The style and appearance of printed matter. The art or procedure of arranging type.
0
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0answers
59 views
Should a sentence ending with “Ph.D.” end with one or two periods? [duplicate]
Should a sentence ending with the word Ph. D. end with one or two periods?
He has a Ph.D.
He has a Ph.D..
Is there some established formatting rule for this situation? It might be a ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
Exclamation point inside a sentence
While reading the free Kindle edition of She by H. Rider Haggard (originally published in 1887), I noticed sentences like this one:
But now, to my intense horror, I knew that I could never put ...
0
votes
2answers
147 views
Capital 'I' and lowercase 'L' [closed]
I was wondering why these two letters (capital 'I' and lowercase 'L') look the same in some fonts? Is there any historical reason?
3
votes
1answer
81 views
Should thin spaces be used between numerals and units
After starting to use the siunitx package for typesetting units (and the numerals before the units) in LaTeX, I noticed that it typesets a single space between a numeral and a unit (a space that is ...
0
votes
4answers
353 views
Using an ellipsis to show omission, when we skip complete sentences. 3 or 4 dots? [duplicate]
Imagine I want to quote this text (the parts in bold):
If there were such a thing, I think I'd be a champion. You know, baking under dangerous conditions, high-speed frosting... all hypothetical ...
1
vote
2answers
512 views
When do you leave a space in a paragraph and when do you not?
I am not fully sure if this is the right place for this question but I am guessing has something to do with structure and usage so hopefully it is alright here. Apologies if not.
I am getting ...
0
votes
0answers
113 views
Why are apostrophes so important? [closed]
Why are apostrophes so important? Where did they come from? Wouldn't it be better to just get rid of them altogether?
11
votes
3answers
589 views
From French “manœuvre” to English “manoeuvre”, does “œ” exist in English?
Sadly, I don’t have much to add from the title to this question: does œ exist in English, such as in the word manœuvre?
The same question may also apply to what the French call the “e dans l’a” (e in ...
3
votes
2answers
191 views
What is the typography term which refers to the usage of bold, italics, and underline styles simultaneously?
I remember seeing such a word before, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I'm googling and having no luck.
The classic web comic Pokey the Penguin used this technique quite a bit.
2
votes
6answers
154 views
What are footnotes called when they aren’t in the footer?
What do you call the little asides found in the margins of books instead of at the bottom of the page?
I don’t mean the stuff scribbled in by hand, but rather the printed matter used by tasteful ...
8
votes
3answers
172 views
During what period of history did English use “ß”, the “sharp s” ligature?
The ß glyph is a lowercase letter than represents a ligature between a long s and a round s, and is still used today in (some versions of) German. Its uppercase equivalent is two characters instead ...
10
votes
3answers
465 views
If a “tittle” sits atop an “i” or a “j” (“ı” or “ȷ”), then where do “jots” sit?
In the KJV translation of Matthew 5:18, it reads:
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
If a ...
2
votes
1answer
280 views
Why do we use Roman numerals for some page numbers but Arabic ones for others?
Why is it that certain pages in English-language books are numbered using Roman numerals, but other pages are numbered using (so-called) Arabic ones?
Has it always been this way? Or was the split ...
2
votes
2answers
112 views
How to format “and” or “&” in a three-line header or title [closed]
I need to know which formatting is more appropriate. Should I place the connecting and or & at the end of second line or at the beginning of the third line?
Here is what I mean:
Lorem ipsum
...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
Should punctuation characters have a preceding space? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it ever correct to have a space before a question or exclamation mark?
Often, I see special punctuation characters such as exclamation points (!), question points ...
7
votes
1answer
321 views
What is the term for when one letter is lowercased when a name is in all caps?
Oftentimes when my last name is used in all caps on official documents, one of the letters is lowercased to denote that the following letter is capitalized. For example:
DeVos = DeVOS
What is the ...
4
votes
2answers
244 views
“20th century” vs. “20ᵗʰ century” [closed]
When writing twentieth century using an ordinal numeral, should the th part be in superscript?
20th century
20th century
2
votes
1answer
328 views
Space before three dots? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the proper way of using triple dots and spaces before/after them?
Should there be a space before three dots?
Examples:
I don't know if this is good...
...
3
votes
2answers
171 views
Should the comma be in italics? [closed]
Consider the following two sentences:
Statement 1:
The parameters were calculated a priori, and the other variables
were calculated iteratively.
Statement 2:
The parameters were ...
0
votes
1answer
406 views
Is this a correct latitude and longitude notation? [closed]
Is the example below correct notation of latitude and longitude in English?
Coordinates: 50.0833 x 14.4667 (latitude x longitude)
Thanks!
(I hope the question is still in the scope of this ...
32
votes
3answers
1k views
3
votes
1answer
102 views
4
votes
2answers
153 views
What is the error called when numbers are confused with letters?
In serial numbers etc., there are many cases where you can't tell if the intended character is a number or a letter. For example, the number 0 and the letter O, the number 1 and the letters l or I, ...
12
votes
3answers
389 views
What is it called when a letter is within another letter?
What is it called when a letter is within another letter? For example, the letter O within the letter L:
Edit: Or the first C in the Coca-Cola logo:
Does this arrangement of type have a name?
