THE USE OF THE FULL STOP IN THE DIRECT SPEECH IN THE MACEDONIAN STANDARD LANGUAGE

Abstract

The respect and the consistent implementation of the orthographic norm in the everyday written practice affect its cultivation and affirmation. This contributes to the preservation and promotion of the language identity. This norm, on one side, should be flexible enough in order to explain and precise the already existing rules and to increase the possibility for their generalization. Yet, on the other side, it should be stable enough in order not to change the already established rules that are in use for a long time. Bearing in mind that the full stop is the basic and the most used orthographic and punctual mark, as well as that in the written practice regarding its use in the direct speech there are many different solutions, the aim of this paper is to examine whether there are any changes in the rules that regulates the use of the full stop in the direct speech in the Orthography (edition from 1998 and from 2017). The research has qualitative paradigm and descriptive design. The sample consists of the rules that regulate the use of the full stop in the direct speech in both of the Orthography’s editions. The written practice is represented by electronic sources published in RM in 2018. The methods for processing the data and gaining conclusions are analysis, synthesis and comparison. The research shows that regarding the use of the full stop in the direct speech, there is one essential and very relevant difference in both of the Orthography’s editions, and as a result there are obvious differences in the written practice.