Italian Quotation Marks (Fra Virgolette) Types and Uses

Italian Quotation Marks (Fra Virgolette) Types and Uses Italian quotation marks (le virgolette) are sometimes treated as an afterthought in the classroom and in textbooks, but to English-speaking natives reading Italian newspapers, magazines, or books, its obvious there are differences in both the symbols themselves and how they’re used. In Italian, quotation marks are used to give a word or phrase a particular emphasis, and they’re also used to indicate citations and direct discourse (discorso diretto). In addition, quotation marks are used in Italian to point out jargon and dialect as well as to denote technical and foreign phrases. Types of Italian Quotation Marks Caporali ( «  »): These arrow-like punctuation marks are the traditional Italian quotation mark glyphs (in fact, theyre also used in other languages, including Albanian, French, Greek, Norwegian, , and Vietnamese). Typographically speaking, the line segments are referred to as guillemets, a diminutive of the French name Guillaume (whose equivalent in English is William), after the French printer and punchcutter Guillaume le Bà © (1525–1598).  «  » are the standard, primary form for marking up quotations, and in older textbooks, manuscripts, newspapers, and other printed material, are usually the only type encountered. The use of caporali ( «  ») begin to diminish with the advent of desktop publishing in the 80s, since a number of font sets did not make those characters available. The newspaper Corriere della Sera (to point out just one example), as a matter of typographical style, continues to use caporali, both in the printed version and online. For instance, in an article about the high-speed train service between Milano and Bologna, there is this statement, using angled quotation marks, from the president of the Lombardia region:  «Le cose non hanno funzionato come dovevano ». Doppi apici (or alte doppie) ( ): Nowadays these symbols frequently replace the traditional Italian quotation marks. For example, the newspaper La Repubblica, in an article regarding the possible merger of Alitalia with Air France-KLM, featured this direct quote: Non abbiamo presentato alcuna offerta ma non siamo fuori dalla competizione. Singoli apici (or alte semplici) ( ): In Italian, single quotation marks are typically used for a quotation enclosed inside another quotation (so-called nested quotations). Theyre also used to indicate words used ironically or with some reservation. An example from an Italian-English translation discussion board: Giuseppe ha scritto:  «Il termine inglese free ha un doppio significato e corrisponde sia allitaliano libero che gratuito. Questo puà ² generare ambiguit ». Typing Italian Quotation Marks To type  « and  » on computers: For Windows users, type  « by holding Alt 0171 and  » by holding Alt 0187. For Macintosh users, type  « as Option-Backslash and  » as Option-Shift-Backslash. (This applies to all English-language keyboard layouts supplied with the operating system, e.g. Australian, British, Canadian, U.S., and U.S. Extended. Other language layouts may differ. The backslash is this key: \) As a shortcut, caporali can easily be replicated with the double inequality characters or (but which typographically speaking, though, are not the same). Usage of Italian Quotation Marks Unlike in English, punctuation such as commas and periods are placed outside the quote marks when writing in Italian. For example:  «Leggo questa rivista da molto tempo ». This style holds true even when doppi apici are used instead of caporali: Leggo questa rivista da molto tempo. The same sentence in English, though, is written: Ive been reading this magazine for a long time. Given that certain publications use caporali, and others use doppi apici, how does one decide which Italian quotation marks to use, and when? Provided that the general usage rules are adhered to (using double quotation marks to signal direct discourse or point out jargon, for example, and single quotation marks in nested quotations), the only guidelines are to adhere to a consistent style throughout a text. Personal preference, corporate style, (or even character support) may dictate whether  «  » or are used, but there is no difference, grammatically speaking. Just remember to quote accurately!

Background on the Killing of Harambe the Gorilla

Background on the Killing of Harambe the Gorilla On May 28, 2016, an employee at the Cincinatti Zoo and Botanical Garden shot and killed a silver-back gorilla named Harambe after a small child wandered from his mother and fell into Harambe’s habitat. The gorilla, who was alarmed by the child, a sudden interruption to his normally routine life in captivity, became agitated. Zoo officials chose to kill the gorilla before he could harm the child. The boy survived, suffering minor injuries and a concussion. The Debate Could there have been a better way to handle this situation, given how quickly the events transpired? This became the central question of a nationwide debate that transpired on social media and in news outlets, after video of the incident was published and circulated on Youtube. Many felt that the zoo could have handled the situation differently and believed that the killing of the animal was cruel and unnecessary, especially considering the silver-backed gorilla’s status as a critically endangered species. Petitions circulated on Facebook asking for the mother, a childcare worker, to be arrested for child endangerment. One petition garnered almost 200,000 signatures. The incident raised questions of zoo maintenance, security, and standards of care. It even reignited a public debate over the ethics of keeping animals in captivity. Investigations of the Incident The Cincinnati Police Department investigated the incident  but decided not to press charges against the mother, despite widespread public support for a negligence charge. The USDA also investigated the zoo, which had been cited previously on unrelated charges, including for security concerns in the polar bear habitat. As of August 2016, no charges have been filed. Notable Responses The debate over Harambe’s death was widespread, even reaching as high up as then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, who stated that it was â€Å"too bad there wasn’t another way.† Many public figures blamed the zookeepers, arguing that had the gorilla been given just a few more moments, he would have handed the child off to humans as other gorillas living in captivity have done. Others asked why a tranquilizer bullet could not have been used. Said Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, â€Å"The killing of Harambe saddened the nation, because this magnificent creature did not place himself into this captive setting and did nothing wrong at any stage of this incident.† Others, including zookeeper Jack Hanna and legendary primatologist and animal rights activist Jane Goodall, defended the zoo’s decision. Although Goodall originally stated that it seemed in the video that Harambe was trying to protect the child, she later clarified her position that the zookeepers did not have a choice. â€Å"When people come into contact with wild animals, life and death decisions sometimes have to be made,† she said. Significance to Animal Rights Movement Like the killing of Cecil the Lion by an American dentist one year prior, the widespread public outcry over Harambe’s death was viewed as a significant win for the animal rights movement, despite its tragic catalyst. That these issues became such high-profile stories, covered by The New York Times, CNN, and other major outlets and discussed on social media broadly, marks a change in the way the public engages with animal rights stories in general.