5
votes
2answers
308 views
How or When is the Lozenge symbol used?
I could find articles in Wikipedia that explain what each typographical symbol means and how it is used in print (e.g. pilcrow, section, dagger) but I couldn't find any information about the Lozenge ...
6
votes
3answers
467 views
Straight quotes vs. curly quotes in formal writing [closed]
Should I use “ or " in very formal English writing?
17
votes
1answer
1k views
Historical reasons of footnotes' sequence symbols
According to the @Mahnax's answer to this question, the footnotes' sequence symbols is the following (Chicago Manual of Style Online):
* (asterisk; but do not use if p values occur in the table; ...
8
votes
1answer
316 views
What do you call the phenomenon where a rectangle Ϳ is shown because a font lacks a glyph?
Is there a name to describe the situation where a particular character is shown on a computer screen in a particular font, but this font does not have a glyph for this particular character?
Usually, ...
13
votes
3answers
4k views
When a dagger is used to indicate a note, must it come after an asterisk?
The typographical symbol dagger (†) has several meanings. Possibly its most common use is as a footnote marker.
According to You Have a Point There: A Guide to Punctuation and Its Allies ...
0
votes
1answer
386 views
Which dash should be used to indicate “None”, “No Answer”, or “Not Applicable”? [closed]
Consider the following overview of an individual's profile:
Name: John Smith
Age: 29
Marital status: Single
Spouse's Name: -
The dash given as "Spouse's Name" indicates that there is no ...
7
votes
4answers
2k views
Why is “de facto” often written in italic?
Often when I see "de facto" written somewhere it is in italic. For example:
LaTeX website:
LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system; it includes features
designed for the production of ...
8
votes
2answers
117 views
Is there a term for authorial name expurgation?
In 19th century English texts, but also seen elsewhere (e.g. Heller's Catch-22) there is a practice of omitting part of a name such as:
I was going to visit Mrs. P___, but decided to remain at ...
19
votes
3answers
283 views
What are the names of the pieces of a question mark?
A question mark ? seems to be composed of two distinct pieces, top and bottom. Do these pieces have their own names, and if so, what are they?
1
vote
1answer
285 views
Why do we write the name of Judges in a strange way?
I did a bit of law when I was in school, and recently, I recalled a unique feature of the law system regarding the way the names of judges were written, especially those with the title of Justice. ...
20
votes
2answers
4k views
Use of “f ” instead of “s” in historic, printed English documents
I was at a museum in London yesterday, and one of the items on exhibit is a document from the eighteenth century. It uses the letter f a lot where s should be used—for example, in Majefty.
Did the ...
3
votes
1answer
326 views
Why typography? Why not fontography?
Typography is the art of selecting and using appropriate fonts in web, books, magazines, newspapers, etc., and is one of the most fundamental graphical design skills. However, almost everywhere you ...
12
votes
2answers
545 views
Why is “dingbat” used to refer to characters like “☺”?
Why is dingbat used to refer to characters such as "☺"?
(See for instance those at the Mozilla Web Developer FAQ.)
Doesn't dingbat mean a stupid person or something?
4
votes
1answer
277 views
Pronunciation of the letter 'W' [closed]
Why is the letter 'W' pronounced like double-'U' in English and pronounced as double-'V' in French? I've always wondered this. Typographically, the letter 'W' can be written with curvy bottoms (sorry ...
52
votes
3answers
4k views
What is the error called when two letters are mistakenly swapped?
Generally this may be called typo but when particularly two letters of a word are mistakenly swapped, what is this error called? Some examples:
teh > the
fromat > format
comptuer > computer
4
votes
2answers
261 views
How were key positions on the typical QWERTY keyboard chosen? [closed]
It's hard to know where to ask this question, but I decided to ask it here because of how uniquely the keyboard relates to the language being typed. The keyboard appears to be English-specific, but ...
25
votes
3answers
2k views
Is there a name for letters that “cross the line” (hang low) when written in lowercase (g, j, p, q, y)?
Is there a fancy name for these letters that "hang low"?
6
votes
1answer
387 views
Why there's a difference between the two common appearances of the letter “a”? [closed]
Luckily the forum is using Georgia typeface, so both can be easily shown below:
a vs a
9
votes
3answers
4k views
Should there be a space between name initials?
In writing authors' initials in research papers (either in the author by-line or the bibliography), should there be a space between intials?
R.P. Feynman
R. P. Feynman
What's the preferred way ...
18
votes
3answers
4k views
Capitalisation of nouns in English in the 17th and 18th centuries
It seems to have been common practice in the 17th and 18th centuries in Britain to capitalise the first letters of nouns in English, e.g.
At which Time he prov'd himself the Noah's Dove, that ...
3
votes
2answers
144 views
How should blockquoted quotations be formatted?
If I quote someone in a context where a blockquote is appropriate and there isn't lead-in prose which identifies the source, how should it be typeset? I'm quoting a saying or remark, as would be done ...
144
votes
15answers
10k views
How many spaces should come after a period/full stop?
In the past — or at least, when I was in elementary school — periods/full stops were followed by two spaces. Lately, it's become more and more common to see just one space. In the modern ...
