Jump to content

Quotation marks in English: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
←Replaced content with 'I wanna be the very best. like no1 ever was. to catch them is my real test. to train them is my cause. pokemanz x'
Line 1: Line 1:
I wanna be the very best.
{{About|quotation marks in English|their use in other languages|Non-English usage of quotation marks|their use in computer programming|String literal|the various glyphs used to render quotation marks|Quotation mark glyphs}}
like no1 ever was.
gOT MAN THINKING THAT I SIGNED A CONTRACT, THEY WANNA STAY AT MINE TILL MA MUM COMES BACK.{{Selfref|For the use of quotation marks in Wikipedia, see [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Quotation marks]].}}
to catch them is my real test.

to train them is my cause.
'''Quotation marks''' or '''inverted commas''' (informally referred to as '''quotes''' or '''speech marks''')<ref>{{cite book
pokemanz x
| editorn-last = Barber
| editorn-first = Katherine
| title = The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
| edition = second
| year = 2004
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| isbn = 0-19-541816-6
}}</ref> are [[Punctuation|punctuation marks]] at the beginning and end of a quotation, direct speech, literal title or name. Quotation marks can also be used to indicate a different meaning of a word or phrase than the one typically associated with it and are often used to express [[irony]]. Quotation marks are sometimes used to provide emphasis in lieu of other typographic means, though this is usually considered incorrect.<ref name="ucalgary">{{cite web
| url=http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/course/punctuation/3_8.htm
| title=3.8 - Quotation Marks
| work=University of Calgary
| author=English Department
| date=1999-07-26
| accessdate=2010-12-19 }}
</ref><ref name="LanguageLog">[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002796.html Language Log: Dubious quotation marks]</ref>

Quotation marks are written as a pair of opening and closing marks in either of two styles: {{nowrap|single (‘…’)}} or {{nowrap|double (“…”)}}, and may take "curly" or "straight" [[glyphs]]. Straight glyphs &ndash; {{nowrap|single ('…')}} or {{nowrap|double ("…")}} &ndash; are often preferred in online writing, while curly glyphs predominate in paper publishing.

Depending on the typeface, opening and closing quotation marks may be identical in form (called vertical, straight, or typewriter quotation marks), or may be distinctly left-handed and right-handed (typographic or, colloquially, curly quotation marks). The closing single quotation mark is identical or similar in form to the [[apostrophe]] and similar to the [[Prime (symbol)|prime]] symbol. However, these three characters have quite different purposes.

==History==
In the first centuries of [[typesetting]], quotations were distinguished merely by indicating the speaker, and this can still be seen in some editions of the Bible. During the [[Renaissance]], quotations were distinguished by setting in a [[typeface]] contrasting with the main body text (often [[Italic type]] with [[Roman type|roman]], or the other way round). Long quotations were also set this way, at full size and full measure.<ref name=typehist>Bringhurst (2002), p 86.</ref>

Quotation marks were first cut in metal type during the middle of the sixteenth century, and were used copiously by some printers by the seventeenth. In some [[Baroque]] and [[Romantic-period]] books, they would be repeated at the beginning of every line of a long quotation. When this practice was abandoned, the empty margin remained, leaving the modern form of indented [[block quotation]].<ref name="typehist" />

In [[Early Modern English]], quotation marks were used only to denote pithy comments. They first began to quote direct speech in 1714. By 1749, single quotation marks, or inverted commas, were commonly used to denote direct speech.<ref>Truss, Lynne. ''Eats, Shoots &amp; Leaves'', 2003. p. 151. ISBN 1-59240-087-6.</ref>

==Usage==
===Quotations and speech===
Single or double quotation marks denote either speech or a quotation. Neither style is an absolute rule, though the double marks mostly preferred in the United States and Canada are also now favored by some major British journalism style guides, while single marks remain common in Britain and throughout the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]. A publisher's or author's style may take precedence over regional general preferences. The important idea is that the style of opening and closing quotation marks must be matched:

: 'Good morning, Frank', greeted Hal.
: "Good morning, Frank", greeted Hal.

For speech within speech, the other style is used as inner quotation marks:

: 'Hal said, "Good morning, Dave"', recalled Frank.
: "Hal said, 'Good morning, Dave'", recalled Frank.

