3 ms·
The reason this problem exists is because computers and font libraries don't have all the characters we need. The point or comma should be at the same place as
by bambax 5y ago
The reason this problem exists is because computers and font libraries don't have all the characters we need. The point or comma should be at the same place as the quotes, under them, not before or after.
- coldtea 5y ago>at the same place as the quotes, under them What?
- OJFord 5y agoSee po's comment providing SE links for doing it in tex: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28536834 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28536834
- bambax 5y agoAh, yes. Exactly that.
- coldtea 5y agoOK, but why? Is this a convention?
- bambax 5y agoIt looks better and it saves space.
- coldtea 5y agoI'd argue the first is subjective (and I don't think it looks better personally). It's also different to how we use the same punctuation otherwise. It does save space, but I'd say that's neither here nor there. It isn't like space for an extra period at the end of a sentence was ever at a premium. At best, for a whole 200+ page book, you'd save a page or so.
- alexanderskates 5y agoAnd what of exclamation or question marks?
- mdp2021 5y agoAnd this is why more simply, the quotation mark can imply the period; similarly, the comma can be inherited by the formulation and implied (there is no sacrifice in '«That's too bad», John said, «but you can recover»' for '«That's too bad, but you can recover»' - the break is in the formulation and the explicit comma is redundant).