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Quotation marks in English
Quotation marks in English
Quotation marks in English
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“ ”
Double typographic quotes
‘ ’ " " ' '
Single typographic quotes Neutral double quotes Neutral single quotes

In English writing, quotation marks or inverted commas, also known informally as quotes, talking marks,[1][2] speech marks,[3] quote marks, quotemarks or speechmarks, are punctuation marks placed on either side of a word or phrase in order to identify it as a quotation, direct speech or a literal title or name. Quotation marks may be used to indicate that the meaning of the word or phrase they surround should be taken to be different from (or, at least, a modification of) that typically associated with it, and are often used in this way to express irony (for example, in the sentence 'The lunch lady plopped a glob of "food" onto my tray.' the quotation marks around the word food show it is being called that ironically). They are also sometimes used to emphasise a word or phrase, although this is usually considered incorrect.[4][5]

Quotation marks are written as a pair of opening and closing marks in either of two styles: single (‘...’) or double (“...”). Opening and closing quotation marks may be identical in form (called neutral, vertical, straight, typewriter, or "dumb" quotation marks), or may be distinctly left-handed and right-handed (typographic or, colloquially, curly quotation marks); see Quotation mark § Summary table for details. Typographic quotation marks are usually used in manuscript and typeset text. Because typewriter and computer keyboards lack keys to directly enter typographic quotation marks, much of typed writing has neutral quotation marks. Some computer software has the feature often called "smart quotes" which can, sometimes imperfectly, convert neutral quotation marks to typographic ones.

The typographic closing double quotation mark and the neutral double quotation mark are similar to – and sometimes stand in for – the ditto mark and the double prime symbol. Likewise, the typographic opening single quotation mark is sometimes used to represent the ʻokina while either the typographic closing single quotation mark or the neutral single quotation mark may represent the prime symbol. Characters with different meanings are typically given different visual appearance in typefaces that recognize these distinctions, and they each have different Unicode code points. Despite being semantically different, the typographic closing single quotation mark and the typographic apostrophe have the same visual appearance and code point (U+2019), as do the neutral single quote and typewriter apostrophe (U+0027).[6] (Despite the different code points, the curved and straight versions are sometimes considered multiple glyphs of the same character.)[7]

History

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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 Christian Bible. During the Renaissance, quotations were distinguished by setting in a typeface contrasting with the main body text (often italic type vs roman). Long quotations were also set this way, at full size and full measure.[8]

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.[8]

In Early Modern English, quotation marks were used to denote pithy comments. They were used to quote direct speech as early as the late sixteenth century, and this practice became more common over time.[9][10]

Usage

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Quotations and speech

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Single or double quotation marks denote either speech or a quotation. Double quotes are preferred in the United States and Canada. In Australia, double quotes are preferred for indicating speech,[11][12] except in the government and corporate sectors, where the preference is for single quotes.[13][14] Single quotes are more usual in the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa, though double quotes are also common there, especially in journalistic works[clarification needed].[15][16] In New Zealand, both styles are used.[17][18]

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,' said Hal.
"Good morning, Frank," said 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 quotations are nested in more levels than inner and outer quotation. 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,[19] thus:

" ... ' ... " ... ' ... ' ... " ... ' ... "

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

In many cases, quotations that span multiple paragraphs are set as block quotations, and thus do not require quotation marks. However, quotation marks are used for multiple-paragraph quotations in some cases, especially in narratives, where 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:

The letter was to this effect:

"My dear Lizzy,

"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.

"Yours, etc."

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. Commas are also often used before and after the interruption, more often for quotations of speech than for quotations of text:

"Everything", said Hal, "is going extremely well."

Quotation marks are not used for indirect speech. This is because indirect speech can be a paraphrase; it 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 just giving content, which may be paraphrased, and which could be open to interpretation.

For example, if Hal says: "All systems are functional", then, in indirect speech:

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

Irony

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Main article: Scare quotes

Another common use of quotation marks is to indicate or call attention to ironic, dubious, or non-standard words:

He shared his "wisdom" with me.
The lunch lady plopped a glob of "food" onto my tray.
He complained about too many "gummint" regulations.

Quotes indicating verbal irony, or other special use, are sometimes called scare 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.

Signalling unusual usage

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Quotation marks are also used to indicate that the writer realises 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: Dawkins's concept of a meme could be described as an "evolving idea".

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; or to indicate special terminology that should be identified for accuracy's sake as someone else's terminology, as when 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, 17th edition (2017),[20] acknowledges this type of use but, in section 7.57, cautions against its overuse: "Quotation marks are often used to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard (or slang), ironic, or other special sense .... [T]hey imply 'This is not my term,' or 'This is not how the term is usually applied.' Like any such device, scare quotes lose their force and irritate readers if overused."

Use–mention distinction

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Main articles: Use–mention distinction and Metalanguage

Either quotation marks or italic type can emphasise that an instance of a word refers to the word itself rather than its associated concept.

Cheese is derived from milk. (concept)
"Cheese" is derived from a word in Old English. (word)
Cheese has calcium, protein, and phosphorus. (concept)
Cheese has three Es. (word)

In linguistics

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Precise writing about language often uses italics for the word itself and single quotation marks for a gloss, with the two not separated by a comma or other punctuation,[21] and with strictly logical quotation around the gloss – extraneous terminal punctuation outside the quotation marks – even in North American publications, which might otherwise prefer them inside:[22]

Latin ovis 'sheep', canis 'dog', and equus 'horse' are nouns.

Titles of artistic works

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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"

As a rule, the title of a whole publication is italicised (or, in typewritten text, underlined), 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, video game levels, editorial sections of websites, etc.) are written with quotation marks.

Nicknames and false titles

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Quotation marks can also set off a nickname embedded in an actual name, or a false or ironic title embedded in an actual title; for example, Nat "King" Cole, Frank "Chairman of the Board" Sinatra, or Simone Rizzo "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante.

