Writing Blog Number 2

20240815 Italics

Italics

Quick one. I was asked this question recently after giving a review. I thought I’d covered it already, but can’t find it.

So, when do we use italics?

1) Titles
This I know I’ve covered, and it’s at this entry here: "20240511 Formatting Titles" . It’s technical, yes, I know, but it is all there (including the mistakes I made initially having been fixed…) so that covers using italics in the titles of things.

2) Thoughts
The standard practice nowadays is that thoughts that reflect exactly what the person is thinking be put in italics. Direct thought, like direct speech.
         So: I need to get a bigger boat, he thought. This is a direct thought. His exact thoughts are I need to get a bigger boat.
          But: He thought he needed to get a bigger boat. Here, the thing he is thinking is only reported, like indirect speech. This means italics are not needed.

3) Emphasis
Italics can be used to emphasise certain words in a piece of writing. This could be narratively, in a work of fiction, to focus the reader’s attention on something or to clarify what could otherwise be a confusing point, or in a work of non-fiction to pinpoint a key word.
         Mary would make sure that it was her daughter who became head cheerleader, not Betty’s.
         A writer does have to be careful not to overuse this, though, because this is most definitely a case where it will diminish its effectiveness. And I have read some works where it feels like every third word is emphasised in this way.

4) Foreign Words
Another topic I have also covered in (probably too much) detail: "20240516 Using Foreign Words" .

5) When Discussing Specific Words
This is starting the very technical side of italics. If we are looking at a word in an etymological sense, then we can either put it in single quotation marks or italicise it, with the latter becoming more preferred.
         It is unsure where the word boy comes from.
         It is especially useful when comparing two words. There is a distinct difference between the words premier, meaning ‘most important,’ and premiere, meaning ‘first performance.’

6) When Discussing An Animal Species
In biology – and any time the terms are used – the genus and species (and sub-species) name of a living organism is italicised.
         The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is the largest living fish species. Note: the genus has a capital letter while the species has a lower-case letter.
         The dingo, Canis lupus dingo, is considered the only native placental mammal in Australia. The sub-species also has a lower case letter.
         And this applies to plants as well: The Swainsona formosa, or Sturt’s desert pea, is the floral emblem of South Australia.
         Where this becomes curious is where the scientific name for an animal becomes its common name. The only known case is the boa constrictor. This name is used in italics only if referring to the creature in a scientific, taxonomical manner.
         And, finally, we come to dinosaurs. If the name of a dinosaur is used, and it is just the dinosaur, then it is like any animal. A triceratops attacked the tyrannosaurus. Some will write these names (Triceratops/ Tyrannosaurus) with a capital letter, to distinguish it from a family group (ceratopsian/ tyrannosaur), but there is no consensus on that. But if the full name of the animal is used, it should be italicised. A triceratops attacked the Tyrannosaurus rex. or A Triceratops horridus attacked the tyrannosaurus. or A Triceratops horridus attacked the Tyrannosaurus rex. This also counts when using abbreviations: T.rex.

7) When Discussing Legal Cases
The actual names of a completed legal case is italicised. While the case is ongoing, it is not, as the participants could change. This is used when referring to a case for a legal precedent or when discussing cases for future reference.
         The case of Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark US legal case for its implications concerning desegregation.. It should be noted that in some cases, the US will use vs. instead of v. for versus (against). Either is correct.
         In Commonwealth cases will often be R. v. Other/s. This indicates the government is the prosecuting body. R. stands for Regina (queen) or Rex ((king) and signifies that it is in the name of the Commonwealth monarch that a case is being persecuted.
         In some cases, the v./vs. is not italicised, though this seems to be going out of fashion in recent years.

ADDENDUM – Inverse Italics
If an entire sentence is in italics, any words that would normally be in italics are in normal type. It’s like a negative picture image.
         Well, he thought, I’m here at the cinema, so I might as well watch Deadpool And Wolverine and not waste my time.

I hope that covers everything!