Thursday, August 11, 2011

Quotation Marks

While trying to decide on a topic for my first Alphabe-Thursday, I came up with a few possibilities. Then something interesting happened.

I came across The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks recently while trying to figure out why some people put quotation marks around the names of pets. The last paragraph of Marinka's comment is the reason it showed up in the search engine, and it's a good one.

All I can figure is that people who do this think it isn't the pet's real name. For example, Sir Barks-a-Lot of the Waggy Tail might be affectionately called "Waggy" or "Barkie," complete with quotation marks. I can understand this; I don't agree with it, but at least I understand it.

However, this theory breaks down when a pet already has a simple name, such as Jasper. Even if that's his whole name (other than the owner's last name), the same people who would use quotes for Sir Barks-a-Lot would also use them with Jasper.

Why use quotes with animals but not with people? If Ellie, Kenny, Angie, and Mike are pets, they'll often end up with quotation marks around their names. If they're people, that's unlikely to happen.

6 comments:

lissa said...

it's fun to read the how people use quotation marks when it's not necessary. though I'm starting to think people add quotation marks around names because they are important, at least that's one theory.

Amanda said...

I've never thought about it, then again I've never used quotation marks for pet names.

However I do have a lot of insecurities about the proper usage of quotation marks in general.

Judie said...

I'm confused! Who would use quotes for pets' names???

Eliza Wynn said...

Judie, I've seen it in a lot of places. Veterinary offices are notorious for it!

The Poet said...

Hello.
I never knew that!

Interesting post.

I'm here:
Quiet Winds Of The Night

Jenny said...

I've never added them around names... I think I use my quotation marks sparingly...

... ....'s, however, are a totally different story.

This was quite a thoughtful post.

Thanks for sharing it.

A+