Any English Majors?

I do know that "it's" is used incorrectly right before...couldn't get past that!
Jeffrey, I've been meaning to ask...are you English? I've noticed that you don't use the American "ize" endings. They have been changed to "ise" endings...Canadian perhaps?
just curious....

No hyphen, btw

Well I was an English major and I would say no since Romanesque and Baroque are two different styles of architecture. If you were saying pre-Romanesque then use a hyphen.

Your sentance : "it’s Romanesque Baroque architectural style"

Suggestion: its Romanesque and Baroque architectural style.

I do not know much about architecture but I am not sure if it is an example of Romanesque and Baroque. I think maybe just Romanesque.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Germany

'It's' is definitely incorrect. Good catch. No hypen, okay.

I was born in Europe, yes. Mostly American influenced, though - while versus whilst, --, but 'loo' versus toilet is a must. Depends how feel each day. Oh, and it's not grandma - it's nanny. :) Porridge, too. I won't eat oatmeal.

I'll research that, John. Maybe my acrhs are all messed up :)

I have an English degree, but it is many years old! Anyhoo, I was taught to hyphenate double adjectives when followed by a noun, so I am in the habit of doing that. Otherwise, interpretation can get confusing. Trying to come up with an example.... It's not true in all cases, and in yours, it looks right without a hyphen. No confusion.

Probably want to rework this sentence: only a very reach European Lord of that era could afford to reside.

Yes, I just saw that, too, Chuck.

Pat, it is soooo confusing sometimes.

Romanesque Baroque is a style of architecture, hence, no hyphen. (according to CAA...College Art Association Publications)
OMG, Jeffrey, porridge is oatmeal????? I am shocked...I'm 66 and never knew what Goldilocks was really eating!!

I don't know. I looked up the Wikipedia page for the castle and this is what it says:

Architectural style Romanesque, Baroque

Comma as it is both styles. That is why in my suggestion I added the "and" to show it is two styles not one. If you read about German architecture it says Romanesque is 10th - 13th century. I think you castle was built in the 12th century. It also said that Baroque didn't arrive in Germany until after the 30 year war (1618-1648). So that is why I thought it might just be Romanesque. Unless they did modifications after the the baroque style was in Germany.

How about Baresque or Romoke?

Porridge :)))

But, then again, I've never had a PB&J, either.

Romanesque Baroque. Mum did say "The woman is always right, John." :)))

Oh, and 'Grandma and the Professor' never would have made a good 70s show.

Well, the medieval Burg Eltz wasn't built in a year or over 10 years, it was built and added to and renovated and changed for hundreds of years, so it shows every aspect of architecture from early Romanesque to late Baroque.

I think calling it Romanesque Baroque (or Romanesque-Baroque) is just plain wrong, because it gives a wrong and very narrow information about the architecture of Burg Eltz.

How about Romanesque with influences of Baroque.

S'okay, I've never had a corn dog or a BLT

That sure muddies the waters, Christine. :))))

Hmmm... How to proceed. Maybe I should simply fit that in, -- from early Romanesque to late Baroque

Burg Eltz is a medieval castle nestling in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. Burg Eltz has a fairy-tale-like feeling to it, and its Romanesque Baroque architectural style is one where only a very rich European Lord of that era could afford to reside. This exquisite fine art print will make a wonderful addition to any decor style.

So full of errors. I am not a English major, but a freelance writer, and published Author. Look at the top, my corrected version, to your bottom version.

Burg Eltz is a medieval castle nestling in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. Burg Eltz has a fairy-tale-like feeling to it, and it’s Romanesque Baroque architectural style is one where only a very reach European Lord of that era could afford to reside. This exquisite fine art print will make a wonderful addition to any decor style.

Dan,

I see two errors that I've already fixed. Its and rich. Am I missing more errors? You mentioned 'full of'.

Jeff, "from early Romanesque to late Baroque" fits Burg Eltz perfectly well. It includes its Gothic chapel and late Gothic halls, 15th century Fachwerk, an Entrance from the Romantic period, late Renaissance rooms and everything else.

