Part 1.5 in my series of ruined English comes from KW, reporting from Thailand. It's part 1.5, and not part 2, because the sign was actually in Thai, and we unfortunately don't have a picture of it anyway. Nevertheless, it qualifies for the series because it includes misapproprated quotations, which are annoying and hilarious even in translation.
KW saw a sign outside a Bangkok construction site that said:
KW saw a sign outside a Bangkok construction site that said:
Construction Zone
"Danger"
Keep Out
q
Idiotic misuse of quotations is one of the most common grammatical mistakes seen in everyday life. For some reason, people seem to think that slapping quotations on a word or sentence adds emphasis to what they're writing. But the ONE and ONLY purpose of quotations is to show that you are using words that aren't your own. If you want to add visual stress to something, you can underline, bold, italicize, or capitalize the words (see previous sentence for demonstration). But adding quotes can convey the impression that the writer wants to raise skepticism about the validity of what is written. Is this construction site really dangerous, or is it only "dangerous"?
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