Sometimes [[Nested quotation|quotations are nested]] in more levels than inner and outer quotation. Nesting levels up to five can be found in the [[Bible|Christian Bible]].<ref>{{Bibleverse||Jeremiah|27:1-11|ESV}}; {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|29:1-28|ESV}}; {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|29:30-32|ESV}}; {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|34:1-5|ESV}}; {{Bibleverse||Ezekiel|1-36|ESV}}</ref> In these cases, questions arise about the form (and names) of the quotation marks to be used. The most common way is to simply alternate between the two forms,<ref>Stilman, Ann. ''Grammatically Correct'', 1997. p. 181. ISBN 13: 978-089879-776-3.</ref> thus:

: "[[ellipsis|...]]'..."...' ... '..."...'..."

If such a passage is further quoted in another publication, then all of their forms have to be shifted over by one level.

In most cases, quotations that span multiple [[paragraph]]s should be set as [[block quotation]]s, and thus do not require quotation marks. Quotation marks are used for multiple-paragraph quotations in some cases, especially in [[narrative]]s. The convention in English is to give opening quotation marks to the first and each subsequent paragraph, using closing quotation marks only for the final paragraph of the quotation, as in the following example from ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'':

{{bquote|<p>The letter was to this effect:</p>

<p>{{Smallcaps|"My dear Lizzy,}}</p>

<p>"I wish you joy. If you love Mr. Darcy half as well as I do my dear Wickham, you must be very happy. It is a great comfort to have you so rich, and when you have nothing else to do, I hope you will think of us. I am sure Wickham would like a place at court very much, and I do not think we shall have quite money enough to live upon without some help. Any place would do, of about three or four hundred a year; but however, do not speak to Mr. Darcy about it, if you had rather not.</p>

<p>"Yours, etc."</p>}}

As noted [[Quotation mark#History|below]], in some older texts, the quotation mark is repeated every line, rather than every paragraph. The Spanish convention uses closing quotation marks at the beginning of all subsequent paragraphs beyond the first.

When quoted text is interrupted, such as with the phrase ''he said'', a closing quotation mark is used before the interruption, and an opening quotation mark after. [[Comma]]s are also often used before and after the interruption, more often for quotations of speech than for quotations of text:

: "Hal", noted Frank, "said that everything was going extremely well."

Quotation marks are not used for [[paraphrase]]d speech. This is because a paraphrase is not a direct quote, and in the course of any composition, it is important to document when one is using a quotation versus when one is using a paraphrased idea, which could be open to interpretation.

If Hal says: "All systems are functional", then:

: ''Incorrect'': Hal said "everything was going extremely well."
: ''Correct'': Hal said that everything was going extremely well.

===Irony===
{{Main|Scare quotes}}
Another common use of quotation marks is to indicate or call attention to [[irony|ironic]] or apologetic words:

: He shared his "wisdom" with me.
: The lunch lady plopped a glob of "food" onto my tray.

Quotes indicating irony, or other special use, are sometimes called [[scare quotes|scare]], sneer, shock, distance, or horror quotes. They are sometimes gestured in oral speech using [[air quotes]], or indicated in speech with a tone change or by replacement with ''supposed[ly]'' or ''so-called''.

===Signaling unusual usage===
Quotation marks are also used to indicate that the writer realizes that a word is not being used in its current commonly accepted sense.

:Crystals somehow "know" which shape to grow into.

In addition to conveying a neutral attitude and to call attention to a [[neologism]], or [[slang]], or special terminology (also known as [[jargon]]), quoting can also indicate words or phrases that are ''descriptive'' but unusual, colloquial, folksy, startling, humorous, metaphoric, or contain a [[pun]]:

<blockquote>Dawkins's concept of a [[meme]] could be described as an "evolving idea".</blockquote>

People also use quotation marks in this way to:
* Distance the writer from the terminology in question so as not to be associated with it, for example, to indicate that a quoted word is not official terminology, or that a quoted phrase presupposes things that the author does not necessarily agree with
* Indicate special terminology that should be identified for accuracy's sake as someone else's terminology, for example if a term (particularly a controversial term) pre-dates the writer or represents the views of someone else, perhaps without judgement (contrast this neutrally-distancing quoting to the negative use of [[scare quotes]])

''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', 15th edition,<ref>
{{cite web
| url = http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
| title = The Chicago Manual of Style Online
| accessdate = 2007-11-08
}}</ref> acknowledges this type of use but cautions against overuse in section 7.58, "Quotation marks are often used to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard, ironic, or other special sense [...] They imply ‘This is not my term,’ or ‘This is not how the term is {{em|usually}} applied.’ Like any such device, scare quotes lose their force and irritate readers if overused."

