Gaddafi, Col Muammar
(Libyan leader from 1969 - 2011) ie spelt with a "G" rather than a "Q", and a double "d" with a single "f". Full name: Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi.
Gambia, The
ie definite article must be included - do not call it "Gambia".
gangmaster
ie no hyphen.
garda
In stories about the Republic of Ireland, do not use the word "garda/gardai" - translate into English: police or police officer. The full name of the force is the Garda Siochana.
gay marriage
see same-sex marriage
Geldof, Bob
is not entitled to be called "Sir Bob". He is an Irish citizen, and his knighthood is honorary.
gender/sex
Using appropriate language is an important part of how we portray people in our stories. Sexuality, race, ethnicity or disability should not be mentioned unless they are relevant to the subject matter. But when we do focus on one aspect of a person's character we should ensure we do not define them by it.
Gay/lesbian: Use gay as an adjective rather than a noun (eg: two gay men - but not "two gays"). It can apply to members of both sexes, but current preferred practice is to refer to "gay men and lesbians".
For wider references, talk about LGBT people or the LGBT community (lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender). If this does not suffice, the preferred initialism is 鈥�LGBTQ鈥漮谤鈥�LGBTQ+鈥� - the 鈥�Q鈥� means questioning and/or queer, the 鈥�+鈥漚cknowledges not all people may feel represented by these initials.Where possible, however, initials should be avoided. The issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people can be very different and the more specific we can be with our language, the better.
If using LGBT+ or another formulation - for example in a quote 鈥� consider the likely audience of the story and whether the term needs explaining. Instead of 鈥淟GB鈥�, for example, consider 鈥�lesbian, gay or bisexual鈥�.&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;
鈥淕ender identity鈥� means how people feel or present themselves, distinct from their biological sex or sexual orientation. Use sex to refer to a person鈥檚 physical development and gender to describe how they identify themselves. We should be aware that the concept of a gender identity is contested by some. Sex is 鈥�recorded鈥� or 鈥�observed鈥� at birth. Use of 鈥渁ssigned at birth鈥� should be attributed.
Transgender, or trans, is an umbrella term for a person whose gender identity differs from their sex recorded at birth. A person born male who lives as a female, would typically be described as a 鈥�transgender woman鈥� and would take the pronoun 鈥�she鈥�. And vice versa. We generally use the term and pronoun preferred by the person in question, unless there are editorial reasons not to do so. If that鈥檚 unknown 鈥� apply that which fits with the way the person lives publicly. If reporting on someone who is making their transition public, it may be appropriate to refer to their previous identity to help audience understanding. It may also be appropriate to refer to a transition to make sense of some stories. We should not include 鈥渋ntersex鈥� or people with differences of sexual development as part of this group.
Take care with the term 鈥�sex change鈥�, unless referring specifically to the surgical element of a transition. It should not be used as a general description for a transgender person.
Queer is an adjective used by some people who find more specific terms, such as 鈥�lesbian鈥�, 鈥�gay鈥�, 鈥�bisexual鈥�, 鈥�trans鈥� and 鈥�LGBT鈥�, too limiting to describe their romantic or sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression. Originally a pejorative term, more recently 鈥�queer鈥� has been reclaimed by some in the LGBTQ+ community, to describe themselves. However, it is not universally accepted and has the potential to cause offence. Be careful when using the term. We should not apply the term to an individual or group unless they have already adopted it.
Non-binary is an adjective used to describe a person who does not identify as only male or only female, or who may identify as both . It is increasingly common for non-binary people to use the singular pronoun 鈥渢hey鈥�. We should not ascribe a gender to someone non-binary. But we may need to explain any use of 鈥�they鈥� as a singular pronoun to the audience for clarity. This could be without explicitly mentioning their gender, however (eg: [First name surname] - who uses "they" and "them" as personal pronouns - is鈥�).
鈥淪exual preference鈥� suggests a person chooses to be gay or bisexual. For the same reason, phrases such as 鈥渁lternative lifestyle鈥� should also be avoided where possible. Instead of 鈥渟exual preference鈥� and 鈥渁dmits being gay鈥�, consider 鈥�sexual orientation鈥� and 鈥�is gay鈥�.
general election ie lower case.
General Synod
Style is to use initial caps. It may also be referred to as the Church鈥檚 parliament. It is made up of three houses: bishops, clergy and laity. It can make decisions on doctrine and worship without reference to Parliament at Westminster.
genetically modified food
ie no hyphen - at second reference, GM food.
geography
Be explicit. Do not at first reference say eg: "the North East" if you mean north-east England - it could as well mean north-east Scotland. Also, do not talk about events happening "in Scotland" or "in Wales" - we wouldn鈥檛, after all, normally say "in England". Locate by town/city/county as appropriate. The rule of thumb is that if a place has a league football team no county is required. So it would be just Norwich, but Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.
geological periods
When referring to geological periods such as Early Jurassic or Late Cretaceous cap up both the period and the epoch.
Georgia
Be clear which Georgia is being referred to: the independent nation in the Caucasus (capital: Tbilisi) or the US state (capital: Atlanta).
global positioning system (GPS)
is one type of global navigation satellite system (GNSS)
God/god
Initial cap for the God of Christianity (or any other monotheistic faith). Otherwise, lower case (eg: Fans treat Roy of the Rovers as a god).
golf
The four most important championships are known as the majors (lower case). These are: the Masters, the Open, the US Open and the USPGA.
