3 reasons to punctuate

Susan Pierotti, Creative Text Solutions One afternoon recently, I spent vast amounts of time texting replies to clients. Well, it felt like vast amounts of time (it was probably only 15 minutes) but I was fatigued. Why? Switching back and forth from the letter screen to the punctuation screen left me feeling that perhaps punctuation wasn’t all that necessary any more. After all, people understand and forgive the odd textual blemish (if they recognise it at all) in text messaging, don’t they? Later, when I’d recovered from dipping my texting digits into the waters of heresy, I remembered all the reasons why we do punctuate. As mentioned in previous blogs of mine, punctuation was not devised by teachers and pedants to grind our free expression into the dust, but was invented by manuscript makers and printers to allow the written and printed word to be read easily. Here are 3 reasons why punctuation is necessary. 1 It allows us to make sense of the text. [caption id="attachment_246" align="alignright" width="97"] Charles I[/caption] Try understanding this sentence: Charles I walked and talked half an hour after his head was chopped off. This is a punctuation exercise from my childhood. It always puzzled me until the penny dropped. (Along with Charles’ head, I was born before decimal currency.) Without 3 little punctuation marks, it doesn’t make sense. It should read: Charles I walked and talked; half an hour after, his head was chopped off. (Or: Charles I walked and talked. Half an hour after, his head was chopped off.) [caption id="attachment_245" align="alignleft" width="115"] The dog know its master. Well, you would if he carried a gun![/caption] 2 It avoids confusion. A The dog knows its master. (The human is boss.) B The dog knows it’s master. (The dog is boss.) A Musicians who are drunks are unreliable. (Only the alcoholic musicians are unreliable.) B Musicians, who are drunks, are unreliable. (All of them are alcoholics.) A The girl’s boyfriends were jealous of each other. (Can’t blame them really, if she had more than one at the same time.) B The girls’ boyfriends were jealous of each other. (Why?)   3 It allows us to breathe Here is a great speech by Winston Churchill – without the commas:We shall fight on the beaches we shall fight on the landing grounds we shall fight in the fields and in the streets we shall fight in the hills we shall never surrender and even if which I do not for a moment believe this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving then our empire beyond the seas armed and guarded by the British fleet would carry on the struggle until in God’s good time the New World with all its power and might steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old. Without the pregnant pauses, it is just a garbled mess. Enter the mighty comma:We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island, or a large part of it, were subjugated and starving, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British fleet, would carry on the struggle until, in God’s good time, the New World with all its power and might steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old. Five hundred men were slaughtered in the Crimean War’s Charge of the Light Brigade because of missing punctuation in a message. Punctuation is not hard to learn and will make you look more professional and wise if you know how to wield it well. If, however, you are unsure of your punctuating ability, engage a writing professional to assist you. Feel free to contact me at info@creativetext.com.au