BTW, Burg Eltz was on the back of the 500 Deutsche Mark (DM) bill until the Euro was invented.
Back of 500 DM bill
So Burg Eltz, its history and its architectural styles are well known in Germany and Europe.

I would change nestling to nestled.

The way it is written, in which I did not change is slightly confusing, and wordy. Something like this, is more direct and to the point. I'm not saying to use this, but just to give you an idea. You want your writing to be short and concise.

Burg Eltz, a medieval castle nestling in the hills above the Moselle River, between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there 33 generations ago, in the 12th century. Burg Eltz has a fairy-tale-like feeling, and its Romanesque Baroque architectural style is one where only a very rich European Lord of that era could afford to reside. This exquisite fine art print will make a wonderful addition to any decor style.

....... Burg Eltz, a medieval castle nestling in the hills above the Moselle River, between Koblenz and Trier, Germany.
sounds kind of wrong to me, Dan. It's just half a sentence.

I see where you're going, Dan. Just restructuring - it does flow a bit better.

Christine, the latter may work better in this instance.

Pat, the reason I chose 'nestling' is due to it's comfortable location snug against the mountains.

I often feel that correct grammar looks wrong too. LOL Yeah it does but it is correct.

ok

Jeffery, I am no English major, but part of what I do is write tutorials for college students. I just wrote one for English Classes and one on writing dissertations. So in effect, I am writing to help English majors, as well as others, learn. LOL

Dan,

All I have is 'The Little, Brown Compact Handbook,' Seventh Edition, to navigate. The English language has to be one of the more challenging languages to put in writing.

Because of my writing, I have access to all the styles used in the industry, and know a few of them almost by heart. That scares me, because in college I could never understand MLA, and APA, and now I write tutorials for both, and others... Most of the time, I do it by memory and just use the guides to double check myself.

So don't feel bad, I had the MLA handbook and the APA handbook, and was still lost in college. LOL

My rule of thumb on grammar, is if it looks right, it is usually wrong, and if it looks wrong, it is usually right.

The problem with nestled and nestling - it could be "nestled in the hills" - but - "it is nestling" - implies it could get up and nestle somewhere else - and I doubt that seriously.

Nestled - means someone put it there; "the children were nestled all snug in their beds" would sound really weird as "the children were nestling all snug in their beds".

Well, my opening sentence may not be technically correct, but I like it. I've changed a few things around, and this is what I'm going with.

Burg Eltz is a medieval castle nestling nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there 33 generations ago, in the very early 12th century. Burg Eltz accentuates a fairy-tale-like feeling; from its early Romanesque to late Baroque architectural style, and is one where only a very rich European Lord of that era could afford to reside. This exquisite fine art print will make a wonderful addition to any decor style.

nestled

Yes, that's what I meant to put, nestled. I agree with Roy and Pat now.

Next up:
Fairy-tale-like

Awkward

Well, so is porridge. :-))))))

Maybe I can make it sound more professional, but I feel as though I would be removing the artist part of me. I don't want to come across as a computer - I want it also to be me.

"BE looks like it belongs in a fairy-tale..."

I have no idea what BL is.

Maybe it's the word 'feeling' that is throwing it off.

What about...'accentuates a fairy-tale-like environment? That's not too bad. What I am trying to get at is, I feel the artwork looks as though it came straight out of a children's fairy-tale story.

Jeffrey, you put a semicolon in the wrong place. It's after your "fairy-tale-like feeling" (which I also agree with Marlene on). A comma works there, but not a semicolon. I would write "fairy-tale feel." But I totally understand how you want to keep it in your own words, so up to you.

Yes! Fairy-tale like environment does sound better -- to my ears, anyway.

Copy semicolon... Oy! Too many rules in the English language.

Yes, 'environment' is rolling off my tongue much better.

for me, it's the two hyphens. i don't even like one, much less two! lol
BE is abbreviated castle name....;)

Well, at least there's no hypenated verbiage printed on the artwork - ha! Yeah, there's no way any of us can please everyone. Some will like it, other's won't, I suppose.

A few years ago I wanted (and still do) to plan a 45-day trip to Scotland to photograph some 90 castles, because I think they're absolutely magnificent structures. That would cost about $15k. So, this is my first, in hopefully many more adventures to explore these beautiful and historical structures. To think that the same branch of families have lived in Burg Eltz for over 800 years blows my mind.

I'm a genealogy buff and if my family had lived in the same castle for that many years, it would make my work a lot easier! ;)

........... BL is abbreviated castle name....;)

Why "BL" as an abbreviation for the castle name, Marlene?
What does the L stand for?
The castle name is Burg Eltz ... why not go for BE, if there has to be an abbreviation at all?


........... To think that the same branch of families have lived in Burg Eltz for over 800 years blows my mind.
That fascinates me too, Jeffrey.
I like your text a lot now ... others may judge grammar and punctuation.

Everyone's inputs helped shape it more. To think I came in for hyphens and walked out with a much better description!

The L stands for lame, Christine...my brain translated "El"
My honey laughs when I do this at home...hope you are laughing too.
And I only abbreviated it to save typing for me, ...I was trying to get to the important part.

Degreed, certified technical writer and former editorial consultant (advertising copyeditor) chiming in. First I need to tell Spellcheck that copyeditor became a one-word compound about ten years ago.;-) Language changes over time, and sometimes rapidly. Also, the writing we do here tends to fall more under the heading of advertising copy. More telegraphic in style. Less formal. More conversational. And you may begin sentences with the words and or but. But you don't need to use full sentences. Copy tends to be more telegraphic in style, or can be if you're comfortable speaking like that.

Jeffery, you've come up with a doozie. If Romanesque Baroque is a particular style of architecture, I'd vote for no hyphen. (Like Gothic Revival.) A combination of two styles, which many buildings are, technically would take not a hyphen but an en-dash, which is a bit longer than a hyphen. And even that might be optional (e.g. too many hyphens and punctuation creates clutter on a page).

You've made good progress improving your copy. Short, snappy sentences are best. Semicolons are not used much anymore, especially in advertising copy. Best to break sentences with a period. That way the next letter is capped, and the eye picks up on a cap (capital) more easily.

Fascinating material though. Readers will love it. Just keep them from getting bogged down. Think short and snappy. Here's how I handled it, though you would want to lend your own voice:
____

The medieval castle named Burg–Eltz* came straight out of a fairy tale. Nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. Still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there 33 generations ago, in the 12th century. With its grand Romanesque–Baroque architectural style, only a wealthy European lord of that era could afford to reside there. This exquisite fine art print of Burg-Eltz will make a wonderful addition to your home or office, and an interesting conversation piece. Be sure to share the story.
____

*NOTE: I put an en dash in Burg–Eltz in case it correctly should include what some might call a hyphen. The en dash indicates that, long ago, perhaps two families with these last names lived here or owned the castle.

Just had a very quick glance, Connie, and will have to revisit later tonight. Burg is actually German for castle, and I believe schloss is, too. The American translation being Castle Eltz. I don't believe to have noticed an en dash in any reading material, yet.

Will check back later, and thanks.

LOL, Marlene ... and I thought things like EL only happen to me.

Right about Castle Eltz, Jeff. Burg–Eltz is just plain wrong.

Using a foreign GPS nav to find the place was worse than pulling teeth, Christine. There is no physical address for a 12th century castle buried deep in the mountain terrain. I kept looking for Burg Eltz, but nothing would show up. Finally, I simply searched for the local town which eventually led me there. From there I looked for Burg Eltz - still nothing. All this as I was racing the clock to beat sunrise. The last thing I needed was to fly halfway across the globe and miss sunrise over a GPS.

Put my thinking cap on while sitting on some side road in the town of Munstermaifeld and it finally dawned on me to check the nav for tourist attractions. Bingo, there it was - Scholss Eltz! Normally I conduct extensive reasearch before departing, but the trip was a complete surprise and only two days to prepare. Lesson learned.

"European Lord" doesn't look right to me - I don't think 'lord' should have a capital letter in this instance.

Edit - sorry, I see Connie has already made that point.