===Use–mention distinction===
{{Main|Use–mention distinction|Metalanguage}}

Either quotation marks or [[italic type]] can emphasize that an instance of a word refers to [[use–mention distinction|the word itself]] rather than its associated concept.

: Cheese is derived from milk.<!--not italicized or quoted-->
: "Cheese" is derived from a word in Old English.
: Cheese has calcium, protein, and phosphorus.<!--not italicized or quoted-->
: ''Cheese'' has three ''e''<nowiki />'s.

A three-way distinction is occasionally made between normal use of a word (no quotation marks), referring to the concept behind the word (single quotation marks), and the word itself (double quotation marks):

: When discussing 'use', use "use".

The logic for this derives from the need to distinguish use forms, coupled with the mandate to retain consistent notation for like use forms.<ref name="Butcher4">{{Cite book|author=Butcher, J.; Drake, C.; Leach, M.|year=2006|title=Butcher's Copy-Editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-Editors and Proofreaders|edition=4th ed|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=[[Cambridge, England]]}}</ref> The switching between double and single quotes in nested citation quotes reveals the same literary device for reducing ambiguity.

Writing about language often uses italics for [[Words as words|the word itself]] and single quotation marks for a [[gloss]], with the two not separated by a comma or other punctuation, and with strictly [[#Logical quotation|logical quotation]] around the gloss &ndash; extraneous terminal punctuation {{em|outside}} the quotation marks &ndash; even in North American publications, which might otherwise prefer them inside:<ref name="LSoA">{{cite web
|url= http://www.lsadc.org/info/pubs-lang-style.cfm
|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
|title=''Language'' Style Sheet
|year=2011
|work=[[Language (journal)|Language]]
|publisher=[[Linguistic Society of America]]
|location=Washington, DC, US
|accessdate=2011-10-23
|quote=After the first occurrence of non-English forms, provide a gloss in single quotation marks: Latin ovis 'sheep' is a noun. No comma precedes the gloss and no comma follows, unless necessary for other reasons: Latin ''ovis'' ‘sheep’, ''canis'' ‘dog’, and ''equus'' ‘horse’ are nouns.
}}</ref>

: Latin ''ovis'' 'sheep', ''canis'' 'dog', and ''equus'' 'horse' are nouns.<ref name="LSoA" /><!--This example is a direct quotation from the source; do not modify it.-->

===Titles of artistic works===
Quotation marks, rather than italics, are generally used for the titles of shorter works. Whether these are single or double depends on the context; however, many styles, especially for poetry, prefer the use of single quotation marks.
* Short fiction, poetry, etc.: [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s "The Sentinel"
* Book chapters: The first chapter of ''3001: The Final Odyssey'' is "Comet Cowboy"
* Articles in books, magazines, journals, etc.: "Extra-Terrestrial Relays", ''Wireless World'', October 1945
* Album tracks, singles, etc.: [[David Bowie]]'s "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]"

As a rule, a whole publication would be italicised, whereas the titles of minor works within or a subset of the larger publication (such as poems, short stories, named chapters, journal papers, newspaper articles, TV show episodes, editorial sections of websites, etc.) would be written with quotation marks.
* Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet''
* Dahl's "Taste" in ''Completely Unexpected Tales''

===Nicknames and false titles===
Quotation marks can also offset a [[nickname]] embedded in an actual name, or a false or [[ironic]] title embedded in an actual title; for example, [[Nat "King" Cole]], [[Miles "Tails" Prower]], or [[John "Hannibal" Smith]].

