Common Grammatical Errors

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Luvya
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Post by Luvya »

Alright even though I asked the question I did some research and according to crashdown.com it is Serina which is how I am now going to spell it from when I a start new fanfiction onwards. I won't be changing it in my fanfics because there isn't that much point to be honest.

I prefer Serena but Serina is the way the producers have written it then Serina is how it is going to be.
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Eccentric One
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Post by Eccentric One »

Luvya wrote:I prefer Serena but Serina is the way the producers have written it then Serina is how it is going to be.
Like I said, I think it's one where we have some give. I'm not an author, but personally I like the fan fiction spelling, which I believe is the "standard" spelling for the name. Serena. It looks nicer. Has that serene feel to it and such. If I were to write a story with the character in it, I'd probably use that spelling. I like it better.

I don't think there will ever be a true consensus on this since different sources have different spellings. Unless we can get the writer(s) on the phone, I don't think we'll ever know for sure. There are just too many danged variables. Is there a chance my script is not authentic? Sure. Is there a chance that the closed caption was done by someone without an official script and guaranteed correct spellings? Sure. The writers could have gone for the traditional spelling. And just as easily have mucked about with it to give it more of an alien feel.

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Kath7
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Post by Kath7 »

Luvya wrote: I prefer Serena but Serina is the way the producers have written it then Serina is how it is going to be.
Hee. Sorry, this amused me. Because the producers were so well know for their continuity. :wink:

I think both ways are perfectly appropriate. Don't forget that Crashdown, in spite of the fact that it did have connections to the show's producers in the past, was originally, and always remained a fan site. The transcripts there were fan created and do not come from the producers.

Be that as it may, I still don't think Serena, Kivar, Larek and the like are on the same spelling level as Isabel and Michael. I actually have spelt them all differently dependent on the fic, just so as to not confuse myself. lol
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Post by Heavenli24 »

On the Serena/Serina/Surina debate, I have the UK Season 2 DVD and on the subtitles it's spelt Surina (I remember thinking it was the strangest spelling of the name I'd ever seen). But maybe it's different on the US DVD. I actually prefer the usual fanfic spelling of Serena. I think it's a nicer spelling and is probably more common.

Before I started reading Roswell fic (and before I saw the DVD subtitles), I thought that Isabel should be spelt Isabelle. But now it doesn't seem right unless it is spelt the proper way.

There was a question on page 1 about whether you would sit in or on a chair. I've always known it as being on a chair if it has no arms (like when you sit at a table) the same as you would sit on not in a bench, but if it was an armchair you would be sitting in it not on it.
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Breathless
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Post by Breathless »

Heavenli24 wrote:On the Serena/Serina/Surina debate, I have the UK Season 2 DVD and on the subtitles it's spelt Surina (I remember thinking it was the strangest spelling of the name I'd ever seen). But maybe it's different on the US DVD.
Well now that's really interesting, isn't it!!! I don't like the Surina spelling at all, so if it IS the official spelling, I'll happily ignore it!

Kara, when I looked through the closed captioning, the other words like Granilith, Kivar, Larek, etc were spelled "correctly", so I assumed Serina was accurate. Then again, I should never assume...
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Heavenli24
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Post by Heavenli24 »

Breathless wrote:
Heavenli24 wrote:On the Serena/Serina/Surina debate, I have the UK Season 2 DVD and on the subtitles it's spelt Surina (I remember thinking it was the strangest spelling of the name I'd ever seen). But maybe it's different on the US DVD.
Well now that's really interesting, isn't it!!! I don't like the Surina spelling at all, so if it IS the official spelling, I'll happily ignore it!
Actually, I just checked the DVD (which I probably should have done before I posted) and I got it wrong.

They spell it Surena.

I could have sworn that it had an i it when I last watched the episode! :roll:
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Post by Kath7 »

The odd spellings of Serena seem to indicate that the generalisation in most fanfic that she was an alien is probably correct. Surena seems much more like a "Vilandra" type name then Serena, if that makes any sense. lol I can see Surena hanging out with Zan and Rath much more easily than Serena. :lol:

I think, in the end, we can probably partly blame Jason's prononciation of the name for the confusion. He definately makes it sound like "Serena," rather than emphasizing the "u" sound, which would seem logical. I'm sure he had no idea we'd be debating it five years later. lol

Hee. Now I'm having visions of Jason discussing how the hell to pronounce the name with Jason Katims: "Just say Serena. Does that work?" lol
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Post by Breathless »

Kath7 wrote:The odd spellings of Serena seem to indicate that the generalisation in most fanfic that she was an alien is probably correct. Surena seems much more like a "Vilandra" type name then Serena, if that makes any sense. lol I can see Surena hanging out with Zan and Rath much more easily than Serena.

I agree completely. Surena, Surina, and even Serina, all have a more "alien" look than Serena.
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Post by pooklette »

I have sort of a left-field question for you guys...

I'm writing a fic where Rath is one of the characters and I'm trying to duplicate his horrible accent and slang. In my fic, he never refers to women by their first names, but by various obnoxious nicknames. When you're referring to a woman as 'a chick' how exactly do you spell 'chick' in that context. Everytime I type 'chick' I feel like it looks wrong...like I'm referring to a chicken. Is it chick, chic, or what?

Thanks! :)
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Post by Shiesty23 »

pooklette wrote:I have sort of a left-field question for you guys...

I'm writing a fic where Rath is one of the characters and I'm trying to duplicate his horrible accent and slang. In my fic, he never refers to women by their first names, but by various obnoxious nicknames. When you're referring to a woman as 'a chick' how exactly do you spell 'chick' in that context. Everytime I type 'chick' I feel like it looks wrong...like I'm referring to a chicken. Is it chick, chic, or what?

Thanks! :)

The slang spelling of it is: Chic
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