Nonstandard usage

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Quotes are sometimes used for 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.[5]

Order of punctuation

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With regard to quotation marks adjacent to periods and commas, there are two styles of punctuation in widespread use. These two styles are most commonly referred to as "American" and "British", or sometimes "typesetters' quotation" and "logical quotation". Both systems have the same rules regarding question marks, exclamation points, colons, and semicolons. However, they differ in the treatment of periods and commas.[23][24]

In all major forms of English, question marks, exclamation marks, semicolons, and any other punctuation (with the possible exceptions of periods and commas, as explained in the sections below) are placed inside or outside the closing quotation mark depending on whether they are part of the quoted material.[25]

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.
Type "C:" at the DOS prompt to switch from a floppy disk to a hard drive.

A convention is the use of square brackets to indicate content between the quotation marks that has been modified from, or was not present in, the original material.

British style

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The prevailing style in the United Kingdom – called British style,[23][25] logical quotation,[26] and logical punctuation[27] – is to include within quotation marks only those punctuation marks that appeared in the original quoted material and in which the punctuation mark fits with the sense of the quotation, but otherwise to place punctuation outside the closing quotation marks.[27] 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 according to the sense."[28]

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 title of the song was "Gloria", which many already knew.
She said she felt "free from care and anxiety".

When dealing with direct speech, according to the British style guide Butcher's Copy-editing, if a quotation is broken by words of the main sentence, and then resumed, the punctuation before the break should follow the closing quote unless it forms part of the quotation. An exception may be made when writing fiction, where the first comma may be placed before the first closing quote.[29] 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.[29] Periods and commas that are part of the person's speech are permitted inside the quotation marks regardless of whether the material is fiction.[29]

"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)

Hart's Rules and the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors call the British style "new" quoting. It is also similar to the use of quotation marks in many other languages (including Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan, Dutch and German). A few US professional societies whose professions frequently employ various non-word characters, such as chemistry and computer programming, use the British form in their style guides (see ACS Style Guide).

According to the Jargon File from 1983, American hackers (members of a subculture of enthusiastic programmers) switched to what they later discovered to be the British quotation system because placing a period inside a quotation mark can change the meaning of data strings that are meant to be typed character-for-character.[30]

Some American style guides specific to certain specialties also prefer the British style.[24] For example, the journal Language of the Linguistic Society of America requires that the closing quotation mark precede the period or comma unless that period or comma is "a necessary part of the quoted matter".[22] The websites Wikipedia and Pitchfork use logical punctuation.[27]

American style

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In the United States, the prevailing style is called American style,[25] whereby commas and periods are almost always placed inside closing quotation marks.[31][32][33][34][35] This is done because it results in closer spacing and what is judged to be a cleaner appearance.[36] The American style is used by most newspapers, publishing houses, and style guides in the United States and, to a lesser extent, Canada as well.

When dealing with words-as-words, short-form works, and sentence fragments, standard American style places periods and commas inside the quotation marks:

"Carefree," in general, means "free from care or anxiety."
The title 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)

Nevertheless, many American style guides explicitly permit periods and commas outside the quotation marks when the presence of the punctuation mark inside the quotation marks leads to ambiguity, such as when describing keyboard input, as in the following example:

In the programming language Pascal, the statement "end.", including the period, signifies the end of a program.

The American style is recommended by the Modern Language Association's MLA Style Manual, the American Psychological Association's APA Publication Manual, the University of Chicago's The Chicago Manual of Style, the American Institute of Physics's AIP Style Manual, the American Medical Association's AMA Manual of Style, the American Political Science Association's APSA Style Manual, the Associated Press' The AP Guide to Punctuation, and the Canadian Public Works' The Canadian Style.[37] This style is also used in some British news and fiction.[38][29]

Ending the sentence

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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:[24][39][40]

"Hello, world," she said. (both styles)
She said, "Hello, world." (both styles)
"Hello, world!" she exclaimed. (both styles)
"Is anybody out there?" she asked into the void. (both styles)

With narration of direct speech, both styles retain punctuation inside the quotation marks, with a full stop changing into a comma if followed by attributive matter, also known as a speech tag or annunciatory clause. Americans tend to apply quotations when signifying doubt of veracity (sarcastically or seriously), to imply another meaning to a word or to imply a cynical take on a paraphrased quotation, without punctuation at all.

Typographical considerations

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Primary quotations versus secondary quotations

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Primary quotations are orthographically distinguished from secondary quotations that may be nested within a primary quotation. British English often uses single quotation marks to identify the outermost text of a primary quotation versus double quotation marks for inner, nested quotations. By contrast, American English typically uses double quotation marks to identify the outermost text of a primary quotation versus single quotation marks for inner, nested quotations.

British usage does vary, with some authoritative sources such as The Economist and The Times recommending the same usage as in the US,[41] whereas other authoritative sources, such as The King's English, Fowler's, and New Hart's Rules, recommend single quotation marks.[42] In journals and newspapers, quotation mark double/single use often depends on the individual publication's house style.

Spacing

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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 thin space ( ) or larger non-breaking space ( ) be inserted.

So Dave actually said, "He said, 'Good morning' "? (thin-space)
Yes, he did say, "He said, 'Good morning.' " (non-breaking space)

This is not common practice in mainstream publishing, which will generally use more precise kerning. It is more common in online writing, although using CSS to create the spacing by kerning is more semantically appropriate in Web typography than inserting extraneous spacing characters.

