Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today

Submission guidelines for authors and editors

These are the guidelines for the preparation of a manuscript accepted for publication in the series Linguistik Atuell-Linguistics Today. Please note that the guidelines may vary per book series, and make sure that you use the guidelines for the series in which your volume will appear.

For the benefit of production efficiency and the production of texts of the highest quality and consistency, we urge you to follow the enclosed submission guidelines.

Manuscripts should be in either British or American English consistently throughout; if you are not a native speaker of English it is advisable to have your text checked by a native speaker before submission.

When submitting the final manuscript please make sure that you provide the following:

1.       final versions of the file(s)
2.       identical hard copy or a PDF file with embedded fonts, showing all special characters as they should be

and for collective volumes also:

3.       a complete set of copyright assignment forms
4.       the table of contents of the volume
5.       an electronic file with a list of all contributors’ addresses (mail and e-mail)

Hard copy and electronic files

Hard copy: Please provide hard copy or a PDF file with embedded fonts. During the production process the hard copy or PDF are referenced by the typesetter and is of great help to solve problems in the files, such as conversion errors, distorted tables, lost graphs, etc.

Electronic files: Please make sure that you supply all text and graphic files of the final version of the manuscript. Please delete any personal comments so that these cannot mistakenly be typeset, and check that all files are readable.

File naming conventions: When naming your file please use a clear and consistent file naming convention. We suggest the following: use the first three characters of your own surname; if your name is Johnson, the files should be named JOH.DOC, if further divided into chapters JOH1.DOC, JOH2.DOC. Figures can be named as follows JOH1.EPS, JOH2.EPS, etc. Please write the file names on the corresponding hard copy. This naming convention is particularly important when submitting for collective volumes.

Software: Files in Word are preferred, but our typesetters can convert almost anything. If, for some reason, a different format is required than supplied, we will contact you.

Graphic files: Please supply Figures and Plates as Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) or Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) conversion in addition to the source files. Please ensure the resolution is fit for print media, preferably 300 dpi.

Lay-out

Our typesetters will do the final formatting of your document. However, some of the text enhancement cannot be done automatically and therefore we kindly ask you to carefully observe the following style.

Do’s and don’ts
Please use a minimum of page settings. The preferred setting is 12 pt Times New Roman, double line spacing, on 13 x 22 cm (5" x 8.6") text area. With this setting the ratio manuscript to typeset pages is roughly 2:1. The only relevant codes are those pertaining to font enhancements (italics, bold, caps, small caps, etc.), punctuation, and the format of the references. Whatever formatting or style conventions you use, please be consistent.

Emphasis and foreign words: Use italics for foreign words, highlighting, and emphasis. Bold should be used only for highlighting within italics and for headings. Please refrain from the use of FULL CAPS (except for focal stress and abbreviations) and underlining (except for highlighting within examples, as an alternative for boldface).

Running heads: In case of a long title please suggest a short one for the running head (max. 55 characters) on the title page of your manuscript.

Symbols and special characters: Please use Unicode fonts!

Chapters and headings: Chapters or articles should be reasonably divided into sections and, if necessary, into subsections. Please mark the hierarchy of subheadings as follows:

Heading A = bold, two lines space above and one line space below.
Heading B = italics, one line space above and one line space below.
Heading C = italics, one line space above, text on new line
Heading D = italics, one line space above; period; run on text.

Quotations: Text quotations in the main text should be given in double quotation marks. Quotations longer than 3 lines should have a blank line above and below and a left indent, without quotation marks, and with the appropriate reference to the source.

Listings: Should not be indented. If numbered, please number as follows:

1. ..................... or a. .......................
2. ..................... or b. .......................

Listings that run on with the main text should be numbered in parentheses: (1).............., (2)............., etc.

Abstract
Each article should start off with an abstract. The abstract should be:
-      Accurate: Ensure that the abstract objectively reflects the purpose and content of your paper. Report rather than evaluate.
-      Self-contained: Define abbreviations and unique terms, spell out names, and give reference to the context in which your paper should be viewed (i.e., it builds on your previous work, or responds to another publication)
-      Concise and specific: Abstracts should not exceed 120 words. Be maximally informative, use the active voice, and include the 4 or 5 most important key words, findings, or implications.

Abstracts should also be submitted in a separate file.

Examples and glosses
Examples: should be numbered with Arabic numerals (1,2,3, etc.) in parentheses and indented. Every next level in the example (a), (b) gets one indent:

               (3)           a.             Ed en Floor gaan samen-wonen
                                               Ed and Floor go together-live.INF
                                               ‘Ed and Floor are going to live together’
                               b.             Maarten en Stefanie zijn uit elkaar
                                               Maarten and Stefanie be out RECP
                                               ‘Maarten and Stefanie have split up’

Glosses: for conventions for interlinear morpheme-by-morpheme glosses, please refer to  www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/glossing-rules.php.

