Consistency and a Mike Tyson Punch

Iron Mike Tyson
Creative Commons License photo credit: The Uprooted Photographer

I know it’s amazing, but Mike Tyson apparently punched someone.

This after appearing so thoughtful in the documentary about him: Tyson

But anyway, the article in question caught my eye for a purely editorial reason. It tells us that the punch was directed toward a “paparazzo,” which is the singular form of paparazzi. So far, so good.

Then, in the very next paragraph, the article refers to the guy as a paparazzi.

To be clear, I don’t mind if people use the plural all the time (like gelati instead of gelato or data vs. datum). It’s a foreign word using foreign pluralization, so we’re still working the kinks out. But the writing does seem a little confused when it uses both at the same time.

One of the first rules to remember in Tech Comm: Consistency in Terms.

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