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Straight quotation marks (or italicised straight quotation marks) are often used to approximate the prime and double prime, e.g. when signifying feet and inches or arcminutes and arcseconds. For instance, 5 feet and 6 inches is often written 5' 6"; and 40 degrees, 20 arcminutes, and 50 arcseconds is written 40° 20' 50". When available, however, primes should be used instead (e.g. 5′ 6″, and 40° 20′ 50″). Prime and double prime are not present in most code pages, including ASCII and Latin-1, but are present in Unicode, as characters U+2032 ′ PRIME and U+2033 ″ DOUBLE PRIME. The HTML character entity references are ′ and ″, respectively.

Double quotation marks, or pairs of single ones, also represent the ditto mark.

Straight single and double quotation marks are used in most programming languages to delimit strings or literal characters, collectively known as string literals. In some languages (e.g. Pascal) only one type is allowed, in some (e.g. C and its derivatives) both are used with different meanings and in others (e.g. 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 eat 'hot' dogs in Pascal one uses 'eat ''hot'' dogs'. Other languages use an escape character, often the backslash, as in 'eat \'hot\' dogs'.

In the TeX typesetting program, left double quotes are produced by typing two back-ticks (``) and right double quotes by typing two apostrophes (''). This is a continuation of a typewriter tradition of using ticks for opening quotation marks; see Quotation mark § Typewriters and early computers.

Typing quotation marks on a computer keyboard

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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. In character encoding terms, these characters are labeled unidirectional. However, most computer text-editing programs provide a "smart quotes" feature to automatically convert straight quotation marks into bidirectional punctuation, though sometimes imperfectly (see § Smart quotes). Generally, this smart quote feature is enabled by default, and it can be turned off in an "options" or "preferences" dialog. Some websites do not allow typographic quotation marks or apostrophes in posts. One can skirt these limitations, however, by using the HTML character codes or entities[43] or the other key combinations in the following table. In Windows, AutoHotkey scripts can be used to assign simpler key combinations to opening and closing quotation marks.

How to type typographic quotation marks (and apostrophes) on a computer keyboard
  Windows Alt code combinations macOS key combinations Linux (X) keys Unicode point HTML entity HTML decimal
Single opening  ‘  Alt+0145 (on number pad) ⌥ Opt+] Compose+<+' or Alt Gr+⇧ Shift+V U+2018 &lsquo; &#8216;
Single closing
(and apostrophe[44][45]) 		 ’  Alt+0146 (on number pad) ⌥ Opt+⇧ Shift+] Compose+>+' or Alt Gr+⇧ Shift+B U+2019 &rsquo; &#8217;
Double opening  “  Alt+0147 (on number pad) ⌥ Opt+[ Compose+<+" or Alt Gr+v U+201C &ldquo; &#8220;
Double closing  ”  Alt+0148 (on number pad) ⌥ Opt+⇧ Shift+[ Compose+>+" or Alt Gr+b U+201D &rdquo; &#8221;

(For additional characters used in other languages, see Quotation mark § Summary table.)

Smart quotes

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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 user being aware of it). Out-of-the-box behavior on macOS, iPadOS and iOS is to make this conversion. These are known as smart quotes (“...”). Straight quotation marks are also retronymically called dumb quotes ("...").[46]

The method for producing smart quotes may be based solely on the character preceding the mark. If it is a space or another of a set of hard-coded characters or if the mark begins a line, the mark will be rendered as an opening quote; if not, it will be rendered as a closing quote or apostrophe. This method can cause errors, especially for contractions that start with an apostrophe or text with nested quotations:

Text as typed Desired result Example erroneous results
'14 ’14 ‘14
I forgot my 'phone. I forgot my ’phone. I forgot my ‘phone.
'Twas the night before Christmas ...[47] ’ Twas the night before Christmas ... ‘ Twas the night before Christmas ...
"'Hello,' he said, 'to you'" “ ‘Hello,’ he said, ‘to you’ ” “ ’Hello,’ he said, ‘to you’ ”

In Windows, if it is necessary to follow a space with a closing quotation mark when Smart Quotes is in effect, it is usually sufficient to input the character using the Alt code shown above rather than typing " or '.

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Quotation marks in English

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Quotation marks, also known as inverted commas or quotes, are a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to enclose direct speech, exact quotations from sources, or specific words and phrases that require emphasis or distinction in English writing. They appear in two main styles: double (“ ”) and single (‘ ’), with the choice depending on regional conventions and style guides. In , double marks are standard for primary quotations, while single marks are used for quotes within quotes; in , the preference is often reversed, starting with single marks for primary use. Key rules govern their placement with other punctuation: in American style, periods and commas go inside the closing quotation mark regardless of whether they belong to the quoted material, whereas colons, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation points go outside unless they are part of the quote itself. British style, by contrast, places punctuation outside the marks unless it is integral to the quoted text, promoting logical consistency. For longer quotations exceeding certain lengths—such as four lines in MLA style or forty words in APA—the text is typically formatted as a block quote without enclosing marks, indented for separation. These conventions help maintain clarity and prevent misinterpretation in academic, journalistic, and literary contexts. Beyond direct speech and citations, quotation marks serve additional functions, such as enclosing titles of shorter works like articles, chapters, or poems (with italics reserved for books and full publications), denoting ironic or skeptical usage in "," or highlighting words treated as linguistic examples. Indirect quotations, which rather than reproduce exact words, do not require marks but still need attribution to avoid . Style guides like APA emphasize double marks for linguistic examples or test items, while advising against overuse for emphasis, which italics or boldface better provide. The origins of quotation marks trace back to ancient Alexandria in the 2nd century BCE, where the scholar Aristarchus developed the "diple" (an arrow-like mark >) to highlight notable passages in texts, evolving from earlier proofreading symbols like the obelos. By the 16th century, printing innovations introduced double commas and inverted forms in English books, with the modern opening and closing pairs standardizing in the 18th century through novels like Samuel Richardson's Clarissa (1748). By the 19th century, printers reached consensus on their form and primary role in denoting direct speech, solidifying their place in English punctuation amid divergences between American and British practices.

