{"id":2769,"date":"2020-06-28T16:32:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T16:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-newpaltz-engcomp1\/?post_type=chapter&p=2769"},"modified":"2020-07-01T20:08:14","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T20:08:14","slug":"scare-quotes-dont-overuse-them","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-newpaltz-engcomp1\/chapter\/scare-quotes-dont-overuse-them\/","title":{"raw":"Scare Quotes: Don't Overuse Them","rendered":"Scare Quotes: Don’t Overuse Them"},"content":{"raw":"

\u201cScary\u201d Punctuation: The Origins, Use, and Abuse of Scare Quotes<\/h2>\r\nBy\u00a0Susan Doose<\/a>\r\n\r\nFor those wordsmiths and linguaphiles among us, there seems no more fitting way to celebrate All Hallows\u2019 Eve than with a tribute to the most \u201cfrightening\u201d of punctuation marks\u2014scare quotes. Unlike ordinary quotation marks,\u00a0scare quotes<\/a>\u00a0may be used to convey an ironic, skeptical, or even derisive stance toward the word or phrase they enclose; they signal a nonstandard use, which often requires a reader to read between the lines to intuit the particular sense intended by the author.\r\n\r\nThe term\u00a0scare quotes<\/em>\u00a0was coined by the Cambridge philosophy professor Elizabeth Anscombe in her 1956 essay\u00a0\u201cAristotle and the Sea Battle\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(Garber). However, the use of these unwieldy punctuation marks can be traced to the second century BC: to ancient Greece and \u201cthe\u00a0diple periestigmene\u00a0<\/em>(\u2e16), or \u2018dotted diple,\u2019\u201d a proofreading symbol concocted by a librarian named Aristarchus, who used it to identify passages where he disagreed with the reading of another critic (Houston).\r\n\r\nScare quotes\u2014or, if you prefer, \u201cshudder quotes\u201d or \u201csneer quotes\u201d (Garber)\u2014have come a long way since the time of Aristarchus, but knowing their original purpose should remind us that they are used to establish difference. While not exactly \u201cscary,\u201d these mischievous cousins of the quotation mark may become problematic, especially with overuse. Rather than trick your readers\u2014however unwitting this may be\u2014give them the treat of unequivocal, clearly discernible intent. If you still feel compelled to use them, do so mindfully, and in moderation.\r\n\r\nWorks Cited<\/strong>\r\n\r\nGarber, Megan. \u201cThe Scare Quote: 2016 in a Punctuation Mark.\u201d\u00a0The Atlantic<\/em>, 23 Dec. 2016,\u00a0www.theatlantic.com\/entertainment\/archive\/2016\/12\/the-scare-quote-2016-in-a-punctuation-mark\/511319\/<\/a>.\r\n\r\nHouston, Keith. \u201cThe Long and Fascinating History of Quotation Marks.\u201d\u00a0Slate<\/em>, 30 Jan. 2015,\u00a0slate.com\/human-interest\/2015\/01\/quotation-marks-long-and-fascinating-history-includes-arrows-diples-and-inverted-commas.html<\/a>.\r\n
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SUSAN DOOSE<\/p>\r\nSusan Doose is an assistant editor at the MLA. She received her PhD in German Studies from Rutgers University, where her dissertation focused on the function of framing devices in German realist literature. Before coming to the MLA, she worked as a freelance copyeditor, translator, and German-language teacher.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nTaken from:<\/strong>\r\n

\u201cScary\u201d Punctuation: The Origins, Use, and Abuse of Scare Quotes<\/a><\/h3>\r\n\"MLA\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

\u201cScary\u201d Punctuation: The Origins, Use, and Abuse of Scare Quotes<\/h2>\n

By\u00a0Susan Doose<\/a><\/p>\n

For those wordsmiths and linguaphiles among us, there seems no more fitting way to celebrate All Hallows\u2019 Eve than with a tribute to the most \u201cfrightening\u201d of punctuation marks\u2014scare quotes. Unlike ordinary quotation marks,\u00a0scare quotes<\/a>\u00a0may be used to convey an ironic, skeptical, or even derisive stance toward the word or phrase they enclose; they signal a nonstandard use, which often requires a reader to read between the lines to intuit the particular sense intended by the author.<\/p>\n

The term\u00a0scare quotes<\/em>\u00a0was coined by the Cambridge philosophy professor Elizabeth Anscombe in her 1956 essay\u00a0\u201cAristotle and the Sea Battle\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(Garber). However, the use of these unwieldy punctuation marks can be traced to the second century BC: to ancient Greece and \u201cthe\u00a0diple periestigmene\u00a0<\/em>(\u2e16), or \u2018dotted diple,\u2019\u201d a proofreading symbol concocted by a librarian named Aristarchus, who used it to identify passages where he disagreed with the reading of another critic (Houston).<\/p>\n

Scare quotes\u2014or, if you prefer, \u201cshudder quotes\u201d or \u201csneer quotes\u201d (Garber)\u2014have come a long way since the time of Aristarchus, but knowing their original purpose should remind us that they are used to establish difference. While not exactly \u201cscary,\u201d these mischievous cousins of the quotation mark may become problematic, especially with overuse. Rather than trick your readers\u2014however unwitting this may be\u2014give them the treat of unequivocal, clearly discernible intent. If you still feel compelled to use them, do so mindfully, and in moderation.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n

Garber, Megan. \u201cThe Scare Quote: 2016 in a Punctuation Mark.\u201d\u00a0The Atlantic<\/em>, 23 Dec. 2016,\u00a0www.theatlantic.com\/entertainment\/archive\/2016\/12\/the-scare-quote-2016-in-a-punctuation-mark\/511319\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Houston, Keith. \u201cThe Long and Fascinating History of Quotation Marks.\u201d\u00a0Slate<\/em>, 30 Jan. 2015,\u00a0slate.com\/human-interest\/2015\/01\/quotation-marks-long-and-fascinating-history-includes-arrows-diples-and-inverted-commas.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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SUSAN DOOSE<\/p>\n

Susan Doose is an assistant editor at the MLA. She received her PhD in German Studies from Rutgers University, where her dissertation focused on the function of framing devices in German realist literature. Before coming to the MLA, she worked as a freelance copyeditor, translator, and German-language teacher.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Taken from:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cScary\u201d Punctuation: The Origins, Use, and Abuse of Scare Quotes<\/a><\/h3>\n

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