This is how both TeX and m4 do quoting by default so presumably common when they... | Hacker News

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		fasquoika on April 9, 2021 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Why keyboard shortcuts don't work on non-US layout... This is how both TeX and m4 do quoting by default so presumably common when they were created (mid-eighties and early seventies respectively IIRC)

kergonath on April 9, 2021 [–]

It’s an ASCII approximation of the proper typography for single quotes (except when you’d use inverted quotes for some reason, not sure how common it is in English).

Similarly, LaTeX uses `` and ‘’ for double quotes because the opening and closing symbols are not the same in properly typeset texts.

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