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I've been wondering about this rule for a while now, and I haven't seem to get what the 'correct' answer is.

For example, there are times where I want a character (let's say the full name is Chris Thompson here) to introduce his nickname/first name/last name in a dialogue, but it is directly followed by his full name.

Would something like this be appropriate?

"Hello! My name is Chris—Chris Thompson."

Or should it be:

"Hello! My name is Chris; Chris Thompson."

Or is it with something else?

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There doesn't seem to be a single answer for this. Period, comma, ellipsis, dash, all could be used. They may have a slightly different effect.

"My name is Chris. Chris Thompson." You see this quite often, e.g. in a page on how to punctuate dialog from Ursinus College. Simple, a fairly definite pause. Sounds like they know what they're saying.

"My name is Chris—Chris Thompson." Because dashes are often used for breaking off speech, this suggests they've started just to say Chris, and then changed to say their full name. So it suggests hesitancy.

"My name is Chris, Chris Thompson." This is another way often used to punctuate "Bond, James Bond", e.g. Screenrant. Shorter pause.

"My name is Chris... Chris Thompson." This suggests a longer break, maybe hesitancy, or they've initially said their first name, then realised they need to introduce themselves more fully.

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  • Just to add on to this. "My name is Chris Thompson. Call me Chris." Dec 2, 2021 at 1:21
  • My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.
    – Amadeus
    Dec 2, 2021 at 11:12

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