Version at: 22/10/2018, 00:49 vs. version at: 22/10/2018, 00:50
11#How to Write Dialogues
22
33Go back to [tatoeba.org](http://tatoeba.org).
44
55##Why Write Dialogues
66
77In order to provide context, sometimes single sentences are not enough.
88
99Dialogues can also be used to show how non-sentences can be used as responses.
1010
11[#1431300] "Is he lying?" "Obviously." (marcelostockle)
12[#5401699] "Can I join you?" "Sure." (sarefo)
13[#6229650] "Who was there?" "Only Tom." (CK)
14[#6446394] "How do you feel?" "Better." (Hybrid)
15[#4628683] "Are you tired?" "Not really." (Lazovic)
11* [#1431300] "Is he lying?" "Obviously." (marcelostockle)
12* [#5401699] "Can I join you?" "Sure." (sarefo)
13* [#6229650] "Who was there?" "Only Tom." (CK)
14* [#6446394] "How do you feel?" "Better." (Hybrid)
15* [#4628683] "Are you tired?" "Not really." (Lazovic)
1616
1717
1818##Formatting Standards - Examples
1919
2020**English** - Put each sentence in (double) quotes. We use "straight" quotes and not "curly" quotes on tatoeba.org.
2121
2222"I caught a bad cold." "That's too bad."
2323
2424**Japanese** - Put each sentence in quotes 「 」without 。 There is no additional space between these quotes 」「.
2525
2626「悪い風邪を引きました」「それはいけませんね」
2727
2828**French.** You should use « Sentence 1. » « Sentence 2. »
2929
3030**German.** Use the following format: „Ich bin ganz stark erkältet.“ – „Das ist aber ärgerlich!“
3131
3232The dash must be a dash (Alt + 0150), not a hyphen. It should ideally be preceded by a non-breaking space (Alt + 255). Alt codes for the opening and closing typographical quotation marks used in German are Alt + 0132 and Alt + 0147.
3333
3434##Others - (In Progress - Just Notes)
3535
3636NOTE: Perhaps most languages that use the quote character ("), are using the same standard in the Tatoeba Corpus as English does. I've checked the following languages.
3737
3838**Esperanto**
3939
4040(No native speakers, but ...)
4141
4242520 examples use this format.
4343"SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"
4444
4545184 examples use this format.
4646"SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"
4747
4848**Hebrew**
4949
5050193 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"
5151
5252? examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"
5353(I can't easily check RTL languages for this.)
5454
5555**Portuguese**
5656
5757606 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2" (Same as English)
5858
59590 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"
6060
6161**Spanish**
6262
6363383 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2" (Same as English)
6464
65656 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"
6666
6767## Reference
6868
6969[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English_usage_of_quotation_marks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English_usage_of_quotation_marks)
7070
7171This might be a good guide. However, the Tatoeba Corpus has adopted "straight" quotes as the standard rather than "curly" quotes.
7272
7373[http://french.stackexchange.com/questions/115/is-it-necessary-to-use-guillemets-when-quoting-in-french-or-may-one-use-english](http://french.stackexchange.com/questions/115/is-it-necessary-to-use-guillemets-when-quoting-in-french-or-may-one-use-english)
7474
7575French seems to use 2 different standards.
7676
diff view generated by jsdifflib

Version at: 22/10/2018, 00:49

#How to Write Dialogues

Go back to [tatoeba.org](http://tatoeba.org).

##Why Write Dialogues

In order to provide context, sometimes single sentences are not enough.

Dialogues can also be used to show how non-sentences can be used as responses.

[#1431300] "Is he lying?" "Obviously." (marcelostockle)
[#5401699] "Can I join you?" "Sure." (sarefo)
[#6229650] "Who was there?" "Only Tom." (CK)
[#6446394] "How do you feel?" "Better." (Hybrid)
[#4628683] "Are you tired?" "Not really." (Lazovic)


##Formatting Standards - Examples

**English** - Put each sentence in (double) quotes. We use "straight" quotes and not "curly" quotes on tatoeba.org.

"I caught a bad cold." "That's too bad."

