Why do non-1st language English speakers put a space between their punctuation marks?

[Wilderess]

A good rule for the brackets is that if you take the bracketed expression away (with the brackets), a complete sentence should remain. There should be no extra commas or full stops, and there should be nothing lacking either.

[Urban Ranger]

I always thought that brackets are the square things: [].

[Dauphin]

They're 'square brackets' as opposed to just 'brackets'.

[VJ]

I put the period outside the end bracket if it's pat of a sentence (like this is).

(If it's a complete sentence, I put the period inside the brackets.)

I do the same thing, however it always confuses me and I've never read anything
about this thing from books...

[Sprayber]

Originally posted by Kassiopeia
SD, PH, odd. I think every single book I've read has this way of punctuation. I'll have to go and check...



That's how Finns would put it...

From what I learned in school the comma would go outside the quotations unless it was apart of the quote.

( ) Parenthesis
one or both of the curved marks ( ) used in writing and printing to enclose a parenthetical expression or to group a symbolic unit in a logical or mathematical expression


[] Brackets.
one of a pair of marks [ ] used in writing and printing to enclose matter or in mathematics and logic as signs of aggregation -- called also square bracket b : one of the pair of marks < > used to enclose matter -- called also angle bracket

[Inverse Icarus]

thats what i learned spray... now what are these

{ }

i just call the squiggles

[Harovan]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Mein Schwanz ist ein grosse Banane !

Nein. Dein Schwanz ist eine kleine Banane.

As for the "plenking" (putting a space between last word and punctuation mark is called here this way), it's a grammatical mistake in German as well. Some people do it, but it's wrong. Other people do it just to offend those who prefer to be nitpicking . Right ?

Numbers: the amount of one thousand two hundred and thirty four euros and fifty six cents would be written here either

€1234,56

or

€1.234,56

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by UberKruX
thats what i learned spray... now what are these

{ }

i just call the squiggles

Braces.

[Sprayber]

Originally posted by UberKruX
thats what i learned spray... now what are these

{ }

i just call the squiggles

braces
one of two marks { } used to connect words or items to be considered together b : one of these marks connecting two or more musical staffs carrying parts to be performed simultaneously

edit: what SD said. I wasn't for sure what they did from memory.

[KaiserIsak]

how come places like china/japan use abarbic numerals today? what did they use before?

I think they have used arabic numerals for centuries, at least that is what my history teacher told me many years ago.

[Method]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
Well there is the alternative: use spaces to separate 000s which saves the confusion all round

1 000 000 000.8937897324

as for commas being used as decimals that confuses the hell out of me...5,432 can either be 5.432 or 5 432

[Wilderess]

Originally posted by Sprayber
[] Brackets.
one of a pair of marks [ ] used in writing and printing to enclose matter or in mathematics and logic as signs of aggregation

That's right, Sprayber. Brackets are also frequently used in old-fashioned library catalogues, meaning that the phrases in brackets are not copied from the title page of the book:

Seven brothers / [written by] Aleksis Kivi ; [translated by] John Smith.

[Hurricane]

Another strange thing. English countries write prices with the currency sign before the amount, i.e. $5,000, while most other people put the currency sign after the amount, i.e. 5.000 €. Or do they? I'm really confused after reading this thread.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Hurricane
Another strange thing. English countries write prices with the currency sign before the amount, i.e. $5,000, while most other people put the currency sign after the amount, i.e. 5.000 €. Or do they? I'm really confused after reading this thread.

50p, 50¢ etc..

[Immortal Wombat]

I agree with Kassi, and his magic book.

[Frozzy]

SD is right. for the smaller currency amounts (cents, pence, etc.) you put the sign AFTER the number. If it is the larger (dollars, pounds, euros etc.) You put it BEFORE the number

Also... there are certain rules for these signs in usage. Take Five Dollars and twenty-three cents for example in countries with English as a 1st language.

523¢ = correct
$5.23 = correct
$5.23¢ = incorrect
5,23$ = incorrect
5.23$ = incorrect.

i.e. if the number (in cents/pence etc.) is BELOW 100, use that denomination, if OVER 100, use Dollars/Pounds etc.

[Dauphin]

The ISO standard is to put the currency, in its 3 letter form, first.

[Buck Birdseed]

Let's use international not american nomencalture, please.

() = Brackets
[] = Square Brackets
{} = Set Brackets

[Solly]

"non-1st language English speakers"

Why not just say "foreigners"? Not totally accurate but nowhere near as clumsy. But then again you are a lefty, so foreigner is a four letter word.

[Alex]

Originally posted by Boddington's
"non-1st language English speakers"

Why not just say "foreigners"? Not totally accurate but nowhere near as clumsy. But then again you are a lefty, so foreigner is a four letter word.

'Foreigner' depends on the reference. You're a foreigner to me, but you have English as your 1st language. See? Not everything revolves around you.

[Dry]

Originally posted by redbull
I see a number of people who do not speak english as a 1st language put spaces between the last word and the punctuation mark (often a question mark)

While working for a European orgnisation where the 2 official languages were french and english I remember having read some typographic rules booklet.
Typographic rules are different between english and (at least) french.
In english, the question mark should be preceeded by IIRC 1/4 space, while in french it is 3/4 space. This of course is not possible with computer. Therefore 1/4 space -> no space, 3/4 space -> 1 space.
The problem is similar with semi-colon, IIRC.

Some links
- english rules :
http://www.squ.edu.om/agr/OnlineCour...Chap302_5.html

- Règles françaises :
http://www.interpc.fr/mapage/billaud/ponctua.htm

[DanS]

"Let's use international not american nomencalture, please."

Your proposal has been considered by the committee, but rejected. Parens, brackets, braces.

The quotes thing is up in the air. Some use the non-US convention, even though it is incorrect in the US. My boss uses this, though, and she's always right.

[Frozzy]

Thanks a lot Dry, thats really answered my question