quotation
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{{About|quoting text|information about the punctuation mark|Quotation mark|the non-English usage|Quotation mark, non-English usage|market data relating to a security or commodity|Financial quote|the price of a service|Sales quote}}
A
quotation is the repetition of one expression as part of another one, particularly when the quoted expression is well-known or explicitly attributed (as by
citation) to its original source, and it is indicated by (
punctuated with)
quotation marks.A quotation can also refer to the repeated use of units of any other form of expression, especially parts of artistic works: elements of a
painting, scenes from a
movie or sections from a
musical composition.The rest of this article addresses only written or oral quotations.
Reasons for using quotations
Quotations are used for a variety of reasons: to illuminate the meaning or to support the arguments of the work in which it is being quoted, or to provide direct information about the work being quoted (whether in order to discuss it, positively or negatively, to pay homage to the original work or
author, to make the user of the quotation seem well-read). Quotations are also commonly printed as a means of inspiration and to invoke philosophical thoughts from the reader.
Common quotation sources
Famous quotations are frequently collected in books that are sometimes called quotation dictionaries or treasuries. Of these,
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations,
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations,
The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations,
The Yale Book of Quotations and
The MacMillan Book of Proverbs, Maxims, and Famous Phrases are considered among the most reliable and comprehensive sources. Diaries and calendars often include quotations for entertainment or inspirational purposes, and small, dedicated sections in newspapers and weekly magazines — with recent quotations by leading personalities on current topics — have also become commonplace.
Misquotations
Many quotations are routinely incorrect or attributed to the wrong authors, and quotations from obscure or unknown writers are often attributed to far more famous writers. Examples of this are Winston Churchill, to whom many political quotations of uncertain origin are attributed, and Oscar Wilde, to whom anonymous humorous quotes are sometimes attributed.
(1)Deliberate misquotation is also common, though this is often not noticed, usually because the misquotation is better known or because the misquotation better fits a situation. For example, the Star Trek catchphrase 'Beam me up, Scotty' did not appear in that form in the original series- likewise, the famous Dirty Harry quotation 'Are you feeling lucky, punk?' is actually a rewording of the original dialogue. This differs from misinterpretation, in which an author's words are taken out of context, such as the Nietzsche phrase 'God is dead', which is often misunderstood to mean physical death.
-
[ See A Book of Misquotations, edited by Elizabeth Knowles, Oxford University Press, 2006.]
Quotations and the Internet
Chiefly a text medium in the beginning, the
World Wide Web gave rise to any number of personal quotation collections that continue to flourish, even though very few of them seem to facilitate accurate information or correct
citation. On June 27, 2003, a sister project of the
Wikimedia Foundation called
Wikiquote was created as a free online encyclopedia of quotations in every language and it is now the biggest single quotation collection in the world.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}The increase of written means of informal communication brought about by the
Internet has produced the practice of using quotations as personal flags, as in one's own
signature block. This is most commonly seen in
email messages and
Usenet posts, while it is almost never seen in
blog posts. Quotations are also popular as a user's personal message, a line under the user's nickname in some
Instant Messaging clients (and here they often go uncited). In all these cases, quotations are usually included to give a glimpse of the user's personality, to make a statement of their beliefs, or to spread views and ideas.The sheer bulk of online quotations, combined with more efficient search engines, has effectively made the
Internet the world's quotation storehouse, encompassing an unprecedented number of easily obtainable quotations. Though matters of accuracy still remain, features such as Amazon.com's Search Inside the Book and
Google Book Search may serve to alleviate such concerns.
See also
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Quotation}}
External links
اقتباسCitátCitatZitatCitaگفتاوردCitation (littérature)인용CitazioneCitaat引用SitatЦитатаCitovanie (doslovné uvádzanie)CitatSitaattioikeusЦитата语录
- content above as imported from The Pseudopedia
- "quotation" does not exist on GetWiki
- time: 1:42pm EDT - Fri, Mar 19 2010