===Nonstandard usage===
Quotes are sometimes used for [[emphasis (typography)|emphasis]] in lieu of underlining or italics, most commonly on signs or placards. This usage can be confused with ironic or altered-usage quotation, sometimes with unintended humor. For example, ''For sale: "fresh" fish, "fresh" oysters'', could be construed to imply that ''fresh'' is not used with its everyday meaning, or indeed to indicate that the fish or oysters are anything but fresh. As another example, ''Cashiers' desks open until noon for your "convenience"'' could be interpreted to mean that the convenience was for the bank employees, not the customers.<ref name="ucalgary" /><ref name="LanguageLog" />

==Typographical considerations==
===Punctuation===
{{Anchor|Logical quotation|typesetters' quotation}}
{{Disputed section|reason=See talk; it's been shown conclusively that there is no "British style" but several very similar British styles, and most of them are not quite logical quotation. This whole section's nationalistic bifurcation is a fraud.|date=October 2011}}
With regard to quotation marks adjacent to periods and commas, there are two styles of punctuation in widespread use. While these two styles are most commonly referred to as "American" and "British" and some style sheets provide no other names, some American writers and organizations use the "British" style and vice versa. Both systems have the same rules regarding question marks, exclamation points, colons and semicolons. They differ on the treatment of periods and commas.

In all major forms of English, question marks and exclamation marks are placed inside or outside quoted material depending on whether they apply to the whole sentence or just the quoted portion, but colons and semicolons are always placed outside.<ref>[http://www.tjhsst.edu/~rgreen/grammar/quotes.htm TJHSST]{{Dead link|date=February 2011}}</ref>
* Did he say, "Good morning, Dave"?
* No, he said, "Where are you, Dave?"
* There are three major definitions of the word "gender": vernacular, sociological, and linguistic.

The prevailing style in the United Kingdom &ndash; called '''British style''',<ref name="APA">{{cite web
|url= http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/08/punctuating-around-quotation-marks.html
|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
|title=Punctuating Around Quotation Marks
|location=
|publisher=Style Guide of the American Psychological Association
|year=2011
|format=blog
|accessdate=2011-10-25}}</ref> '''logical quotation'''<ref name="JISS">{{cite web
|url= http://www.abdn.ac.uk/riiss/Documents/JISS%20Style%20Guide%20revised%20FV.pdf
|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
|title=Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies – Style Guide
|location=[[w:en:University of Aberdeen|U. of Aberdeen]], Scotland
|publisher=[[Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies]]
|year=2008
|format=PDF
|quote=Punctuation marks are placed inside the quotation marks only if the sense of the punctuation is part of the quotation; this system is referred to as logical quotation.
|accessdate=2011-10-22
}}</ref><ref name="Yagoda">{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2293056/ |title=The Rise of "Logical Punctuation". |author=Ben Yagoda |date=12 May 2011 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |accessdate=13 May 2011 |authorlink=Ben Yagoda}}</ref> or '''logical punctuation''' &ndash; is to include within quotation marks only those punctuation marks that appeared in the quoted material but otherwise to place punctuation outside the closing quotation marks.<ref name="Yagoda" /> Fowler's ''[[A Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'' provides an early example of the rule: "All signs of punctuation used with words in quotation marks must be placed {{em|according to the sense}}."<ref>{{cite book|title=The New Fowler's [[Modern English Usage]]|edition=3rd|year=1996|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|editor1-last=Burchfield|editor1-first=R.W.|page=646}} Emphasis in original.</ref>
When dealing with words-as-words, short-form works and sentence fragments, this style places periods and commas outside the quotation marks:
* "Carefree", in general, means "free from care or anxiety".
* The name of the song was "Gloria", which many already knew.
* She said she felt "free from care and anxiety".

When dealing with direct speech, British placement depends on whether or not the quoted statement is complete or a fragment. According to the British style guide ''Butcher's Copy-editing'', American style should be used when writing fiction.<ref name="Butcher Cambridge">{{Cite book
|last=Butcher
|first=Judith
|coauthors=et al.
|title=Butcher's Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|year=2006
|location=Cambridge, England
|page=273
|isbn=978-0521847131
}}</ref> In non-fiction, some British publishers may permit placing punctuation that is not part of the person's speech inside the quotation marks but prefer that it be placed outside.<ref name="Butcher Cambridge" /> Periods and commas that {{em|are}} part of the person's speech are permitted inside the quotation marks regardless of whether the material is fiction,<ref name="Butcher Cambridge" />.
* "Today," said Cinderella, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (fiction)
* "Today", said the Prime Minister, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (preferred in non-fiction)
* "Today I feel happy," said the woman, "carefree, and well." (regardless)

