Hello,
I'm layout out a book that has been translated from English to Spanish. The publisher wants to keep the formatting of the original book, which starts each chapter with a drop cap.
Sure enough, Chapter 1 starts with a question, ("¿Cómo debemos responder...?") which means that my drop cap character is ¿ which just looks wrong.
Does anyone know what is the correct format would be in a situation like this? I've searched around the internet, but couldn't find any information.
Thanks in advance!
- ...aldo
inverted spanish question mark and drop caps
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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If you use an upright question mark at the end of the sentence in Spanish that makes the decision easy — just drop the ¿ at the beginning.
If I was using a drop capital on a quotation, I would indent the opening quote mark (“ ) into the margin. The ¿ is too big to look good like that.
I think the third option looks best. In the end you have to trust your own design sense. Some cases just don't fit the rules.
¿Since you're familiar with Spanish, perhaps you can answer this question?
Some fonts, like Times New Roman, align ¿ and ¡ with the top of x-height, while most Bitstream fonts align them with the baseline. Is either method acceptable or does the latter method just look wrong to you?
If I was using a drop capital on a quotation, I would indent the opening quote mark (“ ) into the margin. The ¿ is too big to look good like that.
I think the third option looks best. In the end you have to trust your own design sense. Some cases just don't fit the rules.
¿Since you're familiar with Spanish, perhaps you can answer this question?
Some fonts, like Times New Roman, align ¿ and ¡ with the top of x-height, while most Bitstream fonts align them with the baseline. Is either method acceptable or does the latter method just look wrong to you?
Thanks for the quick response!
I'm sorry, I should have made my original post a little bit more clear. There isn't actually a " in front of the ¿ for the drop cap. It's an interesting thought though... What is the rule for paragraphs that have a drop cap, but start with a quotation mark? The same rule with probably apply for my inverted question mark...
Anyway, just to make things clear, here is the paragraph from the original english book:
Here is the default two-character drop cap:
Here is the same with a baseline shift up 7pt:
Finally, here is another solution where I made the ¿ smaller in relation to the drop cap letter.
No other part of the design in the entire book (graphics, pull quotes, tables, etc...) extend into the margin, so I'd prefer to keep the ¿ from hanging.
If anyone knows the rules of spanish typography (I don't know the language very well...) would I be able to drop the initial ¿ in a case like this? This would be my preference, but it may not be kosher.
Thanks again for your reply Bhikkhu Pesala!
...aldo[/img][/url]
I'm sorry, I should have made my original post a little bit more clear. There isn't actually a " in front of the ¿ for the drop cap. It's an interesting thought though... What is the rule for paragraphs that have a drop cap, but start with a quotation mark? The same rule with probably apply for my inverted question mark...
Anyway, just to make things clear, here is the paragraph from the original english book:
Here is the default two-character drop cap:
Here is the same with a baseline shift up 7pt:
Finally, here is another solution where I made the ¿ smaller in relation to the drop cap letter.
No other part of the design in the entire book (graphics, pull quotes, tables, etc...) extend into the margin, so I'd prefer to keep the ¿ from hanging.
If anyone knows the rules of spanish typography (I don't know the language very well...) would I be able to drop the initial ¿ in a case like this? This would be my preference, but it may not be kosher.
Thanks again for your reply Bhikkhu Pesala!
...aldo[/img][/url]
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William
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Of your attempts so far, I like the third one the best.
I have thought of two other possibilities.
One is like the third one, except that the ¿ would be lowered so that its lowest part is level with the lowest part of the C or maybe slightly lower.
The other is like the suggestion above except that the ¿ character would be half the size (or less) of what it is in the third example. This would mean that the C would not be inset so far from the margin, yet the ¿ would still be present.
William Overington
I have thought of two other possibilities.
One is like the third one, except that the ¿ would be lowered so that its lowest part is level with the lowest part of the C or maybe slightly lower.
The other is like the suggestion above except that the ¿ character would be half the size (or less) of what it is in the third example. This would mean that the C would not be inset so far from the margin, yet the ¿ would still be present.
William Overington
Thanks for the suggestions William!
I think I'm going to try using the third one and make it even with the baseline of the dropcapped C. This way, due to the shape of the inverted question mark, I'll be able to nudge the C back towards the margin so that it doesn't look so far out. Perhaps I'll try making the ¿ a bit smaller as well. Then, all that I have to do is wait and see if it passes the careful eyes of the publisher!
Thanks all!
...aldo
I think I'm going to try using the third one and make it even with the baseline of the dropcapped C. This way, due to the shape of the inverted question mark, I'll be able to nudge the C back towards the margin so that it doesn't look so far out. Perhaps I'll try making the ¿ a bit smaller as well. Then, all that I have to do is wait and see if it passes the careful eyes of the publisher!
Thanks all!
...aldo