What??? You have never heard of percontation and its use in Microsoft Office? Well, you are definitely not alone. I too had never heard of it but then I saw an article that someone had posted and became educated in that regard.
Although percontation sounds very complex and a bit scary, it really is not. Most people know it as a reverse question mark (؟). I, on the other hand, prefer to use the proper names for items and now you will have something to discuss at your next cocktail party and you will sound very intelligent.
[Ed note: It is meant to denote a rhetorical question.]
Follow the steps below to learn how in Word:
In Word
- Insert | Symbol | More symbols.
- Change the font to Arabic Typesetting.
- Character code: 061F | Insert.
- Highlight the new Arabic question mark by double-clicking on it.
- Change the font to Arial.
(Result = ؟)
Pretty cool, huh?
—
But why???
Why not???
If I remember my high chool Spanish correctly, this symbol is used to precede a sentence that asks a quiestion. I.e., when the sentence is followed by a question mark. Yes, the sentence has two question marks, as I recall: a backwards one at the beginning and a frontwards one at the end. The one at the beginning signals that a question is coming. I learned this punctuation in the late 1950s, so the usage may have changed.
(Sorry to jump in here, Carol.)
Hi Jack,
The upside-down question mark you are thinking of is not the same; it is flipped both vertically and horizontally. The percontation mark is only flipped horizontally.
Richard