In the U.S., the prevailing style is called '''American style''',<ref name="APA" /> '''typesetters' quotation''', '''printers' rules''', '''typographical usage''', or '''traditional punctuation''', whereby commas and periods are almost always placed inside closing quotation marks.<ref>''The Associated Press Stylebook'', p. 337; ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', 15th ed., ch. 6.9, pp. 242–243, http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/Punctuation/Punctuation50.html; Strunk, William Jr., and White, E. B. ,''The Elements of Style'', Pearson Education Company, 4th ed., p. 36; McFarlane and Warren Clements. ''The Globe and Mail Style Book'', 9th ed., p. 237; Brinck, Tom, et al., ''Usability for the Web'', Morgan Kaufmann, 2002, p. 277.</ref> This style of punctuation is common in the U.S. and Canada, and is the style usually recommended by ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' and most other American style guides. However, many American style guides specific to certain specialties, such as legal writing and linguistics, prefer British style.<ref name="US LQ">As just two examples, ''[[The ABA Journal]]'' of the [[American Bar Association]] has [http://books.google.com/books?id=bTRd2XWHORsC&pg=PA866&dq=ABA+Journal+Alderman+Tunstall+Perlman+quotation&hl=en&ei=Kd6hTsTiKabXiALCyL1N&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false preferred logical quotation since at least as early as 1951], and the journal ''[[Language (journal)|Language]]'' of the [[Linguistic Society of America]] also [http://www.lsadc.org/info/pubs-lang-style.cfm requires logical quotation].</ref><ref name="WilbersOnChicago14">{{cite web
|url= http://www.wilbers.com/FAQPunctuation.htm
|author=Stephen Wilbers
|title=Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Punctuation*
|location=
|publisher=
|year=
|format=web site
|accessdate=2011-10-25}}</ref>

When dealing with words-as-words, short-form works and sentence fragments, this style places periods and commas inside the quotation marks:
* "Carefree," in general, means "free from care or anxiety."
* The name of the song was "Gloria," which many already knew.
* She said she felt "free from care and anxiety."

This style also places periods and commas inside the quotation marks when dealing with direct speech, regardless of whether the work is fiction or non-fiction:

* "Today," said Cinderella, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (fiction)
* "Today," said the Prime Minister, "I feel free from care and anxiety." (non-fiction)

Many American style guides that explicitly permit periods and commas outside the quotation marks when the presence of the punctuation mark inside the quotation marks will lead to ambiguity, such as when describing keyboard input:
* To use a long dash on Wikipedia, type in "<code>&amp;mdash;</code>".

In both major styles, regardless of placement, only one end mark (?, !, or .) can end a sentence. Only the period, however, ''may not'' end a quoted sentence when it does not also end the enclosing sentence, except for literal text:<ref>''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', 15th edition; ''[[Hart's Rules|Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford]]''; ''Merriam-Webster's Guide to Punctuation and Style'', second edition.</ref>
* "Hello, world," she said. (American style)
* "Hello, world", she said. (British non-fiction)
* She said, "Hello, world." (both styles)
* "Hello, world!" she exclaimed. (both styles)
* "Is there anybody out there?" she asked into the void. (both styles)

===Spacing===
In English, when a quotation follows other writing on a line of text, a space precedes the opening quotation mark unless the preceding symbol, such as an [[em dash]], requires that there be no space. When a quotation is followed by other writing on a line of text, a space follows the closing quotation mark unless it is immediately followed by other punctuation within the sentence, such as a colon or closing punctuation. (These exceptions are ignored by some Asian computer systems that systematically display quotation marks with the included spacing, as this spacing is part of the fixed-width characters.)

There is generally no space between an opening quotation mark and the following word, or a closing quotation mark and the preceding word. When a double quotation mark or a single quotation mark immediately follows the other, proper spacing for legibility may suggest that a [[non-breaking space]] (&amp;nbsp;) or thin space (&amp;thinsp;) be inserted.
: So Dave actually said, "He said, 'Good morning'&nbsp;"?
: Yes, he did say, "He said, 'Good morning.'&nbsp;"
This is not common practice in mainstream publishing, which will generally use more precise [[kerning]], it is common in online writing, though using [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] to create the spacing by kerning is more [[Semantic HTML|semantically appropriate in Web typography]] than inserting extraneous spacing characters.

