I can't believe it took me so long to notice how different French punctuation was. It wasn't until I started trying to write in French, and was corrected by French people, that I first realized.
Of course, everyone notices that French quotation marks are not like ours. The « and » are the most obvious difference from English books. They're called guillemets. I find French usage confusing at times, because there is often a guillemet to open a quotation, but not to close it again. When a single person is going on and on, the guillemet is reversed at the beginning of each new paragraph, as at the top of the photo, above. Next, each new person's speech is shown by a dash, but where does the speaking end? Sometimes the speaker stops talking in the middle of a paragraph, but there is nothing in the punctuation to show where the speech stops and the narrative begins. You just have to guess.*
What I hadn't noticed, though, was that the exclamation points, colons, semi-colons, and question marks are also different: they had a space in front of them. In other words, you don't write "Alors?" but "Alors ?" Not "Non!" but "Non !"
Also, check out this French computer keyboard. Can you find the period? (Full stop, to our British friends.) It's above the G. Yes, that's right. To put in a period on a French keyboard, you have to hit the shift key.
*Another example of the (lack of) precision of the French language! Although technically speaking, punctuation isn't language.
Huh? That's one weird keyboard. You still have to hit shift for the . on my French keyboard (annoyingly), but it shares a key with the semi-colon, and the g is where the little super-script g is on your example I.e the same place as on a qwerty keyboard. I've never seen a keyboard like your photo before...
Posted by: Gwan | 16 July 2014 at 21:30
Here's a good guide: http://grammaire.reverso.net/5_1_10_les_espaces_et_la_ponctuation.shtml
As a French expat in the U.S. involved wiht the Silicon economy, I'm really having a hard time sticking to the spaces and French guillemets -- totally weird on the screen.
Posted by: Laure | 19 July 2014 at 01:51
Gwan, I have to admit that's an old keyboard! It comes from this 2005 post: http://www.ruerude.com/2005/10/one_reason_its_.html
Posted by: Sedulia | 20 July 2014 at 22:53
Laure, are you writing in English? What is the hardest thing?
Posted by: Sedulia | 20 July 2014 at 22:54
Hello, i just found your blog via GOMI of all places!!
I love to read expats from anywhere really in france (or switzerland).
About ponctuation, an old teacher of mine gave us this mnemotechnique way : if the ponctuation you need has 2 parts, you need a space before and after. ( : ; ! ? )
I'll continue reading backwards from the last post.
Posted by: Helene S | 22 August 2014 at 15:19
Dear Helene,
That's a very useful tip I've never heard before. And *I* just discovered GOMI thanks to you! Thank you
Sedulia
Posted by: Sedulia | 22 August 2014 at 19:34
(Have been off the internet for a while; in remotest USA) Thank you for the kind words-- means a lot.
Posted by: Sedulia | 22 August 2014 at 19:35