Thomas R Jefferys wrote:

I have a similar problem with inane keys like this:

  " "   spoken
  ' '   quoted
  * *   sound
 ({ })  flatulance

In two of my last three stories I used similar keys, for instance

     "  "      spoken English
     < >       spoken Chinese (Mandarin one story, Cantonese the other)
     o O ( )        private thought
     o O > <        telepathy

with no delimiter meaning spoken Japanese.

I believe that I am obligated to differentiate language, so it is obvious
to the reader why
some characters understand certain utterances and other don't, as well as
simple
verisimilitude (Takahashi aside, the average Qinghai resident does not
speak or
understand any Japanese at all).  I also believe that I'm obligated to
somehow differentiate
telepathy, so that the reader can understand why certain characters "hear"
an utterance
and others don't.

I have been following this discussion with some interest, certainly, and am
interested in
suggestions as to alternative methods of delimiting.  As has been pointed
out, italics
are not available.

hkmiller

PS:  Nobody seems to have mentioned Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man"
yet for
typographic tricks in print related to telepathy, so I will.