User:Popcornfud/The problem with false titles

What is a false title?

A false title is when you remove the article (the/a/an) or posessive pronoun (her/his/their/its/etc) before a noun, making it into a sort of pseudo-adjective.

• False title: The documentary follows American songwriter Bob Dylan.
• No false title: The documentary follows the American songwriter Bob Dylan.

The problem

False titles originated in newspaper writing, where space is limited, particularly in headlines. On Wikipedia, there is no such restriction – we have the space to write full, proper sentences. False titles create an over-abbreviated journalistic tone (journalese) that's inappropriate for an encylopedia.

Many organizations and style guides recommend against false titles, such as The New York Times, The Guardian (see under "the"), and Garner's Modern English Usage (under "Titular Tomfoolery").

Including "the" is more neutral, more natural, and more plain-English. False titles can remove or obscure information or make sentences difficult to understand. Take this example from the Chinese Democracy article:

Freese was frustrated with the lack of tours, likening the band to "a giant jumbo jet sat on the tarmac waiting to take off". Taylor Hawkins was considered to replace Freese, but he decided to remain with Foo Fighters. At the recommendation of Buckethead, frequent collaborator Brain was brought in as drummer.

With whom was Brain a frequent collaborator? Buckethead? Freese? Someone else? As there is no pronoun ("his frequent collaborator, Brain"), this is impossible to know.

If you feel removing the false title changes the meaning

Some people believe that writing "the American songwriter Bob Dylan" means that Bob Dylan is the only American songwriter. This isn't correct, and appears to stem from a misunderstanding of how commas work with restrictive phrases.

• "the American songwriter Bob Dylan" (no comma) means there are other American songwriters.
• "the American songwriter, Bob Dylan" (comma) means Bob Dylan is the only American songwriter.

Here's how The Guardian's style guide explains it:

If it is thought necessary to explain who someone is, write "Chris Wilder, the Sheffield United manager, said" or "the Sheffield United manager, Chris Wilder, said". In such cases the commas around the name indicate there is only one person in the position, so write "the Tory prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said" (only one person in the job), but "the former Tory prime minister David Cameron said" (there have been many).

For further explanation, with examples, see "AP Style Essential Phrases, Nonessential Phrases". Garner's Modern English Usage also explains how to use commas when avoiding false titles (under "Titular Tomfoolery").

If you feel not using false titles is awkward or unnatural

To put it bluntly, I think you're imagining it. You've become so used to jargonistic, journalistic writing that you've come to expect it everywhere, and now feel that normal English sounds strange when it's written down. Imagine sentences such as Harrison Ford appears in film Star Wars, Newest restaurant Barry's Pizza opened last year, or Susan took dog Rex for a walk and you may begin to see how false titles are the exception, not the norm.

Some people are under the impression that not using false titles is somehow ungrammatical or incorrect. This is wrong.

Is this a matter for the Wikipedia Manual of Style?

Probably not. The Manual of Style exists to resolve major and persistent disagreements. See WP:MOSBLOAT for more information. When editors disagree about whether the use of false titles is appropriate in an article, the status quo should be followed until a consensus to change it forms.