A question of quotation marks...

[javasaurus]

If you end a written question with a quoted word or phrase, do you put the question mark before or after the quotation marks? If the question mark is part of the quoted material, it goes before the marks, otherwise it goes after. The same rule applies to exclamation points. However, with periods and commas, the mark *always* goes before the quotation marks. I don't know why, and I believe the rule is different (and more sensible) in England, but that's the rule for America. Who makes these rules, anyway?

Now for my question: I'm coauthor on a paper that will be published soon. We just got the proofs from the journal, and they put a period after the quotation marks. Should I correct it, or let it slide, hoping that this little "error" will help propogate change in American grammar?

Comments

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

Regarding question marks, I'm clear on that. The initial question was meant as a lead-in to the topic of period/comma placement, about which I'm actually also clear. In traditional American styles (for example, Chicago/Turabian), a period or comma always goes within the quotation marks. In British style, placement is "logical," meaning the period/comma is inside the quotes only if it is part of the quoted material. ACS, despite being an American style guide, uses the logical style.

My real question was whether to correct the journal's editor in what I perceived as an error, because at the time, I didn't realize they used ACS style. Heck, I didn't even know there was an ACS style when I started this topic.