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SFReader Forums > SFReader > Ask The Expert > sci-fi or science fiction?

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What do you write?

SF - 6.7%

Sci-Fi - 0.0%

Science Fiction - 13.3%

Hard Science Fiction - 0.0%

Doesn't matter what it's called, I write it. - 53.3%

None of the above, I'm into fantasy. lol - 26.7%

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Lyn
Yep, I Muck

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1598

Posted 5/22/2008 11:45 AM (GMT -5)

Is there a difference between sci-fi (some pronounce it skiffy) and science fiction? Or is it simply a matter of perception and (dare I say it?) snootiness? lol

Lyn from ResAliens
Reviewing Zines at The Fix
Reviewing Short Stories at My Blog
And Promoting Strange Worlds of Lunacy

Hermit
Diavhrati Luminary

Date Joined May 2007
Total Posts : 1729

Posted 5/22/2008 1:59 PM (GMT -5)

Ummmm . . . I blend genres . . .

Read me in The Return of the Sword!
Blog: http://bitterhermit.wordpress.com
Buy wine: http://fringemonkey.org
Poetry Blog: http://fringemonkey.wordpress.com

"The schizophrenic is drowning in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight." --Joseph Campbell

Assistant Copy Editor: Flashing Swords Magazine

crystalwizard
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 5004

Posted 5/22/2008 3:41 PM (GMT -5)

Lyn said...
Is there a difference between sci-fi (some pronounce it skiffy) and science fiction? Or is it simply a matter of perception and (dare I say it?) snootiness? lol

depends on whether I'm entering keywords into something or not ;)

RHFay
Sage

Date Joined Nov 2007
Total Posts : 1895

Posted 5/22/2008 4:02 PM (GMT -5)

I, too, blend genres. Although I often write horror poetry with a supernatural theme, I've been known to mix science fiction (or science fantasy) and fantasy with horror. I also write lighter science fiction and fantasy. And then there are my pieces inspired by folkore, which could be seen as fantasy, horror, or something else.

I didn't know there was a difference between science fiction and sci-fi, I thought sci-fi was just a shorthand way of writing science fiction. What's the difference?

"I'm going to do what the warriors of old did. I'm going to recite poetry!"

Richard H. Fay - Azure Lion Productions

http://azurelionproductions.com

SilviaMG
Neophyte

Date Joined Feb 2008
Total Posts : 116

Posted 5/22/2008 11:05 PM (GMT -5)

Sci-fi is sometimes considered to be pejorative in some circles. Science fiction is supposed to be the correct term, or SF.

DAWaverly
Quirky Weirdness

Date Joined Jul 2006
Total Posts : 293

Posted 5/23/2008 11:27 AM (GMT -5)

Speculative Fiction is taking hold as well. It better describes things like alternate history that does not include an element of science as the cause of the alternate reality.

As for the terminology sci-fi .vs. SF, the best definition I have heard is:
SF is to StarTrek fan as Sci-fi is to Trekkie.

- Deven
Blogtide Rising

published
"The Journey" at Every Day Fiction

forthcoming
"An Awakening of Shadows" in The Infinity Swords anthology from Carnivah House
"All That Glitters" at Every Day Fiction arriving 30 May 2008.

Greybeard
Stablehand

Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 30

Posted 5/25/2008 4:19 PM (GMT -5)

DAWaverly said...
Speculative Fiction is taking hold as well. It better describes things like alternate history that does not include an element of science as the cause of the alternate reality.

As for the terminology sci-fi .vs. SF, the best definition I have heard is:
SF is to StarTrek fan as Sci-fi is to Trekkie.

Shouldn't that be sf is to sci-fi as Star Trek fan is to Trekkie?

Edwin

Lyn
Yep, I Muck

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1598

Posted 5/25/2008 4:58 PM (GMT -5)

Or a person mentioned to me that...
Star Wars is probably sci-fi.
Star Trek is SF

So my impression is "sci-fi" hearkens back to the pulp roots of the genre, and SF is more in line with hard or literary science fiction. Would that be fair?

Lyn from ResAliens
Reviewing Zines at The Fix
Reviewing Short Stories at My Blog
And Promoting Strange Worlds of Lunacy

RHFay
Sage

Date Joined Nov 2007
Total Posts : 1895

Posted 5/25/2008 5:01 PM (GMT -5)

I actually prefer "speculative poetry" for the poetry I compose, versus "science fiction poetry" or "sci-fi poetry". Since I don't restrict myself to one genre (although dark speculative tends to win out), I think the broader term works better for me.

Sci-fi is pejorative in certain circles? Sheesh, some people are even more sensitive than I am. I could be called a lot worse than a "sci-fi" poet and artist. I have been called a lot worse.

"I'm going to do what the warriors of old did. I'm going to recite poetry!"

Richard H. Fay - Azure Lion Productions

http://azurelionproductions.com

SilviaMG
Neophyte

Date Joined Feb 2008
Total Posts : 116

Posted 5/25/2008 6:10 PM (GMT -5)

The explanation I've heard most commonly is that lay folk use sci-fi. And Sci-fi is generally associated with cliches like rocket ships, pulp fiction, etc.

