Post by account_disabled on Dec 23, 2023 23:51:46 GMT -6
I have always noticed, in short stories and novels, the use of ellipses - which are three (3) and not an arbitrary number - to signal the interruption of a dialogue. By interruption I mean when two people are talking to each other and one interrupts the other or the speaker suddenly stops talking because maybe he saw a ghost. The situation is therefore this: «I've already seen this film, now he dies and…» Ferruccio began. «And you broke, shut up or get the hell out!» Daniele shouted at him. In some of the last books I read, The Wild Ride and I don't remember what else, but always from Edizioni XII if I'm not mistaken, I saw another way of interrupting the dialogue.
Initially I found myself a little confused, because it was the Special Data first time I had seen it interrupted in that way and it seemed really strange to me. Then, with a cool head, it seemed to me the only logical and correct way to show the reader an interruption in the discussion. The modified situation is this: «I've already seen this film, now he dies and» began Ferruccio. «And you broke, shut up or get the hell out!» Daniele shouted at him. Notice anything? The ellipses are gone. If you think about it, what are they for? They are precisely called suspension dots. They must therefore keep someone or something in suspense. Ferruccio, in our example, is just ruining the surprise for Daniele, who manages to shut him up just in time (actually I don't think the real Ferruccio does something similar, I just took him as an innocent example).
I have identified three different situations in which the dialogue is, for one reason or another, interrupted or broken. One character interrupts another We have already seen the example. A character speaks and his interlocutor interrupts him. The first character can't finish his sentence, or his word. The three suspension points are not necessary . There is no suspense in an interruption like that: «I've already seen this film, now he dies and» began Ferruccio. «And you broke, shut up or get the hell out!» Daniele shouted at him. A character interrupts himself In this case the speaker stops, leaving his sentence pending for a specific reason.
Initially I found myself a little confused, because it was the Special Data first time I had seen it interrupted in that way and it seemed really strange to me. Then, with a cool head, it seemed to me the only logical and correct way to show the reader an interruption in the discussion. The modified situation is this: «I've already seen this film, now he dies and» began Ferruccio. «And you broke, shut up or get the hell out!» Daniele shouted at him. Notice anything? The ellipses are gone. If you think about it, what are they for? They are precisely called suspension dots. They must therefore keep someone or something in suspense. Ferruccio, in our example, is just ruining the surprise for Daniele, who manages to shut him up just in time (actually I don't think the real Ferruccio does something similar, I just took him as an innocent example).
I have identified three different situations in which the dialogue is, for one reason or another, interrupted or broken. One character interrupts another We have already seen the example. A character speaks and his interlocutor interrupts him. The first character can't finish his sentence, or his word. The three suspension points are not necessary . There is no suspense in an interruption like that: «I've already seen this film, now he dies and» began Ferruccio. «And you broke, shut up or get the hell out!» Daniele shouted at him. A character interrupts himself In this case the speaker stops, leaving his sentence pending for a specific reason.