**Japanese**  - Put each sentence in quotes 「 」without 。 There is no additional space between these quotes 」「.

「悪い風邪を引きました」「それはいけませんね」

**French.** You should use « Sentence 1. » « Sentence 2. »

**German.** Use the following format: „Ich bin ganz stark erkältet.“ – „Das ist aber ärgerlich!“

The dash must be a dash (Alt + 0150), not a hyphen. It should ideally be preceded by a non-breaking space (Alt + 255). Alt codes for the opening and closing typographical quotation marks used in German are Alt + 0132 and Alt + 0147.

##Others - (In Progress - Just Notes)

NOTE: Perhaps most languages that use the quote character ("), are using the same standard in the Tatoeba Corpus as English does.  I've checked the following languages.

**Esperanto**

(No native speakers, but ...)

520 examples use this format.
"SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"

184 examples use this format.
"SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"

**Hebrew**

193 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"

? examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"
(I can't easily check RTL languages for this.)

**Portuguese**

606 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"  (Same as English)

0 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"

**Spanish**

383 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"  (Same as English)

6 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"

## Reference

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English_usage_of_quotation_marks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English_usage_of_quotation_marks)

This might be a good guide. However, the Tatoeba Corpus has adopted "straight" quotes as the standard rather than "curly" quotes.

[http://french.stackexchange.com/questions/115/is-it-necessary-to-use-guillemets-when-quoting-in-french-or-may-one-use-english](http://french.stackexchange.com/questions/115/is-it-necessary-to-use-guillemets-when-quoting-in-french-or-may-one-use-english)

French seems to use 2 different standards.

version at: 22/10/2018, 00:50

#How to Write Dialogues

Go back to [tatoeba.org](http://tatoeba.org).

##Why Write Dialogues

In order to provide context, sometimes single sentences are not enough.

Dialogues can also be used to show how non-sentences can be used as responses.

* [#1431300] "Is he lying?" "Obviously." (marcelostockle)
* [#5401699] "Can I join you?" "Sure." (sarefo)
* [#6229650] "Who was there?" "Only Tom." (CK)
* [#6446394] "How do you feel?" "Better." (Hybrid)
* [#4628683] "Are you tired?" "Not really." (Lazovic)


##Formatting Standards - Examples

**English** - Put each sentence in (double) quotes. We use "straight" quotes and not "curly" quotes on tatoeba.org.

"I caught a bad cold." "That's too bad."

**Japanese**  - Put each sentence in quotes 「 」without 。 There is no additional space between these quotes 」「.

「悪い風邪を引きました」「それはいけませんね」

**French.** You should use « Sentence 1. » « Sentence 2. »

**German.** Use the following format: „Ich bin ganz stark erkältet.“ – „Das ist aber ärgerlich!“

The dash must be a dash (Alt + 0150), not a hyphen. It should ideally be preceded by a non-breaking space (Alt + 255). Alt codes for the opening and closing typographical quotation marks used in German are Alt + 0132 and Alt + 0147.

##Others - (In Progress - Just Notes)

NOTE: Perhaps most languages that use the quote character ("), are using the same standard in the Tatoeba Corpus as English does.  I've checked the following languages.

**Esperanto**

(No native speakers, but ...)

520 examples use this format.
"SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"

184 examples use this format.
"SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"

**Hebrew**

193 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"

? examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"
(I can't easily check RTL languages for this.)

**Portuguese**

606 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"  (Same as English)

0 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"

**Spanish**

383 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" "SENTENCE_2"  (Same as English)

6 examples by native speakers use "SENTENCE_1" - "SENTENCE_2"

## Reference

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English_usage_of_quotation_marks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English_usage_of_quotation_marks)

This might be a good guide. However, the Tatoeba Corpus has adopted "straight" quotes as the standard rather than "curly" quotes.

[http://french.stackexchange.com/questions/115/is-it-necessary-to-use-guillemets-when-quoting-in-french-or-may-one-use-english](http://french.stackexchange.com/questions/115/is-it-necessary-to-use-guillemets-when-quoting-in-french-or-may-one-use-english)

French seems to use 2 different standards.

Note

The lines in green are the lines that have been added in the new version. The lines in red are those that have been removed.