Grammar Nazis

[Highlander]

The WWII CBI book I'm working on has vast tracts of quotations my dad's and the associated reference material, so I tend to tab the quoted section and have all the words in italics with no quotation marks, then use quotation marks "around" anything that would have been in italics...

I'm also guilty of bringing back the use of semi-colons in other stuff...

[Freuds_Cat]

I'm very obviously guilty of using "Air quotation marks". I think the main reason for this is because of the way that we now use written language as an instant or short delay form of communication.

The written word in the past had a more fixed and long term purpose which was quite different to direct audible speech.
These days with chat programs and forums like this one we are using written words as if we all drop into the pub at the end of the street each day to catch up with each other. Very different than writing a letter to a friend and doing 3 more copies to a few more mates then waiting a week for the replies.

I use the "*" to emphasize things or objects as well as for their original purpose. I guess I could Bold or Cap the words I want emphasized but I'm not sure that I would be using correct grammar in that case either.
This is also the reason we use emoticons I guess. Not sure where they fit into correct or "proper" grammar.

We are using the language differently than in the past. Do we strictly adhere to the old rules or do we accept that change will be inevitable? I dont have that answer so I try and fit between the lines.

[Highlander]

[Dave W]

Victor Borge was great. He milked the same routines for years and still made me smile every time.

[Highlander]

He did a run of Heineken (refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach) adverts for many years, but my favourite of those was the last one I saw, which had VB posing as the richest man on the planet, and showing a succession of beautiful things that just do not please him, then he is presented with a glass of said beverage, takes a drink, turns to the camera, and deadpans... the outgoing voice-over (VB again) says, "Which goes to show, not even Heineken can get it right all of the time..."

This is the only one I can find... Ceasar watersking...!



This was quite a popular, non VB one...