History

Origins in ancient writing

The earliest precursors to modern quotation marks appeared in ancient Greek and Roman textual criticism as marginal symbols to denote divisions, variants, or noteworthy passages in manuscripts. In the 2nd century BCE, , head librarian at the , developed the diple (>), an arrow-like mark placed in the margins to highlight lines requiring or containing textual variants, often in works like those of . This symbol, requiring two pen strokes, evolved from earlier marks like the obelos (—) for spurious text and was sometimes doubled (>>) or dotted (⸖, diple periestigmene) to indicate disputed readings in Homeric texts. By the early centuries CE, Christian scribes adapted the diple in Greek manuscripts of the —a Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures—to mark embedded biblical quotations, distinguishing quoted divine speech from narrative. In parallel, ancient Hebrew and scripts employed dots and inverted comma-like symbols to guide and mark readings in religious texts, influencing later European practices through systems. Masoretic scholars in the 7th–10th centuries CE added nikkud ( points) and ta'amim (cantillation marks)—small dots and accents—to the , indicating pauses, phrasing, and intonations for liturgical chanting. Similarly, early Qur'anic manuscripts from the 7th century used i'jam (diacritical dots) not only for letter distinction but also to denote pauses () in sacred verses, ensuring accurate oral transmission. These Semitic traditions, transmitted through Byzantine and Islamic scholarship, contributed to the marginal notation systems that bridged ancient and medieval . During the transition to the medieval period, symbols like the punctus elevatus (a raised dot or comma-like mark) emerged in Latin around the to denote pauses or separate quoted material, particularly in patristic texts. This mark, placed mid-line to indicate a significant syntactic break, was used to highlight direct speech or citations in theological works, building on ancient diple practices. , in his 7th-century Etymologies ( I, chapter 20), explicitly linked such notations to speech representation, describing the diple as a scribal tool "to separate or make clear the citations of Sacred Scriptures" in books, thereby etymologizing it as a divider of quoted divine or human discourse. These ancient and early medieval innovations laid the groundwork for quotation marking, though they remained inconsistent until later manuscript developments.

Development in medieval and early modern Europe

In medieval European manuscripts, particularly those in Latin and early English, direct speech and quotations were typically distinguished through rhetorical conventions, layout adjustments, or simple underlining rather than specialized symbols, building on ancient practices like the diple for marking notable passages. Scribal focused on aiding oral reading, with virgules (slash-like marks) commonly used to indicate pauses or syntactic breaks, including separations within dialogue; for instance, in manuscripts of Geoffrey Chaucer's (late 14th century), virgules helped delineate speech turns amid narrative, as seen in the Ellesmere manuscript where they mark rhythmic and dialogic divisions without enclosing marks. By the 14th and 15th centuries, English and Latin manuscripts increasingly employed opening and closing parentheses—curved marks that emerged around this period—to enclose parenthetical material, often combined with underlining to highlight , though usage remained inconsistent across scribes and regions. Direct speech was more commonly indicated by underlining, changes in script size, or spatial layout in theological texts and poetry. In , the transition to spurred refinements in quotation practices. French texts of the introduced guillemets (« »)—angle brackets named after printer Guillaume Le Bé—as marginal or inline markers for citations, first appearing around and gaining traction in works like Pierre de Ronsard's Satyres chrestiennes (1580), where turned commas evolved into these paired symbols to denote quoted passages. This innovation, influenced by the era's italic advancements, contrasted with English developments, where double commas in margins marked quotations as early as 1525 in John Fisher's Defensio Regie Assertionis. Punctuation reformer Richard Mulcaster, in his 1582 treatise The First Part of the Elementarie, advocated for standardized "distinctions" in English writing to enhance clarity, including consistent pointing for pauses and marginal marks to signal quoted or sections, urging printers and writers to adopt uniform practices for speeches amid the growing . Mulcaster's emphasis on rhetorical and visual aids for reflected broader efforts to adapt traditions to printed books, paving the way for more precise quotation handling in English texts.

Standardization in printing presses

The invention of the movable-type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1455 facilitated the widespread standardization of typographical conventions, including early forms of quotation markers, by enabling the uniform replication of punctuation across printed volumes. Drawing from Latin manuscript traditions where marginal diple symbols (>) or double commas indicated quotations, printers began incorporating these elements into books, transitioning from inconsistent handwritten practices to consistent printed forms. Although the Gutenberg Bible itself lacked dedicated quotation marks, relying instead on larger typefaces or indentations for scriptural distinctions, the press's efficiency accelerated the adoption and refinement of such symbols in subsequent European imprints. In English printing, this standardization manifested gradually, with the first notable use of inverted commas appearing in the 1516 Strasbourg edition of De Vitis Sophistarum by Flavius Philostratus, where double commas marked the start of quoted passages in the left margin. By the mid-16th century, English texts like the 1574 Mirrour for Magistrates employed these marks to denote direct speech, influencing biblical printing as well; early English Bibles, such as the 1535 —the first complete printed edition in English—adopted continental punctuation practices from Latin sources, using commas and marginal notations to signal scriptural divisions, though full quotation marks for dialogue were not yet routine. This evolution reflected the press's role in disseminating formalized conventions from scholarly Latin works into vernacular English editions. The saw further consolidation of double quotation marks (" ") in English , particularly for , as printers sought clearer visual cues in narrative texts. Samuel Richardson's Clarissa (1748) exemplified this shift, opening paragraphs of speech with a single inverted in the margin and adding interior commas for continuation, a practice that popularized paired double quotes for enclosing direct quotations in British novels and helped establish them as a standard for dramatic representation. By the late 19th century, institutional style guides reinforced these conventions for scholarly and citation purposes. for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, (1893) prescribed single quotation marks for primary quotations and double for nested ones, standardizing their use in academic citations and influencing British publishing norms. In America, the Press's Manual of Style (first edition 1906, building on earlier typographical guidelines from the 1890s) advocated double for direct quotes, with periods and commas inside, promoting distinct American variations that diverged from British single-quote preferences. These guides, born from advancements, ensured ' role in precise textual attribution across English-language works.

