English Typography Rules
English conventions vary substantially by region and publisher, especially quotation hierarchy, dash style, date order, and currency context.
This page is written in English. The locale codes describe the text being typeset and the convention Avellio applies; they do not indicate the language of this web page.
At a glance
Quotation marks
US publishing often prefers double primary quotes; many UK, Australian, and New Zealand styles prefer single primary quotes. Treat this as house style, not a universal language law.
Punctuation spacing
No ordinary space normally precedes sentence punctuation. Punctuation placement with closing quotation marks differs between reputable traditions.
Non-breaking spaces
One word space is standard in contemporary typeset prose. Unit spacing is contextual; English-family Avellio profiles normally do not require a space before %.
Dates
EN US favors month–day–year when unambiguous; EN UK, AU, and NZ favor day–month–year. EN Intl prioritizes consistency.
Numbers
The Avellio English profiles use comma grouping and a decimal point.
Currency
Regional tokens include USD/$, GBP/£, AUD/A$, and NZD/NZ$; plain $ requires context.
Units
Protect number–unit pairs where spacing is expected; technical standards can override editorial practice.
Regional variants
EN Intl is deliberately conservative. EN NZ can remind reviewers about te reo Māori forms but is not a Māori spell-checker.
EN IntlEN USEN UKEN AUEN NZHouse-style caveat
Choose a publication locale and house style; “English typography” is not one indivisible standard.
How to use this with Avellio
- Assign accurate InDesign paragraph languages before relying on AUTO.
- Use an explicit profile when one regional convention governs the complete scope.
- Run a new Typography Audit after changing locale.
- Read locale source, specificity, confidence, and context together.
- Correct ambiguous dates, numbers, currencies, and complete quote pairs manually.
References
- Avellio User Manual — Locale profile referenceAvellio product source
- W3C Internationalization — Quote marksInternationalization reference
- GOV.UK content and publishing guidance — A to Z style guideEditorial style guide