From: Christian Neukirchen Date: 2006-08-05T22:12:03+09:00 Subject: Re: [QUIZ] Proper Case (#89) Pierre.Barbier_de_Reuille@sophia.inria.fr writes: >> It's not correct grammar, just a typographical convention; one which >> is sort of semi-obsolete and regularly gives rise to great debate in >> typographical circles over its perceived rightness, wrongness, and >> pragmatic value. >> >> That isn't to say you shouldn't use it, since it'll be very accurate >> in the general case, but redefining the problem to say "anything that >> doesn't use two spaces is wrong" is a bit of a dodge. > > I have to add that I never ever read anything about this kind of rule ! And I am > 100% sure that this rule does not exist for french typography. I suspect that > every country will have different spacing schemes according to the punctuation, > and if you intend to correct english written by foreigner (and a lot of it is) > or, even better, if you want your program to work with any latin-written > language, you'd better not rely on anything like that ! (I know that I make > loads of english typography errors because I naturally follow the french > rules... unless I make special effort) That's why the command to disable additional space after sentences in plain TeX is called \frenchspacing. French differs with respect to some other conventions too, e.g. you put a space *before* the exclamation marks, too. If you do that in a German newsgroup or chat, everyone will laugh at you and tell you are "plenking". -- Christian Neukirchen http://chneukirchen.org