Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jellby
It's probably related to manual typesetting, and the "rule" is that low punctuation (comma, period) go before high punctuation (quote marks). I don't know the exact reason for this rule, is it just aesthetic? something practical about the handling of lead types?
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Hitch
IMHO--and this really is complete opinion, no data--it's aesthetic. I think it looks better to the eye, a smoother...flow, or transition, for lack of a better word. I mean, compare these: (hey, if people can post questions about html and css utterly unrelated to Sigil, I can post typographic stufferooni, too.)
"...and I thought she said," he continued
"...and I thought she said", he continued.
To me, the eye continues more naturally, from the lower case letters in "said" to the comma, then to the quotation marks, in an upward-curve, than it does when the eye goes from the lower-case to the quotation marks to the comma, then on to the lower-case letters in "he."
BUT...that's just my $.02. I vaguely recall something from my student-journalism days (yes, we were still using quill pens then, ha!) about setting lead, but...I can't bring it to the grey-matter now.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaleDe
As I recall from English class a long time ago. The period and comma would look like they are separated by a space if you put them after the quote mark. There purpose would thus be lost on the reader as it would look like the period was just hanging out there in space. This is particularly true of typewriters that had monospaced fonts. The reasoning was related to business letter writing on a typewriter.
|
I guess whatever the reason it seems to be convention now. I lean towards thinking its something related to laying out physical type, but I've no real basis for that. I'd say for myself that the ", both looks better and is also more logical, even when using a mono-spaced font like below - it might depend on what you are used to though. But we're definitely drifting from Sigil here
"...and I thought she said," he continued.
"...and I thought she said", he continued.