Reported speech and quoting styles have been studied very generally by grammars. However, many researchers are starting to study them within the framework of pragmatic linguistics. The purpose of this work is to propose a method to face the problems posed by the different quoting styles in the process of transfer and formulation. To achieve this goal, the general characteristics of reported speech and, specifically, those of direct speech are defined. This study uses a descriptive approach, oriented towards the understanding of the translation process, and intends to provide some form of general theory which helps identify the norms of the translation process.