Forms of Quotation Marks

Straight and curly quotation marks

Straight quotation marks, also known as neutral or typewriter quotes, consist of the single quote (') and double quote ("), which are ASCII characters encoded as U+0027 and U+0022, respectively. These forms originated in the as a practical for early typewriters, where mechanical constraints and the need to minimize keys led manufacturers to adopt symmetrical, vertical marks instead of more elaborate alternatives. By 1893, this shift was well-established, as noted in typographic discussions emphasizing efficiency for stenographers and typists. In contrast, curly or typographic —opening double (“), closing double (”), opening single (‘), and closing single (’)—are directional characters encoded in Unicode as U+201C, U+201D, U+2018, and U+2019, respectively. These marks, rooted in traditional printing practices, curve inward at the top and bottom to create an aesthetic flow that visually encloses the quoted material and enhances readability in professional . They are preferred in modern publishing and design for their legibility and harmony with curved letterforms, distinguishing them from the rigid verticality of straight quotes. The prevalence of straight quotes persisted through much of the due to and early computer keyboards, but a historical shift toward curly quotes occurred in the with the advent of . Innovations like the Apple Macintosh in 1984, which included support for typographic characters influenced by training, enabled easier rendering of curly marks in digital fonts, reviving their use in word processors and layout software. This transition marked a return to pre- standards, prioritizing typographic elegance over mechanical simplicity.

Single versus double quotation marks

In American English, double quotation marks have been the standard for enclosing direct speech since the 19th century, when printing conventions solidified their use for primary quotations to distinguish spoken words clearly from narrative text. This practice emerged as printers adopted paired marks to replace earlier marginal notations, with double marks providing a visually prominent enclosure for dialogue. American style guides, such as the , continue to mandate double quotation marks as the primary form for all direct quotations. British English traditionally prefers single quotation marks as the primary enclosure for direct speech, though practices vary among contemporary publications; for example, the BBC uses double marks for body text while reserving singles for headlines and nested content, and The Guardian uses single marks as primary. Single quotation marks are universally used in both varieties for nested quotations—quotes within quotes—to maintain a clear , alternating between double and single to avoid confusion. For example, a sentence might read: She announced, "I will attend the meeting, but only if 'everyone participates actively.'" In British style, single quotation marks are also employed as the primary marks for titles of minor works, such as articles, chapters, or poems, as recommended by guides like Oxford's; for instance, uses singles for such titles in running text (e.g., the chapter 'On Quotation'). These conventions ensure typographic clarity, with the curly forms of the marks—left double (“ U+201C), right double (” U+201D), left single (‘ U+2018), and right single (’ U+2019)—assigned specific Unicode code points for consistent digital rendering.

Regional variations in symbols

In , double curly quotation marks (“ ”) are the standard for enclosing primary quotations, with single curly quotation marks (‘ ’) used for quotations within quotations; this convention solidified in the early 20th century through influential style guides such as , reflecting a divergence from earlier shared practices with British printing. British English reverses this hierarchy, employing single curly quotation marks (‘ ’) as the primary symbols for direct speech and quotations, reserving double curly quotation marks (“ ”) for nested instances, a practice formalized in the from the early onward and attributed to efficiencies in 19th-century steam-powered that favored simpler single marks. Commonwealth variations often align with British preferences but include local nuances; for instance, predominantly uses single quotation marks for direct speech and titles, as specified in the Australian Government Style Manual, while conventions vary, with official guidelines favoring single marks and newspapers often using double, for their cleaner visual impact in print, with some styles incorporating spaced single quotes (e.g., ‘ text ’) influenced by regional publishing conventions. In , the norm mirrors American usage with double (“ ”) for primary quotations and singles (‘ ’) for inner ones, per official guidelines like The Canadian Style; however, due to the country's bilingual environment, French guillemets (« ») are borrowed in French-influenced or bilingual texts for enclosing book titles and other works, diverging from symbols.

Primary Uses in Writing

Direct quotations and dialogue

Quotation marks in English primarily serve to enclose direct quotations, which reproduce the exact words spoken, thought, or written by a source, distinguishing them from the surrounding narrative or commentary. For instance, in the sentence "She said, 'I am here,'" the marks delimit the verbatim statement attributed to the speaker. This usage ensures clarity in attributing specific language to its originator, preventing in texts that blend authorial voice with sourced material. In narrative writing, particularly , quotation marks enclose to represent spoken exchanges. Each speaker's words begin a new , with opening at the start of their speech; if a single speaker continues over multiple paragraphs, opening marks appear at the beginning of each but the closing mark only at the very end. tags, such as "he said" or "she replied," are typically separated from the quoted speech by a placed inside the closing quotation mark, and the tag follows in lowercase unless it begins a new sentence. This convention, rooted in practices, facilitates smooth readability by visually separating speakers and integrating narrative interruptions without disrupting flow. Interrupted quotations, common in dialogue to mimic natural speech patterns, use the same enclosing marks but handle breaks with appropriate punctuation like commas or em dashes. For example, in "Hello," he said, "world," the comma inside the first closing mark signals a pause for the tag, and the second part resumes without capitalization. More abrupt interruptions employ an em dash, as in "I thought I might— Oh, it’s no use," where the dash indicates an abrupt shift, and spacing or closure follows house style preferences. These techniques preserve the verbatim integrity of the speech while accommodating narrative structure. Historically, the use of for evolved gradually in English literature. In William Shakespeare's plays, such as those in the (1623), direct speech was not enclosed in quotation marks; instead, speakers were identified by their names in italics or capitals at the start of lines, with indicated through indentation and line breaks. Initially, colons or other sometimes introduced speech, but quotation marks were absent as a standard device for enclosing . By the mid-eighteenth century, with advancements in and the rise of the novel, quotation marks became conventional for delimiting spoken words, as seen in works like Samuel Richardson's Clarissa (1748), marking a shift toward modern typographical practices for clarity in reproduced speech.

