Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
estrum
English answer:
be consistent: preferably estrus (AmE) or oestrus (BrE)
English term
Estrum
Thus, how ok it is to use
1) "estrum",
2) "estrus", and
3) "oestrus"
interchangeably in the same line, paragraph, and [originally English] research paper about mammals (including peoples/genotype-phenotype distinction), I wonder?
Thank you
Mar 19, 2019 09:46: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (1): philgoddard
When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.
How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:
An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)
A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).
Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.
When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.
* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.
Responses
be consistent: preferably estrus (AmE) or oestrus (BrE)
First, there is a question of European (British/Irish) versus American spelling, as with many medical terms. "Oestrus" is the former and "estrus" is the latter. Second, "estrus/oestrus" is more common than "estrum/oestrum", in my experience (and a Google search seems to confirm this), so I would recommend using the -us form rather than then -um form.
So if you are writing for a British publication or one aimed at British readers, I recommend using "oestrus" consistently, and conversely "estrus" if the target is American.
The only exceptions will be in quotations, where the form used in the text being quoted should be used, even if this is different from the form you yourself are using.
I hope this clarifies things.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-03-17 22:45:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry: it should of course be "All three of these variants are correct"!
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-03-17 22:51:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Perhaps I should add that although in general repetition tends to be avoided in English, this does not apply to scientific papers, where repeating the same term frequently is perfectly acceptable. Accuracy and consistency are much more important than avoiding repetition. And arbitrary variations of spelling are inherently bad practice. If you use "estrus" in some places and "estrum" in others, readers will wonder why.
| agree |
philgoddard
8 mins
|
|
Thanks, Phil
|
|
| agree |
Christine Andersen
26 mins
|
|
Thanks, Christine :-)
|
|
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
16 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Tina :-)
|
|
| agree |
Sina Salehi
16 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Sina :-)
|
Estonia
19 years of biomedical translation
Native in: Estonian 
Works in: English to Estonian, Estonian to English
Mixed use in the same research paper, paragraph and especially line is quite bad style.
Mixed use in the same research paper is not that bad. Same paragraph and especially line are quite bad.
Mixing with the synonym "heat" should be ok.
Denmark
the message, not just the words
Native in: English (Variant: UK) 
Works in: Danish to English, English
Estrus for US English and Oestrus for UK English
Is my immediate thought. All the dictionaries I have consulted give Estrum as a variant and refer to Estrum or Oestrum.
English has no single body like L'Académie française or any of the other famous authorities on their respective languages.
That does not mean there are no rules, however, on the contrary!
There are in fact numerous sets of rules in English, and you should choose one. Which you choose will depend on your target readers.
The first rule is that you should be consistent. Choose one way of spelling the word and keep to it throughout your text.
Choose a dictionary and/or a style guide - or ask your client which you should follow. Mixing styles looks sloppy, which should definitely be avoided in writing about science!
The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam Webster dictionaries might be typical for the US, or I sometimes use the American Psychological Association (APA) style guide when proofreading for a particular client. US native speakers will be able to guide you better than I can.
As my personal default, I write British English, possibly slightly dated, based on Ernest Gowers, Greenbaum and Whitcut and Michael Swan.
I quote RL Trask when asked about punctuation.
Scientific journals have their preferred style guides, and anyone writing seriously on scientific subjects should develop a style that fits. The styles for different journals are often very similar, but if you want your paper published, it is essential to observe their rules.
That is a very brief answer - there are whole books on the subject...
I have books by John Swales and Christine Feak on my bookshelf.
But hey, this is KudoZ, not a major treatise :-)
| agree |
Charles Davis
: Good advice, addressing the general premise of the question.
7 mins
|
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: Good suggestion to check journal style guides.
15 hrs
|
Discussion
1) While the terms in some paragraphs seem to tell apes from mammals, it's not consistent. Perhaps, the international* research was quickly adapted--brushed into AmE, except for the terms.
2) However, some parts are in italic with a different typeface, so they may be quotations.
3) While I can paraphrase or find three different terms in Russian, I asked the client for instructions.