Jose Carillo's English Forum
Joe Carillo's Desk => You Asked Me This Question => Topic started by: Michael E. Galario on September 02, 2016, 06:56:44 AM
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Hi sir Joe,
I would like to know if the following structure for direct speech could be used interchangeably.
1. President Duterte said, " I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time."
2. President Duterte said: " I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time."
The first example uses comma after the word of attribution, whereas the second example uses colon after the word of attribution.
What I have observed is that the first structure is more common in fiction. The second structure is in news report.
Is this a matter of style or is the preference over the other structure guided by the kind of writing?
Should the latter be the case, Is this a rule set in stone? :-X :)
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Hi sir Joe,
I would like to know if the following structure for direct speech could be used interchangeably.
1. President Duterte said, " I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time."
2. President Duterte said: " I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time."
The first example uses comma after the word of attribution, whereas the second example uses colon after the word of attribution.
What I have observed is that the first structure is more common in fiction. The second structure is in news report.
Is this a matter of style or is the preference over the other structure guided by the kind of writing?
Should the latter be the case, Is this a rule set in stone? :-X :)
Hi sir Joe,
Hope you'll be able to provide me explanation about the structure I gave for the reported speech.
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These are the possible direct-speech attribution formats in English composition and exposition, listed here in the order of usage frequency:
1. "I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time," President Duterte said. (This is the more common usage in Western and Philippine journalism. It's hardly used in lead sentences of news stories. Often, it is used as a detailed, direct-speech attribution to the speaker's statement paraphrased or summarized in the lead sentence.)
2. President Duterte said: "I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time." (This is rarely used in English-language journalism and literature except as an emphasis device. I came across only one novelist, if I recall correctly it was John Hershey in A Bell for Adano, who used it consistently in the form of paragraphed dialogue.)
3. President Duterte said, "I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time." (This is the least used among the three direct-attribution styles. Perhaps some profession or field use it in its reporting, but so rare it is that I won't venture to say which one does.)
The style of direct-attribution used by a publication is actually more a matter of convention. The rules are not set in stone, as you surmised. In fact, if you study the history of journalism, you will find that newspapers and periodicals as well as fiction over the centuries varied widely in their direct-attribution style, with others even opting altogether for indirect-speech attribution .
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Hi sir,
Thank you for the answer. Just a question though about the ordering of usage. Was this ordering based on an established convention or was this based on your personal observation?
Thank you.
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The rankings are based on personal observation of the attribution styles used by periodicals and literary, academic, and professional publications I have been exposed to over the years. To get a better feel of the state of usage, I suggest you make a spot-check yourself every now and then.
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Sure sir. Thank you
It is indeed true that "The more we learn, the less we understand." ☺