Writers and publishers ought to use science fiction. Nowadays people don't fight about it as much but there was a time when saying sci-fi could be a huge social faux pas.

An explanation on the issue can be found here: www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=12127&authorid=10109

and here: www.sfnovelists.com/2007/09/20/you-say-sci-fi-i-say-sf-lets-call-the-whole-thing-off

Chaos, Perpetual
Acolyte

Date Joined Dec 2006
Total Posts : 283

Posted 5/26/2008 1:17 PM (GMT -5)

They're the same, in my book. I view "sci-fi" as being "science Fiction" with fewer syllables.
For whatever reason, though, I seem to hear "sci-fi" used more often in reference to movies and television shows, and "science fiction" in reference to books/stories.

-TBS

Jaqhama
Adventurer

Date Joined Oct 2007
Total Posts : 510

Posted 5/27/2008 4:08 AM (GMT -5)

Sci-fi is short for science fiction...always has been.

Type sci-fi into a lot of online booksellers search engines and you'll get the same results as if you typed in science fiction.

From Cambridge dictionary:

sci-fi Show phonetics
noun
INFORMAL FOR science fiction

science fiction noun (INFORMAL sci-fi, ALSO SF)
books, films or cartoons about an imagined future, especially about space travel or other planets:
a science-fiction novel/story

Works for me.
Cheers: Jaq.

You can read some of my stories here:

Skulkers. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. RAT's. La Carcajou. Jet Bike Boogie...at www.pulpanddagger.com

Swamp Story. Down South. Florida Haze.Wild Justice...

at www.bikernet.com (Plus many of my motorcycle related articles.)

The Covert OP. Chick Prick...at www.milstory.com

Lyn
Yep, I Muck

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1598

Posted 5/27/2008 7:38 AM (GMT -5)

Thanks all. I think SilviaMG clarified the bit of controversy I was exposed to (before which I didn't know a controversy existed, lol) and provided two helpful links (above). It may not be much of an issue anymore with a younger generation of sci-fi/sf fans, but evidently in some circles it's still a faux pas to use "skiffy" when referring to literary SF.

Lyn from ResAliens
Reviewing Zines at The Fix
Reviewing Short Stories at My Blog
And Promoting Strange Worlds of Lunacy

Jaqhama
Adventurer

Date Joined Oct 2007
Total Posts : 510

Posted 5/27/2008 7:59 AM (GMT -5)

I have never seen sci-fi written, spoken or reffered to as skiffy?

Is it pronounced skiff ey?

As opposed to sci-fi being sigh fy?

Who exactly uses skiffy?

S K I F F Y

Is Ski..not S C I ???

I'm baffled.
Maybe it's some unique American thing that Brits and Aussie's don't get?

You can read some of my stories here:

Skulkers. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. RAT's. La Carcajou. Jet Bike Boogie...at www.pulpanddagger.com

Swamp Story. Down South. Florida Haze.Wild Justice...

at www.bikernet.com (Plus many of my motorcycle related articles.)

The Covert OP. Chick Prick...at www.milstory.com

Lyn
Yep, I Muck

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1598

Posted 5/27/2008 8:15 AM (GMT -5)

Yeah, me neither. First time last week, thus my question if others were in the same boat as me. I'd never heard of the distinction but read those articles linked above and that will summarize the "controversy." lol

Lyn from ResAliens
Reviewing Zines at The Fix
Reviewing Short Stories at My Blog
And Promoting Strange Worlds of Lunacy

RHFay
Sage

Date Joined Nov 2007
Total Posts : 1895

Posted 5/27/2008 10:00 AM (GMT -5)

Jaqhama said...
Maybe it's some unique American thing that Brits and Aussie's don't get?

I'm an American, and I don't get it. Of course, I'm probably far from the "typical" American.

I've never heard sci-fi pronounced as "skiffy", but then again I'm not "in-tune" with a lot of "popular" thought.

"I'm going to do what the warriors of old did. I'm going to recite poetry!"

Richard H. Fay - Azure Lion Productions

http://azurelionproductions.com

Frank
Adept

Date Joined Aug 2005
Total Posts : 629

Posted 5/27/2008 3:32 PM (GMT -5)

I despise the terms "sci-fi" and "skiffy". I am a science fiction snob and the only abreviation I use is SF because it is the only dignified short form of a genre name that should be treated with the utmost respect. I tolerate the derogatory nicknames at conventions only because I can't break that many noses in one day.

crystalwizard
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 5004

Posted 5/27/2008 4:43 PM (GMT -5)

I use sci-fi (pronouced so it rhymes with Hi-fi, not skiffy) because to me SF is spec-fic. I use SF when I mean speculative fiction.

I use 'science fiction' and 'sci-fi' interchangeably because, if you look at the letters in sci-fi they are an abbreviation of science and fiction, hyphenated to show it's one word.

I don't understand the need for people to be snobs or have something to fight about but whatever.

Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!

Managing Editor of Flashing Swords

Visit my art gallery on art wanted
All my books in print

Xenophon Hendrix
Stablehand

Date Joined May 2008
Total Posts : 6

Posted 5/29/2008 6:52 PM (GMT -5)

I'm one of the people who pronounce it skiffy.

Magician's Merger

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