===Non-language related usage===
Straight quotation marks (or italicized straight quotation marks) are often used to approximate the [[prime (symbol)|prime]] and double prime, e.&nbsp;g., when signifying feet and inches, [[arcminute]]s and [[arcsecond]]s or [[minute]]s and [[second]]s, where the quotation mark symbolises the latter part of the pair. For instance, 5 feet and 6&nbsp;inches is often written 5' 6"; and 40 degrees, 20 arcminutes, and 50 arcseconds is written 40° 20' 50". When available, however, the prime should be used instead (e.&nbsp;g., 5′ 6″, and 40° 20′ 50″). Prime and double prime are not present in most character sets, including ASCII and Latin-1, but are present in [[Unicode]], as characters {{unichar|2032|prime}} and {{unichar|2033|Double prime}}.

Double quotation marks, or pairs of single ones, are also often used to represent the [[ditto mark]].

Straight single and double quotation marks are used in most [[programming language]]s to delimit [[String (computer science)|strings]] or literal [[character (computing)|characters]], collectively known as [[string literals]]. In some languages (e.&nbsp;g. [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]]) only one type is allowed, in some (e.&nbsp;g. [[C (programming language)|C]] and its derivatives) both are used with different meanings and in others (e.&nbsp;g. [[Python (programming language)|Python]]) both are used interchangeably. In some languages, if it is desired to include the same quotation marks used to delimit a string inside the string, the quotation marks are doubled. For example to represent the string <tt>eat 'hot' dogs</tt> in Pascal one uses <tt><nowiki>'eat ''hot'' dogs'</nowiki></tt>. Other languages use an [[escape character]], often the backslash, as in <tt><nowiki>'eat \'hot\' dogs'</nowiki></tt>.

==Typing quotation marks on a computer keyboard==
Standard English computer keyboard layouts inherited the single and double straight quotation marks from the typewriter (the single quotation mark also doubling as an [[apostrophe]]), and they do not include individual keys for left-handed and right-handed typographic quotation marks. However, most computer text-editing programs provide a "smart quotes" feature (see below) to automatically convert straight quotation marks into typographic punctuation. Generally, this smart quote feature is enabled by default. Some websites do not allow typographic quotation marks or apostrophes in posts (one such example being [[YouTube]]). One can skirt these limitations, however, by using the HTML character codes or entities (though not on YouTube).<ref>[http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/sgml/entities.html#h-24.2 See the WWW Consortium tables here.]</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+How to type quotation marks (and apostrophes) on a computer keyboard
! colspan="2" | &nbsp;
! style="text-align: center;" |Macintosh key combinations
! style="text-align: center" |Windows key combinations
! style="text-align: center" |Linux ([[X Window System|X]]) keys
! style="text-align: center" |Unicode point
! style="text-align: center" |HTML entity
! style="text-align: center" |HTML decimal
|-
!Single opening
|style="text-align: center; width: 30px"|&nbsp;<span style="font-family:serif;font-size:150%">‘</span>&nbsp;
|{{keypress|Opt|]}}
|{{keypress|Alt}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|4}}{{keypress|5}} (on number pad)
|{{keypress|[[Compose key|Compose]]|<|'}} or {{keypress|[[AltGr key|Alt Gr]]|Shift|V}}
|U+2018
|<code>&amp;lsquo;</code>
|<code>&amp;#8216;</code>
|-
!Single closing (&amp; apostrophe)
|style="text-align: center" |&nbsp;<span style="font-family:serif;font-size:150%">’</span>&nbsp;
|{{keypress|Opt|Shift|]}}
|{{keypress|Alt}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|4}}{{keypress|6}} (on number pad)
|{{keypress|Compose|>|'}} or {{keypress|Alt Gr|Shift|B}}
|U+2019
|<code>&amp;rsquo;</code>
|<code>&amp;#8217;</code>
|-
!Double opening
|style="text-align: center" |&nbsp;<span style="font-family:serif;font-size:150%">“</span>&nbsp;
|{{keypress|Opt|[}}
|{{keypress|Alt}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|4}}{{keypress|7}} (on number pad)
|{{keypress|Compose|<|"}} or {{keypress|Alt Gr|V}}
|U+201C
|<code>&amp;ldquo;</code>
|<code>&amp;#8220;</code>
|-
!Double closing
|style="text-align: center" |&nbsp;<span style="font-family:serif;font-size:150%">”</span>&nbsp;
|{{keypress|Opt|Shift|[}}
|{{keypress|Alt}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|4}}{{keypress|8}} (on number pad)
|{{keypress|Compose|>|"}} or {{keypress|Alt Gr|B}}
|U+201D
|<code>&amp;rdquo;</code>
|<code>&amp;#8221;</code>
|}

