Microtypography

Quotation Marks by Language

Quotation mark shape, direction, nesting, spacing, and punctuation placement depend on language, region, and editorial style.

Reviewed 2026-08-20Locale and house-style dependentContext required
CategoryMicrotypography
Rule strengthLocale and house-style dependent
Locale applicabilityEN Intl, EN US, EN UK, EN AU, EN NZ, CZ, DE, DE AT, DE CH, FR, FR CH, FR CA, IT, IT CH, ES, ES LatAm, NL, PL, PT, BR, SE
Avellio detectionSupported
Issue identifiersSMART_QUOTESTRAIGHT_QUOTE
Correction authorityMostly manual; only exact unambiguous single-character cases can be proposed in Review Queue.

Definition

There is no single international quote system. The language of the quotation, the surrounding language, nesting level, and publisher policy can all affect the correct marks.

BAD vs GOOD

BAD
Locale mismatch

French: “Bonjour!”

GOOD
French convention example

French (France): « Bonjour ! »

Why it matters

Quotation marks signal structure. Wrong direction, nesting, or spacing can obscure who is speaking and make multilingual work look inconsistent.

Rule strength

Locale and house-style dependent. This is not an absolute linguistic law; locale, genre, content, and house style can change the correct decision.

Exceptions and editorial considerations

  • Reputable styles disagree about English primary marks and punctuation placement.
  • French Canadian and Swiss practices can differ from France.
  • Quotations embedded in another language may follow the quoted language or the publication style.

How to fix it manually

  1. Set accurate paragraph language.
  2. Choose a documented quote hierarchy for each publication locale.
  3. Review full quotation pairs, nesting, spaces, and adjacent punctuation together.

Adobe InDesign guidance

Use paragraph/character language attributes and avoid a document-wide quote replacement when multiple locales share a story.

How Avellio detects it

Avellio compares straight and typographic quote evidence with the resolved locale, while deliberately keeping many regional pair decisions conservative.

Action safety

Mostly manual; only exact unambiguous single-character cases can be proposed in Review Queue.

Check this automatically in Adobe InDesign

Language and locale differences

DE

German „…“ is expected; »…« can be an accepted alternate house style.

DE CH

Swiss German often uses guillemets; Avellio keeps quote enforcement conservative.

FRFR CHFR CA

French guillemets and non-breaking internal spacing apply, with regional and publisher differences.

ESES LatAm

Angular, double, and single marks form a hierarchy; exact publishing practice varies.

Compare all published language and locale guides.

Authoritative references

  1. Avellio User Manual — Locale profile referenceAvellio product source
  2. W3C Internationalization — Quote marksInternationalization reference
  3. Real Academia Española — Ortografía básica de la lengua españolaNational language authority

Avellio references document product behavior. External standards and authorities support the general or locale-specific typographic guidance. Where traditions disagree, this page states the disagreement instead of manufacturing one universal rule.