Words

Many writers neglect to set off foreign words within their documents in the appropriate manner. It is necessary to set off foreign words with italics when the word is not used in everyday conversation or may not be immediately known to the audience--even when you are explaining what the word means.

Examples

Incorrect: The German word zeitgeist means the spirit of the times.

Correct: The German word zeitgeist means "the spirit of the times."

Incorrect: The word lexicon comes from the Greek word lexikon.

Correct: The word "lexicon" comes from the Greek word lexikon.

Incorrect: Peter Carl Faberge's workshops produced many exquisite objects d'art.

Correct: Peter Carl Faberge's workshops produced many exquisite objects d'art.

(This final example is arguable. Some foreign words that were previously rarely used have become so common to the English language that their meanings are widely known and may not need to be set off from the text.)

As you can see, the word being described, or the description of the word, is set off by quotations to signify that it is not a regular part of the sentence. Please follow this convention in your own writing.

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