Stylistics of direct and indirect speech

Direct speech is someone else’s speech given exactly as it was said; the author’s words are those of the person who quotes it. In indirect speech another’s thought is given in the narrator’s words with a changed structure. Person and time-place markers change (men – u “I – he/she”, ertaga – ertasi kuni “tomorrow – the next day”), and exclamations, addresses and expressions of emotion are usually dropped. Direct speech is written in quotation marks («…»): «Kitobni olaman», – dedi Dilfuza. (“I will take the book,” said Dilfuza.) / Dilfuza dedi: «Kitobni olaman.» If the direct speech ends in a question or exclamation mark, no comma follows it, only a dash: «Kim keldi?» – deb so‘radi Sardor. (“Who has come?” asked Sardor.) In a dialogue each line starts with a dash. Direct speech gives expressiveness, indirect speech gives compactness; therefore the first is more used in the artistic style and the second in the scientific and official styles.