what do these symbols mean "«»"?

Question

I saw this symbol in Harry Potter when it mentioned Privet Drive and again when at the end of the first chapter when it says "«Por Harry Potter... el niño que vivió!»"

Answer 1

Used as are used "" in English

Then why are they used only some of the time? - esgoode, Dec 25, 2010

See post below... - afowen, Dec 25, 2010

Answer 2

They are call angled quotations marks and quite common is Spanish punctuation especially in Spain.

Answer 3

From Wikipedia:

Spanish uses angled quotation marks (comillas latinas or angulares) as well, but always without the spaces.

«Esto es un ejemplo de cómo se suele hacer una cita literal en español».

“This is an example of how one usually writes a literal quotation in Spanish.”

And, when quotations are nested in more levels than inner and outer quotation, the system is «Antonio me dijo: “Vaya ‘cacharro’ que se ha comprado Julián”».

As in French, the use of English quotation marks is increasing in Spanish, and the El País style guide, which is widely followed in Spain, recommends them.