The Meaning of Italics

by Sep 11, 2014Linguistics

Screen Shot 2014-09-11 at 10.24.27 AM_shrink

All the marks on a printed page—and a lot of the spaces—carry meaning. Even variations in the shape of some of the marks carry meaning. And the meaning of those marks and those variations has evolved over time, just like spoken language.

Just read this little history of italics. An excerpt:

Interestingly, italics weren’t originally used for emphasis. They were used separately to the roman until the mid-16th century (although the capitals were initially all roman). It’s unclear as to who exactly we have to thank for using italics for emphasis alongside roman type, but it’s usually attributed to either François Guyot or Robert Granjon in France. Since then, italics have become a staple part of type families. Over time they have gained a number of specific uses, and this is where thinking about how they might be used in the content we are designing for can help us choose a good typeface.

Read the whole thing.

Read More 

Papple

Papple

True story I just have to share somewhere: I recently asked a precious and generous and godly and intelligent family friend if she had “Apple Pay,” the iPhone-based payment system, so I could quickly remunerate her for something she'd just given my wife. She just...

Take That, Arrogant American English Speakers

This was utterly, absolutely fascinating. I laughed out loud with joy to hear these residents of Mumbai defend their English and criticize ours (see especially starting around 1:10). Why did I find this so funny/interesting? Because it overturns American expectations...

John Calvin and Lamin Sanneh on Giving the Bible to the People

My book, Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible, amounts to an argument for vernacular Bible translation—applied to one specific set of objections in one specific historical circumstance. I find myself repeating myself as I promote the book on podcasts...

Halt! A Defense of My Central Example

Halt! A Defense of My Central Example

A Facebook commenter with a PhD in English challenged my interpretation of halt at KJVQuiz.com. It was perhaps an incautious challenge to make to a person only too ready to write articles upon the feeblest provocation. Here goes. Many of our common words trace back...

Leave a comment.

0 Comments