OT: Sheepish Question

Not laughing, except for "sheepish" question, THAT struck me funny!

Asterisks connotate emphasis, and on some newsreader clients, it *will* show up that way!

Ask away! Anytime! Hugs, Noreen

Hahahahaha, Noreen! I didn't even catch the "sheepish" till you pointed it out! LOL

I never knew why the asterisks either and still use quotations or caps. Do caps show up in all readers?

Eve :o)

Usenet (newsgroups like this one) is originally a simple letters-only medium, with no colors, pictures, or fancy typefaces. Capital letters show up but they are considered to be shouting. Asterisks are the computer code for bold-face type, so they are often used for emphasis. I find them hard to read when they are right next to the word, so I prefer to use an _underline_ before and after a word for emphasis. Sometimes people will use the slant character to indicate /italics/.

Quotation marks are best saved for actual quoting, because when they are used as if for emphasis, they really mean that the word is being used sarcastically: for example, a "good" solution is really a _bad_ solution. A "genuine" antique is obviously a fake, and a "fresh" egg is almost certainly rotten.

=Tamar

Tamar what an interesting way of looking at that. I often use Quotation marks, to make that "one" word stand out, but never to be sarcastic though.....or to mean the opposite. That is to complicated thinking for me. Are you saying that when I do that the quotation marks become asteriks...? when you guys get to read, what I have written.... I never see asteriks in any text here..??

Els

Els, * asterisks * make the type BOLD on some readers, it's a different usage than " quotation marks "

No, the asterisks stay the way they are, and the quotation marks stay the way they are. I am used to the fact that some people use quotation marks for emphasis (so I do understand that you are not being sarcastic), but it isn't the way I was taught in English class in school. I was taught that quotation marks that aren't actually around a quotation mean that the word is being used with the tone of voice that indicates sarcasm. Or at least, it means that there is something odd about the statement and people should think about it carefully.

Remember air quotes? I think that gesture was popular in the 1980s. People would waggle fingers in the air - two fingers on each hand, to be the quotation marks - to indicate that a statement was sarcastic because they weren't sure their audience would understand the tone of voice.

Sometimes it's funny to read advertising written by people who don't know that; sometimes I think it makes the advertising more honest than they meant it to be... ;-)

=Tamar

Tamar and Noreen Thanks for the Enlish lesson. I have a very good exuse, for erring, most of my English is, was, learned by word of mouth and from listening to others, from reading books and being corrected when I do it wrong. I will add these little bits to my learning lessons Now lets hope I do not forget.

Els

Your English is very good, better than that of many people. Luckily, the newsgroup is not a language class. :-)

=Tamar

Tamar i am perplexed by this interesting idea , that asteriks mean sarcasm ??? that is tottaly new to me , mirjam

No, not asterisks. Asterisks are the computer code for a bold typeface and they just mean emphasis. The sarcasm is a specialized use of quotation marks - when they are used around a single word or short phrase, and the word isn't part of a quotation from someone, and it isn't a brand name, then it means the word is being said with a _strange_ emphasis that means it doesn't have the usual meaning. Usually that different meaning is sarcastic.

Example: if I want to emphasize that a yarn price is a really good deal, I might type: * great * prices! :-)

But if I think the prices really _aren't_ so great, I might type: "great" prices. :-/

=Tamar

Well, I must say, I have learned the better use of textile terms from this group, so for me, it is a language information as well as all the other things we do share. Neat that the internet makes that possible. The use of a computer confronts you all the time with gramatical errors, but most of all with speling errors. Eudora, and Microsoft word both underline and the one program even has a little man sitting at the right hand corner of the screen, waving his hands at you when you get of the correct spelling and gramaticla track. Believe it or not I often talk back to him....LOL I have several good dictionaries loaded on my computer and that is very helpful. I love Grammarian. It also gives me a Dutch dictionary, Oh yes I need help there as well. LOL

Els

Well Tamar, after explaining it to Mirjam, I start to get it better.....LOL See there is another *great* English lesson for both of us. I have never used the asterisks other than making some designs..LOL

Els

Same thing from a slightly different branche.....LOL

Els

Els, Your English is FINE. Everyone in this group who has English as a second, third, fourth or more language is FANTASTIC! I know I've told this story before, but I will repeat it. When my niece, Laura was very young, there was a Rotary Exchange Student in her class, whom Laura and her friends made fun of, for their "accent".... I quietly told Laura: "Just remember, anyone who speaks English with an accent speaks at LEAST one more language than YOU do!" She got the point, told her friends ... and the teasing stopped, with apologies. Later, I told her that her own gramma's accent is due to Polish being the primary language in my mother's home, with English being first learned at school. Laura is now a champion of helping immigrant's learn to speak, read and write English. whew, off my soapbox... what I'm trying to say, is never ever make apologies for asking questions about English usage! HUGS, Noreen

Good for Laura, Noreen, it is nice to work with Immigrants, to teach Enlish, most likely she is picking up other languages as well.

Els

I like being able to talk more languages than one, at times it makes helps to have quite funny situations. Maybe i have told this before, but when we lived in UK , our son just learned to speak, in Hebrew when you speak to a female you add some a different suffix , To a boy you would say SHEV when you want him to sit , and to a girl Shvie ... thus my son approached our Local freinds` daughter and said Sitie when he wanted her to sit..... Also all the local kids called me Mrs IMA [ mother in Hebrew] , since they heard my kids calling me Ima , and not realizing it was equivalent to their Mumy .... I was trnaslating in the Museum one day, and my colleague and me were discussing a Dutch doc, a man went by the corridor, later as he passed we spoke about some German terms, later that day he heard us speak English with a visitor, and later he heard us two speak Hebrew between us ,,,, so he approached us and said; " Please make up your mind what langugae to speak between the 2 of you , it is confusing ".. mirjam

Noreen,

I just love this story and wouldn't have minded even a little bit had I been here for your first telling of it!

Bravo to Laura for her work!

Smiles and hugs, Eve :o)

Wow! I don't know why, but when I'm replying to a particular post this morning (maybe that's it -- I'm never on the 'puter during the day, especially not the morning!) ... but in OE, if I hit "reply to group" while a particular post is highlighted, my reply shows right below it. This morning that's not where they're landing -- they're showing at the end of the thread. Hopefully this doesn't confuse anybody!

Eve ... who's eternally confused anyhow! LOL :o)