Describe what Italics are meant to mean

[RedRalph]

Can you do it? If someone looks at the following sentance and asks what the italics are meant to convey, could you explain it?

I want to do things my way

 

[mangxema]

Emphasis..

 

[RedRalph]

Emphasis..

Bolding does that too. As does underlining. what is the difference between Italics and those?

 

[Bill3000]

Wiki says:

* Emphasis: "Smith wasn't the only guilty party, it's true."
* The titles of works that stand by themselves, such as books or newspapers: "He wrote his thesis on The Scarlet Letter." Works that appear within larger works, such as short stories, poems, or newspaper articles, are not italicized, but merely set off in quotation marks.
* The names of ships: "The Queen Mary sailed last night."
* Foreign words, including the Latin binary nomenclature in the taxonomy of living organisms: "A splendid coq au vin was served"; "Homo sapiens".
* Using a word as an example of a word rather than for its semantic content (see use-mention distinction): "The word the is an article."
o Using a letter or number mentioned as itself:
+ John was annoyed; they had forgotten the h in his name once again.
+ When she saw her name beside the 1 on the rankings, she finally had proof that she was the best.
* Introducing or defining terms, especially technical terms or those used in an unusual or different way:[3] "Freudian psychology is based on the ego, the super-ego, and the id."; "An even number is one that is a multiple of 2."
* Sometimes in novels to indicate a character's thought process: "This can't be happening, thought Mary."
* Letters in algebra, when word processed, are conventionally written in italic type.
* Symbols for physical quantities and other mathematical constants: "The speed of light, c, is approximately equal to 3.00×108 m s-1."

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Italics is classier, although the quote function here kinda ruins it.

I also use it when quoting.

 

[Munch]

Yes, italics are a bit classier. You don't often see bolding or underlining in scientific writing, but italics can sometimes feature, for instance when a term is first encountered. Names of things are also sometimes italicised, e.g. the title of a dissertation on a CV.

 

[Kraznaya]

Italics = Underline as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Lord Baal]

Wiki says:

This is what I was going to say, sans the Wiki quote and the actually decent description. On the boards I tend to underline or bold quotes that I'm emphasizing because the quote function ruins italicisation here. I also tend to italicise for emphasis, but bold if I think something really, really, really needs emphasising. I'll underline if I want to emphasise something that's already italicised, like a name.

 

[Earthling]

If someone looks at the following sentance and asks what the italics are meant to convey, could you explain it?

I want to do things my way

No doubt you saw a quote by a devious and unprincipled politician, talking about what "we" must sacrifice for the lazy and inferior. Your use of italics emphasizes the correct way to phrase things as meaning is only derived from one's personal actions, character, and morality. While it is despicable, the decline in the use of the word I is on a slope not unlike that warned against in Ayn Rand's prophetic Anthem. (Tangentially, well doubly so considering the use of boldface versus italics in various mathematical notation...italics also proper for titles, as others have mentioned.) The individual is the one and only building block of any society and everything else is superflous.

 

[Fuzzz]

You should use italics rather than underline on screen, because if you use the U function it might look like there's a link. On paper, it doesn't matter that much.

 

[GVBN]

My theory is that they're called italics because they resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa and they're used in poorly constructed posts

 

[Lord Baal]

My theory is that they're called italics because they resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa and they're used in poorly constructed posts

Doesn't work: said posts don't become major tourist attractions.

 

[emzie]

I read (and use) italics for subtlety in comparison to underline / bold. It's all emphasis but I'm far too reserved to really draw your attention in such an obvious fashion.

 

[Ecofarm]

Bolding does that too. As does underlining. what is the difference between Italics and those?

Bolding is when the letters are thick and underlining is when there is a thing under them. I know, differences are sometimes hard to notice when there's an agenda to be pursued.

I use italics to indicate a change in tone or voice.

This would be mocking an opposing viewpoint or a comical addendum.

 

[azzaman333]

Emphasis.

Italics < Underline < Bold as far as how emphatic the emphasis is.

 

[RedRalph]

I use italics to indicate a change in tone or voice.

Yeah, me too. I think its completely distinct from underlining and bolding, in that its more of a way of implying something than emphasising something.

 

[Ecofarm]

Underline and bold is more volume (less so than capslock), italics is more tone or voice. I suppose I would go as far as implication/allusion (or complication) vs. volumes. It's obviously far more civilized.

To go over-the-top, capslock is a caveman and italics is an intellectual; the others lay between.

 

[Kerozine]

They're kinda hard to notice on these forums.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Bold is hard on the eyes, so I use it when I really want a word or phrase to "jump out" at a casual scroller-by. Italics is softer and classier, so I use it for emphasis that requires context that only a reader would follow. Think of Bold as a sort of headline, talking points, and italics as highlighting salient points or differences in wording which require highlighting in order for the point to be properly understood.

 

[Ecofarm]

They're kinda hard to notice on these forums.

That's unfortunate, because I put a sentence separate and in italics when I'm mocking an opposing viewpoint, to indicate character and distinguish it from my real statement.

Try classic view?

ps. We have a bit of firepower in this thread for a discussion of font. Are we sure we don't want to veer into religion and politics? Italics is west, bold is east.