I disagree with Ron, "nestling" is continuous, "nestled" is in the past and therefore it is no longer doing it.
Connie seems to be the only one who has picked up on (without mentioning) the fact that Lord should be lord, unless you mean God or are using the word linked to a specific title or institution (House of Lords, Lord Devereux, Lord High Constable of England).
I think you are right to use "early Romanesque to late Baroque", it may be longer than "Romanesque Baroque" but it is much clearer.
English is often maddening but it is not of itself mad and in need of being tied up in a strait-jacket of grammarians' rules. If something sounds wrong, it is wrong. Many of the "rules" of grammar were made up by pompous nincompoops who wanted to twist English into the same linguistic structure as Latin (it shows how clever and learned you are, you see?). So, you can't split an infinitive in English because in Latin the infinitive form is a single word which simply can't split. Because "to love" is the single word "amare" in Latin it is impossible to say "to greatly love" in English as it can't be written that way in Latin. This preposterous parallel has guided teachers of high-school English for generations.
Which [I shouldn't start a paragraph with "which"!] brings me neatly to hyphens: a teacher of high-school English teaches English in high school. Using "high school" as an adjective describing the sort of English requires a hyphen to keep the two words together and avoid possible confusion between "a high form of school English" and "English taught at high school".
Clarity is the most important thing, it certainly trumps rules of grammar. Will your audience understand what you are saying? Beyond that, the style you adopt is a personal preference and will vary according to the nature of the communication. For myself, I love the cadences and rhythms of English, and the richness of the vocabulary so you will can often find alliteration and slightly unusual words in what I write (by the way, the comma is before the "and" in this sentence but not the previous one because that is where I want it to be - there is some amusing stuff about commas here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma#Ambiguity).
Connie is right about the style for advertising copywriting - but I have yet to see and advert win a literary award!

My qualifications: High school passes at "O" Level in English language and English Literature. That's it, unless you count 30 years as a journalist, ending up as editor of a national newspaper.

While I am not an English major I do understand that the English language is ever changing. As referenced by Connie Fox.

“First I need to tell Spellcheck that copyeditor became a one-word compound about ten years ago.;-) Language changes over time, and sometimes rapidly.”

Excellent point, Connie.

As well, my current manual of style is a bit outdated. I have not taken the time to look into it,Jeff, but as for your changed wording: “Its and rich.” ? I would add a comma after it(')s. And if using this contraction for; it is---even if this is informal writing---I would certainly include the apostrophe.

I love that now, instead of having to buy a new updated printed manual of style, I may find a very good one online.

While my own European antecedents came to America several generations, and the fact that my great grandmother was half Cherokee Indian, our own family uses “nanny”

As for, “accentuates a fairy-tale-like environment?”

My own preference would be to use the word, scene. Or perhaps, setting.

LOL, Paul. You and I have similar credentials with the exception I merely worked for a local weekly. Though I should add it was a very well respected local weekly. :-)

I speak English, but was never a major! (ba-dum-bump!)

I'm here all week folks. Remember to tip the wait staff.

Copy editor is still two words in Merriam-Webster. Words don't fuse at a defined point in time, they continue in two or three forms (copy editor/copy-editor/copyeditor) for a long time.

Walter, I'm sure my daily (Gulf Times) was less well-respected than your weekly but I did my best to improve its standards and to tackle serious issues in awkward circumstances. Regrettably, it's gone steadily backwards since I left, in line with the wishes of the owners/authorities who just want a propaganda sheet.

I completely understand, Paul. LOL.

My position at the paper ended when our publisher/owner sold out to a chain.

The new owner sent a publisher that fired the entire news-staff the first week he was there.

About a month later he did send his new managing editor to ask that I return. She had looked over my work and was nearly blushing with praise for it. She offered an increased salary for me but I refused. I did not like the idea of working for the new publisher.

The last I heard they had begun to run advertising on the front page! So much for being respected!

Yes. The newspaper industry is in a sad state. Well, for that matter the entire news media is in a sad state. LOL.

This thread reminds me that while I have much work to do in re-writing the description of this image writing is hard work. Especially if one wishes to do it well.

Eurpoean lord - makes sense.

I suppose we would not write - American Presidents of the past 100 years all lived in..... That would be incorrect.

HW, you're killin' me!