===Smart quotes===
To make typographic quotation marks easier to enter, publishing software often automatically converts typewriter quotation marks (and apostrophes) to typographic form during text entry (with or without the users being aware of it). These are known as ''smart quotes'' ('''<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 150%;">“ ”</span>'''). Straight quotation marks are also known as ''dumb quotes'' ('''<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 150%;">" "</span>''').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://typedesk.com/2011/01/31/typographic-train-wrecks/ |title=Typographic Train Wrecks |author= David Spencer|date= 31 January 2011|work= Type Desk|publisher= Matador |accessdate= 31 January 2011}}</ref> Some word processing programs incorrectly produce an opening single quotation mark in places where an apostrophe is required, for example, in abbreviated years like '08 for 2008.

==See also==
* [[ʻOkina]]
* [[ISO 8859-1]]
* [[Quotation mark, non-English usage]]
* [[Typewriter#Typewriter conventions|Typewriter conventions]]
* {{unichar|02EE|Modifier letter double apostrophe|nlink=Modifier letter double apostrophe}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
* [[Bringhurst, Robert]] (2002). ''[[The Elements of Typographic Style]]'', version 2.5. Vancouver, Hartley & Marks. ISBN 0-88179-133-4.
* Butcher, Judith (1992). ''Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors and Publishers'', third edition. pp 264–266. [[Cambridge University Press]]. ISBN 0-521-40074-0.

==External links==
* [http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/quotes-in-html.html Curling Quotes in HTML, SGML, and XML]
* [http://www.unicode.org/cldr/data/charts/by_type/misc.delimiters.html Quotation marks in the Unicode Common Locale Data Repository]
* [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs/quotes.html ASCII and Unicode quotation marks] – detailed discussion of the ASCII `backquote' problem
* [http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~ggbaker/reference/characters/ Commonly confused characters]
* [http://www.pensee.com/dunham/smartQuotes.html Smart Quotes]
* [http://typedesk.com/2011/01/31/typographic-train-wrecks/ Smart Quotes vs. Dumb Quotes]
* [http://www.daube.ch/docu/glossary/quotation_marks.html Quotation mark]

{{FOLDOC}}
{{Typography terms}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quotation Mark}}
[[Category:Punctuation]]
[[Category:Typographical symbols]]

{{Link GA|de}}
[[az:Dırnaq işarəsi]]
[[be-x-old:Двукосьсе]]
[[bg:Кавички]]
[[ca:Cometes (tipografia)]]
[[cs:Uvozovky]]
[[da:Citationstegn]]
[[de:Anführungszeichen]]
[[es:Comillas]]
[[eo:Citilo]]
[[eu:Komatxoak]]
[[fr:Guillemet]]
[[xal:Хашалт]]
[[ko:따옴표]]
[[hr:Navodnik]]
[[id:Tanda petik]]
[[is:Gæsalappir]]
[[it:Virgolette]]
[[he:מרכאות]]
[[ka:ბრჭყალები (სასვენი ნიშანი)]]
[[kk:Тырнақша]]
[[lv:Pēdiņas]]
[[lt:Kabutės]]
[[hu:Idézőjel]]
[[nl:Aanhalingsteken]]
[[ja:引用符]]
[[no:Anførselstegn]]
[[pl:Cudzysłów]]
[[pt:Aspas]]
[[ro:Ghilimele]]
[[ru:Кавычки]]
[[simple:Quotation mark]]
[[sk:Úvodzovky]]
[[sl:Narekovaj]]
[[sh:Navodnici]]
[[fi:Lainausmerkki ja heittomerkki]]
[[sv:Citationstecken]]
[[tl:Panipi]]
[[th:อัญประกาศ]]
[[tr:Tırnak işareti]]
[[uk:Лапки]]
[[war:Kugitkugit]]
[[zh:引号]]

Revision as of 09:42, 10 November 2011

I wanna be the very best. like no1 ever was. to catch them is my real test. to train them is my cause. pokemanz x

Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Quotation_marks_in_English&oldid=459945555"