XPost: rec.arts.books, alt.books, alt.usage.english
On Sun, 3 Aug 2025 07:01:09 +0100, Hibou <
vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:
Le 03/08/2025 à 02:29, Peter Moylan a écrit :
I have vaguely noticed that there are punctuation differences between
AusE and AmE, but have never seen a place where the difference in rules
is explained. The only one that really sticks out for me is the
illogical placement of commas and periods on the wrong side of a
quotation mark.
It's usual in AmE to use double inverted commas for speech (and that's
also my preference, because of their extra weight on the page), whereas >single inverted commas are usual in BrE.
That is my preference too, and it was also they way I was taught to
write at school (in South Africa). I never noticed, until it was
pointed out, when I was in my 40s, that most UK publishers used single
inverted commas.
The Americans also use a full stop after abbreviations such as Dr. and
Mr.. (That double full stop is a Hibouisme - la logique avant tout !) In
BrE, a full stop is used if the last letter of the abbreviation is not
the last letter of the word - etc., Feb., Rev., but Mr not Mr. - and to
avoid ambiguity - to the relief of the infamous coy. commander.
Again, that is my usage and preference.
Also, initialisms in upper case (BBC), and acronyms in mixed case
(Nato).
That's all that comes to mind for the moment.
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web:
http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog:
http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
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