“What” exactly are “you” trying to “say”?
So I’ve “just” gotten another “piece” of chatty, “business” related e-mail (an e-mail equivilant of a “newsletter”), and “every” fourth or “fifth” word is in “quotation marks”. “The” quotes make “no” sense. It’s like they just “tossed” quotation “marks” in at random. This “is” a horrible “trend” which I feel “compelled” to “rant” about!
Apparently, there’s a “misconception” that “quoting” words somehow replaces italics, underlining or bolding, “by” adding “emphasis”. Sadly “this” isn’t “the” case, and “it” especially isn’t “the” case “when” random “words” are quoted.
To those who think “it” is “the” case, please allow me to clarify:
There are three primary reasons for putting words into quotes:
- The word or phrase is a direct quote.
“My GOD!” cried Joe “You mean that my wife of 50 years is really a MAN?!”
“I have no idea why I was found in the river wearing only boxer shorts and carrying 3 cans of Silly String[sub]tm[/sub]” said the Senator. “I suspect Communists!”
- They can be used to sarcastically set a word apart, distancing the speaker from the word or phrase in question. Fer instance:
Many creation “scientists” claim that the universe is less than 5000 years old. They also have “scientific” proof that the Earth’s core isn’t molten nickle-iron, but rather, chewy caramel and nougat.
“Doctor” Laura has a PhD in something like Physical Fitness.
- They can even be used to set unfamiliar words or jargon apart:
" ‘Kiss’? What mean this word ‘kiss’? Me only simple jungle-princess."
The next step in adding a new hard drive is to “partition” the new drive.
The following phrases (re-written for privacy) do not warrant quotation marks:
We’re “very” happy to have EnGulfCo as one of “our” new partners!
It’s very important to “remember” to reboot your “system” every night for security purposes!
Steve has been at this company for “three years”!
A helpful tip. Try reading the sentence aloud, using a smirky Jeff Goldblum voice every time a word is in quotations. If it doesn’t sound right, don’t do it!
Another helpful tip: if you’re sending a plain text e-mail message, and want to emphasise a word using italics, putting an astricks around the word is a generally accepted convention. Underscores can be used to substitute for underlines.
In any case, the quotation mark can be your “friend” or your “enemy”. Use it wisely!
“Fenris”