Subj : Re: Singing and punctuation marks To : Ardith Hinton From : alexander koryagin Date : Fri Jul 06 2018 22:01:02 From: alexander koryagin Hi, Ardith Hinton! I read your message from 31.07.2014 22:26 about Singing and punctuation marks. ak>> I was told by one guy that the words of the song should be taken ak>> in quotation marks. Like this: ak>> Maxim started, and probably, he was not very good: ak>> "Bonfire is barely glowing ak>> And darkness has covered the camp." ak>> Should I do it or the indentation of the song's words is enough? AH> Seems to me we're dealing with a matter of style here. If this guy AH> is (e.g.) a university instructor who's marking your work or an AH> editor assigned by a publishing house with its own ideas, I'd AH> suggest you do as he says for the time being regardless of whether AH> you and/or anyone else in E_T agrees with him. No, he is a usual person, although he worked in Russia as a tutor of English. So, I asked it here just for interest, to ping the area and awoke its inhabitants. ;-) I also believe that it is really a matter of style. Besides, if it were the biggest problem of my text I would be happy. ;-) AH> AFAIC the indentation of the song's words is enough. You have seen AH> me do exactly as you did when I cite two lines or more from a song AH> or a poem... or an astute observation by a well-known & highly AH> respected author such as Mark Twain or Sir Winston Churchill. Anne AH> Stilman (USA) agrees that that's how such things are generally AH> handled in formal English. You may see some exceptions in newspaper AH> & magazine articles, where the column width is limited, or in AH> Fidonet where we are writing informal "letters" to other club AH> members. You'll also see them in novels where a fictitious dialogue AH> goes on at length. If I didn't look further into the issue that's AH> because my own understanding has never evoked any negative remark AH> even during the time I spent as an English major at university. I AH> could check out what the Brits have to say on the subject. But so AH> could you, and evidently you prefer USAian English for reasons I AH> well understand.... :-)) I prefer USAian English, but that guy is from Scotland. So, we try to make the text readable across the world. Bye, Ardith! Alexander Koryagin fido7.english-tutor 2014 --- ifmail v.2.15dev5.4 * Origin: NPO RUSnet InterNetNews site (2:5020/400) .