Titles of works and proper names

In English writing, quotation marks are commonly used to denote titles of shorter creative works, such as poems, articles, book chapters, and songs, while longer works like books, films, and albums are typically italicized. For example, the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost would be enclosed in double quotation marks, whereas the collection Mountain Interval in which it appears is italicized. This distinction helps distinguish component parts from standalone publications, emphasizing the hierarchical structure of titles within larger bodies of work. The convention of using for such titles evolved in the , particularly in English periodicals, where they replaced earlier practices like underlining or simple due to the limitations of early and the need for clear demarcation in dense text. Prior to widespread computer , underlining served as a proxy for italics in manuscripts for titles, but became standardized for shorter works as presses advanced, allowing for more precise typographical conventions by the late 1800s. Major style guides reflect this usage: the recommends double for titles of poems, articles, chapters, and songs, while similarly employs them for shorter works. In contrast, the (AP) uses for a broader range of titles, including books and songs, to maintain consistency in journalistic contexts. For headlines, AP style specifies single as a space-saving measure. Regarding proper names, quotation marks are not standard for personal names unless conveying irony, but some usage guides apply them to names of ships and vessels, such as the "Titanic," particularly in non-typographically advanced formats. However, authoritative style guides like the Chicago Manual of Style and others predominantly recommend italics for ship names to treat them as titles of unique entities, e.g., the Titanic. In British English, single quotation marks may be used for titles of shorter works, aligning with regional preferences for inverted commas.

Irony, emphasis, and scare quotes

Quotation marks employed for irony, emphasis, or skepticism—commonly termed —enable authors to distance themselves from a word or phrase, signaling that it is used in a nonstandard, ironic, or dubious sense rather than literally. This device conveys , doubt, or derision, prompting readers to interpret the enclosed term critically, as in describing questionable guidance as the "expert" advice to undermine its reliability. For instance, in analytical writing, so-called "progress" might critique developments that fail to deliver genuine advancement, using the quotes to highlight the term's ironic application. The practice of gained prominence in 20th-century literature to underscore irony and non-literal meanings, with the term itself coined by philosopher in her 1956 essay "Aristotle and the Sea Battle." In George Orwell's , frequently appear around words like "" and "truth" to expose the totalitarian regime's manipulation of language, emphasizing the dystopian inversion of concepts. Style guides universally warn against overuse of , as frequent application can unintentionally suggest mockery or impart a jittery tone to the text, diluting their impact. The advises writers to articulate precise meanings directly rather than relying on quotes, noting that excess implies a lack of clarity in expression. Similarly, the MLA Style Center cautions that overuse may confuse readers and obscure .

Advanced Linguistic Applications

Use-mention distinction

The is a foundational concept in the , separating the ordinary employment of a linguistic expression to denote its (use) from the act of referring to the expression itself as an object of analysis (mention). In a use, such as "A dog barks," the word dog functions to signify the animal and contributes to the sentence's truth conditions. By contrast, in a mention, such as "'Dog' has three letters," the word dog is treated as a linguistic under , detached from its referential role. Philosopher formalized this distinction in his 1940 book , introducing it to address challenges in logical notation and the representation of language about language. Quine argued that confusions arise when use and mention are not clearly demarcated, particularly in formal systems where expressions must be quoted to avoid self-referential paradoxes; for example, he used quasi-quotation devices like "'y' is a variable" to mention y without substituting its value. This framework influenced by enabling precise metalinguistic discourse in logic and semantics. In grammatical contexts, quotation marks facilitate metalinguistic comments by signaling mention, allowing writers to discuss syntactic, semantic, or orthographic properties of words without invoking their meanings. For instance, "The prefix 'un-' negates the adjective that follows" mentions un- to explain its role, preserving clarity in linguistic analysis. models often rely on this distinction to parse texts where quoted elements require separate processing from surrounding content. During proofreading, the guides editors to treat quoted words as autonomous objects, exempting them from certain grammatical or stylistic rules applied to used words. Style guides recommend enclosing such mentions in (or italics) to indicate their status, ensuring that, for example, the spelling of "color" in "'Color' is the American " is evaluated as a rather than integrated . This approach prevents erroneous corrections and maintains referential accuracy in edited texts.

Signaling nonstandard or unusual usage

Quotation marks serve to draw attention to words or phrases that deviate from conventions, such as regional dialects, , or , thereby alerting readers to their unusual status within the surrounding text. This application treats the enclosed elements as distinct from the author's or narrator's normative language, often in or expository writing. For instance, to incorporate a dialectal expression from , a might state: The farmer called out, "Y'all best head home 'fore the storm hits." Such usage preserves the authenticity of spoken variations without implying endorsement of nonstandard forms as formal English. In journalistic contexts, particularly during the , style guide recommended enclosing , , or colloquial terms in quotation marks to signal their informal or specialized nature. For example, in discussions of evolving , terms like "cool" as for composure were often presented as "cool" to distinguish them from literal temperature references, as seen in the newspaper's "On Language" columns exploring 20th-century American . This practice helped maintain clarity in reporting on cultural shifts, treating such words as temporary or context-specific anomalies rather than integrated . Quotation marks also indicate deliberate reproduction of errors in quoted material, typically accompanied by "[sic]" in italics or brackets to denote that the mistake originates from the source. Consider a historical document with a misspelling: The letter read, "We will recieve the guests tomorrow [sic]." This convention ensures fidelity to the original while avoiding confusion about the quoters' competence. The term "," derived from Latin meaning "thus," has been standard in English editing since the for this purpose, as outlined in authoritative references on . APA guidelines specify inserting "[sic]" immediately after the error for spelling, grammar, or punctuation issues that could mislead readers. For foreign words or phrases not yet fully assimilated into English, quotation marks have been employed historically—especially in 20th-century prose—to highlight their non-native status and prevent misreading as standard terms. An example might render the German concept as the "zeitgeist" of the post-war period, signaling its origin without translation. In earlier printing traditions before italics became ubiquitous, such marks served this isolating function, as noted in guides tracing evolution. Modern styles often prefer italics for isolated foreign terms, but quotation marks persist in some journalistic applications for brevity or emphasis on unfamiliarity. This neutral signaling differs from attitudinal uses like irony, focusing instead on linguistic anomaly.

