Are "??????" and "!!!!!!" used in Spanish too?

Question

In informal English writing, we sometimes use multiple question marks and/or exclamation points to emphasize the emotional content of a word or phrase. A good example is Jeezzle's very recent post "Look out!!!!!!!!!!!!". If this is also done in Spanish informal writing, do you repeat the punctuation marks before the word or phrase? Do you, for example, write something like "¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Ojo!!!!!!!!"?

Good on you Rikko it gets my vote, I have thought that too but did not have the courage to ask. - ray76, Jun 20, 2010

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Ray, you make me feel so brave!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Rikko, Jun 20, 2010

Great question - canicos, Jun 21, 2010

Answer 1

Hi, Rikko - good question.

I've seen it done both ways...Single punctuation before the phrase and multiple punctuation after the phrase and also multiple punctuation both before and after the phrase.

I haven't thought about his much in the past 20 years, but I have a vague memory that it's more "correct" to do single before the phrase, but - hey - I may be wrong, wrong, wrong!

I'm curious as to what other posters say.

¡Gracias, mountaingirl!!!!!!!!! (maybe that looks more correct?) :) - Rikko, Jun 20, 2010

Answer 2

Good question Rikko,

And I don't know the answer but to me more than one of anything like a question mark, or an exclamation mark is superfluous, even in informal writing. For example I think one single exclamation mark indicates shock - surprise - outrage - why put more than one?

¿por qué no?????????????? (echando bromas!) - mountaingirl123, Jun 20, 2010

Hola Mountaingirl - para me cuando se usa desmasiados "?????", o "!!!!!!!!!" es "over the top" :o - nonombre, Jun 20, 2010

¿Cómo se dice en español "over the top"????????? (es un chiste :o )!!!!!!! - nonombre, Jun 20, 2010

Annie, some of us have multi-level feelings. It's like the color chart for women, if you get what I mean. Jejejeje - Rikko, Jun 20, 2010

Answer 3

I can't believe you asked this Rikko. I have been wondering this for such a long time, but never bothered to ask.

Thanks for helping to satisfy my curiosity. Mountaingirl's answer makes sense. I'm sure she is probably right, right right!!!

¿¡¡¡¡¡Jejejejeje!!!!! or ¡Jejejejeje!!!!!!!? :) - Rikko, Jun 20, 2010

They both look good to me. jejeje - Nicole-B, Jun 20, 2010

Answer 4

The Diccionario Panhispanicos de Dudas was made to answer questions like this. Here is the RAE´s

: http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltConsulta?lema=signo de exclamación

Thanks, Margaret. The link defines the usage in formal writing, but I wonder what the practice is in informal writing. - Rikko, Jun 20, 2010