Quotation mark

Quotation marks are special symbols used in writing to show when someone is speaking directly or when we are quoting someone else. They are used in pairs, with one mark at the beginning and another at the end of the spoken words or quotation. These marks help us understand which words are being quoted and which are part of the writer's own thoughts.

Different languages and types of writing use different shapes for quotation marks. Sometimes the opening and closing marks look the same, but often they are different to make it clear where the quotation starts and ends. This helps make writing clearer and easier to read.

Quotation marks are important in many kinds of writing, from stories and books to school reports and messages. They help us share exactly what someone said, which is useful for telling stories, giving instructions, or explaining ideas.

History

Quotation marks have been used for a long time. The single quotation mark started in Ancient Greek and was used by writers to show special quotes from holy books.

The double quotation mark came later, used to show important parts of text. Over time, different countries developed their own styles of quotation marks. For example, in Western Europe, the marks point outward, while in France, they are angular and often have small spaces around them. Other places, like Germany, have their own special shapes too. Each area has its own way of using these marks to make writing clear.

In English

In English, quotation marks are used in pairs around words or phrases to show special meaning. They can show when someone is speaking directly, like when Carol said "Go ahead." They are also used around the titles of smaller works, such as chapters or episodes, like "Encounter at Farpoint" from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sometimes, quotation marks are used to show sarcasm or to point out that a word might not mean exactly what it seems, like calling old bread the "fresh" bread.

In American writing, double quotation marks are usually used. When there are quotes inside other quotes, single quotation marks are used instead. For example: "Didn't she say 'I like red best' when I asked her wine preferences?" he asked his guests. British writing can use either double or single quotation marks, depending on the style preferred. Different places have different rules about where to place punctuation like periods and commas in relation to quotation marks.

Typographic forms

See also: Typographic approximation

Quotation marks come in two main styles. The first style, often called straight or typewriter marks, looks like ' and ". These are the same on both sides and are the ones you find on regular keyboards. They are sometimes changed by software into the second style.

The second style is called curly or typographic marks, and looks like ‘ and “. These curved marks are mostly used in books and printing. Because normal keyboards don’t have these symbols, most writing uses the straight marks unless software changes them to curly ones.

The closing single mark looks the same as an apostrophe, and the double mark looks like a ditto sign. All of these marks have special codes so computers can tell them apart.

A typewriter

A type case containing sorts of movable type

A wired computer keyboard for desktop use

Summary table

Other languages use similar rules to English for quotation marks, but they might use different symbols or place them in different positions.

Specific language features

Bulgarian

Contemporary Bulgarian uses special marks to show when someone is speaking directly in writing. These marks are different from regular quotation marks and are used in stories and interviews. Regular quotation marks are used for citations or to name places and brands.

Air quotes are also used when talking face-to-face in Bulgarian.

Dutch

In Dutch, schools teach a certain way to write quotes, but newspapers often use a different style. Sometimes, straight quotes like " and ' are used, especially in typed texts and on websites.

In Belgium, double angle quotes are still sometimes used, especially in some magazines and newspapers.

German

In Germany and Austria, the way quotes are written is different from English. The left quote looks like a comma, and the right quote is used for the end of the quote. Some fonts may not show these correctly.

Double quotes are used for speaking in German.

Some countries like Bulgaria, Czech, and others also use this style of quoting.

In Switzerland, a different style of quotes is used that comes from French.

Finnish and Swedish

In Finnish and Swedish, special right-pointing quotes are used to mark the start and end of a quote. Another way is to use a dash followed by a space to show the start of a quote.

French

French uses special angle quotes called guillemets. These have a small space inside them. Sometimes, people use a normal space if it's easier. French news websites often let the browser handle the spacing.

French does not use second quotation marks for nested quotes like English does. Instead, nested quotes might be in italics.

Greek

Greek uses angled quotation marks and a special quotation dash. When a quote continues on a new line, a closing mark is added at the start of the line.

Nested quotes in Greek use English-style quotes inside the angled quotes.

Hungarian

Hungarian uses comma-shaped double quotes for the first level and reversed French quotes for the second level. There are special rules for nested quotes.

Hebrew

In Israel, both traditional low-high quotes and plain quotes are used. Special keyboard layouts support both styles.

Norwegian

Norwegian uses angled quotation marks.

Polish

Polish has rules for using either ordinary Polish quotes or French quotes. Dictionaries in Poland recommend using guillemets pointing inwards for highlights and nested quotes.

Portuguese

Portugal traditionally uses angular quotation marks, but curved quotes are becoming more common, especially due to influence from English. Brazil mostly uses curved quotes.

Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian

Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian use angled quotation marks without spaces. For nested quotes, different kinds of quotation marks are used.

Spanish

Spanish uses angled quotation marks with no space between the mark and the quoted material. Nested quotes use English-style quotes inside the angled quotes.

Chinese, Japanese and Korean

Corner brackets are used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, especially for vertical writing. Usage differs between countries when writing horizontally. In Chinese, double angle brackets are used for titles, with single angle brackets for nested titles.

Quotation dash

See also: Dash § Horizontal bar

Sometimes, instead of using quotation marks for dialogue, writers use a dash at the start of each line. For example, in James Joyce's book Ulysses, dialogue looks like this:

― O saints above! Miss Douce said, sighed above her jumping rose. I wished I hadn't laughed so much. I feel all wet.
― O Miss Douce! Miss Kennedy protested. You horrid thing!

This way of showing speech is common in many languages, including Bulgarian, French, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

In Finnish, a reporting phrase is shown with a comma, and if the quote continues, another dash is used.

The Unicode standard has a special character called HORIZONTAL BAR that can be used as a quotation dash.

Electronic documents

Different types of writing, like printed letters, special sets of symbols, and computer languages, use many ways to show quotation marks.

When typewriters were made, they didn’t have curved quotation marks. To keep things simple, straight marks were used instead. Old computers followed this, using only straight marks. Some early computers showed these marks in a way that looked curved on the screen, but this wasn’t always perfect.

Later, the Unicode standard added special symbols for curved quotation marks. Now, many computers and programs can use these curved marks correctly. However, some older systems still use straight marks, which can cause problems when moving text between different programs or computers.

Explanatory notes

This section provides additional notes to help explain the use of quotation marks. Quotation marks are punctuation marks used in pairs to show direct speech, quotations, or specific phrases in writing. They come in different shapes and forms depending on the language or medium being used. These notes aim to clarify any confusing points and offer guidance on proper usage.