Inverted Exclamation Point
Inverted question (¿) and exclamation marks (¡) are punctuation marks used to begin interrogative and exclamatory sentences (or clauses), respectively, in written Spanish and sometimes also in languages which have cultural ties with Spanish, such as in older standards of Galician (now it is optional and not recommended). They can also be combined in several ways to express the combination of a question and surprise or disbelief. The initial marks are normally mirrored at the end of the sentence or clause by the common marks (?, !) used in most other languages. Unlike the ending marks, which are fully above the line in a sentence, the (¿) and (¡) are placed about halfway below the line.
Inverted marks were originally recommended by the Real Academia Española (Spanish Royal Academy) in 1754, and adopted gradually over the next century.
On computers, inverted marks are supported by various standards, including ISO-8859-1, Unicode, and HTML. They can be entered directly on keyboards designed for Spanish-speaking countries, or via alternative methods on other keyboards.
Read more about Inverted Exclamation Point: Usage, Mixtures of Question Marks and Exclamation Points
Famous quotes containing the words exclamation point, inverted, exclamation and/or point:
“A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That’s basic spelling that every woman ought to know.”
—Mistinguett (1874–1956)
“Can they never tell
What is dragging them back, and how it will end? Not at night?
Not when the strangers come? Never, throughout
The whole hideous inverted childhood? Well,
We shall find out.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That’s basic spelling that every woman ought to know.”
—Mistinguett (1874–1956)
“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)