Using alternate quotation marks for 'scare quotes.'
The American standard is to use double quotation marks ("example") and the British standard is to use single quotation marks ('example'). Style guides insist that you should be consistent regarding which mark you use, regardless of circumstance.
My question is whether or not it is acceptable to use the alternate quotation mark to denote something that is a quote, but is not dialogue.
For example, as a kind of joke, I wrote:
'Of course I know,' he probably would have said.
The "he" is an animal, incapable of speech. I know that readers sometimes jump from quotation to quotation, ignoring attributions, so I used single quotation marks to make it more obvious that he wasn't actually saying those words. Is this acceptable?
Thanks, everyone.
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1 answer
This is an example of direct quoted thought, which is a construct that only occurs in fiction. (Actually, direct quoted putative thought, but that is beside the point.)
I do seem to recall seeing cases of single quotes being used to denote direct quoted thought, but I think what is right that the more common convention is to use italics.
Bear in mind though that your typical reader has no idea what the convention for this is, which means that there is not a lot of benefit in sticking to the convention. Out here on the borders of of usage, you have some liberty to be innovative with the conventions you use. For instance, maybe you are already using italics for speech in a different language, so now you need something else for direct quoted thought. No one is going to send you to the literary penalty box for an innovative convention, as long as you make it clear in context what that convention means (which you do here).
If you are published professionally, you editor will change it to suit their house or personal style, in which case there is not a lot of point worrying about it. If you are self publishing, on not writing for publication, then you are captain of your own ship; do whatever you want as long as you make it clear.
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