TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
At 12:25 PM -0700 4/15/2000, RELKZONE -at- aol -dot- com wrote:
>In the material I am editing I ran across the plural "appendixes," which I
> have never heard before. [...] "indexes" vs. "indices."
> So my question to you is, have you ever heard of "indexes"? If you have, is
>that an accceptable/accepted form of the word? Can I say that one form is
>"more correct" than the other?
Either one is acceptable in general usage. (I'm actually a little surprised
that you haven't seen "appendixes" before - that variant seems more common
to me.)
Which one should be used in a given situation is mostly a matter of
consistency - internal consistency within the document, of course, but also
consistency within a company's documentation. Does the style guide call for
one or the other form?
I usually use the Anglicized forms, just because the Latinate ones seem a
little precious to me, at least when referring to parts of a book. But it's
a matter of taste and custom.
--
jeanne a. e. devoto ~ jaed -at- jaedworks -dot- com
