Abstract

   This paper aims to analyze the placement of punctuation marks, especially commas and periods, in relation to quotation marks.
   It suggests that the most striking point within the quote-punctuation placement is the difference between the British and American usages in the case of commas and periods. Universal American usage places commas and periods inside the quotation marks, regardless of logic, while in the British usage, punctuation marks go inside quotation marks if they relate to the words quoted, outside if they relate to the main sentence. Why the difference? It appears that the British usage upholds logic, while the American one follows convention.
   The findings are mainly based on the examination of articles of some major American and British newspapers as well as of stylebooks of leading U.S. wireservices.