Utanaðkoma

Utanaðkoma is an Icelandic term that translates to "outer comma" or "external comma." It refers to a specific grammatical construction in Icelandic that involves a comma placed outside quotation marks. This convention is distinct from the punctuation rules found in many other languages, where commas are typically placed inside quotation marks if they precede the closing quotation.

In Icelandic, the utanaðkoma rule generally applies when a quoted passage is followed by a comma that belongs to the main sentence, not to the quoted material itself. For instance, if a sentence ends with a quote and then continues with a subordinate clause or a connecting phrase, the comma separating these elements would be placed after the closing quotation mark. This contrasts with English, where such a comma would usually be inside the quotation marks.

The purpose of this convention is to clearly distinguish between the punctuation that belongs to the quoted text and the punctuation that belongs to the surrounding sentence structure. It aims for clarity and to maintain the integrity of the original quoted material. While it may seem unusual to speakers of languages with different punctuation norms, it is a standard and accepted practice within Icelandic grammar and is consistently applied in written Icelandic. Understanding this rule is important for proper comprehension and production of written Icelandic.