We do _not_ say "aboot"
I have to say, I watch the Canadian-based Fox Soccer Report regularly, and the Canadian anchors most definitely say "aboot". But hey, I'm a Californian-I probably don't realize how much I say "dude!" Chris ________________________________ From: Kevin McLauchlan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 11:28 AM To: Chris Vickery; Bill Swallow; Sue Heim Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; tcp@techcommpros.com Subject: RE: [TCP] Article: Houston, We Have a Shuttle Typo A big "me too!", on that quotation punctuation thing. My rule is to put the punctuation inside if it's necessary to the meaning of the embedded quotation, and outside if it's necessary to the meaning of my containing sentence. I've rarely had to deal with situations where the two would strongly conflict (pretty much never in technical writing), and that'd be a good time to consider recasting anyway. My employer is an American company, so the mandate is to use US-eng spelling in documents aimed outside, but for in-house communication - where we have a Canadian division, an Indian division, offices in the UK and Australia, etc. - I often write tongue-in-cheek "behavio[u]r" and similar to cover all the bases. By the way, I'd write Bill's second version if I were writing dialog among young folk, pre-teen to twenty something, where they sing-song the interrogative rise onto the end of every [EMAIL PROTECTED] sentence!!! Sorry. Sorry... I'm calm. I'm calm... I think it might have been ... was it... Jaimie on "So You Think You Can Dance" who ... er... um... held my rapt attention until they presented one of those interview segments where she peppered her speech with that sing-song intonation and several bushels (archaic measure, look it up) of "y'know?" It's similar to "Wow! Looks, talent, passion - 11 out of ten!" And then she lights a cigarette and drops to a 6. Same idea. Probably an equally tough set of habits to give up. Sigh. Kevin (in Canada, eh?) PS: I always wanted a better way to depict the Canajun "eh". To me, that always looks more like what Bugs Bunny is saying in "Eh, what's up doc?", a very different sound to my ear. C'mon, eh? Stay with me, now. PPS: We do _not_ say "aboot". That'd be the Scots. I know we're hard to tell apart... <gdr&h> On Behalf Of Chris Vickery reported: > I agree wholeheartedly. I went back and forth about this with a > coworker. The American English rule of putting all punctuation inside > the quotation marks, even for lists of terms seems nutty to me. > -----Original Message----- > On Behalf Of Bill Swallow > Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 10:21 AM > I use UK punctuation, particularly with quotes. Makes more sense to > me. I dunno, somehow this: > > Can you believe he said "I think you're an idiot"? > > makes more sense than: > > Can you believe he said "I think you're an idiot?" > > On 7/13/07, Sue Heim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Actually, that's not that bad. Seriously. The sign was made with EN > > spelling, even though the name of the shuttle honors the UK. Heck, I > > misspell EN and UK stuff all the time (I dunno, but I always spell > behavior > > with a "u" as in "behaviour"). The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it. ______________________________________________ Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
