QUOTATION MARKS?
In the 'good old days', good in my opinion, I learned English from traditional books at school. My view on punctuation was reinforced when I trained as a journalist in the UK. Traditional punctuation dictated that books, newspaper headlines and handwriting used double quotation marks for quoting a conversation. So you used double quotation marks when reporting the exact words of a defendant in a court case; but you used single quotations for the editor or reporter's comment.
Therefore, James said it was an "accident" means he actually used the word accident. If you describe it as an 'accident', or an alleged accident, you are giving the defendant the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise you are prejudicing the reader. The defendant may ask to be judged in a different city or country or by jurors who have not read the newspaper. he or she might even claim that the case should be dismissed because there cannot be a fair trial after 'trial by media'
A single quotation shows the editors comment, that we have summarised what he said to get in in a headline, paraphrased what he said, or deduced what he implied, or what we inferred from some other statement. Single quotations are also used to distinguish and separate other items which are not reported speech, such as book titles.
For example, "The book everybody should buy," says the author, or the reviewer. (Quoted words.)
The book, 'Everybody Should Buy', is now top of the book charts. (Title of book.)
The book 'Everybody should buy' is selling well. (Book title.)
'The Book' everybody is talking about ... (Praise.)
"He claims it was an 'accident' but we know better." (Here the single quotation is both a quotation within a quotation and sarcasm.
However, sometime at the end of the 20th century or the first two decades of the 21st century, American fashions took over the printed world. Punctuation is reduced to save space and time. the single quotation key on the far right keyboard does not require the use of the shift key, unlike the double quotation mark above it.
The Harrow Writers' Circle has issued instructions for its competitions on the new system of single quotation marks for speech, with double quotation marks used to identify a quotation within a quotation.
In the 'good' old days, when single quotation marks suggested sarcasm by the writer, or a viewpoint of the general public, headlines were clearer. Italics were used to distinguish titles of books. Italics were used to emphasize a word within a quotation.
But now, alas, the single quotation mark is becoming common. The style books of the major newspapers and publishing houses producing books and brochures and leaflets must be promoting it. For the sake of consistency, and modernity, I shall probably have to follow the trend. it would be too confusing for me as a writer and for my readers to see two sets of punctuation produced at the same time. The internet means that what I write in London is read in the USA and Singapore. What I write in Singapore is read in London and the USA. What I write in the USA is read in Singapore and London. I used to feel annoyed and insulted when Singaporean school pupils, who had previously been under the UK education system, and were still doing O level, marked by UK examiners, tried to tell me that they were using the correct spelling and punctuation because they had copied the US films and reports on the internet. Now I am on a see-saw. One more straw on the see-saw and I shall land with a thump, shocked and surprised, on the side of the single comma, while my two friends on the other side look aghast.
No! I have just read a very confusing newspaper headline, which leaves me wondering whether I should go it alone and return to the old system in my self-published books.
Your comments would be appreciated.
In the 'good old days', good in my opinion, I learned English from traditional books at school. My view on punctuation was reinforced when I trained as a journalist in the UK. Traditional punctuation dictated that books, newspaper headlines and handwriting used double quotation marks for quoting a conversation. So you used double quotation marks when reporting the exact words of a defendant in a court case; but you used single quotations for the editor or reporter's comment.
Therefore, James said it was an "accident" means he actually used the word accident. If you describe it as an 'accident', or an alleged accident, you are giving the defendant the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise you are prejudicing the reader. The defendant may ask to be judged in a different city or country or by jurors who have not read the newspaper. he or she might even claim that the case should be dismissed because there cannot be a fair trial after 'trial by media'
A single quotation shows the editors comment, that we have summarised what he said to get in in a headline, paraphrased what he said, or deduced what he implied, or what we inferred from some other statement. Single quotations are also used to distinguish and separate other items which are not reported speech, such as book titles.
For example, "The book everybody should buy," says the author, or the reviewer. (Quoted words.)
The book, 'Everybody Should Buy', is now top of the book charts. (Title of book.)
The book 'Everybody should buy' is selling well. (Book title.)
'The Book' everybody is talking about ... (Praise.)
"He claims it was an 'accident' but we know better." (Here the single quotation is both a quotation within a quotation and sarcasm.
However, sometime at the end of the 20th century or the first two decades of the 21st century, American fashions took over the printed world. Punctuation is reduced to save space and time. the single quotation key on the far right keyboard does not require the use of the shift key, unlike the double quotation mark above it.
The Harrow Writers' Circle has issued instructions for its competitions on the new system of single quotation marks for speech, with double quotation marks used to identify a quotation within a quotation.
In the 'good' old days, when single quotation marks suggested sarcasm by the writer, or a viewpoint of the general public, headlines were clearer. Italics were used to distinguish titles of books. Italics were used to emphasize a word within a quotation.
But now, alas, the single quotation mark is becoming common. The style books of the major newspapers and publishing houses producing books and brochures and leaflets must be promoting it. For the sake of consistency, and modernity, I shall probably have to follow the trend. it would be too confusing for me as a writer and for my readers to see two sets of punctuation produced at the same time. The internet means that what I write in London is read in the USA and Singapore. What I write in Singapore is read in London and the USA. What I write in the USA is read in Singapore and London. I used to feel annoyed and insulted when Singaporean school pupils, who had previously been under the UK education system, and were still doing O level, marked by UK examiners, tried to tell me that they were using the correct spelling and punctuation because they had copied the US films and reports on the internet. Now I am on a see-saw. One more straw on the see-saw and I shall land with a thump, shocked and surprised, on the side of the single comma, while my two friends on the other side look aghast.
No! I have just read a very confusing newspaper headline, which leaves me wondering whether I should go it alone and return to the old system in my self-published books.
Your comments would be appreciated.
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