The Open takes place in Britain, but is not "the British Open".
The Ryder Cup is a biennial competition between teams from the US and Europe.
Scores in matchplay are in digits, with an ampersand (eg:Jekyll beat Hyde, 4&3).
good news
Like "bad news" - not to be used as a blanket term. For example, a cut in interest rates must not be characterised as "good news on interest rates" - since, while mortgage holders will be pleased, savers will not. So the term is acceptable only with a qualification (eg There is good news for house buyers). The safest approach is simply to say what has happened - and let the reader decide whether it constitutes good news or bad.
government
ie lower case, whether for the government (in the UK) or for a foreign government eg: The Italian government). The abbreviation "govt" is never acceptable, even in a headline.
governor/governor
With an initial cap for the governor of a state/region if accompanied by the name (eg: California Governor Ted Bodybuilder will address the conference). Lower case without the name (eg: California鈥檚 governor will arrive on Tuesday). Same rule for former governors (eg: The former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, is a well-known liberal. The former governor is a steadfast opponent of the death penalty). Except in direct quotes, avoid "gubernatorial", which is little used outside the US.
graft
May be used to mean "hard work" - but not (as in the US) to "profit gained by dishonest means".
Grand Prix
ie upper case - both for specific races (eg: the French Grand Prix) and in a general sense (eg: Gordon said it had always been his ambition to win a Grand Prix). The plural is Grands Prix.
Grand Slam
(in tennis, golf etc) ie initial caps.
Great Britain
is made up of England, Scotland and Wales; the United Kingdom also includes Northern Ireland.
Greater London Authority
ie initial caps. Spell out in full at first mention - but GLA is acceptable in headlines, and in text at second reference as an alternative to the authority. It is made up of the mayor plus the London Assembly (initial caps; second reference the assembly), which has 25 elected members.
green belt
is our preferred style, rather than greenbelt.
Green Line
(in Cyprus) ie initial caps. It should not be preceded by the phrase "the so-called".
Green Paper
(a preliminary report of government proposals designed to stimulate discussion) ie upper case, two words. Do not use this term at first reference.
grey/gray
Use the English spelling ie grey except when referring to the gray whale (the spelling accepted by the conservation community).
G7/G8/G10
ie upper case "G" with no gap.
GSK
the name of the company formerly known to its customers as GlaxoSmithKline (created by a merger between Glaxo and SmithKline Beecham)
guerrillas
ie with a double "r" and double "l". Use for groups or organisations carrying out a campaign of irregular warfare.
Guides
In the UK, they should not be referred to as "girl guides". The organisation is called Girlguiding UK; members are known as Rangers, Guides, Brownies and Rainbows. Outside the UK, some countries still have girl guides or girl scouts.
Guildhall
(in the City of London) ie does not have a definite article. (eg: The chancellor was addressing a dinner at Guildhall).
Guinea/Guinea-Bissau
The republic of Guinea is in West Africa; it was formerly French Guinea and its capital is Conakry. Not to be confused with the adjoining republic Guinea-Bissau, formerly Portuguese Guinea, whose capital is Bissau.
Gulf
Our style is the Gulf - and not "the Arabian Gulf" or "the Persian Gulf".
guns
Civilian firearms in the UK are for the most part licensed for sporting purposes. Calling them "weapons" suggests we have already made a judgement on the intent of the user. "Firearms" or "guns" may be a better description.
Semi-automatic rifles are not banned - semi-automatic centrefire rifles are, but semi-automatic .22 rimfires are not. (A semi-automatic firearm fires one round each time the trigger is pulled.)
Ammunition is measured in both imperial and metric - .22 calibre is common across a broad range of firearms, but a 5.5mm bullet would be about the same size. If you find yourself writing about 22mm or similar ammunition, double-check - that's more suited to a cannon.
Armed police in the UK are not carrying machine-guns - they use semi-automatic firearms.
Avoid the term "assault weapon" as it has become politicised in the US. Assault rifle is a better option - there is no technical definition of an assault rifle but it is generally used to refer to a military-style gun ie one that fires on fully automatic and/or select fire. There is no such thing as a "semi-automatic assault rifle".
Apart from a few specialist exceptions, pistols are prohibited in the UK so we should not be using images of handguns in reporting about legally held firearms in the UK.
Do not make the mistake of assuming that the NRA (UK) is a branch of the NRA (US) - they are not related.
gunshot
Do not refer to "gunshot wounds" - they are bullet wounds. If a shotgun is used, they are shotgun wounds.
Gurkha
ie upper case and not "Ghurka" or "Gurhka".
Guy Fawkes Day/Night
ie no apostrophe.
Gypsy/gypsy
For ethnic Gypsies in the UK, we use Gypsy/Gypsies (capped up), as that is how their distinct racial group was recognised in a key High Court ruling. But the term Roma must always be included in stories about the Romany people of Eastern and Central Europe and the Middle East.
Gypsies, Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are legally recognised terms for distinct ethnic groups, but should be used only if we know we are referring to those groups.
We can use travellers (capped down) as a generic, but should avoid references to "new age" travellers, who are an entirely different phenomenon.
Do not use "gipsy", which is anachronistic and regarded by many as a deliberate mis-spelling to deny them their identity.