Nicknames and pseudonyms

In English writing, quotation marks are conventionally used to enclose nicknames when they are inserted within a person's full name or introduced as an alternative identifier. For example, the name might be rendered as Henry M. “” Paulson Jr., where the nickname appears between the and . This practice distinguishes the informal name from the formal one, ensuring clarity in biographical or journalistic contexts. Similarly, epithets such as the “Iron Lady” applied to are set off in quotation marks to indicate their informal or descriptive nature. Pseudonyms, or assumed names used in literature and other creative works, are also typically enclosed in quotation marks to highlight their distinction from the author's real identity. A prominent example is Samuel Clemens, better known by the pseudonym “,” which underscores the pen name's role as an artistic alias. This convention aids readers in recognizing the separation between personal and professional identities, particularly in discussions of authorship. In genealogical and historical writing, pseudonyms may follow the same pattern, placed in quotes after the formal name for precision. Quotation marks for nicknames and pseudonyms differ from their use in titles of works, where casual s receive quotes while formal titles—such as those of books or ships—are generally italicized to denote their official status. For instance, “the Bard” as an for would use quotes, but a book's title like employs italics.

Punctuation Integration

British punctuation rules

In , marks such as commas and s (periods) are placed inside only if they form part of the quoted material; otherwise, they appear outside. This logical approach prioritizes the integrity of the original text over typographical convention. For example, in the sentence "He said, 'Stop.'", the is inside because it belongs to the quote, whereas in "She called it 'a mistake'", the follows the closing mark since it punctuates the surrounding sentence. Colons and semicolons consistently appear outside quotation marks, as they typically relate to the broader sentence structure rather than the quoted content. This "minimal intrusion" principle, formalized in Oxford University Press style guides from the 1920s onward through works like Hart's Rules, emphasizes clarity and avoids altering the quoted text's punctuation. Major British media outlets adhere to these conventions with slight variations in quotation mark preferences. The BBC News Style Guide recommends double quotation marks for direct quotes in body text, placing closing marks after the full stop for complete quoted sentences but before it for phrases, aligning with the logical rule. Similarly, The Guardian's style guide specifies that full points and commas go inside for complete quoted sentences but outside for fragments, using double marks primarily and single for nested quotes. For instance, the BBC might render a full quote as: He announced, "The event is cancelled.", while a phrase becomes: The policy was dubbed "a disaster".

American punctuation rules

In American English, the standard punctuation rules for quotation marks emphasize a consistent, appearance-based approach to placement, primarily as codified in the Chicago Manual of Style (first edition, ), which has influenced book publishing, academic writing, and journalism styles like the (AP). Commas and periods are placed inside the closing quotation marks, regardless of whether they belong to the quoted material, to maintain visual alignment and avoid separating these low-lying marks from the words they punctuate. For example: She called it "a bold move." This convention, described as "a rule without exception" in early editions, originated from pre-1905 typesetting practices in English-language publications and was formalized for aesthetic reasons. A rare exception allows placement outside for technical precision, such as citing exact terms like "". Question marks and exclamation points follow a logical rule based on attribution: they are placed inside the closing quotation marks if they apply to the quoted material, but outside if they pertain to the entire sentence. For instance: He asked, "Why now?" (inside, as part of the quote) versus Did she say "hello"? (outside, applying to the question). This approach, outlined in section 6.10, ensures the punctuation aligns with its semantic role rather than a fixed position. The AP Stylebook adopts a similar for these marks, placing them inside only when integral to the quote. Semicolons and colons are positioned outside the closing quotation marks, as they serve to connect or introduce clauses in the surrounding text rather than punctuating the quote itself. Examples include: He admired her essay "On Liberty"; it was groundbreaking. and Read the chapter: "The Future of Print." This placement, consistent across and AP guidelines, contrasts with the British logical style, which depends on whether the punctuation is part of the original quoted content.

Placement at sentence boundaries

In American English punctuation conventions, as outlined in major style guides such as and , commas and periods are placed inside the closing when they conclude a quoted full sentence, regardless of whether the punctuation was part of the original quoted material. For example, a direct ending a sentence would be rendered as: She declared, "This ends now." This logical approach prioritizes the visual enclosure of the quote, ensuring that sentence-ending marks remain within the marks even if they belong to the surrounding text. The Stylebook similarly mandates that periods and commas always go inside closing for consistency in journalistic writing. In contrast, follows a more contextual rule, as described in the University Style Guide and guidelines from the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), where is placed inside the closing only if it is part of the original quoted material or if the quotation constitutes a complete standalone sentence. For a full-sentence quote at the end of a sentence, the period goes inside: He shouted, 'Get out!' However, if the serves the larger sentence rather than the quote—such as in an integrated phrase—the mark is placed outside: She referred to the 'end of the era' as a turning point. This "British logical" system, also noted in The Guide, aims to preserve the integrity of the quoted text by avoiding the addition of extraneous within it. When dialogue spans multiple sentences, quotation marks are typically placed at the beginning of the speaker's turn and at the end, with internal following the relevant style rules for each sentence boundary. In American style, this might appear as: "I can't believe it," she said. "We've waited so long." In British style, the same would use single quotes with inside for complete sentences but adjusted for integration: 'I can't believe it,' she said. 'We've waited so long.' New paragraphs in extended begin with an opening but omit the closing mark until the speaker concludes.

