Irony punctuation
The irony mark is a proposed, but hardly used punctuation marks, with the ironic meaning of a sentence or sentence part can be highlighted. It is usually represented by a reversed question mark ( U 2 E2E ).
The following sentence uses the irony mark, to express that it is not perceived as gratifying to beat on the finger:
" Every other day I hit myself for a bad content with the hammer on the finger. Egg! So I love my work ⸮ "
History
The irony mark was proposed by the French poet Alcanter de Brahm alias Marcel Bernhardt end of the 19th century. This proposal was only about seventy years later in 1966 by Hervé Bazin in his book l' oiseau Plumons (German: plucking the bird we ) picked up again, but he used a different ( ψ -like ) shape. He also struck out five additional punctuation before: for doubt (), certainty (), approval (), authority () and love ().
Another sign ( ), which should bring irony in documents expressed, was presented by the Dutch Foundation CPNB ( Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek ) in early 2007.
Originally conceived for use in printed materials hardly happens. Nevertheless, and reference is made to the mark time and again by well-known authors. So Kurt Tucholsky wrote under the pseudonym " Peter Panter " in 1925 in the " Vossische newspaper":
" A Frenchman has even proposed a new punctuation marks: the point d' irony. "
Christoph Markschies, then President of the Humboldt University in Berlin, on the occasion of an honorary degree of Marcel Reich -Ranicki said:
"I must certainly today called for by Jean Paul and Heinrich Heine exclamation mark for marking ironic twists do not set; Peter Wapnewski which is thankfully keep us the eulogy, and Marcel Reich-Ranicki themselves are such masters of irony, is a form that have become point d' irony. "
Further references to irony characters in Jean Meron essay on typography En question: la grammaire typographique. Etude critique (1998) compiled. One can also find a further illustration possibility of the sign in the form of the Greek letter Ψ.
Criticism
One criticism is that the use of irony mark the ironic just removes the irony that it is so, leave open the real meaning of the statement. The irony mark resolves the dissonance between statement and meaning on prematurely and thereby spoiling the mocking aspect.
Alternatives
Other irony markings are almost used exclusively on the Internet, in forums and chats.
Part is ironically meant by two characters, so-called irony tags