Is it ever correct to have a space before a question or exclamation mark? is affirming what I always use, but now some translators I know said that I always need a space before. I am sure they are French or something but before I answer them, I would like to see some British source confirming it.
UPDATE: No, Wikipedia is not authoritative unless it has a link to a publication that is.
The people I need to correct are likely native English speakers who sat too long next to French translators or something. I need some heavy tome to throw at them 🙂
UPDATE: The translators ate their words. All is well in the world.
Best Answer
As far as authority goes, I'd put my money with Fowler's Modern English Usage. In the first edition (1926), Fowler uses what seem to be half-spaces before colons, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation marks, but not before full stops or commas. These 'half-spaces' seem similar in length to regular spaces, or slightly narrower, but half as wide as those spaces he uses after colons etc. and full stops. The second edition (1965), edited by Gowers, look similar. The third edition (1996), by Burchfield (another authority in the field), doesn't have any space before semicolons etc.
Frankly, spaces do look a bit old fashioned to me. My advice would be to not use spaces any more; however, if you should decide to use them after all, it would still be correct—just uncommon. I believe it is still common in languages like French.