Notes
Notes should be kept to a minimum. Note indicators in the text should appear at the end of sentences and follow punctuation marks. Notes will generally be formatted as foot notes by the typesetters.

References
It is essential that the references be formatted to the specifications given in these guidelines, as these cannot be formatted automatically.

References in the text: These should be as precise as possible, giving page references where necessary; for example (Clahsen 1991: 252) or: as in Brown et al. (1991: 252). All references in the text should appear in the references section.

References section: References should be listed first alphabetically and then chronologically. The section should include all (and only!) references that are actually mentioned in the text.

Examples
Book (monograph):
Baker, Mark. 1988. Incorporation. A Theory of Grammatical Function Changing. Chicago IL:
         University of Chicago Press.

Dissertation:
Anderson, Bruce. 2002. The Fundamental Equivalence of Native and Interlanguage Grammars:
         Evidence from Argument Licensing and Adjective Position. PhD dissertation, Indiana
         University.

Book (edited volume):
van Kemenade, Ans & Vincent, Nigel (eds). 1997. Parameters of Morphosyntactic Change.
      Cambridge: CUP.

Article (in book):
Lohndal, Terje. 2007. On the structure and development of nominal phrases in Norwegian. In
         Nominal Determination. Typology, Context Constraints, and Historical Emergence
         [Studies in Language Companion Series 89], Elizabeth Stark, Elizabeth Leiss & Werner
         Abraham (eds), 285-308. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Articles (in journal):
Bennis, Hans, Corver, Norbert & den Dikken, Marcel. 1998. Predication in nominal phrases.
       The Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics 1(1): 85-117.
Bobaljik, Jonathan D. & Wurmbrand, Susi. 2002. Notes on agreement in Itelmen. Linguistic
        Discovery 1(1). <http://linguistic-discovery.dartmouth.edu>

Electronic, online sources:
Liberman, Mark. 2006. Uptalk is not HRT. Language Log, 28 March 2006,
        <http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002967.html> (30 March 2006).

Please note that not all book series published with John Benjamins follow the same style of references. Basically our style follows The Chicago Manual of Style (as the above) or the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (5th ed.).

Tables, figures and plates
1.       Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively and provided with concise captions (max. 240 characters).
2.       All figures and tables should be referenced in the text, e.g. (see Figure 5). Please do not use relative indicators such as “see the table below”, or “in this table: ...”.
3.       If the table or figure is not enclosed in the text file, please indicate the preferred position of the table or figure in the text by inserting a line “ Insert (file name) here” at the appropriate position. It will be placed either at the top or the bottom of the page on which it is mentioned, or on the following page.
4.       The book will be printed in black & white. Please make sure any illustrations are still meaningful when printed in black & white.
5.       All tables, plates, and figures eventually have to fit the following text area, either portrait or landscape: 12 cm x 20 cm at 8 pt minimum.
6.       Notes in tables and figures should not be regular endnotes. Please use a table note or a figure note as in the example below. Standard note indicators in tables are *, **, †, ‡. The note itself is then inserted directly below the table/figure.
7.       In tables, keep shading to a functional minimum and for individual cells only, not for entire rows or columns.

Appendices
Appendices should follow the references section. Please make sure you refer to the appendix in the main text.

Proofing

Monograph
Authors receive first proofs for correction, and corrected proofs for final checking and indexing. Please use correction symbols as provided. Proofs must be returned with corrections by the dates determined by the publication schedule.

Collective volume
Contributors to collective volumes will receive proofs of their article for correction and will be requested to return their corrections to the volume editor. The editor will receive one full set of first proofs and after corrections another set of corrected proofs for final checking and indexing. The editor is responsible for checking the corrected proofs against the first proofs to examine if all corrections were implemented correctly. Proofs must be returned with corrections by the dates determined by the publication schedule.

General
Please indicate corrections that should be implemented throughout only once, with a clear instruction that they should be processed throughout.

If it is absolutely necessary to change larger chunks of text (i.e. more than just a few words), it is best to submit the changes digitally by email. The same holds for updated references. If, for whatever reason existing items in the References section must be redone or new ones inserted, submit these electronically by email.

Please limit corrections to the essential! It is at the publisher’s discretion not to implement substantial changes or to charge the author.

For further queries you may consult The Chicago Manual of Style or the American Psychological Association Manual, or contact your editor.

Index

You will prepare the index after correction of the first proofs at which time we will send you detailed instructions. If you are familiar with index markers you can also add markers to your file before submission. In such a case, please request the index guidelines from us.