Word Emphasis: Quotation Marks Are Not for Emphasis
A common error that seems to be ubiquitous is the idea that quotation marks are to be used to emphasize words. They’re not.
In fact, quotation marks are used (1) to indicate that words are being quoted, or (2) they are used to indicate that a word is being used ironically, or even with opposite meaning.
Example of Wrong: I really “like” that painting.
In this sentence, the writer thinks that he is emphasizing the word like, but he is actually doing just the opposite.
Quotation marks are used for several purposes: to show a direct quote, to indicate a chapter title within a book, to indicate a euphemism, or to indicate something is not true.
It’s almost like a wink of the eye. When I say to my wife “I really love our 15-year-old, broken-down lawn mower,” and I smile and wink, what do I really mean? I hate it.
Since the word “like” in our sample sentence is not a direct quote, a chapter title, or a euphemism, the reader might think that it is supposed to mean just the opposite, a sort of wink.
So, in the thinking of the reader, “like” might actually mean hate.
To emphasize a word, you do not put it in quotation marks. You italicize it (or underline it).
Example of Right: I really like that painting.
Again, you are to emphasize words by italicizing them. However, good writing is not strewn throughout with italicized words. Use emphasis sparingly.
One time a student’s paper was so full of italicized words that the student's emphasis was actually lost. It is sort of like preachers who yell a lot. If a preacher raises his voice for emphasis for certain words or phrases, you understand that there is a special emphasis on those words. However, if the preacher is just loud all the time, you never know what he is trying to emphasize.
What Quotation Marks Do Mean
So, quotation marks are used to indicate that words are either being quoted or to indicate that the words are being used ironically. It often makes a word (or a phrase) mean just the opposite.
Example of opposite: My brother’s wife is a "real beauty."
Which means, she's ugly.
Someone sent this one to me.
Seen on a tavern door: No One Under Age "21" Permitted
Under that, someone else wrote on the door: "Whoopee, beer for everybody!”
So, do not use quotation marks to emphasize words because it gives it the wrong emphases. To properly emphasize a word, you either underline it, or place it in italics, not both.
For lots more fun with this, see this web site: the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks
