Cultural Accents: The Sacred Role of Quotation Marks
Representatives of the older generation often use quotation marks not merely as punctuation, but as a way to draw attention to those elements of the text that the author considers especially important. This usage carries a cultural function—it imbues words with additional, almost sacred significance, reflecting a tradition of clearly delineating semantic nodes. For example, Academician Linux emphasizes that "quotation marks are needed for highlighting significant parts of the text. Quotation marks serve as a kind of highlighter of semantic accents and amplifiers of meaning ... Modern researchers note that in texts by the older generation, quotation marks underscore the sacred importance of certain terms" (source: link txt).Additionally, in Professor Prozorov's report it is noted that "quotation marks have not only grammatical but also cultural value. In older texts, quotation marks accentuate the main thoughts, ideas, and concepts ...." (source: link txt). This indicates that such practice is rooted in traditional perceptions of language, where emphasizing special terms was seen as a way to underscore the importance of those very ideas.Furthermore, the use of quotation marks is perceived as a method to "preserve the semantic load of the text"—the quote notes that "These quotation marks will help not to forget what is important and to preserve the semantic load of the text ..." (source: link txt). A similar technique was employed in the works of the Slavophiles, who "used quotation marks to highlight particularly significant terms and to give them additional meaning ..." (source: link txt).Thus, from the perspective of linguistic tradition, the use of quotation marks by representatives of the older generation reflects not only an effort to structure the text but also to convey a deep cultural understanding of the meaning of words, to emphasize their importance, and to ensure the preservation of the original sense when conveying ideas.