TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Single vs double quotes? (take II) From:"Elizabeth OShea" <Elizabeth -dot- OShea -at- emergesmart -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 20 Jun 2002 17:45:23 +0100
In European English, use single inverted commas (single quotes) to enclose
quotations from printed material that are less than 100 words long. Also use
single inverted commas to highlight dialect, slang, or jargon when the term
is not likely to be commonly understood within the context in which it is
being presented. Use single inverted commas when using a word ironically.
To present a quotation within a quotation, use double inverted commas.
Example:
I explained, 'Geoff Hart commented, "I was basing my comments on my most
recent round of
reading British fiction"'.
Include punctuation belonging to a quotation _within_ the inverted commas.
(This is opposite to what my US guides tell me). Do not place further
punctuation after the final inverted comma.
Example:
She asked, 'do you think he said, "will you marry me?"'
Place punctuation belonging to the containing sentence _outside_ the
inverted commas.
Example:
She asked, 'I couldn't hear: do you think he said "yes, I'll marry you"'?
In practice, people often use US style for inverted commas. The important
thing is consistency (as Loreto Todd says in her _Guide to Punctuation_
[Cassell]).
Our current (draft) house style is European English style for European
clients, US style for US clients and clients that request it. A client's own
style always overrides house style.
elizabeth
elizabeth -dot- oshea -at- emergesmart -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
Check out RoboDemo for tutorials! It makes creating full-motion software
demonstrations and other onscreen support materials easy and intuitive.
Need RoboHelp? Save $100 on RoboHelp Office in May with our mail-in rebate.
Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
