British vs American

[Randen]

Pardon my ignorance but, is there any major differences between the two when it comes to punctuations, i.e., ', ", etc.

Are there any other things apart from spelling I should be aware of. Is there anything on the net which can explain the difference in writing styles.

The reason I am asking is, English is my second language.

 

[Weird Harold]

Pardon my ignorance but, is there any major differences between the two when it comes to punctuations, i.e., ', ", etc.

The only difference in puctuation that I know of deals with quote marks. American punctuation puts commas and periods inside the trailing quote and British puts them outside.

American: "This is a silly little point," he said.

British: "This is a silly little point", he said.

I don't know of any specific links to style manuals online, but I'm sure that there are some -- Check newspaper sites from Britain and America for submission guidlines.

 

[Randen]

Re-British vs American

Thanks Harold,

I have also noticed in some books that the writer would use ('), instead of (").

'I prefer this,' she said.

"I prefer this," she said.

Which one is preferable?

 

[MaxSebastian]

Re: Re: British vs American

The only difference in puctuation that I know of deals with quote marks. American punctuation puts commas and periods inside the trailing quote and British puts them outside.

American: "This is a silly little point," he said.

British: "This is a silly little point", he said.

No we don't! Surely!

I've lived in Britain all my life, read a heck of a lot, and ply my trade in journalism here. This is the punctuation we use (compared to your stated American version):

American: "This is a silly little point," he said.

British: "This is a silly little point," he said.

Where did you get your British version, Harold? As a professional editor, it gives me the shivers!

 

[Weird Harold]

Re: Re: Re: British vs American

Where did you get your British version, Harold? As a professional editor, it gives me the shivers!

From other discussions on punctuation and style here at Lit, and the fact that changing from English (US) to English (UK) in MS Word changes the setting of "punctuation inside quotes" in the grammar checker.

 

[Weird Harold]

Re: Re-British vs American

Thanks Harold,

I have also noticed in some books that the writer would use ('), instead of (").

'I prefer this,' she said.

"I prefer this," she said.

Which one is preferable?

Many years ago, in a small school district in Oregon, I was tought that double quotes are used for for marking quotations and dialogue where the literal, exact words of a person were used.

Single quotes are used for 'quotes within quotes,' (where a character quotes another caracter,) and emphasis of phrases (like 'quotes within quotes.')

The majority of what I read conforms to wht I was taught, but the definitions of the two types of quotation marks doesn't really make that distinction -- using them in reverse isn't exsactly wrong, it just doesn't seem to be very common in American publications.

 

[Whispersecret]

As far as I know, punctuation is uniform between Great Britain and America.

 

[MaxSebastian]

Re: Re: Re: Re: British vs American

From other discussions on punctuation and style here at Lit, and the fact that changing from English (US) to English (UK) in MS Word changes the setting of "punctuation inside quotes" in the grammar checker.

Well, trust me, the entire British media uses punctuation marks inside the quotes, the entire British publishing industry uses punctuation marks inside the quotes and every schoolchild in the country is taught to put punctuation marks inside quotes.

And MS Word should never ever be taken as a final word on anything. Microsoft is about computer programming, not grammar and language! Possibly because they're an American company, but they get many, many spelling and grammatical points wrong in their checkers.

 

[Randen]

Thanks Harold, Max and Whisper!

I will then stick to double quotes for dialogue with the pucntuations on the inside. Singel quotes as quotes within dialogue.

My confussion came from seeing the options in MS Word to have the punctuations in or outside the quotes.

Hooray for uniformity!

 

[Randen]

Single!

 

[Closet Desire]

wow...

...one of my hobby horses!

After living here for several years, doing a PhD in English, and writing/editing books for both the US and UK market I have to say the differences are subtle and yet far reaching. My wife's book was written in British style but her publisher wanted it in US. The makeover took over two months. It sure raised my eyebrows.

Beyond rules and as a matter of usage the English tend to use far more commas in the "optional" ways. Academically, style often goes for single quote marks instead of double.

But, on the matter of where punctuation goes? Inside the quote marks.

 

[Randen]

To all you experienced people,

Please help this virgin out. Could someone maybe do a paper/ thesis on this. One day when I am experienced enough, I will 'et al' you in my arguments.

I need to know why.

At the moment I am just following what seems to be the norm. Some of the books I have in my library are slightly different.

 

[Closet Desire]

Why?

Sorry...I was struck by how funny it is because I haven't a clue why it's the way it is. The English language changes so fast when you think about it. Because of my research I have some books that were published in the 1700's (not modern versions but the actual editions) and frankly they are almost a foreign language. The alphabet is different, language structure is different, and so on.

Bearing in mind that I'm referring only to the English profession (as it were) I'll have to root around to find out what the "authoritative" reference is for UK usage. In the US it is the MLA Style Manual (Modern Language Association). For publishing at large it is the Chicago Manual of Style.

I'll get back with the UK reference.

As to why? I'm still scratching my head.

One word of advice--don't copy what you see in books. That's sort of third hand and you WILL find variations. Use the references. The references I've mentioned are authoritative and in academia you will not ever be faulted for using the MLA as long as it is a fairly current edition.

 

[Randen]

Why?

Thanks Closet Desire, I came up with a load of information after doing a search.

The thing is, I failed English as a secondary language, maybe due to a lack of literotica. Now that I am older, and not necessary wiser, I am trying to rekindle my lost past by trying to find out what I have missed out on.

For me, it's like learning to drive a car. What makes it go? Maybe I should just get in and drive; a couple of accidents ahead can only make me more experienced.

 

[Quint]

Look at the editors as your Driver's Ed coach. When in doubt, run it past us...we're here to make sure you're ready to hit the road.

I admire your courage in writing in a language you are not totally fluent in. I thought about writing erotica in Spanish one time, but laughed myself out of that one. Actually, I think I'd sooner write in Non-English than Incest, but that's a whole nother thread.

Welcome to Literotica! Have a nice write.

 

[Randen]

Oh my goodness! I cannot even contemplate writing erotica in my home language. It will be like having a threesome with my grandmother!

Don't get me wrong, I am proud of my heritage, but, writing sexy in my language will surpass all levels of literary suicide.

My first story, 'Cousins and Cuisine', did not do too bad. Just a couple of mistakes but, it was received fairly well.

 

[jon.hayworth]

Re: Source Books on English Usage

Try -

"Benjamin's Elementary Primer of English Grammar - pub Sphere Books 1991 ISBN 0 7474 1018 6

and for good common sense guidelines

"The Times Guide to English Style and Usage" - pub News International plc 1998 ISBN 1 902254 13 9

The second book is based upon the internal publication used by every journalist working for the Times of London.

I hope this helps.

jon

 

[Randen]

Thank you for the info Jon, I will definitly have a look at them.