Typographical and Practical Aspects

Nested and secondary quotations

In English writing, nested quotations occur when a quote contains another quote, requiring a clear to distinguish levels. This ensures readability by alternating between double (" ") and single (' ') quotation marks, following established conventions in major style guides. The choice of outer and inner marks varies by regional style, with typically using double marks for the primary quotation and single marks for secondary ones, while reverses this pattern. In , the outer quotation uses double marks, and any inner quotation within it uses single marks. For example, the states: "Use single quotation marks to enclose quotes within another quotation," as in: The reporter told me, "When I interviewed the , he said they simply 'played a better game.'" This convention is endorsed by the (APA) and the (MLA), which both recommend double marks for direct quotations and single marks for embedded ones to maintain clarity in . If a further level of nesting is needed, marks alternate back to double, though such triple nesting is rare and often avoided through paraphrasing to prevent visual clutter. British English conventions invert this hierarchy, employing single marks for the outer and double marks for the inner one. For instance: The guide explains, 'British practice is normally to enclose quoted matter between single , and to use double for a within a ,' such as: 'Have you any idea', he said, 'what "dillygrout" is?' This approach aligns with recommendations from sources like the Oxford Guide to Style, which prioritizes single marks as the default for primary quotes in British usage. For triple nesting, alternation continues (single-double-single), but it remains uncommon; in such cases, alternatives like italics for emphasis or block formatting for longer excerpts are preferred to enhance legibility without excessive .

Spacing and formatting conventions

In English typography, quotation marks are typically placed immediately adjacent to the enclosed text, with no space before the opening mark or after the closing mark. This convention ensures a seamless integration with the surrounding prose, avoiding visual gaps that could disrupt readability. For example, the phrase "direct speech" follows this rule without intervening spaces between the marks and the words they enclose. In Canadian contexts, French typographic influences lead to the use of (« ») for quotations in French-language publications or bilingual materials. Here, a non-breaking space follows the opening guillemet and precedes the closing one, creating « like this » rather than the space-free English style. This spacing aligns with French norms to enhance legibility and is recommended in official Canadian style guides for materials incorporating French elements. When quotation marks interact with bold or italic formatting, the marks themselves remain in the standard roman (upright) , while the enclosed text adopts the emphasis. For instance, to highlight a term within a quote, italics may be applied to the word—"The key concept"—with the quotation marks unchanged to preserve typographic . If the original quoted material includes bold or italics, these are retained, and any added emphasis by the author is noted separately, such as [emphasis added]. This approach avoids nested formatting conflicts and maintains clarity in academic and . Digital rendering of quotation marks adheres to web standards via CSS, where the quotes property specifies the symbols and their orientation for elements like <q>. By default, browsers render English-style double curly quotes (“ ”), but developers can customize pairs—such as none, low double quotes („ “), or guillemets—for or stylistic control. For example:

css

q { quotes: "“" "”" "‘" "’"; }

q { quotes: "“" "”" "‘" "’"; }

This interacts with the content pseudo-elements (::before and ::after) using open-quote and close-quote to automatically insert marks, ensuring consistent formatting across devices without manual HTML insertion. Curly quotes, preferred for their typographic flow, are enabled by default in modern rendering engines.

Input methods and digital rendering

In desktop computing environments, particularly on Windows operating systems, users can insert curly quotation marks using Alt code shortcuts entered via the numeric keypad. For instance, holding the Alt key and typing 0147 on the numeric keypad produces the opening double quotation mark (“), while Alt+0148 yields the closing double quotation mark (”). These numeric Alt codes, part of the Windows code page 1252 extension to ASCII, became a standard input method in the 1990s with the widespread adoption of graphical user interfaces like Windows 3.1 and later versions. Word processors such as facilitate easier input through auto-correction features that convert straight quotation marks to curly "smart quotes" in real time, based on contextual analysis of surrounding text. This functionality, introduced in early versions of Word during the , replaces a typed " with “ at the start of a quoted section and ” at the end, enhancing typographic accuracy without manual shortcuts. Users can enable or disable this under AutoFormat options in the Proofing settings. Similar auto-correction is available in other processors like , though customization varies by application. Prior to the 2000s, digital rendering of quotation marks on the web faced significant challenges due to inconsistent Unicode support in early browsers and encoding standards. Curly quotes, encoded in Unicode as U+201C (“) and U+201D (”), often appeared as garbled characters (mojibake) or question marks when pages used ASCII or ISO-8859-1, which only natively supported straight quotes (U+0022). Browsers like Netscape Navigator and early Internet Explorer versions defaulted to limited character sets, requiring HTML entities like “ and ” for reliable display; full Unicode adoption accelerated post-2000 with standards like UTF-8. On mobile devices, input methods for quotation marks emphasize touch gestures for efficiency. keyboards, via the built-in Smart Punctuation setting, automatically transform straight quotes into context-appropriate curly versions as users type, with options to access variants by long-pressing the quote key or swiping within the symbol palette. This feature, enabled by default since in 2010 and refined in later versions, ensures typographic consistency across apps like Messages and Notes. Android devices, using keyboards like , support curly quotes through long-press gestures on the quote key to select from a pop-up menu, or recent flick/swipe motions in symbol rows for quick symbol insertion without switching layouts; auto-conversion to smart quotes can be approximated via third-party settings or custom text replacements.

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  87. https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/257707/using-smart-punctuation-on-android-keyboards-just-like-ios-is-it-possible
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