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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage
Russian dialog
I'm editing a paper that quotes from several Russian books having dialog. I wish to standardize some style issues regarding the Russian use of the long dash (em dash) with dialog. The problem is that I don't see the actual books and the writer is not too aware of things like en dashes and em dashes and spaces between or not.
Does anyone know what is the most common way to present Russian dialog? I've decided to use a long dash with spaces on both sides. (Of course, no long dash appears at the end of the dialog.)
Our publication normally uses a long dash without spaces in normal English. But I don't think it right to take out the spaces with this Russian use of the mark.
Thanks,
Matt
Does anyone know what is the most common way to present Russian dialog? I've decided to use a long dash with spaces on both sides. (Of course, no long dash appears at the end of the dialog.)
Our publication normally uses a long dash without spaces in normal English. But I don't think it right to take out the spaces with this Russian use of the mark.
Thanks,
Matt
Top answer
[nq:1]I'm editing a paper that quotes from several Russian books having dialog. I wish to standardize some style issues regarding ... normal English.
- [nq:1]I'm editing a paper that quotes from several Russian books having dialog.
- I wish to standardize some style issues regarding ...
- normal English.
- [/nq] If your quotes are in Russian, use Russian quotes (apparently identical to Spanish quotes).
- An em-dash at the beginning and end of the quote, but leave off the one at the end if it extends to the end of the paragraph.
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7 Answers
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[nq:1]I'm editing a paper that quotes from several Russian books having dialog. I wish to standardize some style issues regarding ... normal English. But I don't think it right to take out the spaces with this Russian use of the mark.[/nq]
If your quotes are in Russian, use Russian quotes (apparently identical to Spanish quotes). An em-dash at the beginning and end of the quote, but leave off
If your quotes are in Russian, use Russian quotes (apparently identical to Spanish quotes). An em-dash at the beginning and end of the quote, but leave off
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[nq:1]I'm editing a paper that quotes from several Russian books having dialog.I wish to standardize some style issues regarding the ... normalEnglish. But I don't think it right to take out the spaces with this Russian use ofthe mark. Thanks, Matt[/nq]
I don't now whether you can read Russian, but, if yes, then here is a quite complete set of rules on the topic:
I don't now whether you can read Russian, but, if yes, then here is a quite complete set of rules on the topic:
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Thanks Alex.
But the site obviously is using a hyphen for a long dash. I think I'm pretty clear in my mind that there should be spaces before and after the long dash when using it for dialog, unlike its normal English use. Of course, most typesetters use a long dash without spaces in normal text and if they opt for the en dash, they put the spaces.
But I'm still not sure if Russians usuall
But the site obviously is using a hyphen for a long dash. I think I'm pretty clear in my mind that there should be spaces before and after the long dash when using it for dialog, unlike its normal English use. Of course, most typesetters use a long dash without spaces in normal text and if they opt for the en dash, they put the spaces.
But I'm still not sure if Russians usuall
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[nq:1]Thanks Alex. But the site obviously is using a hyphen for a long dash. I think I'm pretty clear in ... or the en dash in dialog. Do they use both, or one slightly more than the other, or just one?[/nq]
Hart's Rules says "En rules are not used in Russian typography". It has examples of dialogue introduced by em dashes, with spaces something like:
X *** xx, xx xx.
XX...
**
Hart's Rules says "En rules are not used in Russian typography". It has examples of dialogue introduced by em dashes, with spaces something like:
X *** xx, xx xx.
XX...
**
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[nq:1]Thanks Alex. But the site obviously is using a hyphen for a long dash. I think I'm pretty clear in ... a long dash without spaces in normal text and if they opt for the en dash, they put the spaces.[/nq]
Your original inclination is correct. Use long dash for dialogs and put space chars around it. Also, there should be a tab at the beginning of each new quote.
[nq:1]But I'm still not
Your original inclination is correct. Use long dash for dialogs and put space chars around it. Also, there should be a tab at the beginning of each new quote.
[nq:1]But I'm still not
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[nq:1]Hart's Rules says "En rules are not used in Russian typography". It has examples of dialogue introduced by em dashes, with spaces something like: X *** xx, xx xx. XX... *** xx? xx xx xx.[/nq]
Only minor correction:
X *** xx, xx xx.
XX...
*** xx? XX xx xx.
Note tabs at the beginning of new character speech fragment and capitalization in the last line.
Only minor correction:
X *** xx, xx xx.
XX...
*** xx? XX xx xx.
Note tabs at the beginning of new character speech fragment and capitalization in the last line.
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[nq:2]Hart's Rules says "En rules are not used in Russian ... xx. XX... *** xx? xx xx xx.[/nq]
[nq:1]Only minor correction: X *** xx, xx xx. XX... *** xx? XX xx xx. Note tabs at the beginning of new character speech fragment and capitalization in the last line.[/nq]
Sorry, I was wrong about capitalization. The original version seems to be correct.
[nq:1]Only minor correction: X *** xx, xx xx. XX... *** xx? XX xx xx. Note tabs at the beginning of new character speech fragment and capitalization in the last line.[/nq]
Sorry, I was wrong about capitalization. The original version seems to be correct.
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