THE GOVERNMENT

On foreign words and phrases
Limit their use. While it may be attractive to use foreign words or expressions—as they can add flourish to a
piece—an abundance can alienate readers. When you can, use a more easily understood equivalent in English. For
example: Instead of “per annum,” you can say “a year.” “Per capita” can be changed to “per person” or even “each.”
Consider the sentence:
The wage hikes should, ceteris paribus, result in higher inflation for the year.
Rather than try to explain ceteris paribus, it would be simpler, and far more instructive to say:
The wage hikes should, with other variables being constant, result in higher inflation for the year.
If you have to use foreign words and phrases, set them in italics (mutatis mutandis, crème de la crème, weltanschauung)
unless they are words adopted into English that have already become standard (chateau, boondocks).
Words borrowed from other languages are no longer governed by the rules of their source language. It is
acceptable, for instance, to say the “hoi polloi” even though “hoi” already means “the” in the original Greek.
Filipino and English are both official languages of the Philippines, and neither should be treated as foreign.
Foreign words and phrases, in the context of Philippine publications, refer to languages that exclude the two.
In the case of bilingual material, such as speech and interview transcriptions in which the speaker frequently switches
from Filipino to English and vice versa, there should be no need to italicize words from one language or the other.
If a phrase from another language or even from a local dialect is inserted into otherwise bilingual text, set it in italics.
Italics
Italics can be used to stress words or phrases, but do so sparingly. For example: “The customer specifically asked
for red paint, not pink paint.” Italics can also be used to highlight a negative position in an argument, such as in the
sentence:
We strongly recommend that the contract with the supplier not be renewed.
Italicize the titles of books (Noli Me Tangere, by Jose Rizal), journals (Philippine Studies), newspapers (the
Philippine Daily Inquirer), magazines (The Economist), and other periodicals. An article (a, an, or the) that appears
as the first word of a title is italicized only if it is part of the official name (The New York Times).
Use italics (not quotation marks) to highlight foreign words and phrases that are not commonly used. Consider
these two statements:
The court began an investigation motu proprio.
Protecting indigenous communities is our raison d’être.
If a word of non-English origin is included in a standard, up-to-date dictionary (such as Merriam-Webster’s), do
not italicize it. These words (e.g., conquistador, tequila, banzai, caveat emptor, rendezvous, and chateau) have
likely entered the English language and should no longer be counted as foreign.
STYLE GUIDE FOR THE GOVERNMENT
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