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TheLatinadverbsic (/sɪk/; 'thus', 'so', and 'in this manner') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the original source, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling,punctuation, andgrammar.[1][2][3]Sic also applies to any surprising assertion, faulty reasoning, or other matter that might otherwise be interpreted as anerror of transcription.
The typical editorial usage ofsic is to inform the reader that any errors in a quotation did not arise from editorial errors in the transcription, but are intentionally reproduced as they appear in the original source being quoted; thus,sic is placed insidebrackets to indicate it is not part of the quotation.[1]Sic can also be used derisively to direct the reader's attention to the writer's spelling mistakes and erroneous logic, or to show disapproval of the content or form of the material.[1][4]
In the English language, the Latin adverbsic is used as an adverb, and derivatively as a noun and as a verb.[5] Theadverbsic, meaning 'intentionally so written', first appeared in Englishc. 1856.[6] It is derived from theLatin adverbsīc, which means 'so', 'thus', 'in this manner'.[7] According to theOxford English Dictionary, the verbal form ofsic, meaning 'to mark with asic', emerged in 1889,E. Belfort Bax's work inThe Ethics of Socialism being an early example.[8]
On occasion,sic has been misidentified as anacronym[9] (and therefore sometimes misspelled with periods):s.i.c. is said to stand for "spelled/said in copy/context", "spelling is correct", "spelled incorrectly", and other suchfolk etymology phrases. These are all incorrect and are simplybackronyms fromsic.
Use ofsic greatly increased in the mid-20th century.[10] For example, inUnited States state-court opinions before 1944,sic appeared 1,239 times in theWestlaw database; in those from 1945 to 1990, it appeared 69,168 times, over 55 times as many.[4] Its use as a form of ridicule has been cited as a major factor in this increase.[4] The immoderate use ofsic has created some controversy, leading some editors, including bibliographical scholar Simon Nowell-Smith and literary criticLeon Edel, to speak out against it.[11]
The bracketed form [sic] is most often inserted into quoted or reprinted material to indicate meticulous accuracy in reproducing the preceding text, despite appearances to the reader of an incorrect or unusualorthography (spelling,punctuation, grammar, syntax, fact, logic, etc.).[4][12] Several usage guides recommend that a bracketedsic be used primarily as an aid to the reader, not as an indicator of disagreement with the source.[4][13]
Sic may show that an uncommon orarchaic expression is reported faithfully,[14] such as when quoting theU.S. Constitution: "The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker ..." However, several writing guidebooks discourage its use with regard to dialect, such as in cases ofAmerican and British English spelling differences.[10][13][15] The appearance of a bracketedsic after the wordanalyse in a book review ledBryan A. Garner to comment, "all the quoter (or overzealous editor) demonstrated was ignorance of British usage".[4]
Occasionally a writer places [sic] after their own words, to indicate that the language has been chosen deliberately for special effect, especially where the writer's ironic meaning may otherwise be unclear.[16]Bryan A. Garner dubbed this use ofsic "ironic", providing the following example fromFred Rodell's 1955 bookNine Men:[4]
[I]n 1951, it was the blessing bestowed on JudgeHarold Medina'sprosecution[a] [sic] of the eleven so-called 'top native Communists,' which blessing meant giving the Smith Act the judicial nod of constitutionality.
Wheresic follows the quotation, it takesbrackets: [sic].[17] The wordsic is often treated as aloanword that does not require italics, and the style manuals of New Zealand, Australian and British media outlets generally do not require italicisation.[13] However, italicization is common in the United States, where authorities includingAPA Style insist upon it.[18]
Becausesic is not an abbreviation, placing afull stop/period inside the brackets after the wordsic is erroneous,[19][20] although the California Style Manual suggests styling it as a parenthetical sentence only when used after a complete sentence, like so: (Sic.)[17]
Some guides, includingThe Chicago Manual of Style, recommend "quietcopy-editing" (unless where inappropriate or uncertain) instead of inserting a bracketedsic, such as by substituting in brackets the correct word in place of the incorrect word or by simply replacing an incorrect spelling with the correct one.[4][21]
Alternatively, to show both the original and the suggested correction (as they often are inpalaeography), one may use the Latin adverbrecte (meaningrightly[22]), in the form of writing the actual form, followed byrecte and the correct form together in brackets. For example:
An Iraqi battalion has consumed [recte assumed] control of the former American military base, and our forces are now about 40 minutes outside the city.
According to theJournal of Seventeenth-Century Music Style Sheet, there should be no punctuation, for example no colon, before the correct form when usingrecte.[23]
A third alternative is to follow an error withsic, a comma or colon, "read", and the correct reading, all within square brackets, as in the following example:
Item 26 - 'Plan of space alongside Evinghews [sic: read Evening News] Printing Works and overlooked by St. Giles House University Hall', [Edinburgh][24]
In paragraph 13.7, in the section on permissible changes to quotations,CMOS says, 'Obvious typographic errors may be corrected silently (without comment orsic) unless the passage quoted is from an older work or a manuscript source where idiosyncrasies of spelling are generally preserved.'
