From: Scott Roberts (jse885@earthlink.net)
Date: Tue Aug 31 2004 - 17:49:08 BST
Ian, DMB, et al,
> (1) SCARE QUOTES
> In order to avoid (too many) boring debates on "semantic pedantry", I have
> on many occasions used the idea of "scare quotes"
> I didn't invent that term. It's common since USENET days and I believe the
> last serious writer I saw use the term was Pinker.
It long predates USENET, but yes, I think you have described it well.
Here's an example from LILA [Ch. 9]:
"This, Phaedrus thought, was why little children are usually quicker to
perceive Dynamic Quality than old people, why beginners are usually quicker
than experts, why primitive people are sometimes quicker than those of
"advanced" cultures."
(Of course, to be fully politically correct he should have also put
'primitive' in scare quotes :-)
>
> What "scare quotes" say is ...
>
> (A) We're having a difficult discussion at arms length, without the
benefit
> of body language and shared experience and goals.
> (B) I'm using a word that I'm worried we may be using with (small but)
> significant difference in meaning to each of us (as a result of A)
> (C) I'm highlighting that fact, because if you share that same concern,
> perhaps we should check understanding before proceeding, since I am
already
> predicting this could be the cause of misunderstanding. If you don't, ask
> why I'm worried ?
> (D) Carry on with the debate anyway, but if we appear to be disagreeing on
> something we each feel strongly about, suspect one of these terms.
> (E) I'm game to carry on without that semantic debate if you are - we may
> learn something anyway.
>
> Didn't someone illustrious say "If two intelligent people seem to be
> disagreeing suspect a misunderstanding of terms".
There is another use for scare quotes, and that is when the discussion
turns toward mysticism or other areas where the precise words just don't
exist. Thus, I may want to refer to mystical "experience", and use the
scare quotes to emphasize that the word 'experience' should not be treated
in the same way as it is in normal speech. And, since I like to refer to
eternal reality, then any use of temporal words, like 'before' should be
put in scare quotes, as in "In Plotinus's philosophy., Intellect comes
"before" everything else."
>
> (2) HIGHLIGHTING
> We are communicating via a whole range of mail-systems where our only
common
> ground is ASCII-Text.
> We have no formatting with which to emphasise particular words or phrases
in
> the context we use them.
> What do people prefer - BLOCK CAPS - or anything goes ?
I prefer *asterisks*, but I don't mind CAPS. It is worth reminding folks,
that it is a rule of the forum to use ASCII-Text, and not HTML or anything
else that allows italicizing.
- Scott
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