Kursivierung

Kursivierung, also known as italics, is a typographical style where characters are slanted. This stylistic choice is employed for various reasons in written text, serving to distinguish certain words or phrases from the surrounding regular type.

Historically, italics emerged from handwriting styles, particularly the chancery cursive developed in 15th-century Italy. Aldus Manutius, a prominent Venetian printer, is widely credited with popularizing italic typefaces for printed books.

Common uses of kursivierung include emphasizing words or phrases, indicating titles of books, periodicals, films, and other creative works, and setting foreign language words or phrases that have not been fully assimilated into the main language of the text. It is also frequently used for scientific names of species and for introducing or defining terms. In some academic writing, italics are used to denote variables in mathematical or scientific contexts. The extent to which italics are used can vary between different style guides and publications. The deliberate use of italics helps to guide the reader's attention and convey subtle nuances in meaning or emphasis.